can anyone recommend a compact SUV?

[Zedn]

Not cobra related, but i know you all like cars.

My wife is having a baby in November and we need to get a new car that is family friendly.

Today i sold her mini in approximately 7hrs of putting it up on the net and i have found my self in need of a quick purchase. We thought it would take weeks or months not hours.

We are thinking something along the lines of a 2006-2008 Toyota RAV4, Holden Captiva, Nissan Murano etc. I like the subaru forrester also but for some reason every subaru has a billion ks on it.

Does anyone have any experience with cars in this class? I am hoping to be able to use it to tow the cobra every blue moon so need it to have a little grunt. The nissan's have a decent V6 in them and the Holden has 2000kg towing capacity. Rav4 has a V6 model also but its in the high 20s, the budget is about 25k.

Appreciate any input.

[Modena]

In that class I would probably look at the Murano or GT Forester. Good luck.

[davidk]

My wife had a '99 Rav4. We put 180,000 miles on it. Didn't have a single visit to the shop for anything other than regular maintenance. (didn't bother to fix the power lock solenoid or power window switch, but they made it about 160k miles) It was the 4 cyl, so I don't know about towing capacity, but it was rock solid. I felt it was better built than the Nissan Altima that I'm driving now.

[Rog246]

Why not a Ford territory ?? Either 2wd or FWD, if it breaks you can go to the butchers, get a bone & fix it. Plenty of room & cheap 2nd hand it appears.

[Zedn]

The Territory is a little big for what we want. My sister just bought one and they seem good but too big.

[hogster]

I have a CRV, 2 years old.

I have had no end of drama with its lack of ability to drive in a straight line.

Have had it wheel aligned and balanced many many times. The Honda agent tells me that it is "a little camber sensitive" by design.

I say that if you are driving at 70kmph on a normally cambered road, you have to right hand down on the wheel to go straight. If you let the wheel go and count to two the wheel will immediately flick over to 1/10 turn and you're in the tree line. It is driving slightly better at the moment because my local beaurepairs have misaligned to make it drive straighter.

Everything else is excellent - but it is just waiting for an opportunity to catch me out.

Maybe I bought the lemon, but I though I would share

Regards

Hogster

[Bernica]

I friend of mine just recently bought two used Ford Edge's. Both the Limited Edition. They were lease returns with around 24-26k miles on them. They have been running the heck out of one of them this summer travelling all around the country with about 7k new miles without a problem. They seem very happy with the Edge.

[boxhead]

I would be sceptical of towing a car trailer and Cobra with a short wheel base SUV.

But for what you are wanting I would be looking at the Murano.

[NASSTY]

Originally Posted by Zedn

The Territory is a little big for what we want. My sister just bought one and they seem good but too big.

The Territory may seem a little too big now, but when it comes to kids and all the crap you need to move with them, then something like the size of the Territory starts to shrink very quickly

[Zedn]

Tell me about it. My sister had to buy one cause they have new born twins and a 3 year old. They got the 7 seater.

Im concerned about fitting it in the garage next to a half build cobra and still being able to open the doors.

[OZCOBRA]

We've had 2 Mitsubishi Outlander's '05 and '09 gotta say can not Fault them!!!!
We've done many a trip with 2 adults and 2 kids,Pram,cot bags for all!!!
Fuel economy I'm very happy with....and can say never had even what I would count as a minor mechanical issue..regularly serviced by myself every 10k and prior to trips..

If i were to buy any other with a tow in mind I'd be going Mazda CX-9.....OR THE MURANO!!!!...forgot you wanted to TOW!!!...BUT THERE GOES YOUR BUDGET WITH THOSE 2!!

[Rog246]

Im concerned about fitting it in the garage next to a half build cobra and still being able to open the doors.

What..........no no no nothing else goes in the garage ! surely not :

Rog

[Zedn]

I might look at those thanks OZCOBRA. Saw one this morning and they look alright.

The towing will literally only be a handful of times most likely during the rego process as i am doing everything on the car my self it doesnt need to be moved around to mechanics, trimmers, paint shops etc. It wont be a regular thing once the cobra is finished as i intend it to be a road driven car. Most towing will be box trailer to the tip every now and again, that sort of stuff.

