New vehicle, what to get?

I know someone who's RX-8 munched the entire engine without warning at 40K, but hey... rotaries have been doing that in Mazdas for decades. (Dying quick deaths, that is. If you're unlucky.)

Their other stuff seems okay.

One note from when Karen was looking at stuff... All these "bubble" SUVs have god-awful visibility to the sides and rear. I wouldn't put anyone in one that didn't have those new fangled blind spot sensors that I cared about.

Seriously. Have someone walk around the vehicle and try to see them the entire time.

The fad of squished roofs has also turned the silly things into the equivalent of WWII pillboxes with slits to see out of.
 
Mazda has the blind-spot radar.... works great. And backup-cam.
 
There is a saying.. For every beautiful woman out there, to whom all the men would love to be with. There is a guy out there who is tired of putting up with her. Same goes for vehicles. Test drive the ones your interested in and then make your decision then.
 
Well you obviously don't have enough opinions thrown out here yet...I bought the Volvo XC60 last year. It is a very comfy ride with all the doodads. It has serious balls when you put the hammer down too. I got it certified preowned, and everything is covered to 100000 miles. They even changed the brakes free of charge. My other choice was the Audi Q5, but it is the wife's car, and she wanted the Volvo.
 
CT4ME said:
The Mazda line deserves a look. We'd never considered one, but after trying Ford, Honda, and Hyundai.. we ended up with a 2014 CX5. It's got plenty of pep, great features, great gas mileage, and looks good too (really, they all look the same). The CX7 is bigger than I like, but it may float your boat (or pull your trailer). The CX5 is a finalist in the "2013 North American Truck/Utility of the Year"
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My brother in law has run a 626, then a Millenia and now a '6' to 180-200k each without much trouble.
I got pretty close to buying a CX9 a year ago but figured out in time that it didn't have a tight enough turning radius to make it from the driveway into the garage.
 
Hey, thanks everyone for all the advise. It was helpful. I bought a Ford Escape Titanium. Fully loaded. Leather interior. I drove some other makes, not all that were mentioned here, but enough that I knew that I wanted the Escape. Things that I liked about the Escape were the EcoBoost engine, the fit and finish of the interior and the exterior, the fact that the dealer is here in town, and all the bells and whistles they have. My wife and I really like high tech touch screen voice activated features. After I narrowed it down, I found two dealers with fully loaded Titanium models that had the factory tow package. One was silver, which was very pretty, the other was Red. I liked the Red, but they were two thousand dollars apart and I wasn't going to pay that much just to have the Red one. In the end, the dealership with the Red one came down to the same price as the silver. Anyway, Thanks to John, for all the good advise and for helping me figure things out.
 
denverpilot said:
Probably a good thing you didn't get the EcoBoost in the F-150, judging by the latest news...

http://blogs.automotive.com/recall-...-losing-power-during-acceleration-139609.html

The haven't got all the bugs worked out of that thing yet.
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That is interesting because I talked to several people who have EcoBoost in their F150s and they love it. In fact, that is one of the reasons I thought that it would be good in the Escape. Everyone said good gas mileage with plenty of passing power. Anyway, from what little I've driven my new Escape, it isn't lacking in power. Besides, it is brand new, and any problems that come up are Ford's, not mine and if I don't like it, I'll just trade it off, just like I did the Silverado. I'm not stranger to trading cars.:yes:
 
Maxmosbey said:
That is interesting because I talked to several people who have EcoBoost in their F150s and they love it. In fact, that is one of the reasons I thought that it would be good in the Escape. Everyone said good gas mileage with plenty of passing power. Anyway, from what little I've driven my new Escape, it isn't lacking in power. Besides, it is brand new, and any problems that come up are Ford's, not mine and if I don't like it, I'll just trade it off, just like I did the Silverado. I'm not stranger to trading cars.:yes:
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The Ford truck is the national truck of construction, the go-to vehicle for the commercial trade contractors I call, "clients." Simply-stated, they love their trucks.

Please remember, Nate, the fact of an "investigation" is no evidence of a "defect." They've received "95 reports" from a fleet of over 400,000 vehicles; filtering out the chuckleheads who buy vehicles, use them hard until the warranty's almost out then try to claim "Lemon Law" violations to get a new vehicle free (yeah, folks, they're out there), and the folks whose idea of maintenance is "get in, turn key," those numbers are low.

