I am shopping for a midsize SUV and have looked at Ford Edge, Hyundai, Kia Sorrento, and Chevy Equinox.

I am very heavily leaning toward getting the 2012 Chevy Equinox, seems to have everything I am looking for and the 4 cylinder (dont haul much of anything) gets 32 mpg highway.

I can get the Equinox for $28,600 after tax. I can spend up to low - mid $30s and want to know if I should be looking at any other cars. I f I can find something good of a hogher end brand, I am totally open to it. Are there great SUVs that will fit into my price point that are maybe 1-2 yrs old for low mileage?

Any ideas and thoughts would be most appreciated as I am looking tomake a decision on this in the coming few weeks.

Thank you.

 

My neighbor has the edge, its a great car. I would personally wait a little bit till the Ecoboost model comes out 240hp 270tq and 31mpg while the equinox has a anemic 2.4 with 182 hp. 60hp and 100tq is a BIG difference.

 

Might want to look at Toyota Highlander, nice car, good quality, decent price, and great resale!

Or Venza as well.

 

What's wrong with RAV4? Is it much smaller than Edge? My coworker just got one yesterday decently loaded with V6 and AWD for less than $28K out the door.

 

Some SUV's you might want to check out:

Toyota Venza (good gas mileage and a good amount of room and IMO, drives more like a car)
Toyota 4runner (Have one in our garage, freicken love driving it, only nets like 20mpg though)
Chevy Tahoe (IMO, they look good, and the newer ones don't have too many issues from what ive heard)
Ford Edge (Come with some good features for the price)
Toyota Highlander (Reliable and good gas mileage)
Lexus RX (Should be able to find one in your price range used...luxury and reliability!)

I love the 4Runner we have...it has a lot of room, no issues so far, interior is solid and the thing is a beast. I just wish we could have found one in Blizzard White Pearl..

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The styling is a little weird, but you can check out the lower-line versions of the Nissan Murano. The Honda Pilot is also a good choice...it has been very reliable and well-built, though the interior fit/finish on the latest model is not quite as good as on previous versions. For your price-range, check out the lower-line versions of the Pilot. The Subaru Forester and six-cyliner Outback also are worth considering (the four-cylinder Outback is a little slow), but, with the Outback, wait a couple of weeks till the 2012's come out....the 2010/2011 model had issues. The Outback, in its driving and road-manners, will be more car-like than the others mentioned here.

I've also always liked the Honda CR-V for its superb build quality and fit/finish, but, its power level, like some of the non-turbo 2.5L Subarus, is a little low.

Most of the other choices posted here by other CL members are good ones....I agree with most of them, but keep in mind that the Toyota 4Runner is primarily designed for off-road, which you may not need. And the aforementioned Chevy Tahoe is BIG...it is not a mid-sized SUV.

This is all assuming, of course, that you don't do heavy towing or go off-road in tough conditions. If you DO, then, of course, you will want a conventional truck-based frame-rail SUV, not a car-based one like most of the ones mentioned here.

 

One of my friends has a GMC Terrain (same as Equinox) from the first year. The vehicle has been in the shop frequently for interior and exterior fit-and-finish problems. Nothing major mechanical, but stuff keeps breaking or falling off.

My sister and brother-in-law have a new Edge. They're retired and have taken it on two cross-country trips since this summer and are pleased with it. I looked at theirs and wondered if the center console intrudes in the leg / knee space, especially of the front passenger.

It looks like you're looking for a 5-passenger crossover. If you don't need 4WD/AWD, drive a lot of miles, and MPG is important you may want to consider the Prius or new Prius V (wagon). I bought a 2011 Prius this summer and the passenger space for 4 persons is quite good. The cargo space is OK with the rear seat up and pretty flexible with the seat folded. I recently hauled a bicycle and bunch of other stuff to Ohio and will be throwing down a tarp and loading the back with bags of yard waste to drop at township hall for composting this coming weekend. I may have to make an extra trip to the composter this weekend to haul everything, but getting 50 MPG on my 85 mile daily commute is quite welcome.

If you're worried about what people will think of you for driving a Prius, just add a couple stickers to the back window: NRA member and PETA - People Eating Tasty Animals.