njmackem

So after a year of being here I am now settled at work, home life is awesome and I have yet to feel the pangs of homesickness for Sunderland.

With that in mind I have decided that my work demands too much driving around to continue to share my wife's car and its time for my own set of wheels.

I had until now been purring at the thought of a Dodge Charger or Challenger or even the Chevy Camaro but I think this has all changed after my business visit here to Atlanta this week.

When I got to the airport I hired what was supposed to be just standard mid-size car but got upgraded to a mid-sized suv. I have been driving around since Sunday in a GMC Terrain which I think I have got a bit of man love for.

Its got the gadgets, the ooomph and style that I want however, before I make the plunge and put down $35k on a car I was wondering whether anyone had any suggestions on alternatives. My budget is $45 total with no trade in. Its just me the wife and potentially my son on weekends.

Recommendations Welcome

Bink

I have recently (a month ago) bought a GMC Acadia. Gotta tell you, I love it. I'm afraid I can't comment on the Terrain as I've never been in one, but man oh man do I love my Acadia! It has everything I want and more and we're both just super happy with it.

Also look at the Chevy Equinox, which is essentially a different take on the Terrain (I think the Terrain looks better though tbh).

What do you want from the car? There's a plethora of choice in the midsize SUV market up to $45k so it depends on where your priorities lie.

Funnily enough, I was looking for a muscle car that could sub in on family duties but the practicality of an SUV is undeniable. I have no regrets but to each their own.

njmackem

Thanks for the input. I had not considered anything other than muscle until this week, but I have to admit this GMC is a very well made beast.

I looked at the Equinox but its lacking in a style point of view for me. I have also looked at the Dodge mid size SUV this week but it looks cheaply made.

Hmmm what to do, what to do what to do

Bink

I looked and looked. There's a ton of choice, Mazda CX-7, CX-9, Ford Edge, the new Explorer, Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota Highlander...
The Mazda's are nice to drive, the Santa Fe is also a lot better than you might think. Hyundai have come a long way in recent years, however, it isn't the most stylish of SUVs.


It just depends what you're looking for. I was looking at 7 seaters so my choice was a bit smaller. I will say that the Acadia seems to be very well built. Everything seems solid and it all works great. I'm stoked as I got my AC seats, which I really wanted (soooooo nice after a soccer game in the heat!! If you'd told me that a year ago I'd have laughed at you but I got in my friends car that had them and it suddenly made sense)

Bink

Buy it, Buy it, BUY IT!!!

njmackem

I think I will.

I even went as far to just drive around for an hour this evening as I am enjoying the Terrain so much.

Jan Alaska

just $45 ???

No really haven't taken any of the newer big GM 'trucks' out ... just ... they are so well .. BIG.

Bink

They don't feel that big behind the wheel. The Terrain and Acadia are both unibody rather than body on frame so they feel a bit more car-like to drive. My FIL has a Tahoe which doesn't feel any bigger or with any more space inside to sit in than the Acadia but feels like a 747 to drive...

Yorkieabroad

Friend has had an Acadia for a few years, and loved it, so when they were ready to change out their Jeep back end of last year, they went with the Terrain. Its spent more time in the shop than on the road with all sorts of problems ranging from gearbox to a/c to a tailgate that wouldn't close to a blown radiator. He reckons its good when its going, but is getting frustrated with driving loaners all the time. Maybe they got a friday afternoon car....

Agree on the Dodge/cheaply built - we have an 07 Durango that I'm about to trade out, and it's nasty plastic everywhere. Even the leather feels plastic. But we got it for the "grunt" to tow our trailer, and aesthtics didn't really figure too highly - good job cos its pig ugly! Neighbour has just got a new Durango, and its a lot nicer, and pretty plush inside, but they've downgraded the towing capacity so not an option for us.

If the Hyundai is an option, look at Kia as well. Drove a V6 Sorrento a while back and it was surprisingly good!

Bink

Yeah, the Kia's are also worth checking out. I think the Sorento looks better than the Santa Fe too (I had an 05 Santa Fe until I bought the Acadia). A friend has a 2012 Sorento and loves it. We looked at the Hyundai Tuscon (ended up buying a Hyundai Elantra instead for the wife) and it's pretty nice. It's not all that big though really. I think it looks cool though.

Yorkieabroad

Looking thru that new Consumer Reports book the Kia gets a pretty good write up, but reliability is flagged as a potential issue...

The Elantra - is that the one that has the look of the new merc? Or is that the Sonata - can never remember the models on the korean cars...

Bink

It's not the Elantra! It's a pretty small family sedan. We really like it and it's great for the wifey. With the car seat in though you can only fit two adults plus the driver, three is pretty uncomfortable. It also gets great gas mileage. They have a new model, the Azera which is meant to be pretty nice. The Sonata is good but there's no V6 only a turbo 4.

Mr Weeze

Take wheels off cars, put on bricks, smash windows. It will make you feel right at home

Yorkieabroad

Just looked it up - you're right- it was the Azera - looks pretty sleek

Awesome Welles

How on earth did you make the shift from LX platform Mopar (Charger/Challenger) and Camaro - to numb, mid-size SUV?

I suggest you revert to Plan A, but disregard the 6 cyl Dodge options (not powerful enough for such heavy cars). Until very recently I had a Chrysler 300C SRT-8, which shares the Charger platform and mechanicals and it was a missile, for it's size. (0-60mph in sub-5 seconds in a 4000lb + large 4-door is impressive and fun)
I traded it against a new Mustang 5.0 GT which is an even stronger performer and well inside your budget.

I also looked closely at the Camaro, but couldn't get past the cartoon styling and letterbox sized front windscreen (from a visibility perspective). Mustang is also faster and more nimble, despite giving away 1200cc in engine capacity.

Ignore all of this if you are in the snow-belt, of course.