My New to Me Car

JoLin

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Been shopping for a relacement for the '07 Mitsu Outlander. It's in decent shape, 'only' has 83K miles on it and has been rock-solid reliable. After 5 years of noise, vibration and the cheap/tinny feel of the thing I'm ready for a change. I make one or two long road trips a year and this year's 2500 mile round trip to Florida was just plain grueling. I'm working with a roughly $18K budget and I want miles under 30K. Plenty of choices in that range, but I knew it wouldn't be a 'loaded' anything.

Test drove....

2014 Honda CR-V (first choice based on a ton of research).
2015 GMC Terrain
2015 Chevy Equinox (after talking with 2 friends who own them).

Up-front research eliminated the RAV-4 (all reports said that the Honda rides better). My wife drives a 2016 Ford Escape (company car). It's a nice car, really, but I personally don't care for small, turbocharged engines in terms of long-term ownership.

Surprisingly, the Honda had some weirdnesses and a fatal flaw. Weirdnesses- first, the front seats have a swing up/down inboard armrest (like a captain's chair). There's no passenger side armrest on the LX. Linda got in it and said, 'forget about me being a passenger in this thing." So, test-drove an EX instead. Couple of objections... the EX comes standard with a sunroof that I don't want/need, and you can't get a power driver seat unless you pay for the leather interior. That's a lot of extra money to get an armrest and a power seat. The fatal flaw is that Honda's dashboard design placed it too high. Looking over it made me feel like I was sitting in a hole, and the view out the windshield was narrow. Scratch the Honda.

GMC Terrain. Love, love, love the styling. The cabin is fine- very comfortable seats, driving position, etc. Fairly quiet on the highway. A few minuses - it's a heavy car and the 4-cylinder struggles. It's usable, but the V-6 is a better choice if you can find one. Except for the exterior styling, the Terrain is identical to a similarly-equipped Chevy Equinox, and you pay a big premium ($1500 or more) for the Terrain. There are 4 Equinoxes sold for every Terrain, so you don't have many to choose from. In the end I couldn't justify the extra cos just for the styling.

The winner was a 2015 Chevy Equinox with the the mid-level LT package. 15,116 original miles. Original owner opted for an 8-way power driver seat, remote start and roof rails. It has the same cabin as the Terrain and it's really comfortable for me. Same problem with the 4-cyl being sluggish, but by the end of the test drive I was already getting a feel for the motor's torque curve- I can live with it. The car is absolutely prisitine, and there are 17 months left on the factory bumper-to-bumper warranty. AND, it came in at $600. below my max budget.

I'll be taking delivery sometime next week. :)
 

aspeck

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Cool! When the Terrains first came out they had a real cheap, tinny feel to them. I tried to get my wife to go that route, but she wasn't into the cheap feel and LOVED the Acadia. Guess what we have ... Anyway, they have made great strides in improving the quality of the ride, noise level, feel of the Terrain/Equinox. I am still not impressed with the fuel economy of them. You will probably get around 26mpg. I will probably be going with a Malibu for a 3rd car for mileage and for the daughter (not her car, but she will soon turning 16 and she isn't going to learn to drive in the Yukon or Acadia).
 

bruceb58

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Interesting...doing research for a car for my mom since I would like her to have a car with more safety features. Looking at all the same cars. My research says it's between the RAV-4 and the CRV with the nod to the RAV-4. Friend at work bought the CRV for his wife because it was cheaper than the RAV-4 but he preferred the RAV-4.

My GF has an Element and it's a great car but I am not really excited mechanically about things Honda does. Toyota does a better job. My brother had an Equinox. He had a few issues with it but were fixed under warranty. He wasn't going to buy another Equinox.

A friend of mine has the Terrain and he likes it a lot which is basically the Equinox.

For kids just learning to drive, I always recommend a Toyota Corolla. Best car for the money when buying a used older car.
 
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JoLin

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Bruce, could be the newest CR-V's are different, but I was really surprised at the poor visibility out the front. One thing they have changed- replaced the individual front armrests with a center-mounted one that the front seat occupants can share.