One truck in 4,000. "Haven't got the bugs worked out"? Can your code withstand that scrutiny - by unqualified amateurs?
 
I made my choice, and now I have it. Like I said, if I don't like it I'll get something else.
 
Maxmosbey said:
I made my choice, and now I have it. Like I said, if I don't like it I'll get something else.
Click to expand...

Bet you like it. Ford's on their game these days.
 
Maxmosbey said:
That is interesting because I talked to several people who have EcoBoost in their F150s and they love it. In fact, that is one of the reasons I thought that it would be good in the Escape.
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As far as I understand, the 1.6 mill in Escape has nothing to do with the V-6 Ford were putting into the F-150. They just call all those engines "EcoBoost" in order to deceive shoppers into thinking there's some kind of relationship, except the very general idea of a boosted gas engine. So, the chief danger in earlier Escapes was fire due to fuel line breakage. Since you're a pilot, this should be a trivial checklist.
- Car - STOPPED
- Emergency flashers - ON
- Ignition - OFF (this stops fuel pump from adding to the fire).
- Passengers if any - EGRESSED
Afte that, fetch your fire extinguisher and put out the fire before something other than gas started burning.

I'm pretty sure that if 1.6 catches a wastegate malfunction of its own, it's not going to happen in any the same way as on F-150s. Practice the fire checklist and enjoy your Escape. I only heard good things about them.
 
SCCutler said:
The Ford truck is the national truck of construction, the go-to vehicle for the commercial trade contractors I call, "clients." Simply-stated, they love their trucks.

Please remember, Nate, the fact of an "investigation" is no evidence of a "defect." They've received "95 reports" from a fleet of over 400,000 vehicles; filtering out the chuckleheads who buy vehicles, use them hard until the warranty's almost out then try to claim "Lemon Law" violations to get a new vehicle free (yeah, folks, they're out there), and the folks whose idea of maintenance is "get in, turn key," those numbers are low.

One truck in 4,000. "Haven't got the bugs worked out"? Can your code withstand that scrutiny - by unqualified amateurs?
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And every construction guy I know is begging my buddy to sell them his old standard cab 7.3L diesel because their 6.0 and 6.4 Fords are eating them alive in downtime and MX costs.

There was no intent to disparage Ford. They're definitely ahead of Dodge on anything by a mile, and Chevy hasn't done anything new in their trucks until a tiny tech upgrade in the 2014.

The F-150 is by far the best 1/2 ton out there right now. In the diesel space, the new Ford diesel looks to finally be the engine they wanted when they spec'd the 6.0L.

The EcoBoost is a great idea. But, the 5.0L "Coyote" engine is significantly less fussy, and it's the engine that Ford rates themselves as "Fleet Duty" in the F-150 -- and they put that one in all of those contractor's 1/2 ton trucks, if they're buying the stripped down work models. Operating cost difference in fuel is about $200/year.

The contractors also typically get the 3/4 ton or larger trucks, and those are significantly different trucks, different build plant, different design. The "Super Duty" branding. Those have non-sealed axles, and Dana hardware for the 4x4 system.

And, I don't write code for a living. I'm a sysadmin. :)

Any code I write and release to anyone other than myself is honest and comes with the "If it breaks, you get to keep both pieces" and typically I'll slap a BSD license on it. You'll have the source code and can fix it yourself. :)

Ford will get the kinks out of the 3.3L V6 with the fancy turbos. No big deal. To continue your software analogy... Never buy Version 1.0 of anything. :)

Here's the reality from three Ford lots nearby...

There's typically five or six Super Duty trucks on any particular lot. Out of those, four will be diesels, two gas.

The front lot will have a mix of feature sets on the various F-150s, from basic thru Lariat and a couple of Platinums and a mix of engine types. 5.0L being almost impossible to find.

The back lot will be completely full of EcoBoost F-150s in the mid-range "FX4" trim level.

Only one dealer nearby keeps their fleet trucks anywhere in view of the public. (Groove Ford, on Arapahoe by the way.) Probably because folks might notice the $15-$20K lower sticker on them because they don't have a fancy stereo or leather and 20" chrome wheels. Exact same trucks, otherwise.. And likely the only place on the lot you'll even see a standard cab. No EcoBoosts in that row either. ;)

Stock is REALLY high on the EcoBoost F-150s around here right now. You could probably make a screaming deal on one.

