Can be new or 2015 & up w/under 15K miles.

I have a friend that has a 2009 BMW 335iX w/129K miles in the Denver area that keeps having $500+ check engine light issues (just got all the injectors swapped last week). The car IS paid off but I recommended starting to look at something like a CPO'd X1 (w/3.5 2015 and older).

So besides that and the current Subaru Forester XT which starts at $29K new and has 250hp, what are some higher HP SUVs? It will be driven in the mountains and anything less than 250hp would be a dog IMO.

 

Don't know that you'll find too much. Even the Ford Edge Sport starts at $41k My choice would be an SQ5, but it violates both of your secondary stipulations. 2014 models in the 40-70k miles range come in at just under $30k.

How frequent are these repairs? The cheapest car is often the one you already own, and $30k is a LOT of $500 repairs. I personally wouldn't want to step down from a well-equipped E90 to a tiny, plastic-fantastic X1. If it's in the shop every other week, that's obviously one thing. But if he's paid out $1500 over the past 12-18 months, well that's just the cost of maintaining an older performance car.

 

once a month there's a repair....after a $385 dollar bill to fix (not a dealer) a rear window that wouldn't go up, she's afraid to roll any window down now.... not a great way to live IMO.

 

Escape with available 2.0T? or the Kia Sportage SX also has a 2.0T, it's not super fast, and can be quite thirsty, but it is very smooth.

CR-V also has a stout turbo, but paired with CVT. Granted none of these will approach the 0 to 60 of a 335i.

Per Motor Trend:
Forester XT 6.8 seconds
Escape 7.3
CR-V 7.5
Sportage 8.1

 

might want to consider a kia soul, they're bigger than they used to be, or maybe the santa fe sport which is the 5 seat. neighbor has the 'ultimate' or whatever, and he loves punching it.

 

You can get a 2015 Acura RDX for around $25k. They have the V6 with 273 hp. Most magazines get about 6.2 seconds to 60.

 

The Soul probably doesn't have enough power for the class the OP is looking for.

 

 

It's what I'd likely go for.

OP, remotely consider the MKC 2.3T, 285 hp/305 lb-ft ...

 

You could pick up an NX200t for that too, though it won't hit the 250hp requirement, but it is close.

 

Nope, she hates those for some reason...I guess going from the E90 to the Soul is a bit much for her.

Thanks, I forgot about that! Excellent.


thanks, yep, I'm aware of this (for myself), a little too old for her tho.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Thanks, I'll take a look.

 

You would be surprised. The top trim level ! (yes the trim level is just an exclamation point lol) has a 201 hp 1.6 liter turbo engine, does 0-60 in 6.5 seconds.

I doubt the OP can handle the ego crush coming from a well optioned BMW to the hamster mobile though.

As somebody else said, the previous gen Rav4 was pretty damn quick, 3.5 V6, about 270hp, 0-60 in about six seconds flat. Of course that's now an old car, unless you find some granny kept example in mint shape with no miles. Then of course it doesn't have any of the latest infotainment crap everybody wants now days.

How much Hemi V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee can you buy for $25k??? Since the lead foot seems to be the priority, this is one of the cheapest ways into a newer SUV with a V8.

 

​​​​​​That's a full size SUV tho; looking for something smaller.And no, the hamstermobile wouldn't work.

 

Dude, Jeep Grand Cherokee is still a pretty trim SUV, I think of it as somebody wanting a Rav4 type of vehicle, but much nicer with more power.

2018 Rav4 Dimensions
184″ L x 73″ W x 66-68″ H

2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Dimensions
189-191″ L x 77″ W x 68-69″ H

So 5 to 7" longer, 4-5" wider, about the damn same height. A Jeep Grand Cherokee is not that much bigger size wise than a new Rav4. Yet you get all kinds of powertrain options, 4WD options that are much more capable off road than the Rav4, the Jeep Grand Cherokee has a damn awesome tow rating of 7200lbs with the base Hemi V8.

Yes the Jeep Grand Cherokee is a lot more $$$$ vs a Rav4, but then again, it is just that much more capable. Get the Hemi V8, it tows 7200lbs, it does off road stuff with a real transfer case, much better approach departure angles vs the Rav4. I mean the Rav4 is a great car in lower trims for about $25,000, option it up to $35-40k and it is a ****ty value IMO.

Also,

0-60 Rav 4, base 4 cylinder, 8.3 seconds 0-60. I don't mean to hate, but my old 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood with the stock 260hp LT1 V8, a car that weighed 4300lbs, would do 0-60 in about 6.5 to 7 seconds if you could get the rear tires to hook up, maybe a low 15, high 14 second second quarter mile. It ran a 14.4@98 mph after I swapped the rear end to a limited slip 3.73 ratio and modified the intake manifold, it felt a WHOLE lot quicker though just under normal throttle with that gear change.

Those are similar performance numbers for a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee, maybe a high 5 second 0-60 time, high 14 second quarter mile time, I do think the new Jeep Grand Cherokee would be quicker than my old 1995 Cadillac