I probably should have tried a RAV, but I knew I was looking for small ute with a decent highway ride. Thing about the Equinox/Terrain models is that, though they're the same size as the others on the outside, they have a 112 inch wheelbase, All the others are much shorter (like 103-105). Long wheelbase usually results in a smoother ride (I'm aware there are other variables), at the expense of a tight turning circle in the parking lot. Equinox's turning circle diameter is about 4 feet longer than a CRV's.
 

boatman37

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my step-son bought a Terrain for his wife. i think its a 2015 but not positive. seems like a good vehicle. never heard them complain about it
 

southkogs

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Congrats on the new rig John. I think the newest thing I have in the driveway is about 10 years old :) - - including the boat!
 

jkust

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Good review, my Mother In law just totaled her car and is asking me to find her a replacement and the Terrain/Equinox came up in conversation. She needs it to sit up high to get her 87 year old husband in and also fit his wheelchair in the cargo area. She wants a Traverse but to me is just more car than she really needs size-wise.
 

JoLin

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Jkust, I can't speak for reliability yet, but 2 friends with Equinoxes have had little or no trouble with them. I read somewhere that GM is doing a complete redesign on them for 2018. Smaller and lighter with turbo-4 engines.

After a couple hundred miles I will say that it's a comfortable car to drive, and the more time I spend with the 4 cylinder, the more I find that it's 'adequate' for the car. Would still prefer the 6, but the little engine is doing the job. This is a departure for me- I've never owned a car with a 'base' engine (except the Mitsu- that had a little 6 standard). Flooring it gives you more noise than power, but if go a little easier you can keep it on the torque curve through the gears. The steering is completely numb, but it's accurate. The car goes where you point it and doesn't wander. It isn't peppy or nimble. RAV-4, CR-V and Escape are all better in that respect. It's a little depressing that I've reached an age where an 'old fart's' car is fine.

"MyLink" controls for the radio and driver information center are, IMO, needlessly complicated, but I find the same in my wife's 2016 Escape. The '07 Mitsu had a simple 'INFO' button on the dash. You just kept pressing it and it would scroll through the gas mileage, distance to refuel, trip odo, etc. readouts. The Chevy is a multi-button deal that I'm still getting used to. I sometimes get lost in the menu and can't figure out how to get back. I love the bluetooth, voice activated, hands free phone connection. I think it's great. Far as I'm concerned you can keep the rest of it. I'm a dinosaur and find all that other stuff distracting. Been playing around with the free OnStar trial but so far don't see the point. Found a place to mount my Garmin, so I'm good on navigation. The rest of it just seems like some stuff to play with. I don't need to pay for that.

(Info Center has a readout that gives you real-time gas mileage. Bring the car to highway speed, then take your foot off the accelerator. Mileage shoots up to 80 or 90 mpg. That's fun, but I'm simple-minded :D )

My .02
 
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ezmobee

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"MyLink" controls for the radio and driver information center are, IMO, needlessly complicated

Just got a '14 Silverado with MyLink. Couldn't figure out for the life of me how to set radio presets. Reading two different sections of the manual didn't help. Ended up finding a youtube video which was the only thing that showed me it was possible to swipe up from the bottom of the radio to reveal all the presets. :facepalm:
 

bruceb58

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Doesn't MyLink allow you to put your google maps from your phone onto the display of the car? No real need for a Garmin then right? Google maps is way better than a Garmin because it includes traffic. I have a Garmin in my glovebox that I haven't touched in 6 years.
 

JoLin

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I dunno if that's true or not, Bruce. My 2 year old Garmin Nuvi came with traffic and lifetime map updates for $140.00. I have a small, cheap-o, semi-smart LG phone that I bought through Tracfone. I pay by the minute, so I'm not the one to know any of that stuff. Dinosaur, remember? :)
 

bruceb58

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I dunno if that's true or not, Bruce. My 2 year old Garmin Nuvi came with traffic and lifetime map updates for $140.00. I have a small, cheap-o, semi-smart LG phone that I bought through Tracfone. I pay by the minute, so I'm not the one to know any of that stuff. Dinosaur, remember? :)
Yeah...maybe not then! Sure you can't do Google maps?
 