I think they will all handle short towing trips provided im not in a hurry.

There are a few good Murano buys around and they present value for money. I have read some good reviews on forums about them. The RAV4 V6 would also be alright at towing and Toyota have a good reputation.

At the end of the day a big powerful car is needed for towing, but i am hoping with the small amount i will do that i will get away with using this car i buy for my wife as my next car will most likely be small and economical for lots of work kms.

Thanks for all the opinions, you have all provided some good comments.

[Zedn]

Unfortunately i have a driveway like mount everest and my wife says she cant unload the car parked on the steep slope (ridiculous i know, especially since she is only 27). Cobra has had 12 months of being on its own. Perhaps if it spends some time with a completed car it will cooperate more with me in getting it completed.

Originally Posted by Rog246

Im concerned about fitting it in the garage next to a half build cobra and still being able to open the doors.

What..........no no no nothing else goes in the garage ! surely not :

Rog

[T.L.]

Originally Posted by Zedn

Not cobra related, but i know you all like cars.

My wife is having a baby in November and we need to get a new car that is family friendly.

Today i sold her mini in approximately 7hrs of putting it up on the net and i have found my self in need of a quick purchase. We thought it would take weeks or months not hours.

We are thinking something along the lines of a 2006-2008 Toyota RAV4, Holden Captiva, Nissan Murano etc. I like the subaru forrester also but for some reason every subaru has a billion ks on it.

Does anyone have any experience with cars in this class? I am hoping to be able to use it to tow the cobra every blue moon so need it to have a little grunt. The nissan's have a decent V6 in them and the Holden has 2000kg towing capacity. Rav4 has a V6 model also but its in the high 20s, the budget is about 25k.

Appreciate any input.

Wife had a 2007 (MY07) Forester Turbo until someone ran a red light. The car went like stuff off a shovel, was nice inside, had all sorts of baby things, big enough for prams, shopping, other baby stuff. She was really disappointed when it was written off. We looked a a new forster, but didn't like the shape as much as the older one. Also looked at a Tribeca, but that was pretty yuck inside.

Also consider a Kluger but maybe over $30, but I would look at Forester first, then onwards from there. Prices for them are $25-$30 but they are great cars and I was surprised how well it went when I got the opportunity to drive it. They are a sleeper type of Subaru as you don't expect them to go that well, then all of a sudden a smile appears on your face.

It towed well as well. 169kW and 320Nm at 2800rpm, so the grunt was good for getting the car going with the trailer behind it.

Good hunting.

[Merv and Sharon]

Something like 87% of all Subarus sold in Aust are still on the road. Most of any make. I had a WRx STi for some years and was amazingly tough.

[Zedn]

I agree with the Subaru being good cars, but they hold their value too well for me to afford one that isnt really old. They all seem to have hundreds of kays on them for some reason. I have also been looking at the impreza (non wrx) and they depreciate very slowly.

We just went for a walk around the local stretch of dealers. I will most likely go private sale, but i love shopping for cars at night when there are no salesmen stalking you.

Will still keep an eye out for a Forester, those turbo models are fantastic, but expensive to buy and insure. Not good when about to go down to one wage and still try to build a cobra at the same time. seems i want to have my cake and eat it too.

[OZCOBRA]

Just a couple ....Kluger
with 20 hrs to go!!
4 1/2 DAYS TO GO ...NICE LIBERTY WAGON!!!http://www.graysonline.com/lot/0001-...307km-543060-1
KLUGER....http://www.graysonline.com/lot/0001-...ande-wagon-4wd

[leroy17]

I can recomend a forester as we have a 05xt now with 175K on it. We have had it since new and apart from normal services nothing has gone wrong. We have used it for towing heaps (boats, jetskis, cars etc) Towing capacity it (for memory) 720 kg un-braked and about 1500kg braked.

Insurance is not bad at all (not like a wrx or my old STi), actually about the same as a honda accord....

Have a look in this forum and the forsale section..... there may be something suitable in there.

http://ozfoz.com/forum/viewforum.php...&sd=d&start=25

Cheers.

[leroy17]

Heres a few.

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/...d=122A9D65C848

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/...d=122A9D65C848