All I'm saying is, the 3.3L turbo truck isn't the one I'd pick yet. We could put it to the test... Lets you and me both buy new Fords and both tow 10,000 pound trailers back and forth from here to Grand Junction via I-70 until one of us breaks down. I'll take the 5.0L. The EcoBoost is rated to tow over 11,000 lbs... Do you think that will be enough margin for it to outlast the 5.0L?

Another interesting thing. A frank discussion with one dealer garnered that a typical real selling price for the Super Duty trucks right now is almost $10K off of MSRP. He alluded to the fact that right now the F-150 and Super Duty price points cross. A high end F-150 won't get much of an MSRP discount, so you can get into a Super Duty cheaper than the F-150 on some trim packages. That says a lot about the perceived value of the F-150 lineup.

Ford is definitely doing it right. The V6 just isn't their most reliable option yet. They look like they'll get it there.

Their new six speed transmission looks like it finally is a contender against the Allison in the Chevy diesels, too.

Used lots are full of 6.0L and 6.4L Ford Diesels right now. You can't find a Chevy.

The Dodges are all at the low end used car lots on Broadway. LOL. Their new lots are stuffed even fuller than Ford's back lots full of EcoBoost F150s. The Cummins diesel is solid old tech. If they'd put a real transmission on it and hold the price down... well, I still wouldn't buy it. Chrysler can't make transmissions. ;) ;) ;)

The neighbor fixed that problem by custom ordering a manual transmission on his Dodge diesel. Not a bad combo and Dodge is the only place you can still order them. But a manual tranny isn't an option in this household... Someone (not me) never learned to drive one. ;)
 
zaitcev said:
As far as I understand, the 1.6 mill in Escape has nothing to do with the V-6 Ford were putting into the F-150. They just call all those engines "EcoBoost" in order to deceive shoppers into thinking there's some kind of relationship, except the very general idea of a boosted gas engine. So, the chief danger in earlier Escapes was fire due to fuel line breakage. Since you're a pilot, this should be a trivial checklist.
- Car - STOPPED
- Emergency flashers - ON
- Ignition - OFF (this stops fuel pump from adding to the fire).
- Passengers if any - EGRESSED
Afte that, fetch your fire extinguisher and put out the fire before something other than gas started burning.

I'm pretty sure that if 1.6 catches a wastegate malfunction of its own, it's not going to happen in any the same way as on F-150s. Practice the fire checklist and enjoy your Escape. I only heard good things about them.
Click to expand...
I have the 2.0 liter EcoBoost engine in mine.
 
JimG. said:
He probably had an original British made version.

I had one of those, and it was in the shop all the time.

Anything after about 2004 is night and day difference from the old Range Rover's.

BMW bought them in 2002 and started making radical changes before selling it to Ford Motor Company.

My wife's is a 2006 HSE.

We left the suburban in the garage yesterday and took a road trip in her car. I had forgotten how nice that car is, as it has been a garage decoration for over a year now since I got my power chair and have to haul it around in the suburban
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Agreed! Early series had lots of bugs. We had a 2008 HSE and it was a nice vehicle. We recently updated to a 2012 and no regrets! The 2013 is stunning but impossible to find.
 
What gags me is that the Ford EcoBoost gets the worst fuel economy of the big three trucks.
 
Nate, you know entirely too much! :D
 
SCCutler said:
Nate, you know entirely too much! :D
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Heh. I kinda overdo it when I'm shopping. ;)

I'm truck shopping to avoid thinking about the airplane being stuck in the shop. Also not particularly pleased that I really don't have time for OSH this year.

The reality is, I probably don't need a new/used truck.

I have project plans I could be working on but they're all expensive and maybe unnecessary. Researching trucks is more fun.

The dealership visits were either on the way somewhere with a little time to kill, or the trip to one dealer for Karen's 45,000 mile service and a look-see by them on the general condition of her truck...

They liked the condition, and broke a relief valve off of one of her calipers while changing out the brake fluid... Sigh. I got to look at the thing afterward and of course, one can't tell if they were just in a hurry or it was weak.

