Unrelated to the Wrangler/Bronco thread but I’m also after a 3-row AWD crossover kind of vehicle to replace my wife’s 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan. We’ve had the GC for nearly 7 years and 120,000km (zoning in on 160,000km now) but it’s starting to feel a bit tired now and if we don’t replace it in the next year, we’re probably going to need to sink about $4k into it, as the front strut mounts and camshaft bearings need doing (steering clonks at low speed and the engine is quite “ticky” at idle). I also think that we may have an AC leak, as I’ve had it recharged a couple of times but it has become less effective over the years.
So, new car time but what to get? The 3 things that we really love about the GC are Stow n’ Go (I don’t think that any other vehicle really has this feature?), the fact that you still have decent cargo space behind the 3rd row and the “captain-style” seating, which eases access to the 3rd row. Downsides, the powertrain, especially the transmission isn’t the best, day-to-day fuel economy could be better (it’s not bad on a long highway run) and it’s not the best on snowy roads (gets stuck easily and doesn’t have that great ground clearance). It’s also a little basic, ours doesn’t have heated seats/heated steering wheel/height adjustable driver’s seat etc, which are all features that my wife would like to have on her next car.
We only have 2 kids, so could compromise a bit on size, as long as the cargo area is a decent size but would like an occasional 3rd row, as we do sometimes go places with grandparents and have 5 nephews/nieces, who live locally to us, so often find the extra seats useful.
Looking new, the latest Kia Sorento, although a bit smaller looks to be excellent value. I think the X-line version has all the bits that we would want, including the turbo motor and 5 years warranty etc. Also liked the look of the Mitsubishi Outlander for the money but then saw it only has a 180hp NA 4 cylinder with a CVT transmission, which rather put me off!
Honda Pilot, Mazda CX-9 and Nissan Pathfinder all look pretty good too but a bit more expensive. I really liked the old Pathfinder as a spacious, comfortable package with a decent AWD system but heard that the CVT transmission was a disaster. I think they’ve fixed the new one with a regular torque converter transmission?
As new car finance deals aren’t particularly great at the moment, I also considered something a bit older but a bit more “premium”: Audi Q7, Volvo XC90, Land Rover Discovery/Discovery Sport, VW Tiguan/Atlas but I’m not that encouraged by what I read. Buying “premium” used to mean you spend a bit more money now but get a vehicle that lasts longer but that doesn’t necessarily seem to be the case with these?
Other contenders that I haven’t already mentioned are the Toyota Highlander (good cars but I really don’t like the styling of the latest ones) and the Hyundai Santa Fe XL (a car that we nearly bought 9 years ago and really liked). Not so sure on that one now though, as my friend recently had HGF failure on his 2016 Sedona, which I believe shares the same engine at only 130,000km and got hit with a $3000 bill, not something I would really expect on a vehicle of that age and mileage. I know that the Palisade is the latest and greatest and bigger than the Santa Fe XL but I think they look hideous?
Any thoughts? I want some decent power, so probably a 4 cylinder turbo or NA V6 but hopefully something that will be a bit better on gas than the van, as my wife is commuting 80km per day, 4 days per week now and at least 6 (or preferably 7 seats). We hope that like with the van, we would be able to keep this vehicle for another 7+ years without it requiring any major work outside routine servicing.
