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New mid to full size SUVs?

x10003q

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We finally got the opportunity to test drive a Ford Explorer ST.

@Tom K. wanted a review and so here it is:

Pros
  • Great use of space.
  • Color was a cool green.
  • Blends in well with all vehicles on the road, but sneaky fast and fun to drive.
  • ST package makes the truck basically borderline muscle car. The "Sports" mode takes that vehicle's speed performance to another level. 0-60 in well under 6 seconds, perhaps with after market mods, could take it to sub 5. Top line speed was stupid fast as well. Pushing from 40-75 took no effort. Definitely one of the best performing SUV's I've ever driven.

Cons
  • Wife is short and could not see over the sides of the hood which created minor hazard blind spots on anything on the road. For example, tried to turn around Y-turn and my wife could not see the ditch. We avoided it, but she truly couldn't see it.
  • Part shortage prevented standard options like back seat butt warmers. However we were not told that and had to ask. We don't know what else wasn't in the car that normally would have been.
  • Interior is basic trim. For $60k should be much nicer trim.
  • The sports mode brings the RPMs up to 2k to start and so not practical for everyday driving. It just feels like it wants to blast off when just regular driving. So the primary benefit of the sports mode in the ST seems less practical to use most of the time. You'd like run it in Normal or Eco mode instead which is noticeably different performance.
  • Online reviews were all over the place.

Overall impressed with the car for a number of reasons, but between the blind spot and lack of higher end interior features v. the $60k price tag we had to pass. The blind spot was really the main determinant. Just a no go in that case.

Also tested the MDX A Spec. That's our top contender right now however reading a lot of mixed reviews on Reddit/Edmunds/etc..anyone have any experience?


Mod edit: Added bullet points
There is an Explorer ST one street over about 600 feet from my house. There are plenty of trees and houses between our houses. I can here the ST every time the owner starts it. I can also here him leaving and returning home. It is very loud and has a distinct buzzy v6 sound. I love horsepower, but I do not know if I could deal with the ST because of the noise.
 

Tom K.

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cayenne? you get PAW on the, so up to 15 years warranty

Expand on PAW, please?

There is an Explorer ST one street over about 600 feet from my house. There are plenty of trees and houses between our houses. I can here the ST every time the owner starts it. I can also here him leaving and returning home. It is very loud and has a distinct buzzy v6 sound. I love horsepower, but I do not know if I could deal with the ST because of the noise.

That's a bummer. the Explorer ST was at the top of my long-term short list, but I hate loud exhausts.

In my car anyway. I absolutely LOVE the sound of somebody else's loud-ish V8 going through the gears! :golfclap:

EDIT: of course, I find it highly unlikely that the ST could possibly be as loud as an SRT Durango. Pretty sure that vehicle would trigger the noise sensors that some of the nanny police states are beginning to install, along with automatic ticketing....
 

Andy Mink

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the Explorer ST was at the top of my long-term short list
I may have mentioned this upthread but the passenger seat in the Explorer ST (or one of the higher end models) was a quick NOPE for @AKMINK. She couldn't get comfortable and there were limited adjustments. Same thing for a few others.

OTOH, the Jeep Grand Wagoneer with the 12+ way adjustment AND massage? Da bomb!
 

anders_nor

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Expand on PAW, please?



That's a bummer. the Explorer ST was at the top of my long-term short list, but I hate loud exhausts.

In my car anyway. I absolutely LOVE the sound of somebody else's loud-ish V8 going through the gears! :golfclap:

EDIT: of course, I find it highly unlikely that the ST could possibly be as loud as an SRT Durango. Pretty sure that vehicle would trigger the noise sensors that some of the nanny police states are beginning to install, along with automatic ticketing....
Porsche Approved Warranty

lets you expand the warranty up to 15 years for a small sum of $
Its a fully factory thing, not random 3rd party.
 
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noobski

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Jeep keeps getting bad reliability reviews. Since you liked your Tourareg and you thought about a Q7 with 3.0? When i had to move my mother here to assisted living by me i sold my 17 A6 and picked up a CPO 19 Q7 and love it. I wanted something i could tow the boat with (7700 lb towing) and fun to drive. we took it on two trip to Colorado this past season and with a Thule Vector on top we averaged about 24 mpg running 85 mph.

