35 to 40k to on a Mid-Size SUV - Which one?

[Danman]

the lexus rx350 is an awesome car for what it is. we can throw everything in it and still have room. it's plush and comfortable, not that fun to drive, but who cares when you're buying an SUV not meant to go offroad?

No Lexus dealership here in town, closest one is 180 miles away. Who would of thought.

We decided to definitely look at the Lincoln MKX, the 2010 has some great incentives right now.

I still like the Volvo, just don't know where the company is going.

 

[PricklyPete]

I would definitely check out the Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX and the new 2011 Jeep Cherokee. I generally don't like CUV's, but from the reviews I read, the Q5 is the best "all around" in the segment...but will likely cost you more than 40K with any options. Worth a test drive though...really nicely put together (sat in one when we bought my wife's A4...but didn't test drive).

 

[PricklyPete]

No Lexus dealership here in town, closest one is 180 miles away. Who would of thought.

We decided to definitely look at the Lincoln MKX, the 2010 has some great incentives right now.

I still like the Volvo, just don't know where the company is going.

The MKX/Edge have been completely worked over for 2011...so make sure to test drive both a 2010 and a 2011 before making any decision on one. The 2011 is much more impressive in my mind (although admittedly I have not been in one).

 

[Danman]

Went and test drove the 2011 Jeep GC Laredo. Very nice, but didn't have the options we wanted. Only issue is that the cargo space is rather limited.

Also test drove a Cadillac SRX. Very small and not that exciting for the money. The Ford/Lincoln dealership is going to have a 2011 MKX for us to drive today.

 

[PricklyPete]

Went and test drove the 2011 Jeep GC Laredo. Very nice, but didn't have the options we wanted. Only issue is that the cargo space is rather limited.

Also test drove a Cadillac SRX. Very small and not that exciting for the money. The Ford/Lincoln dealership is going to have a 2011 MKX for us to drive today.

Definitely let us know what you think of the 2011 MKX...and you might want to try the Edge just to compare how much the MKX premium is worth it.

The new GC seems to be a great new vehicle...but if you're looking for space/amenities it won't win. If you're looking for off-roading, that's a different story.

 

[Danman]

Haven't updated in awhile, but here's were we are at:

- Test drove an 10 MKX. Pretty nice, but nothing to call home about compared to the '11 MKX/11 Edge.

- '11 MKX/Edge - Holy crap. What an internal re-design compared to the '10s. The MyTouch stuff is amazing. I think out of the two of them, we are leaning towards the Edge due to the high cost of the MKX (a little out of our price range with the options we want)

So right now, this is our short list (the Edge and MDX are tied for one right now):

- 11 Edge
- 10 MDX
- 11 Volvo XC60

Between the Edge or MDX, not sure. I have a Acura TL that's proven to me that Acura/Honda makes a solid car. I know several people that are very happy with their MDX's. The Edge does have the technical favor however, but the MDX is a bigger SUV which we like. Hard decision.

 

[Pantoot]

Between the Edge or MDX, not sure. I have a Acura TL that's proven to me that Acura/Honda makes a solid car. I know several people that are very happy with their MDX's. The Edge does have the technical favor however, but the MDX is a bigger SUV which we like. Hard decision.

We bought an MDX a couple of months ago, the third row is what swayed it for my wife. We went for the advance/ent package. She is really happy with it, let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Danman]

We bought an MDX a couple of months ago, the third row is what swayed it for my wife. We went for the advance/ent package. She is really happy with it, let me know if you have any questions.

What's your average gas mileage? What did your wife come from, another SUV? Do you haul any other people or is it just you and the wife? Wondering how functionality is with the MDX.

 

[KIAman]

Unless you really want the Acura badge, go with the Pilot if you are looking at the MDX. The RDX is tiny as hell as well as the previous generation BMW X3. The new X3 are midsize but still on the smaller size.

For that money, I would get the Ford Flex Ecoboost. Plenty of room for all your needs and a powerful 350HP turbo engine with decent mileage.

 

[Pantoot]

What's your average gas mileage? What did your wife come from, another SUV? Do you haul any other people or is it just you and the wife? Wondering how functionality is with the MDX.

We get around 19mpg, and that is almost all city. She came from a Honda Odyssey. Yeah, it is the people mover, so the kids in the back, and sometimes 3rd row.

Be aware with the third row seat up there is very little cargo space, we had to cram the soccer team bench and our chairs back there on saturday.

She looked at the Pilot, she bought the Acura. I don't think the badge had anything to do with it, she was coming from a Honda and she liked it, but I guess there is more difference between the two than just the badge? I wasn't with her when she looked at the Honda (or when she bought the Acura for that matter) so I cannot comment on what made her choose. Her final decision was between the new Infiniti QX56 and the MDX, and she chose the MDX. I think that maybe I helped sway her away from the Infiniti...that sucker is huge (and about $20k more.)

