Looking for a new CUV
07-20-24, 06:13 AM
#91
Lexus Test Driver
If high mpgs are a huge concern I'd go with a Tesla for him, at least it's a cool car for a youngster.
A Prius, not so much.
A Prius, not so much.
07-20-24, 06:49 AM
#92
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
TheRas900 - excellent post! too bad we don't have a like button.
07-20-24, 12:21 PM
#93
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
A year ago we leased our 16 year old son a Acura Integra. The original plan was for him to inherit our 2016 ES350 but that car started having significant problems that the dealer couldn't sort out. After going through the process, I'll share some thoughts.
1. Leasing was for sure the way to go. They are new drivers. He hits more potholes than the average bear and is still learning things not to do for insuring longevity. If he does have an accident, a bad Carfax isn't going to hurt you.
2. New was also the way to go if one can afford it. They have the most safety and technology equipment. He's also had to jump one friend's older CRV and pick up another who had a RAV4 which refused to move.
3. Since you are leasing, don't resign yourself to just Honda and Toyota products. Anything will be fine for a 3 year lease, and several will be cheaper, possibly safer and with better technology. Think of outliers like the VW Tiguan.
4. These are small CUVs, a CX5 might be better than a Kona at the margins of driving. Kids won't care. They will care, and be safer, with wireless CarPlay and blind spot video cams, both of which the Hyundai/Kia products have while Mazda has the worst infotainment in the industry.
5. Our setup is we lease the car and pay insurance, our son handles the cost of gas. The Acura has free maint for 2 years, so that's not in the mix. He is much happier in a 1.5 Acura which gets mid 30s on regular than the high teens of a Lexus V6.
6. We also got the car when he turned 16, so he could learn on that same vehicle. Otherwise, he would have learned on a Porsche or 6MT, neither being optimal like in your situation. It also helps to get those practice hours and not then shift to something without a backup cam, or with different dimensions.
If they are all equivalent on lease price, ask your child what is their favorite. Let them get something they enjoy. If they don't care, prioritize anything that will make their trips incrementally safer. And good luck!
1. Leasing was for sure the way to go. They are new drivers. He hits more potholes than the average bear and is still learning things not to do for insuring longevity. If he does have an accident, a bad Carfax isn't going to hurt you.
2. New was also the way to go if one can afford it. They have the most safety and technology equipment. He's also had to jump one friend's older CRV and pick up another who had a RAV4 which refused to move.
3. Since you are leasing, don't resign yourself to just Honda and Toyota products. Anything will be fine for a 3 year lease, and several will be cheaper, possibly safer and with better technology. Think of outliers like the VW Tiguan.
4. These are small CUVs, a CX5 might be better than a Kona at the margins of driving. Kids won't care. They will care, and be safer, with wireless CarPlay and blind spot video cams, both of which the Hyundai/Kia products have while Mazda has the worst infotainment in the industry.
5. Our setup is we lease the car and pay insurance, our son handles the cost of gas. The Acura has free maint for 2 years, so that's not in the mix. He is much happier in a 1.5 Acura which gets mid 30s on regular than the high teens of a Lexus V6.
6. We also got the car when he turned 16, so he could learn on that same vehicle. Otherwise, he would have learned on a Porsche or 6MT, neither being optimal like in your situation. It also helps to get those practice hours and not then shift to something without a backup cam, or with different dimensions.
If they are all equivalent on lease price, ask your child what is their favorite. Let them get something they enjoy. If they don't care, prioritize anything that will make their trips incrementally safer. And good luck!
07-21-24, 04:15 PM
#94
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
So i went and test drove a number of vehicles yesterday, here is what I test drove and my thoughts:
Mazda CX-5 - More of a driver's car than the others but while the interior had decent materials and the included options at this price point was really good I didn't love the ergonomics. The gauge cluster and infotainment screen just looked dated. Not bad but I had higher hopes.
Hyundai Tucson - I liked the exterior looks of this car and it was pretty comfortable and drove pretty nice overall. The interior was more modern looking than the Mazda and the lease incentives are pretty good for this car.
Hyundai Kona N-Line - This was a smaller car but the one I thought handled the best and had the best interior IMO. It would be my choice if I was looking for a cheap car for me but my son didn't love it and felt he wanted more space.
Hyundai Santa Cruz - This was a wild card and competitor to the Maverick. Interior was decent but it is one ugly truck/car. Drove fine but couldn't get over the looks and my son didn't like it.
Ford Maverick - I though this truck/car was one of the coolest looking cars we drove since it was really like a CUV with a truck bed vs. a real truck. It drove really nice and had the most hp. The downfall for me was the interior had so much plastic compared to the other ones we test drove that it just felt really cheap and it is because of the price range. The door panels looked kind of cool but it felt like the door panels and dash were carved out of plastic vs. just plastic pieces put together. I understand in this segment maybe that is what people want but for the price I was hoping a little better. There are also no good lease deals on this given the demand and the interest rate on the lease is basically 9% which puts the lease payment in a higher price bracket than where it should be. However, this was my son's favorite.
