re: Best SUV/Small SUV?

My wife got the 2016 Ford Explorer last year. It is doable under 40K... We got a Red Sport for about 42... It is turbo charged and pretty bad arse. Gas mileage is not great.... but you have to pay for 360 hp.

The Acadia and Grand Cherokee were #2 and 3.

A used Volvo XC60 fits your requirements.

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My concern is the CVT transmissions in the Suburus.

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Our Honda and Subuaru both have CVTs. Both work like an automatic.

The Honda's has some quirks, including surging at low speeds. It also takes a few moments for it to shift into reverse when cold. I've had Honda dealers look at it and they say it's normal. It gets incredible fuel economy so I don't complain too much. We see about 36mpg on the highway, and it's fairly quick.

The Subaru's works exactly as advertised. No issues with it. It has flappy paddles on the steering wheel if manual downshifting is needed. It's definitely a better unit than what's in the Honda. It also helps return great fuel economy and operates very smoothly. Our Outback returns about 31-32mpg on the highway, which is pretty good for a big four wheel drive station wagon.

Nissan, Honda, and Subaru all use CVTs in a lot of vehicles. Based on my experience, the fundamentals of a CVT are not a problem. It makes sense to keep the engine in its most efficient power band as long as possible. The tuning and programming of the CVT can vary greatly, as they do in two of our cars. For us, the Subaru beats the Honda in tuning, performance, and programming, which greatly contributes to my opinion of the Subaru and the driving experience.

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Mazda CX-5

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Agree. Got my wife the 2016 one last spring, skyactive tech and all the do-dads. She loves it and I like it as well

The fiance has a '14 CRV w/a CVT and I don't have a problem with it. I guess if I was trying to fly around corners and drive like it's a toy it would be an issue but as a daily driver in DFW it's just fine. The gas mileage is great and it can store a good deal of stuff for it's size. You get pretty good visibility all the way around too which is nice since a lot of SUVs and CUVs these days really bone you w/the rear pillars. The only negatives are that it's a little boring w/it's egg like looks and the interior is kind of plain.


As for the OP, if you want something w/a little more power and size I really love my '14 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I wasn't even considering it and looked at damn near everything else first but after driving it I was sold. You can likely get a '14 or '15 w/the Overland trim in the mid 30ks which should give you 4*4 and a very nice leather interior. HOWEVER, the one thing I would say is an absolute must if you get the JCG is you need to have one w/the lane detection system. There is a wicked blind spot on the driver side that would make driving in DFW a huge pain in the arse if I didn't have that.