To my oil buddies and those who cant wait til I move on from the SUV talk, the verdict is in and to my pleasant surprise the wife chose the toyota cross.
Pros
Number one and deal breaker is I am 6'4 well over 250 and it is easy in easy out for me and comfortable driving. This is not the case in so many vehicles, tbh I was very surprised by this.
Simple interior is a plus and minus, I like the simple but they can do better imo.
Handling is hands down better then rav 4, I was sure we were buying a Subaru or rav 4 start of day, test drove cross and rav 4, the cross drives better all the way around, especially up a steep hill and stop and go.
NON DI Turbo, but is direct injection
Only 24k new, common now sweet. Holds value big time.
Cons- MPG's less then rav 4
Under Powered
No awd standard like the subaru's
Simple interior
cvt longevity and mpg
Mind you my "issue" with CVT is longevity and lies about mpg's, I actually like the function especially in low rpm's. I live up a steep hill, we test drove the rav 4 up the hill it was gear hunting and spinning, crazy. The cross I stopped many times and started, just butter smooth up steep grade. The largest difference the modern rav 4 ain't your daddy's rav 4, it is wider and clunky, I was very surprised how poor it drove. Mind you I still believe that trans/engine combo is a winner in general, but we parked the rav 4 next to our rav 4 and you can see it is wider. The facts are only an inch wider, but the drive is very very different. Very clunky like a Tacoma, now we are truck guys we are used to it, but I kid you not my ram is smoother driving then the new rav 4.
Now, if it were me and I was in this sub compact SUV market for me, I would have likely went with Hyundai Kona, similar engine, 8 speed trans, and a 10 year warranty for the same exact price. But as
@Hemi395 and
@U&A can attest, when dealing with women they will have different criteria then you, and all you can hope for is an ok Decision, maybe not the best choice for you, and I think I accomplished that. The wife has a small list and toyota is on it and hyundai isnt is on it, nothing American is on it sad to say, but of note the cross is made in usa. Corey in general Toyota cvt's are good?
Hope this helps someone in the sub compact SUV market.