Kia Sportage - This CUV drove nice and had the most impressive interior IMO. The gauge cluster/infotainment screen was more modern than all of the cars and it had a normal shifter and had all of the safety features I would want (the Tucson and CX-5 did too). It leases pretty well and of the CUVs we looked at this was the one he liked most.
So around the $30k-$32k price range, right now we are leaning toward the Sportage; however, even though I said I wasn't going to look at the RAV4 and CRV, I am going to check those out given the reviews I have seen and it seems the RAV4 leases decently and the CRV seems to win all of the comparison tests.
I am heading to Italy for a couple weeks so when I come back I am hoping to make a quick decision.
.
Mazda CX-5 - More of a driver's car than the others but while the interior had decent materials and the included options at this price point was really good I didn't love the ergonomics. The gauge cluster and infotainment screen just looked dated. Not bad but I had higher hopes.
Hyundai Tucson - I liked the exterior looks of this car and it was pretty comfortable and drove pretty nice overall. The interior was more modern looking than the Mazda and the lease incentives are pretty good for this car.
Hyundai Kona N-Line - This was a smaller car but the one I thought handled the best and had the best interior IMO. It would be my choice if I was looking for a cheap car for me but my son didn't love it and felt he wanted more space.
Hyundai Santa Cruz - This was a wild card and competitor to the Maverick. Interior was decent but it is one ugly truck/car. Drove fine but couldn't get over the looks and my son didn't like it.
Ford Maverick - I though this truck/car was one of the coolest looking cars we drove since it was really like a CUV with a truck bed vs. a real truck. It drove really nice and had the most hp. The downfall for me was the interior had so much plastic compared to the other ones we test drove that it just felt really cheap and it is because of the price range. The door panels looked kind of cool but it felt like the door panels and dash were carved out of plastic vs. just plastic pieces put together. I understand in this segment maybe that is what people want but for the price I was hoping a little better. There are also no good lease deals on this given the demand and the interest rate on the lease is basically 9% which puts the lease payment in a higher price bracket than where it should be. However, this was my son's favorite.
Kia Sportage - This CUV drove nice and had the most impressive interior IMO. The gauge cluster/infotainment screen was more modern than all of the cars and it had a normal shifter and had all of the safety features I would want (the Tucson and CX-5 did too). It leases pretty well and of the CUVs we looked at this was the one he liked most.
So around the $30k-$32k price range, right now we are leaning toward the Sportage; however, even though I said I wasn't going to look at the RAV4 and CRV, I am going to check those out given the reviews I have seen and it seems the RAV4 leases decently and the CRV seems to win all of the comparison tests.
I am heading to Italy for a couple weeks so when I come back I am hoping to make a quick decision.
.
07-21-24, 04:25 PM
#95
Pole Position
is your son in a position to contribute the extra to buy up to the Maverick he would like from the lease payment you'd have funded for say the Kona?
That might give you and he the best of all worlds. He gets the vehicle he likes, you get the payment you wanted, AND he will feel much more inclined to take care of it and feel more of a sense of "ownership" (yes I know it is a lease) if he has his own money on the line.
That might give you and he the best of all worlds. He gets the vehicle he likes, you get the payment you wanted, AND he will feel much more inclined to take care of it and feel more of a sense of "ownership" (yes I know it is a lease) if he has his own money on the line.
07-22-24, 01:51 PM
#97
So i went and test drove a number of vehicles yesterday, here is what I test drove and my thoughts:
Mazda CX-5 - More of a driver's car than the others but while the interior had decent materials and the included options at this price point was really good I didn't love the ergonomics. The gauge cluster and infotainment screen just looked dated. Not bad but I had higher hopes.
Hyundai Tucson - I liked the exterior looks of this car and it was pretty comfortable and drove pretty nice overall. The interior was more modern looking than the Mazda and the lease incentives are pretty good for this car.
Hyundai Kona N-Line - This was a smaller car but the one I thought handled the best and had the best interior IMO. It would be my choice if I was looking for a cheap car for me but my son didn't love it and felt he wanted more space.
Hyundai Santa Cruz - This was a wild card and competitor to the Maverick. Interior was decent but it is one ugly truck/car. Drove fine but couldn't get over the looks and my son didn't like it.
Ford Maverick - I though this truck/car was one of the coolest looking cars we drove since it was really like a CUV with a truck bed vs. a real truck. It drove really nice and had the most hp. The downfall for me was the interior had so much plastic compared to the other ones we test drove that it just felt really cheap and it is because of the price range. The door panels looked kind of cool but it felt like the door panels and dash were carved out of plastic vs. just plastic pieces put together. I understand in this segment maybe that is what people want but for the price I was hoping a little better. There are also no good lease deals on this given the demand and the interest rate on the lease is basically 9% which puts the lease payment in a higher price bracket than where it should be. However, this was my son's favorite.
