Topic: 5 Best Midsize SUVS to Consider in 2023

[PJungnitsch]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

[Dante]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

[Jaeger]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True. It just strains the concept of "midsize" when 3 row SUVs are the standard.

[Fobroader]

^^ You can get those Tauri readings  a moment in time if you keep resetting the  fuel mileage gauge. Downhill for instance.

My Jeep would often read 3L/100kms.......when I reset the mileage meter on a highway trip. Using this kind of made-up math, you can make any vehicle get Prius levels of mileage.

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

[sailor723]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

What always worried me about those loans is you end up making 'new car' level payments on a 7 or 8 year old car that may also be costing you significant $$ in repairs to keep on the road.  The only way they ever made sense to me is if the interest rate was at or near zero (free money).

[Jaeger]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

What always worried me about those loans is you end up making 'new car' level payments on a 7 or 8 year old car that may also be costing you significant $$ in repairs to keep on the road.  The only way they ever made sense to me is if the interest rate was at or near zero (free money).

Even with free money, 7 or 8 years is a long time and happens - I wouldn't choose to be tied to payments for that long. You have to be REALLY sure you're happy keeping the car for that term, and I can't see that far into the future.

[sailor723]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

What always worried me about those loans is you end up making 'new car' level payments on a 7 or 8 year old car that may also be costing you significant $$ in repairs to keep on the road.  The only way they ever made sense to me is if the interest rate was at or near zero (free money).

Even with free money, 7 or 8 years is a long time and happens - I wouldn't choose to be tied to payments for that long. You have to be REALLY sure you're happy keeping the car for that term, and I can't see that far into the future.

True but if you are in a position to liquidate some investments and pay out the loan at any time should conditions change it can make sense.  For someone younger who is buying based on payments and their cashflow I think it could be something they might regret when they are making relatively large payments on an "old" car.

[Jaeger]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

What always worried me about those loans is you end up making 'new car' level payments on a 7 or 8 year old car that may also be costing you significant $$ in repairs to keep on the road.  The only way they ever made sense to me is if the interest rate was at or near zero (free money).

Even with free money, 7 or 8 years is a long time and happens - I wouldn't choose to be tied to payments for that long. You have to be REALLY sure you're happy keeping the car for that term, and I can't see that far into the future.

True but if you are in a position to liquidate some investments and pay out the loan at any time should conditions change it can make sense.  For someone younger who is buying based on payments and their cashflow I think it could be something they might regret when they are making relatively large payments on an "old" car.

Oh for sure - if you're in a position to pay out the full remainder of the loan at any time, then zero downside.  But I suspect that not many people taking out 7 or 8 year car loans have this ability.

[OliverD]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

What always worried me about those loans is you end up making 'new car' level payments on a 7 or 8 year old car that may also be costing you significant $$ in repairs to keep on the road.  The only way they ever made sense to me is if the interest rate was at or near zero (free money).

Even with free money, 7 or 8 years is a long time and happens - I wouldn't choose to be tied to payments for that long. You have to be REALLY sure you're happy keeping the car for that term, and I can't see that far into the future.

Depending on the car though, you'd probably have equity in it the last few years of the term. So not a complete disaster if you need to then get something else.

[sailor723]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

What always worried me about those loans is you end up making 'new car' level payments on a 7 or 8 year old car that may also be costing you significant $$ in repairs to keep on the road.  The only way they ever made sense to me is if the interest rate was at or near zero (free money).

Even with free money, 7 or 8 years is a long time and happens - I wouldn't choose to be tied to payments for that long. You have to be REALLY sure you're happy keeping the car for that term, and I can't see that far into the future.

Depending on the car though, you'd probably have equity in it the last few years of the term. So not a complete disaster if you need to then get something else.

Given the incredibly strong used car market in the past few years I wonder how many people have gone from upside down to a positive equity position?

[OliverD]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

What always worried me about those loans is you end up making 'new car' level payments on a 7 or 8 year old car that may also be costing you significant $$ in repairs to keep on the road.  The only way they ever made sense to me is if the interest rate was at or near zero (free money).

Even with free money, 7 or 8 years is a long time and happens - I wouldn't choose to be tied to payments for that long. You have to be REALLY sure you're happy keeping the car for that term, and I can't see that far into the future.

Depending on the car though, you'd probably have equity in it the last few years of the term. So not a complete disaster if you need to then get something else.

Given the incredibly strong used car market in the past few years I wonder how many people have gone from upside down to a positive equity position?

I suspect that's the case for a lot of people who have relatively new cars, unless they rolled a bunch of negative equity into their loans.

[valuator]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

What always worried me about those loans is you end up making 'new car' level payments on a 7 or 8 year old car that may also be costing you significant $$ in repairs to keep on the road.  The only way they ever made sense to me is if the interest rate was at or near zero (free money).

