Smaller SUV / crossover / car recommendations for the wife?

My Cherokee (00 XJ) had a new electrical problem every time I turned my head around. Door locks, window switches, dash lights, blower motor, headlight wiring harness, ignition relay etc. Just relentless nickel and dime bullshit that I have not experienced with any other car I've owned.

I've always had a soft spot for Jeeps and have owned two of them. But objectively speaking they're pretty lousy vehicles. The Wranglers and GC's are good off road, probably better than any other SUV you could buy. Other than that they're pretty mediocre. But the rest of them (Compass, Renegade, new Cherokee) are just rebadged Fiat designs. That's pretty much all I have to say about that.

My daily driver is a '99 Toyota Camry. I drive just shy of 100 miles per day.

Bought the car 6 years ago for $1600 with 230k miles on it. Today, it has 389k miles. Original motor. Has never left me broke down on the road.

I maintain it like it should be and it just keeps running.

Would not consider myself a Japanese "nut hugger," but after the experience I have had with this car, it would be very very hard for me to ever consider going back to an American made car for my commuter.

Japanese manufacturing, culturally, places more importance on quality than most American brands. Most will not like to hear that, but it is true. It starts with their design and flows all the way through the manufacturing process and secondarily into service support and parts.

I work for a Toyota dealership. I would recommend a Toyota RAV4 or if you can find one used CHR. They hold the
value really well and have good safety features.

I just put a Lexus ES 300 with 360,000 in the junk yard a couple years ago. Bought it In 09 for 7500 and it had 140,000 miles on it. . Drove it until end of 16. Only did tires brakes and oil changes.......damn thing was paying me to drive it basically.

Great choice !! May never HAVE to replace it,unless she gets tired of the color

That sob will run to 750,000.

Spoil her, get a Lamborghini Urus

Scottie, that's a champagne appetite on a beer income.

Solid choice.

Although - we did have to replace the battery in our '17 last week, out of the blue. That was weird. So keep an ear out for it not turning over as brisk as it used to - likely a fluke though.

I have one for the daily family commute. Love not buying so much fuel and it's so nice to drive.

How many of those would be suitable for MX with a bumper mount for the bike? Or pull a trailer with a bike decently?

Would there be enough storage room for gear bag, etc?

And is there a hybrid version available ... with ample power.

( Skip the Lambo for now. At least until I hit the Lotto! )

2019 RAV4 Hybrid looking good.





The RAV4 Hybrid combines the oomph from a 176-horsepower, 2.5-liter 4-cylinder gas engine with the urgings of 118-hp front and 54-hp rear electric motors for a total of 219 system horsepower. Forget that, in this case, 176, 118, and 54 don’t add up to 348 horsepower; what’s important is that the system takes what it needs from the three propulsion sources to blend satisfyingly ample performance on demand with excellent fuel economy and low exhaust emissions. There’s nothing to plug in here—just gas and go a bunch of miles between fuel stops.

Official figures are not available yet, but Toyota expects the 2019 RAV4 hybrid to achieve an EPA-rated 39 mpg combined (41 mpg city, 37 mpg highway).

Pricing for the RAV4 Hybrid starts at $28,245 (including $1,045 destination) for the base LE and tops out at $36,745 for the range-topping Limited. The RAV4 Hybrid arrives at dealers in March 2019.

RIVALS
The Toyota RAV4 has a long list of rivals. We’ve narrowed it down to a few key competitors.

ALTERNATIVES
Honda CR-V
Mazda CX-5
Subaru Forester
Nissan Rogue

Honda CR-V (base price: $24,350): Arguably the RAV4’s main rival. Along with the Toyota, the CR-V is one of the original compact crossovers, and it remains one of the most well-rounded vehicles in the segment. The standard Honda Sensing suite of driver aids is comparable to the RAV4’s Toyota Safety Sense 2.0. The Honda also offers a little bit more interior space.

Mazda CX-5 (base price: $24,350): The CX-5 drives better than any compact crossover should. It also has one of the nicest exterior designs of any utility vehicle. The interior and tech are less impressive, but this Mazda will make you smile nonetheless.

Nissan Rogue (base price: $24,800): Nissan sells a lot of these, but we can’t figure out why. The Rogue isn’t a bad vehicle, but it doesn’t offer anything unique. The RAV4 hybrid is expected to get better fuel economy than the Nissan, and the Toyota has more personality across the board. We’re not used to the Toyota being the more exciting option, but here we are.