Mid sized SUV recommendations?

[dodge man]

Definitely not set on Toyota. This would be replacing our 2019 Chrysler 300c. Right now focused on Toyota because we are renting one and my in laws have a hybrid Highlander.

 

[DarkBlack]

Between two at work, I put probably 400,000 miles on explorers in the last 8 years

400,000 in 8 years
I’d absolutely hate to have your career.
That’s 50,000 a year
That’s 962 miles a week
That’s 192 miles a day over a 5 day drive week.
No thanks. Glad you like it

 

[JTKub]

Toyota
Toyota, not Lamborghini!

I'm dropping my 87yr old mom's 2015 Camry LE off tonight at a shop for brakes. Still pad and rotor life left as it only has about 50K miles on it, but they're still the factory brakes after 11 rust belt winters. This vintage Camry is quite the vehicle. I think it was ~$23K all in back in 2015. Those were the days.

 

[paulsharvey]

400,000 in 8 years
I’d absolutely hate to have your career.
That’s 50,000 a year
That’s 962 miles a week
That’s 192 miles a day over a 5 day drive week.
No thanks. Glad you like it

Right at between 3800-4300 miles per month. Thats just work, personal vehicle, I only drive about 10-15,000/year.

Edit: Which may color my thoughts in the "basic work truck" thread, and why I think a couple "comfort" options are good in a vehicle

 

[deserteagle71]

I inherited a Ford Explorer LTD. The price was right, and it's a really nice vehicle when it works.

Unfortunately, Ford put the water pump INSIDE the engine. A part you should be able to replace by yourself in under an hour requires disassembly of the right side of the motor. It is unbelievable.

You can say that about any of the manufacturers. Some smart GM engineer put the belt that drives the oil pump at the rear of the engine on their new "baby Duramax"; when it is time to change it, transmission and engine have to be split apart. One of my buddies had a Ram pickup in which the exhaust ran under the transmission oil pan, so close that to change transmission fluid the shop had to drop the exhaust system.

These days they engineer them so you have to take everything to a shop to be worked on - and it will take hours (and many dollars) to get taken care of.

 

[anomad]

Another option is a minivan. When we decided to buy a SUV so my wife could have more space to haul our dogs to the vet and AKC Dog Shows, she said that there is no way that she would ever have a minivan. We looked at almost every brand and size of SUV but didn't like how little room there was for dog crates.

Almost everyone at the dog shows drives a van of some kind. Either it's a great big one or a Chrysler Town and Country because of the folding seats. I have never been a fan of Chrysler. I almost refused to even look at one. But once we did, and then drove it, we realized how wrong we had been. It just sort of blew us away with the amount of visibility, the acceleration, the quality of the ride, and most importantly, how much room it has.

We've had a few issues with it. The rear AC is finicky. It's great for keeping the dogs cool, but we've had to have it worked on several times. There have been some sensor issues that needed replacing that have annoyed us too, but overall, it's been reliable and a decent vehicle. The next minivan will probably be a Toyota. The folding seats are a great option, but we never use them. They remain folded and if we buy a Toyota, we'll just remove the seats.

I bought my neighbor Bill's Town and Country after he passed away last summer. He was 95 and still driving! Didn't have a valid license, but he didn't let that bother him... LOL It is a 2007 with 53k miles and at least one dent in every body panel. It is my 3rd minivan and I love it.

My wife and sister went to an Audi and Mercedes diesel about 10 years ago and they have been great. High 30's for mileage, low 40's if you hold your breath. When they were shopping we went to Carmax in Dulles Virginia and sat in every SUV we could find. They had an impressive inventory. The first thing I said when I got in the Audi was "man these seats are comfortable". I also drive it in comfort mode. The other one I liked was the Durango with the big V8. But that is a fairly large car.

The only SUV I have had myself was a Jeep XJ. I forget the year but it had the old 4 liter inline 6 and solid axles. Great car. But comfort was not it's forte.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Do oil pumps and transmission pans commonly fail at 80,000 miles? Do they send water into your engine when they go bad? I don't think it's the same at all.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I'd think that a dodge man would consider a Durango.

I recently bought a '26 with the 5.7 and they're surprisingly affordable. Just a hair over $40K in my case.

 

[jthaxter]

We are renting a Toyota RAV4 now and I’m hard to impress but I like it. It’s a Hybrid, 2.5 liter engine. I wouldn’t be that thrilled with it except for the fuel mileage. It’s getting 39mpg mixed driving. It’s maybe a little small but maybe not. They make a Highlander which looks like it gets 35mpg. It looks like Honda makes the CRV in a hybrid but that’s it for them. The CRV looks similar to the RAV4 in size. I think I’d prefer Honda or Toyota but I’m not brand loyal. Any other ones we should look at?

Very pleased with 2026 RAV4 hybrid. Great mileage with regular gas, no turbo to go bad.

 

[Tomtint]

I don’t know what your budget is, but in 2015 we bought a Macan..still have it today. That car has been near flawless and has about 75k miles on it now. Still tight and still feels like a new car. The repairs which were minimal were done under warranty by the dealer who had great service with loaners.

 

[BleedingOrange]

What about a Jeep Grand Cherokee ?

 

[troverman]

If you ask for car / truck advice on an Internet forum, you will hear that every brand is both great and terrible simultaneously.

Frankly, Toyota (and Honda) are not what they used to be in terms of quality. Toyota recalling and replacing every single Tundra engine for model years 2022-2023 because of well documented and numerous engine failures isn’t great. There are many other Toyota quality snafus in recent times as well. That said, they probably aren’t any worse than other brands.