Kia Sportage - This CUV drove nice and had the most impressive interior IMO. The gauge cluster/infotainment screen was more modern than all of the cars and it had a normal shifter and had all of the safety features I would want (the Tucson and CX-5 did too). It leases pretty well and of the CUVs we looked at this was the one he liked most.
So around the $30k-$32k price range, right now we are leaning toward the Sportage; however, even though I said I wasn't going to look at the RAV4 and CRV, I am going to check those out given the reviews I have seen and it seems the RAV4 leases decently and the CRV seems to win all of the comparison tests.
I am heading to Italy for a couple weeks so when I come back I am hoping to make a quick decision.
.
Mazda CX-5 - More of a driver's car than the others but while the interior had decent materials and the included options at this price point was really good I didn't love the ergonomics. The gauge cluster and infotainment screen just looked dated. Not bad but I had higher hopes.
Hyundai Tucson - I liked the exterior looks of this car and it was pretty comfortable and drove pretty nice overall. The interior was more modern looking than the Mazda and the lease incentives are pretty good for this car.
Hyundai Kona N-Line - This was a smaller car but the one I thought handled the best and had the best interior IMO. It would be my choice if I was looking for a cheap car for me but my son didn't love it and felt he wanted more space.
Hyundai Santa Cruz - This was a wild card and competitor to the Maverick. Interior was decent but it is one ugly truck/car. Drove fine but couldn't get over the looks and my son didn't like it.
Ford Maverick - I though this truck/car was one of the coolest looking cars we drove since it was really like a CUV with a truck bed vs. a real truck. It drove really nice and had the most hp. The downfall for me was the interior had so much plastic compared to the other ones we test drove that it just felt really cheap and it is because of the price range. The door panels looked kind of cool but it felt like the door panels and dash were carved out of plastic vs. just plastic pieces put together. I understand in this segment maybe that is what people want but for the price I was hoping a little better. There are also no good lease deals on this given the demand and the interest rate on the lease is basically 9% which puts the lease payment in a higher price bracket than where it should be. However, this was my son's favorite.
Kia Sportage - This CUV drove nice and had the most impressive interior IMO. The gauge cluster/infotainment screen was more modern than all of the cars and it had a normal shifter and had all of the safety features I would want (the Tucson and CX-5 did too). It leases pretty well and of the CUVs we looked at this was the one he liked most.
So around the $30k-$32k price range, right now we are leaning toward the Sportage; however, even though I said I wasn't going to look at the RAV4 and CRV, I am going to check those out given the reviews I have seen and it seems the RAV4 leases decently and the CRV seems to win all of the comparison tests.
I am heading to Italy for a couple weeks so when I come back I am hoping to make a quick decision.
.
It's a bummer the Maverick leases so poorly as that sounds like the preferred option. However, this is a good primer for judging value in advance of the even more expensive college search.
07-22-24, 07:14 PM
#99
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
is your son in a position to contribute the extra to buy up to the Maverick he would like from the lease payment you'd have funded for say the Kona?
That might give you and he the best of all worlds. He gets the vehicle he likes, you get the payment you wanted, AND he will feel much more inclined to take care of it and feel more of a sense of "ownership" (yes I know it is a lease) if he has his own money on the line.
That might give you and he the best of all worlds. He gets the vehicle he likes, you get the payment you wanted, AND he will feel much more inclined to take care of it and feel more of a sense of "ownership" (yes I know it is a lease) if he has his own money on the line.
One thing that is interesting is that I just looked and called a Nissan dealer and I could get a decent Frontier for under $400 a month with a higher MSRP than the Maverick and it's more of a real truck. Not the greatest truck but we may check one out.
I really like the Sportage and think it is nicer than the RAV4/CRV. I also noticed that GM is doing some really good 2 year leases on their small CUVs. Might be something to consider so you don't have a leased car sitting if your son can't take it to college. However, sounds like you might have another child ready to drive around that same time.
It's a bummer the Maverick leases so poorly as that sounds like the preferred option. However, this is a good primer for judging value in advance of the even more expensive college search.
It's a bummer the Maverick leases so poorly as that sounds like the preferred option. However, this is a good primer for judging value in advance of the even more expensive college search.
We looked at the CX-50 and even though the CX-50 has more space inside we liked the CX-5 better.
07-23-24, 02:34 AM
#100
07-23-24, 07:19 AM
#101
Lexus Champion
The frontier sounds like a really really good deal actually......
07-23-24, 07:52 AM
#103
07-23-24, 07:56 AM
#104
Lexus Champion
