Reliable SUV

[Mick2268]

Love our 2013 Buick Enclave; 132k miles, no issues.

[Bassin08]

We had a 2012 Highlander AWD V6 XLE. It was a really good vehicle. The only thing I would suggest would be is get the second row bucket seats. The bench seat makes it difficult to get in the third row seating.

[Triton 186]

Reliability, Toyota

[Bueller]

Mazda or Kia, nothing else is in the same ball park for quality or price. The guys saying buy a Toyota or Subaru are remembering yesteryear and not today.

[WVBullet]

Mazda or Kia, nothing else is in the same ball park for quality or price. The guys saying buy a Toyota or Subaru are remembering yesteryear and not today.

That’s good you have an opinion. I’m basing mine off real life experiences with actual older and current ownership. There are several nice looking brands out there that will give owners thousands upon thousands of miles and dependable usage.

[sushi520vx]

Good Afternoon,

Wife is in need of a midsized suv. We have looked at the Toyota Highlander, Kia Telluride and Sorento (small), and the Hyundai Santa Fe (ugly). The Kia’s have the 100,000 mile power train warranty. We want the third row seating just in case (possible grand kids in the near future). Not too concerned with resale as we keep vehicles until fixing costs more than they are worth. Looking to buy in the next month or so.

Im curious what the BBC members have, likes and dislikes, etc. Ride will be a priority since she shuttles her 79 year old mother around and she has a so so back. There will be road trips taken in a few months etc.

Thanks for any input y’all can give. Oh, price point is $55,000 or less as in typical BBC fashion, cash is king.

Brian

What your describing is the Lexus GX460. Buy an off lease certified for a Lexus dealer. New or used, it dont matter cause these are million mile SUV's. Do your research, these are possibly the best SUV on the planet and ever made. Only downside, mileage is 19mpg and requires premium fuel which we tried both premium and regular, seen no difference in mileage.

[vatreefarmer]

Look at the Mazda's. Great experiance with thier vehicles.

I agree with the Mazda option. Wife had one that got totalled with a untimely dance with a deer. Would have bought another but closest dealership moved to the other side of the mountain. She replaced with a Suburu Crosstrek which she also likes.

[basscat21]

Mazda or Kia, nothing else is in the same ball park for quality or price. The guys saying buy a Toyota or Subaru are remembering yesteryear and not today.

There is some truth to this, each had some stand out motors, Honda K24 180hp can be twisted up to close to 1k. The game has changed, with turbo Mico motors and CVT Transmissions, the reliability is not the same.
Toyota and Honda had stout motors capable of north of 500k. Today's vehicles have become far to complex, pushing the limits of technologies.

[Okie Poke]

I say Lincoln Aviator. My wife drives this mid-size SUV and we both attest to being our most favorite car we've ever owned. Styling, 400hp w/ turbo, luxury feel, and oh so smooth ride. Gonna be another $10K than what your budget is unless you can find a year old deal.

[rboren]

Mid size either a Mazda CX-7 or Toyota Highlander or Honda Pilot. All 3 are gear transmissions and well designed. These are my picks and within my price range. For dependability they will be hard to beat.

[basscat21]

[Faststreak]

Honda Pilot has been the best vehicle we ever owned. By another in a heart beat. 125000 miles 0 issues gets 27 28 miles per gallons on the highway. Hyundai and Kia have notorious engine issues

[Buck456]

Have owned 2 honda pilots. My old 2003 has 240,000 plus and still going. My 04 has 140 and just getting broke in. Change the oil when the light comes on, timing belt and water pump at 100,000k, drain and fill transmission, and rear diff fluid every 40,000 miles, plugs around 100,000. Do that and you will have a vehicle that will last a very very long time.

[mpdlou]

Thanks for all the info. I appreciate it.

[lakebouef5]

My son and his wife bough the Sante Fe 3 years ago...been a great SUV. Our niece bought the Telluride at the same time, and it has been great also.

[BoilermakerZ519]

My 2014 Highlander LE AWD has been very reliable and tows my boat well, but for 2024 Toyota has gone to a 4 cylinder turbo engine, if I needed a SUV now, would look a Honda Pilot with a V6.

I love my 2019 highlander xle v6. Pulls my boat like a champ. I too will be forced to the Honda pilot because of the switch to the 4cylinder turbo. Too bad really. I wonder if there’s enough market share loss for them to switch back to a v6. Wishful thinking.

[WVBullet]

Those that have been mentioned all seem to be pretty dependable due to today’s technology. There’s no perfect vehicle. Seems we all have had dependable rides. But, there is lemons in all.

[davidsa]

I love my 2019 highlander xle v6. Pulls my boat like a champ. I too will be forced to the Honda pilot because of the switch to the 4cylinder turbo. Too bad really. I wonder if there’s enough market share loss for them to switch back to a v6. Wishful thinking.

for the OP, I would go find a 2022 V6 highlander with great service records, Gold Certified warranty for about 40k and feel like I stole something. Even with 30k miles it still has 350k more to go.

For those demanding new, I would not make the assumption that Toyota puts out anything that puts there brand equity at risk. That equity as described in this thread is reliability. I met a Toyota Engineer some times ago that told me what they put motors thru before release. Wow!

Now creating a more complex motor to squeeze our 2mpg fuel effeciency, I can't say that make sense to me. But it does not make me go Honda.

[Triton420]

Pilot, Highlander, Telluride. Cannot go wrong with either.

[NW.Ind.Basser]

I say Lincoln Aviator. My wife drives this mid-size SUV and we both attest to being our most favorite car we've ever owned. Styling, 400hp w/ turbo, luxury feel, and oh so smooth ride. Gonna be another $10K than what your budget is unless you can find a year old deal.

Those are super nice SUVs