A RAV4 isn’t a “midsize” SUV, rather it’s a small crossover. A true SUV is something with a rugged body on frame design and high / low range 4x4. This would be something like a 4Runner or Chevy Tahoe or Ford Bronco. However, there are “tweeners” which still have a unibody platform but it is more reinforced and has a longitudinal drivetrain…unlike a true crossover which is a light duty unibody and transverse drivetrain. The tweeners would be something like a Dodge Durango or Ford Explorer or most of the expensive European stuff like Land Rover Discovery, Mercedes GLE, etc.

I like full size rigs, but I’ll also throw a plug for the Ford Explorer. These things survive tons of idling, miles, and abuse in our police fleet. We tried Durangos and still have a number of them in service but the Explorers have been more reliable. Keep in mind that’s just my anecdotal experience and may not apply in all cases.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Can you get a V8 in the Explorer?

I know the Jeep GC and Durango you can, or at least could . . .

I always say go for a V8 when possible ... But I know the OP mentioned the "great mpg" ... My 5.7 in a crewcab p/u can get 25 mpg on the highway keeping up with traffic ... !

 

[D&D]

We are renting a Toyota RAV4 now and I’m hard to impress but I like it. It’s a Hybrid, 2.5 liter engine. I wouldn’t be that thrilled with it except for the fuel mileage. It’s getting 39mpg mixed driving. It’s maybe a little small but maybe not. They make a Highlander which looks like it gets 35mpg. It looks like Honda makes the CRV in a hybrid but that’s it for them. The CRV looks similar to the RAV4 in size. I think I’d prefer Honda or Toyota but I’m not brand loyal. Any other ones we should look at?

Subaru is worth looking at, the cross trek/forester would probably be close to the rav4. The Ascent is in the grand highlander range.

 

[FordTough]

We are renting a Toyota RAV4 now and I’m hard to impress but I like it. It’s a Hybrid, 2.5 liter engine. I wouldn’t be that thrilled with it except for the fuel mileage. It’s getting 39mpg mixed driving. It’s maybe a little small but maybe not. They make a Highlander which looks like it gets 35mpg. It looks like Honda makes the CRV in a hybrid but that’s it for them. The CRV looks similar to the RAV4 in size. I think I’d prefer Honda or Toyota but I’m not brand loyal. Any other ones we should look at?

My wife has the 2022 highlander hybrid and consistently gets 42 MPG. Our terrain here is flat so no hill or mountains to traverse. She drives about 20 -22 miles into work so the mileage is mostly city/highway. That is where hybrids shine for getting the best MPG. Counterintuitive, on the highway that MPG drops to 38 or so. Not using the electric motor much at that time. We get regular oil changes and swapped from Toyo tires to Michelins last year. The vehicle is comfortable for a 6 foot 5 inch person like me (still prefer my Ford truck though for more room), and is the XLE model that comes with a sunroof and leather power seats. I am impressed with the mileage and the quality. Remember that Toyota has been engineering hybrids for several years. They seem to have a good handle on that technology. I tried the RAV model and for my height and size was just not big enough. I am not sure of the current difference in cost but the move up to that highlander was worth it.

 

[Duds13]

Subaru is worth looking at, the cross trek/forester would probably be close to the rav4. The Ascent is in the grand highlander range.

and if the op is a lethbian, an even better choice. LOL!

 

[walnutman]

I don’t know what your budget is, but in 2015 we bought a Macan..still have it today. That car has been near flawless and has about 75k miles on it now. Still tight and still feels like a new car. The repairs which were minimal were done under warranty by the dealer who had great service with loaners.

Surprisingly affordable

 

[POGuy]

My wife has the 2022 highlander hybrid and consistently gets 42 MPG. Our terrain here is flat so no hill or mountains to traverse. She drives about 20 -22 miles into work so the mileage is mostly city/highway. That is where hybrids shine for getting the best MPG. Counterintuitive, on the highway that MPG drops to 38 or so. Not using the electric motor much at that time. We get regular oil changes and swapped from Toyo tires to Michelins last year. The vehicle is comfortable for a 6 foot 5 inch person like me (still prefer my Ford truck though for more room), and is the XLE model that comes with a sunroof and leather power seats. I am impressed with the mileage and the quality. Remember that Toyota has been engineering hybrids for several years. They seem to have a good handle on that technology. I tried the RAV model and for my height and size was just not big enough. I am not sure of the current difference in cost but the move up to that highlander was worth it.

We also opted for the Highlander Hybrid in 22, has been flawless in operation and reliability, and 36.5 mpg in almost any driving conditions. Which Michelins did you go with? My Toyo oems are bout due for replacement.

 

[walnutman]

Don't forget about Mazda. My Wife's car is a 2014 M6. She wrecked it twice. Has excellent power, been incredibly reliable and handles like an itchypussy.
Mazda has a large selection of SUV's. The technology that they come with is top notch. Radar cruise control, side and rear vehicle detection, automatic wipers.. they even speed up in heavier rain by themselves. On her car the headlights turn when you turn.. really cool and a simple, reliable mechanism that does it. With the radar cruise and the vehicle detection system, you can be behind someone on the highway.. as you approach, it slows down to your selected following distance. When you want to pass you put your turn signal on.. it checks for traffic in the left lane, you scoot over and since no one is in front of you it accelerates back to cruise speed. All without touching the brakes or fiddling with cruise control.

I would not touch a vehicle with a CVT or any type of battery that does more than simply start the car. That's just me. CVT's are crap and batteries just annoy me.

 

[walnutman]

A lot of EV and hybrids are being discontinued..

https://carbuzz.com/cars-dead-at-end-of-2026/?utm_source=CB-NL&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=CB-202604240800&user=bWljaGFlbC5ocmlzY2h1a0BnbWFpbC5jb20&lctg=20c939be8a77fe2876631b57b0c3a313b30781d5f344d967a18b367b69820227