Even with free money, 7 or 8 years is a long time and happens - I wouldn't choose to be tied to payments for that long. You have to be REALLY sure you're happy keeping the car for that term, and I can't see that far into the future.

Depending on the car though, you'd probably have equity in it the last few years of the term. So not a complete disaster if you need to then get something else.

If you are committed to carrying hefty payments, and are cash-flow averse to unexpected repairs in Year 5-8 of ownership...and will likely trade it in anyway....I can make a good case for those families to do 48-60 month leases.

[ktm525]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

What always worried me about those loans is you end up making 'new car' level payments on a 7 or 8 year old car that may also be costing you significant $$ in repairs to keep on the road.  The only way they ever made sense to me is if the interest rate was at or near zero (free money).

Even with free money, 7 or 8 years is a long time and happens - I wouldn't choose to be tied to payments for that long. You have to be REALLY sure you're happy keeping the car for that term, and I can't see that far into the future.

Depending on the car though, you'd probably have equity in it the last few years of the term. So not a complete disaster if you need to then get something else.

If you are committed to carrying hefty payments, and are cash-flow averse to unexpected repairs in Year 5-8 of ownership...and will likely trade it in anyway....I can make a good case for those families to do 48-60 month leases.

Better buy the trade in condition insurance then... Yeah your scenario makes a great case for lease however cash on the barrel head and drive it into the ground is always best.

[valuator]

What strikes me is how huge these "midsize" SUV's have become. It reinforces the idea that my next vehicle will probably be a compact CUV ( AKA early 2000's midsize)

 

School buses, my wife calls them. Can't really complain living standards are going down when mid to high level trims of these things seem to be the standard family mobile

True, but in the same time probably most are bought on forever loans.....

What always worried me about those loans is you end up making 'new car' level payments on a 7 or 8 year old car that may also be costing you significant $$ in repairs to keep on the road.  The only way they ever made sense to me is if the interest rate was at or near zero (free money).

Even with free money, 7 or 8 years is a long time and happens - I wouldn't choose to be tied to payments for that long. You have to be REALLY sure you're happy keeping the car for that term, and I can't see that far into the future.

Depending on the car though, you'd probably have equity in it the last few years of the term. So not a complete disaster if you need to then get something else.

If you are committed to carrying hefty payments, and are cash-flow averse to unexpected repairs in Year 5-8 of ownership...and will likely trade it in anyway....I can make a good case for those families to do 48-60 month leases.

Better buy the trade in condition insurance then... Yeah your scenario makes a great case for lease however cash on the barrel head and drive it into the ground is always best.

Yeah, no .  We know that.  But 99% of the population seems to think (1) they are entitled to a new vehicle every 3 years and (2) are terrified of spending anything at the mechanic's shop. 

[Fobroader]

I have a neighbor that trade in their perfectly good F150 because it needed brakes and tires.....they bought a new F150 because of maintenance. Also they change their oil once every few years as "its a scam".....they are in their 60's and there is no changing their mind. Good people, but smart like tractor.

[PJungnitsch]

Yeah, no .  We know that.  But 99% of the population seems to think (1) they are entitled to a new vehicle every 3 years and (2) are terrified of spending anything at the mechanic's shop.

Suspect with any vehicle involving kids people go:  'Well, don't want to be stuck on the side of the road'

Then: 'Might as well get something nice'

Bad combination in todays market

[Fobroader]

Yeah, no .  We know that.  But 99% of the population seems to think (1) they are entitled to a new vehicle every 3 years and (2) are terrified of spending anything at the mechanic's shop.

Suspect with any vehicle involving kids people go:  'Well, don't want to be stuck on the side of the road'

Then: 'Might as well get something nice'

Bad combination in todays market

Yeah, and then they buy a Traverse 

[PJungnitsch]

Yeah, no .  We know that.  But 99% of the population seems to think (1) they are entitled to a new vehicle every 3 years and (2) are terrified of spending anything at the mechanic's shop.

Suspect with any vehicle involving kids people go:  'Well, don't want to be stuck on the side of the road'

Then: 'Might as well get something nice'

Bad combination in todays market

Yeah, and then they buy a Traverse 

The Car Wizard gets very bitter about that 

https://youtu.be/RCvKDr7DYYE?t=529

Interestingly he doesn't think a lot of the Chrysler/Ram 3.6 either, says the heads are prone to crack

[Fobroader]

Well he has every reason to get pissy. A few year old Highlander/Pilot, is a much better decision than an Equinox/Durango/Telluride in the long term, and when you decide to sell, you will get more than scrap value.

[DriverJeff]

Really surprised not to see the 2023 Pilot on this list.  Too new?  SavageGeese gushed over it in their review.

Yeah, the Pilot was too new and very few of us have driven it yet.

Mark my words, having now driven it, it WILL be on next year's list... as will some other new additions.