 

[Doggiedog]

I know you are looking at SUVs but the FX35 mileage with the VQ engine must be piss poor. I was getting 17MPG in my G35 RWD. I used to have the older MDX and it was OK. We had some problems with it though like the transmission recall, blown lights, blown speaker, electrical but overall it met expectations. I did like the transmission on it. I thought it worked much better than the GS300 auto we had. It was much more intelligent. The one thing I really disliked about the MDX were the brakes. The initial feel on normal stops was good but in an emergency situation, there is a lot of fade which you really need to worry about. I think it may apply to the new MDX as I was rear ended by a new model Pilot earlier this year.

Like others recommended, I would look at the Q5. My friend has one along with a Cayenne S and he loves the Q5.

 

[oddyager]

I would love to hear your experiences with the '11 Edge. I'm in a similar boat now and unfortunately the past few Fords I've had (Focus and Ranger) were terrible vehicles.

 

[Danman]

I would love to hear your experiences with the '11 Edge. I'm in a similar boat now and unfortunately the past few Fords I've had (Focus and Ranger) were terrible vehicles.

Was really impressed with it but I'm considered about a first model year with all of the technical components. Keep in mind, everything is powered from the main LCD or the two LCDs in the dash.


Hard decision, but definitely test drive the Edge/MKX if you're in the market.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I want the 2.0T Audi Q5, haha.

 

[desy]

Surprised by the Ranger? not surprised if the Focus was older than a 2003

 

[Danman]

Well, we are pretty much set on the MDX. After trying to go to the Lincoln dealership last night and blowing us off, that solidified that the local Ford/Lincoln dealership doesn't want our business.

Now the fun - contacting a lot of Acura dealers to see what the best price is!

 

[Pantoot]

Now the fun - contacting a lot of Acura dealers to see what the best price is!

If you haven't seen it already, this might give you a good idea at where to start for pricing:
http://amexnetwork.zag.com/new-car.html

 

[RKS]

If you haven't seen it already, this might give you a good idea at where to start for pricing:
http://amexnetwork.zag.com/new-car.html

That does give you a good starting point but in some cases you may be able to do better especially if you don't want to haggle.

 

[ZipSpeed]

I'm liking the 2011 Edge quite a bit. Too bad the Sport model doesn't have HIDs whereas the Limited does. A deal breaker for me.

 

[PricklyPete]

I'm liking the 2011 Edge quite a bit. Too bad the Sport model doesn't have HIDs whereas the Limited does. A deal breaker for me.

Well the 2WD with the base engine is faster than the Sport with its AWD and bigger engine...so maybe not that much of a loss.

 

[ZipSpeed]

AWD is a must for these ugly Canadian winters. I can live with a Limited AWD I suppose. I just configured a mostly loaded model for $46k CDN including taxes. Pretty amazing considering how much equipment you're getting for the price.

 

[Danman]

So we went a few days ago to test drive the MDX and MKX again. Well, test drove the MDX. Love it, but we wanted to just make sure the MDX was right compared to the MKX/Edge. Went to our local crappy Ford/Lincoln dealership.

Once we were there, the sales guy that we met last week (who never called us back to schedule a test drive) was there and let us look at their single MKX. I asked if we could take it for a test drive and he stated "Oh, it's closing time for us - we closed at 7PM." It was 7:05. He then said he'll check with his manager and see if we can go. He walks around the corner (while my wife was watching him) and just looks at someone else. Comes back and says his manager won't allow him and we'll have to come back! They lost the sale - never doing business with the local Ford dealership ever again.

We'll.....we picked up our new MDX last night. Worked out a great deal with a dealer about 2.5 hours away. Options we wanted with the color combination. Here she is by our old Escape.

Love it.

 

[TraumaRN]

So we went a few days ago to test drive the MDX and MKX again. Well, test drove the MDX. Love it, but we wanted to just make sure the MDX was right compared to the MKX/Edge. Went to our local crappy Ford/Lincoln dealership.

Once we were there, the sales guy that we met last week (who never called us back to schedule a test drive) was there and let us look at their single MKX. I asked if we could take it for a test drive and he stated "Oh, it's closing time for us - we closed at 7PM." It was 7:05. He then said he'll check with his manager and see if we can go. He walks around the corner (while my wife was watching him) and just looks at someone else. Comes back and says his manager won't allow him and we'll have to come back! They lost the sale - never doing business with the local Ford dealership ever again.

We'll.....we picked up our new MDX last night. Worked out a great deal with a dealer about 2.5 hours away. Options we wanted with the color combination. Here she is by our old Escape.

Love it.

That totally sucks how that Ford dealership treated you. Too bad you didn't have the dealership like the one near me. When I bought my Fusion Hybrid, my dealer delivered my car to me at my job on my lunch break. Talk about awesome Free shuttle when I take my car for oil changes...just definitely a good all around experience.

Nice looking new car, the MDX is honestly the only Acura that I think looks halfway decent although I still don't like the rear of it that much. Congrats on the new car

 

[ponyo]

Congrats on the MDX. The internet and the current tough economic times is weeding out lot of bad dealers but still far too of them exist.

If that Ford dealership was a luxury brand like Mercedes, Porsche, etc. they would've have allowed you to take the car home for the weekend to test drive at your leisure and return the car on Monday. My cousin used to bring home all kinds of luxury and sports cars for the weekend.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Congrats! One may be in my future also.