JoLin

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Yeah...maybe not then! Sure you can't do Google maps?

Okay, I checked my phone and I have Google maps. Activated it, and I see where I can key in a destination. I assume I can access it through the car with some voice command? Downside is (I think? ) that I'll incur data charges that I don't have now.

Might consider doing it that way in the future if the Garmin fails, or if I get another phone/calling plan. I'll probably try it out this weekend just to see if I can get it to work. Thanks for the clue. I'll report back when I have a chance to try it.
 

redneck joe

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Okay, I checked my phone and I have Google maps. Activated it, and I see where I can key in a destination. I assume I can access it through the car with some voice command? Downside is (I think? ) that I'll incur data charges that I don't have now.

Might consider doing it that way in the future if the Garmin fails, or if I get another phone/calling plan. I'll probably try it out this weekend just to see if I can get it to work. Thanks for the clue. I'll report back when I have a chance to try it.



nope all GPS ping if you turn on location services. I use it all over the country and imo the most accurate of all. And I can say my boy works for Apple in GIS and i'm still saying that google maps is better.
 

bruceb58

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I use google maps and the data usage is minimal. For example, 5 days worth is only a couple Mb. I don't use it every day but when I do, its not much of a data hog. I will never buy a car with a built in Nav system. Google Maps is just so much better. That's why it's nice to have a car that you can link it to it. I don't have a car new enough that I can do that with.
 

WIMUSKY

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I use google maps and the data usage is minimal. For example, 5 days worth is only a couple Mb. I don't use it every day but when I do, its not much of a data hog. I will never buy a car with a built in Nav system. Google Maps is just so much better. That's why it's nice to have a car that you can link it to it. I don't have a car new enough that I can do that with.

My wife did......:D I would need to activate mine.....;) Not sure what apps are available for my truck. Haven't looked close enough on the app screen...
 

redneck joe

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I don't have a car new enough that I can do that with.



And I won't. 2006 is as new as I'm going. That's what my 'new' truck is and getting the wife a 2006 Mercedes E350 diesel at the end of the month (upgrading fro her 2005 C320). If I ever need to buy a new vehicle i'm doing like i have done on boats; start going backwards.
 

Gyrene

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15,116 miles is as good as new. Whenever I buy a used car, I always change the oil & filter right away - good filter and synthetic oil. Then I know for certain when the oil was changed and what is in the crankcase.
 

WIMUSKY

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15,116 miles is as good as new. Whenever I buy a used car, I always change the oil & filter right away - good filter and synthetic oil. Then I know for certain when the oil was changed and what is in the crankcase.

Yup.......
 

jkust

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Jkust, I can't speak for reliability yet, but 2 friends with Equinoxes have had little or no trouble with them. I read somewhere that GM is doing a complete redesign on them for 2018. Smaller and lighter with turbo-4 engines.

After a couple hundred miles I will say that it's a comfortable car to drive, and the more time I spend with the 4 cylinder, the more I find that it's 'adequate' for the car. Would still prefer the 6, but the little engine is doing the job. This is a departure for me- I've never owned a car with a 'base' engine (except the Mitsu- that had a little 6 standard). Flooring it gives you more noise than power, but if go a little easier you can keep it on the torque curve through the gears. The steering is completely numb, but it's accurate. The car goes where you point it and doesn't wander. It isn't peppy or nimble. RAV-4, CR-V and Escape are all better in that respect. It's a little depressing that I've reached an age where an 'old fart's' car is fine.


My .02

Just bought my son a 13 Sonata with 50k miles on it for his 16th birthday coming up soon. I've driven it a few time and it's so much better than the last 4 cylinder I owned which was a 1984 Chrysler laser back in about 92. This is the first base engine for me in as long as I can remember and these direct injected 4 cylinders seem to get up and go with ease. Funny to actually seek out a base model that just happened to come with a few options versus the loaded model (but then really only use a few of the options anyway).
 
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