Did get to see the markup on a Ford brake caliper when they offered to sell her a new one at cost. Boy, they make some bucks on those things at a dealership. It's just under 50%. ;)

Been a Ford month. Been researching parts availability and what not for the Ford 1210 tractor too. Flat front tire, may need a wheel. Started realizing the former owner may have jacked up the wheel sizes and that would be bad for 4WD "binding" if I ever need to use it. Hard to get correct info on the old beast. Everything I'm reading says the front tires should be a different size. (Currently 5.00 x 12)

By the way, got a chuckle out of various tractor websites that rave over how much better airplane tires are and what a good price they are compared to AG tires for small tractors. Heh. We all grouse about $100 or more a tire, and they think it's a great price, share links to online aviation tire shops, and like that we have more plys than they can get in the AG world. Go figure. :)
 
docmirror said:
What gags me is that the Ford EcoBoost gets the worst fuel economy of the big three trucks.
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I don't know about the big three trucks, but when I bought my Silverado the salesman really pushed it as being the "most economical full sized pickup on the market." It was being advertised all over. It was rated 18 and 21. I never saw 15 in the three years that I owned it. The chevy service department kept telling me that it was how I was driving it, but I don't believe it. I wasn't even getting close to the advertised mileage. I'm already averaged 25 on the first tank of gas with my new Escape, and it isn't even broken in yet.
 
Mom was happy with her Tuscon, Hyundi.

I hear the Toyota Rav is a bit tinny compared to the honda model.

I love the looks of the Escape but not a particular fan of small ford engines/cars.

You might also look at Isuzu.
 
I really like my Forester. My cousins drove it for a couple weeks when they were here visiting me and now they are looking to buy one.
 
Tony_Scarpelli said:
Mom was happy with her Tuscon, Hyundi.

I hear the Toyota Rav is a bit tinny compared to the honda model.

I love the looks of the Escape but not a particular fan of small ford engines/cars.

You might also look at Isuzu.
Click to expand...
Thanks, but I'm pretty much past the looking stage for a while now.
 
Maxmosbey said:
I don't know about the big three trucks, but when I bought my Silverado the salesman really pushed it as being the "most economical full sized pickup on the market." It was being advertised all over. It was rated 18 and 21. I never saw 15 in the three years that I owned it. The chevy service department kept telling me that it was how I was driving it, but I don't believe it. I wasn't even getting close to the advertised mileage. I'm already averaged 25 on the first tank of gas with my new Escape, and it isn't even broken in yet.
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Yeah, the only way a Silverado would get 21 is if it was rolling downhill from the Eisenhower tunnel to Denver. ;)
 
My Yukon XL with whatever that 8/4 economy thing they now install gets 18 for all combined driving.

denverpilot said:
Yeah, the only way a Silverado would get 21 is if it was rolling downhill from the Eisenhower tunnel to Denver. ;)
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I'm continuously amazed that my Jeep with pre-Pentastar 3.8L gas engine can get 20 mpg while cruising 70 mph. The aerodinamic quality of it is nil, it's a box. And it weighs 3800 lbs empty. Driving around town I get about 18.5 mpg. I can easily believe in newest Silverados and F-150s getting 26 mpg with turbo gas engines like EcoBoost.
 
Have you considered the Lexus SUV? Very plush interior and Lexus reliability.
 
skynewbie said:
Have you considered the Lexus SUV? Very plush interior and Lexus reliability.
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Meh. He'd have to start driving like a Lexus SUV driver, stopping for every road hump, going 55 in the fast lane and wearing a bow in his hair.
 
Maxmosbey said:
I made my choice, and now I have it. Like I said, if I don't like it I'll get something else.
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I hope you like your Escape. We bought an SEL with the 1.6 L engine in May. Has about 2500 miles on it so far and it runs great. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Titanium, but I didn't pay as much for it, either. The key thing is that it is a lot more comfortable than my 1999 Jeep Wrangler (which I still have as the Ford dealer offered an insulting low trade-in value for it). Oh, and I got the 4WD version. If it is to ultimately replace the Jeep it has got to get me up the hill from the house when the street is covered with that darned white stuff.
 
Maxmosbey said:
I'll check that out. The Escape that I was looking at had heated leather seats and electric seat adjustments with memory. The Titanium models are pretty nice looking. As I said, I haven't gotten around to driving one yet. They have the Lincoln at the same dealership. I'm taking my time, and I know that as soon as I drive one things will start going fast. It always ends up that way with me. But I'm interested to see if the Lincoln is good enough to make up for the extra money. It is kind of pricey in comparison.
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My folks just bought one and love it.
 