Wife has a 18 Q5 and it has been super solid and zero issues with the exception of replacing tires.

cayenne? you get PAW on the, so up to 15 years warranty

We like them both, but trying to stay away from that price range. It's amazing how expensive the cars we're looking at but the Audi/Porsche/BMW/Merc are north of $70k in some models. Also, not excited about repair costs when they arise.
 

anders_nor

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you only pay for oil service, brakes & stuff like that

kill a transfer? its freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
 
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noobski

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you only pay for oil service, brakes & stuff like that

kill a transfer? its freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
not tracking on this one...can you elaborate? Is this related to PAW? Thanks
 

anders_nor

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not tracking on this one...can you elaborate? Is this related to PAW? Thanks
yes,your only cost are basic maint like oil changes, brake pads, rotors and such.

any costly repair is coverd under warranty.

my boss has about 5 transmission (panamera turbo + misc 911s), 2 engines , 1 transfer, 1 rear diff, few axles, new head unit and navi pcm unit and a whole lot of squeak repair done to his cars

a lot of buddies has killed engines, diffs,transmissions axels power steering pumps or other stuff during track driving. latest addition was a new GT2RS transmission

I have grenaded 1 transfer case (cayenne v8 diesel) towing 9700lbs

all on misc porsches with PAW, all coverd.

without PAW, I wouldnt have had my cayenne, as if things break on thoose cars, it will be costly. it allows you to pick up a model with a few years and some miles so its cheap, and you dont have to worry
 
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noobski

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yes,your only cost are basic maint like oil changes, brake pads, rotors and such.

any costly repair is coverd under warranty.

my boss has about 5 transmission (panamera turbo + misc 911s), 2 engines , 1 transfer, 1 rear diff, few axles, new head unit and navi pcm unit and a whole lot of squeak repair done to his cars

a lot of buddies has killed engines, diffs,transmissions axels power steering pumps or other stuff during track driving. latest addition was a new GT2RS transmission

I have grenaded 1 transfer case (cayenne v8 diesel) towing 9700lbs

all on misc porsches with PAW, all coverd.

without PAW, I wouldnt have had my cayenne, as if things break on thoose cars, it will be costly. it allows you to pick up a model with a few years and some miles so its cheap, and you dont have to worry
interesting...so if one were to buy a 2018-2019 Cayenne (which is in the upper 50's low 60s range) one could buy PAW as well? Or is it only on new purchases? and then do you know off hand what PAW costs?
 
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noobski

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Quick Update:

Researched the Jeep Grand Cherokee L further based on reliability comments and results are mixed Consumer Reports likes the vehicle, but forums and other posts have mixed bag. I have a friend who works for a Chrysler dealership and so I leaned on him a bit. He's okay with the Jeep line and said the past few years have seen good vehicle reliability. Anecdotal, but he said of that company, he would be okay with Jeep. He told us though that that vehicle is often missing components right now due to supply shortages. We then asked one of the sales persons to quote a build-out and it's not going to come with the Electronic Limited Slip Differential at this time.

To me, given our intend to drive in snow and even camping/off-road, that's a deal killer alone. Am I wrong, but doesn't that component make a jeep a jeep? Or is it not a big deal? Anyway, that type of stuff just makes me feel nervous about future problems.

The MDX dealer (The one that treated my wife like crap) called us again today asking if still interested. So I emailed them back and low balled that used MDX I mentioned above by $5k. I doubt they'll even reply.

However It felt fun and very "2019" to try that. We'd rather pay market price to another dealer anyway than deal with them, but but if they took that, I'd jump on that car and we'd be okay with the a$$hole sales manager.

Glad we're in no rush.

Oh, and just found out today my AC is officially needing replacement (22 years old) and my furnace, which is running fine, but also 22 years old may be worth doing the whole package..so I got those to pay for next....

Being a grown-up is fun.
 

Andy Mink

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Oh, and just found out today my AC is officially needing replacement (22 years old) and my furnace, which is running fine, but also 22 years old may be worth doing the whole package..so I got those to pay for next....
Do them at the same time. Trust me.:geek::rolleyes:
 

anders_nor

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interesting...so if one were to buy a 2018-2019 Cayenne (which is in the upper 50's low 60s range) one could buy PAW as well? Or is it only on new purchases? and then do you know off hand what PAW costs?
yes! 2018-2019 in europe would still be under warranty (5 years) when warranty expires, you buy the PAW contract, veichle neeeds to be original, porsche dealer will help you

you can.. actually buy a 2017 and older veichle out of warranty, do a 111 point inspection, and get PAW. you can do PAW up to 15 years! and 200.000km (here)

the easiest thing is to buy used from a porsche dealer if you can, then they will help you with everything and the process, almost all veichles sold 2nd hand from porsche dealers here, that are out of warranty here when sold from a porsche dealer, will be sold with PAW

cost is about 1k USD per year, you can sign up for 1,2,3 years at a time. when its close to expiring you can continue the program without an inspection.

inspection 111 point is only needed if veichle is outside warranty, and you want it back in.


