Wife and I are now starting the process of buying a new car. At present, we have a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2007 Chevy Impala, and a 2000 Chevy Silverado. The one most likely to go is the Jeep, as, for a backup daily driver, it just doesn't have good enough fuel economy (17 average), and now that we have the truck, we seldom need it for its utility.
With a baby on the way, my though process lead me towards replacing the car with something that sits a little higher for an easier in and out with car seats, etc. As it is, getting into a car is a drop down, but getting into a small SUV would be akin to just sliding in, not up or down. We're definitely not in the market for a Yukon or anything monstrous.
Requirements for the new vehicle are:
-AWD (Though I'd be fine with a switchable 4wd system, the wife would prefer to not have to mess with it.)
-Good MPG, better than 20 average, and hopefully much higher.
-Alloy wheels (or better. I am really not a hubcap guy, they just make a nice new car look cheap, IMO.)
-Under $25k (not the largest budget, but it does seem to fit our front runner, and some others)
At this point, the front runner in our discussions has been the Chevy Equinox. Most of our commuting is easy flowing 60mph traffic. With the 4-cylinder/6-speed transmission, these cars are supposed to be able to achieve close to 30mpg hwy. I figure it close to 26 on average with our typical route, so nearly 10mpg better than the Jeep.
It won't be used to tow. Or anything heavy duty.
As a side note, we are/were considering parting with the Impala and the Jeep, picking up the Equinox new, and then buying a low cost commuter that gets better than 22mpg average for those days where we don't car pool. As it is, we commute ~30 miles each way, and we could quickly decrease some fuel expense by moving some cars around.
At this point, we are mostly leaning towards new. However, there is an 05 floating around that is much less expensive, but would net about 5 mpg better than the Jeep, which might be enough. At this point, our searching is in the early stages. We're in no rush to buy unless there is a stellar deal to be had. The new Equinox that we are looking at is $26k sticker. I was hoping to find a good discount on a 2012 model, but have had no luck there. Used 2011s with 30k+ go for $22k, which, IMO, is a waste as brand new is a mere $4k more.
I'd like to hear of any other models I should consider. The Forester looks close, but my wife is not too fond of them (though that may change with a test drive). I don't think the 2013 model looks too bad, but I absolutely will not buy a vehicle if the wife isn't on board with the idea. In all likelihood, she'll be in this vehicle 100% of the time, and I'll drive the other car when carpooling doesn't work out.
TLDR:
What else should I consider aside from a 2013 Equinox?
With a baby on the way, my though process lead me towards replacing the car with something that sits a little higher for an easier in and out with car seats, etc. As it is, getting into a car is a drop down, but getting into a small SUV would be akin to just sliding in, not up or down. We're definitely not in the market for a Yukon or anything monstrous.
Requirements for the new vehicle are:
-AWD (Though I'd be fine with a switchable 4wd system, the wife would prefer to not have to mess with it.)
-Good MPG, better than 20 average, and hopefully much higher.
-Alloy wheels (or better. I am really not a hubcap guy, they just make a nice new car look cheap, IMO.)
-Under $25k (not the largest budget, but it does seem to fit our front runner, and some others)
At this point, the front runner in our discussions has been the Chevy Equinox. Most of our commuting is easy flowing 60mph traffic. With the 4-cylinder/6-speed transmission, these cars are supposed to be able to achieve close to 30mpg hwy. I figure it close to 26 on average with our typical route, so nearly 10mpg better than the Jeep.
It won't be used to tow. Or anything heavy duty.
As a side note, we are/were considering parting with the Impala and the Jeep, picking up the Equinox new, and then buying a low cost commuter that gets better than 22mpg average for those days where we don't car pool. As it is, we commute ~30 miles each way, and we could quickly decrease some fuel expense by moving some cars around.
At this point, we are mostly leaning towards new. However, there is an 05 floating around that is much less expensive, but would net about 5 mpg better than the Jeep, which might be enough. At this point, our searching is in the early stages. We're in no rush to buy unless there is a stellar deal to be had. The new Equinox that we are looking at is $26k sticker. I was hoping to find a good discount on a 2012 model, but have had no luck there. Used 2011s with 30k+ go for $22k, which, IMO, is a waste as brand new is a mere $4k more.
I'd like to hear of any other models I should consider. The Forester looks close, but my wife is not too fond of them (though that may change with a test drive). I don't think the 2013 model looks too bad, but I absolutely will not buy a vehicle if the wife isn't on board with the idea. In all likelihood, she'll be in this vehicle 100% of the time, and I'll drive the other car when carpooling doesn't work out.
TLDR:
What else should I consider aside from a 2013 Equinox?