I'm not doing this to particularly crap on the Silverado or GM in particular, but after four months and four thousand miles, here is what I've found. The Ford gets a little better gas mileage than the sticker said. I'm averaging about a mile per gallon more on the highway, combined is a little better, and in town is right on the money. The Silverado didn't even come close to the mileage on the sticker. The Escape, with the ecoboost engine has plenty of passing power. Pretty much equal to the Silverado, which weighed a lot more, but had at least a hundred horsepower more under the hood. The Escape handles better than the Silverado did. I'm anxious to see how it does in the snow. The Silverado would go anywhere in the snow. I like having the back closed in. I never hauled much in the bed of the Silverado, and when I did it had to sit out there in the weather while I hauled it home. I stuck a new chair in the back of the Escape the other day and hauled it home in the rain. One huge thing that I noticed is that either Ford uses better paint than GM, or their design is different so as to avoid paint chips. Both my wife's Solstice and my Silverado got a lot of rock chips. It was almost like if I got close to a gravel road, I would collect a couple. I've driven the Escape on gravel several times in the last four months and so far not a single rock chip. Whatever it is, I hate chips in my paint, and I like that there are none in my new vehicle. Finally, the touch screen and all the do das. Over the last four months I've been well trained. I do not use the touch screen for a lot of things. I still like to push the buttons and I do. However as time goes on, and as I get better trained, I find myself using the voice commands more and more. Touch screen, not so much. So that is my report on the Escape. So far no regrets.
 
Ken Ibold said:
Honda Pilot. My 04 is at 170,000 miles and going strong. Just recently had its first trip to the shop for unscheduled maintenance when the A/C blower motor crapped out.
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Going on 201,000 miles in my 04 Acura MDX (same thing basically).

Was it the rear blower motor? A common problem and a 99 cent fix if you can soldier.
 
Maxmosbey said:
I'm not doing this to particularly crap on the Silverado or GM in particular, but after four months and four thousand miles, here is what I've found. The Ford gets a little better gas mileage than the sticker said. I'm averaging about a mile per gallon more on the highway, combined is a little better, and in town is right on the money. The Silverado didn't even come close to the mileage on the sticker. The Escape, with the ecoboost engine has plenty of passing power. Pretty much equal to the Silverado, which weighed a lot more, but had at least a hundred horsepower more under the hood. The Escape handles better than the Silverado did. I'm anxious to see how it does in the snow. The Silverado would go anywhere in the snow. I like having the back closed in. I never hauled much in the bed of the Silverado, and when I did it had to sit out there in the weather while I hauled it home. I stuck a new chair in the back of the Escape the other day and hauled it home in the rain. One huge thing that I noticed is that either Ford uses better paint than GM, or their design is different so as to avoid paint chips. Both my wife's Solstice and my Silverado got a lot of rock chips. It was almost like if I got close to a gravel road, I would collect a couple. I've driven the Escape on gravel several times in the last four months and so far not a single rock chip. Whatever it is, I hate chips in my paint, and I like that there are none in my new vehicle. Finally, the touch screen and all the do das. Over the last four months I've been well trained. I do not use the touch screen for a lot of things. I still like to push the buttons and I do. However as time goes on, and as I get better trained, I find myself using the voice commands more and more. Touch screen, not so much. So that is my report on the Escape. So far no regrets.
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So far I'm quite happy with my 2013 Escape, too. We'll see how it does in the snow this winter. My Jeep Wrangler will be a hard act to follow, however.

ChitDisturber said:
Subaru is always a good bet
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I test drove a couple Subarus before I bought the Escape. I had a 1974 Subaru back in the day and the Forester reminded me of it, which was all I needed to walk away.
 
I was born just south of buffalo, n.y. My wife and I recently sold an investment property we owned up there. I'm used to driving in real snow. I've owned both a forester, 2007 with turbo, and a 2005 Tacoma pickup, four seater, 4x4 . Both performed very well in snow, especially the Tacoma which if you look, has much better ground clearance which is very important in snow. (Compared to say some models of ford or Chevy RV.) On the highway, from Baltimore to ellicottville, ny, they both were excellent, pretty steep mountain roads up thru st. College, penna, etc. both rode well, passed well, cornered fine. I always keep vechicles in good condition and got very fair trade ins for both. The Tacoma off road is tough, never misses a beat and goes forever with proper maint. I also pulled a pretty good size u haul while moving furniture. It did well thru the mountains. The forester, with the turbo was fun to drive, it would boogie.
 
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