Hi Depakote,
Been following you on the med boards for a while. I'm also shopping for an SUV. It's not as easy as I'd like, mostly because I'm really tall here's what happens:
a) if you don't want an Escalade or Denali, ($$$or the like $$$), legroom can be an issue, (read: ginormous SUVs are good fosurer legroom, short of that, I'm not impressed)
b) because, they've added this thing since the days of the 1991 Grand Cherokee when I was in HS. It's called a 3rd row. I'm not what it's for, or the concept behind it, but all I can see is that it serves is to push up row two somewhere near my rectum.
It's annoying. And thus, pushes row one somewhere closer to the pedals. Either is not a good idea as I want leg room, and want my 95% height young boys to have legroom for the next 5-7 years. I'm tired of asking the little guy to sit behind me. My father's 300C SRT has tons of legroom, can't I find that in an SUV for less than 45K? Not so easy...
What this means to you, who may not be 6'4'', is that I've sat in A LOT of SUVs over the last month.
Top of my list right now is the Volvo XC90. I like it. A lot. I don't really like the 40K price tag but what can I do.
Look at a Chevy is what I can do. The Traverse is cool, big, but again, with that third row, nothing special in the back seat, and american made bells and whistles aren't really like overseas bells and whistles. IMHO.
The Equinox is a nice smaller Chevy. These are less $$$ than their overseas counterparts.
But remember, these cars are more muscle than looks.
I've had 3 Jeeps of late, 2 Grand Cherokees and a Liberty. I just can't bring myself to drive a car that has 14 MPG, but I do like the look of the 2011 Grand Cherokees. MPG though... 10 less than a Model T Ford. I mean, gimme 25 and I'm happy. I do like that Grand Cherokees will power your lighter (i.e. my mophie iphone charger) when the key isn't in the ignition. Few other cars do that. Worth price of admission.
Ford Edge just because I was curious and my best buddy has it. It has, essentially, every gadget you could want. The thing is a thumb drive on wheels. That panoramic roof is something else though, LOVE that. But to get the car WITH that, I kept seeing 36K$+. I balked.
I'm convinced the Q7 Audi is the sharpest SUV on the road. Aside from a Jacked Up Cayenne. It's also probably about 10-20K more than a residents PGY-1 salary...
Honda pilot is cool, but too large for the same leg room as a Nissan Altima if you get my drift.
What about a CR-V? For a smaller SUV, that might be ok for a ride during residency?
GMC has the Acadia, I don't mind it. The Acura MDX, again, no true SUV like leg room. But nice toys.
Toyota has a cool SUV, Highlander. Has a couple nice toys when loaded, but look at a bare Venza crossover if you want to save a bit.
Oh, if you can get the smaller Tiguan VW, you might be happy. Those cars last. My VW hasn't given me an ounce of problems aside from me driving over a pothole in Miami Beach and bending the rim into what look liked a pretzel. My fault though. Or, er, Miami's fault.
Good luck shopping!
D712