I bought my cayenne cheap from a VW dealer, then had to get original rims for it as owner had gotten cheap knockoffs, change a battery, a vent, then it passed the 111 point inspection. VW dealer had sold it to me with 6 months warranty, so they coverd that minor cost :)
After that inspection and a few minor fixes, car has been 100% perfect actually not a singe fault or issue, kinda ironic since it now has a full warranty.... you can fit 4 double skibags when you put the center seat down btw!
 

Coach13

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I finally got up to Ohio to see my son’s and his fiancé’s new Telluride. Beautiful vehicle with a huge amount of room

BA56A8B4-D719-4B06-A916-0909BF334D95.jpeg
 
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noobski

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The saga continues...so glad we don't have to rush into buying a car... the inventory is starting to improve, but the process is still slow and painful.

I thought I'd give a quick update.

Gave up on the Cherokee L due to reliability and part availability concerns (i.e key parts not available so they credit the car).

MDX had the pole position. Didn't like the local dealer so we paused it since we had a lot of options if we're willing to drive a couple hours away. She's having second thoughts because of the cost of the car though, so she went back to the drawing board and wanted to literally test every car in its class.

So she ...

Test drove the 4Runner - liked it but "trucky" to her. Turn radius is more like my suburban for parking as well, which was odd. I had a Gen 4 and don't recall it being so wide. Personally I of course like it more than her so I'm biased. She would put this truck (Limited) over the GX460 given the marginal cost. Truck is awesome though and in the running if she were to look at this v. GX460, but I think she's passing on this if she can figure out the Mazda purchase (noted below).

Test drove the Mazda CX-9. She really likes this car. I test drove it too and found it surprisingly fast and fun. Great features. Almost fully to Fully loaded is low to mid 40's as well compared to everything else we looked at in the 50's+. It kind of looks like an MDX (I put a picture below to show similarities). It's not an MDX of course, but frankly it's such a nice car, I, personally, struggle with the MDX pricing v. the CX-9. At the marginal $15k extra cost for MDX this CX-9 car seems to be a winner. She may order one this month.

(As an aside: if we didn't need/want the space we'd really look hard at the new CX-50 - we looked it over since the dealer had one...such a nice car. It has to be a competitor with the Outback, check it out if you're looking)

The consumer report reviews on CX-9 are among the highest as well. That drew her to try it. The reddit/KBB/consumer reviews all high as well.

Anyways....does anyone have feedback CX-9?

Here's her two options she likes: #1 Touring Plus in Blue or Black (I like both, but blue would be my pick on that model) or #2 Grand Touring in Blue (further below). I like them all, but the grand touring has an option for tan leather, heated 2nd row, heated steering wheel, 360 monitor, and a bunch of other upgrades. It's $4k more, so maybe worth it ($42k v $46k)? Not sure - appreciate any feedback on that.

Thanks everyone for following the journey!

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Tom K.

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Anyways....does anyone have feedback CX-9?

The ONLY negatives I hear about are mileage and resale.

But MDX mileage is probably worse.
 

PinnacleJim

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I recommended the CX-9 to a friend a few years ago. He loves it. That said, the CX-9 is an older design and due to be replaced. But if you like the vehicle, it is still a solid choice.
 

Philpug

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As a Mazda fan I have suggested the CX-9 as a consideration more than once to people looking at the vehicles in this segment.
 
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noobski

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As a Mazda fan I have suggested the CX-9 as a consideration more than once to people looking at the vehicles in this segment.
Yes, thank you. It was on the list but wife originally did not like the online pictures...pushed her to broaden the scope a bit and she's come around. I do think this is the match.

What do you love about Mazda? Do you have a CX-9 or similar?
 
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noobski

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The ONLY negatives I hear about are mileage and resale.

But MDX mileage is probably worse.
Do you mean "gas-mileage?"

I think it's probably a better than the MDX. My wife only puts on about 5k miles per year and so we're less worried about it, but this CX-9 is going to be lightyears better in mileage than her current Touareg either way.

Regarding resale: I did notice autotrader that used models were pretty reasonable compared to other brands. It's hard to gauge that right now though.
 

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