Looking at smaller SUV's - Ford Escape,Mazda CX-5

[GotBoost?!]

So,it's that time,time to look for another daily driver thats good in snow.

We're looking at a smaller type of SUV's like the Ford Escape,and Mazda CX-5.

Anybody with good/bad experiences with these SUV's,any info is greatly appreciated!

 

[RedRocketMike]

Rav4 with 3.5.

 

[oldmodman]

About a year ago I read a report on a new, not yet on the market Hyundai SUV Hybrid.

It is a three phase Hybrid, the first one to be designed so far. It has a turbo Atkinson cycle four cylinder gasoline engine. And a plug in Li-Ion battery pack. The battery pack can be user controlled in terms of charge cycle. It can be set to charge ONLY from the wall (highest short distance mpg) wall and charge on decel, or charge during cruise so it will always be at at near full current. Nothing special so far.
But, and this is the real innovation, it will charge a pack of Super Capacitors as soon as you lift the gas pedal and start any deceleration at all. It will only proved a horsepower "kick" for appx seven seconds. Which is plenty to help get the vehicle up to speed from a full stop. Plus, if you are in full electric mode it relieves the Li-Ion batteries of quite a bit of drain, vastly improving the all electric range.
According to the released specs it takes 10 to 12 seconds of slowing down to fully charge the capacitors. And (hopefully) Hyundai has designed it in such a way as to give the driver normal brake feel as the decel generator (mounted between the engine and the rest of the powertrain) hands off the braking duties to the friction brakes.

It is hopefully going to hit the market in late 2017 as an early release 2018. And I really hope that they don't make the standard Hybrid design mistake of putting a CVT in it instead of their new 7 speed DCT.
Hyundai is calling all this new technology "Controlled Aggression" :lol:

 

[Lambeau]

So,it's that time,time to look for another daily driver thats good in snow.

We're looking at a smaller type of SUV's like the Ford Escape,and Mazda CX-5.

Anybody with good/bad experiences with these SUV's,any info is greatly appreciated!

Budget?
New or used?

The War Department drives a '12 Escape, AWD, with 2.5L, 4 cylinder that we bought new. She loves it.
It now has 60K on the clock and has been excellent, except for the systemic A/C issues they have.

 

[Deceptive]

I had the new Escape as a rental and hated it. The steering wheel seemed so far away when I was comfortable with the seat placement and I am only 5'9". I would maybe look at the Edge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nofire]

I had the new Escape as a rental and hated it. The steering wheel seemed so far away when I was comfortable with the seat placement and I am only 5'9". I would maybe look at the Edge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did you adjust it out? I'm 99% sure the Escape has a telescoping wheel.

I had a fully loaded Escape as a rental for about 5 days earlier this year. I absolutely loved it and have recommended it to everyone even thinking of a smaller SUV.

 

[Deceptive]

Did you adjust it out? I'm 99% sure the Escape has a telescoping wheel.

I had a fully loaded Escape as a rental for about 5 days earlier this year. I absolutely loved it and have recommended it to everyone even thinking of a smaller SUV.

Couldn't find any way to adjust it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[black92]

My vote is the Mazda CX-5. In-laws had a 2014 CX-5 Grand Touring and it was a slick little SUV and the 2016's are even better. Not the fastest thing to drive, but does have plenty of spunk. If you can do used, I'd opt for the Lincoln MKC with the 2.3 and AWD.

 

[Zodiac]

Mazda CX-5 hands down. The new 2016.5's are fantastic. They are a great little CUV. Handle phenomenally for what they are and overall fun to drive. If you want an appliance buy a Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V. If you want something fun get the Mazda.

 

[GotBoost?!]

Mazda CX-5 hands down. The new 2016.5's are fantastic. They are a great little CUV. Handle phenomenally for what they are and overall fun to drive. If you want an appliance buy a Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V. If you want something fun get the Mazda.

In 2 weeks,we're going to be test driving a
Ford Escape and the Mazda CX-5 at a local dealership.
Personally,I hope the girlfriend likes the Mazda CX-5 ;-)

I'll keep this thread updated on what we decide on etc. Any information about either of these vehicles is always appreciated,thanks for the replys thus far.

 

[Trex925]

My sister has a 2005 ford escape and a couple problems is that the alarm used to keep going off so they had to remove the horn and it still goes off, but it isn't as annnoying anymore. I'm pretty sure it's a common Ford Escape problem of that generation of escapes. Also the seat frame is poking her when she drives. Everything else is fine with the car.

 

[SID297]

Off the top of my head, the only thing I know I'd like to have in that segment is a brand new XJ Cherokee.

 

[GotBoost?!]

Off the top of my head, the only thing I know I'd like to have in that segment is a brand new XJ Cherokee.

I do like the Jeep TrailHawk ;-)

 

[SID297]

I do like the Jeep TrailHawk ;-)

Is that the Grand Cherokee model? I don't keep up with new Jeeps since I basically have no interest in anything they have made past about 2005.

 

[bdcardinal]

The CX-5 is a really awesome little CUV. My dealer also sells Mazda and we sell a ton of them and on the service side we mostly only see them for oil changes. Everyone that owns them seems to really like them.

 

[SID297]

I'm guessing you can't get the Mazda with a 6-speed manual and a diesel here in the US?

 

[GT Premi]

You're doing yourself a great disservice, if you're excluding the Subaru Forester from your search. NO OTHER vehicle in its class is better in snow.

 

[AustinSN]

I don't think there is a bad car in the class.

The Escape looks really good now.

I guess you can get the Golf sportwagon in AWD with a handshaker. That's about the closest thing you can get to an SUV with a manual, not sure if that even matters to you though. They do have very nice interiors.

 

[GotBoost?!]

Is that the Grand Cherokee model? I don't keep up with new Jeeps since I basically have no interest in anything they have made past about 2005.

I'm not a Jeep fan either,but when we were looking at vehicles this past weekend,it caught my eye.

 

[GotBoost?!]

You're doing yourself a great disservice, if you're excluding the Subaru Forester from your search. NO OTHER vehicle in its class is better in snow.

The Mazda Cx-5 handles the snow very well,from what I've seen on youtube.