Topic: Comparison Test: 2017 Compact SUVs Part 2 – $40,000

[AutoTrader.ca]

Compass vs CR-V vs CX-5 vs Equinox vs Escape vs Forester vs RAV4 vs Rogue v Sportage vs Tucson
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[wing]

I chose the Escape over the CR-V

[Gurgie]

^you weren't part of the test crew tho, were you?

[wing]

No I had both of them in my driveway last week though.

But the escape I had, had the 2.0 which makes a difference over then 1.5

[Noto]

No I had both of them in my driveway last week though.

But the escape I had, had the 2.0 which makes a difference over then 1.5

I felt the same way - I didn't love the CRV in any appreciable way; but it garnered my respect better than pretty much any others, unlike the Escape.

As I noted, this trim/the pricing was the killer for the Escape, which, while it'd never be a podium finisher, could have done much better if it was the Titanium trim with the punchy 2.0T.  It honestly drove like a Focus - so nimble and fun, but then really fell short in terms of ergonomics, styling, and fuel economy.  Mon Dieu was it bad on fuel...

The CRV on the other hand did everything right-ish.  It didn't wow anyone with its driving - the powertrain moans and moos louder than any of the others from my memory, but it's at least smooth, somewhat punchy, and incredibly fuel efficient.  For any car subjected to Jacob's foot-of-wrath to get less than 11L/100km is no small feat!

There's so little space to write about all the subtle nuances of these vehicles.  The CRV has a little coffee cup, for example, on the dashboard - it measures how tired the driver is and let's you know to get the off the road before you scratch the new face-lift.  The handling is also astounding in a way you'd never expect from this thing - it held the road so bloody well on on-ramps, certainly let down in part by its tires more than its chassis.  The activation of the heated steering wheel is a simple little button right near your thumb.  Oddly, the CRV didn't have Lanewatch!!!  ...but it did have a surround-view camera for parking (IIRC).  It was quiet, serene, infinitely flexible inside, and would be easy to live with by anyone.

...but it certainly isn't the vehicle here you lust after.  ...but is any CUV/"mommymobile"?  That's why we all loved the Sportage so much.  It wasn't the best in many categories, but was it ever fun to punt around town and did it ever come 'loaded'.  It "wowed" most of us for its powertrain and ease of use, but it certainly wasn't glitzy.

In terms of the Rogue, my tush clearly didn't speak loud enough - those seats are incredible.  I drove the Rogue first on test day, and everything afterwards was benchmarked against it.  The CRV's seat is flat, but comfortable for the short ride.  The Rav4?  Surprisingly supportive!  The Forester's seat is longer than it used to be.  The Compass's seat is pushy and hard and weird in all the wrong places.  All have nuances, as I've mentioned, but some aspects really stick out like a sore thumb.

I'll keep posting my thoughts in response to whatever ya'll say.  I really enjoyed this mega-comparison.  Jacob hated having so many cars, but I've never seen someone so happy to have an Altima be moved to a different parking spot in my life - there was discussion of literally having the 8 of us pick it up and move it.  Too funny.

[wing]

The escape also has the coffee cup.

The escape is much more fun to drive and much smoother and quieter.  The CRV so slow, but I averaged 8.5 vs 10.0 in escape.

Interior is better in crv but the android based radio is junk.

In the end it's really a coin toss.  Although the CRV is the better long term buy and is also considerably larger.

[JacobBlack]

I chose the Escape over the CR-V

Apart from the cargo space and fuel economy a lot of the other differences only showed up after hours of back-to-back driving and when we started looking through all nine sets of 50-line scoring sheets and seeing how the data played out. It was interesting how well the CR-V did on all the rest while also excelling in those two key areas. Those barely-tangible differences start to add up in these monster comparos, that's why I like them so much.
 

[wing]

I'll agree.  In a spreadsheet war the CRV should win.
That's why in a building full of engineers we have a parking lot full of these types of vehicles.

In the end I think even first to last are all close.

[Noto]

Those barely-tangible differences start to add up in these monster comparos, that's why I like them so much.

The more amazing part is that if you ask the testers "which one would you buy?", few of us had the same answers.  Hell, didn't Peter say he'd take the Sportage?  Lesley was between the Forester and the Equinox.  I was between the CX-5 and the Forester.

People have different priorities.  The purpose of naming a champ in this comparison is more of a "fun"/"good job" nod than crowning it the "Ultimate in Purchasing Decisions".

[Sir Osis of Liver]

"barely tangible differences"





Kidding, kidding. 

[Arthur Dent]

Another segment-only is the dashboard reminder to check the back seat before leaving the car.

What kind of weird ass feature is this? To prevent leaving a child in the back when you leave the vehicle? 

[Niklasky]

I think this compare confirms what I have been saying. Yes, in a spreadsheet war, the CR-V wins because it is the best appliance of the lot. It does everything well, has few flaws.

However, if you chose your vehicles with a little more than just numbers on a spreadsheet, if you need emotions when you sit in your car every morning... Well you're not gonna choose the CR-V... No matter how good it is at everything, it just doesn't have that little spark that makes you fall in love with it.

[wing]

Another segment-only is the dashboard reminder to check the back seat before leaving the car.

What kind of weird ass feature is this? To prevent leaving a child in the back when you leave the vehicle? 

Yup, exactly for that.

[wing]

I think this compare confirms what I have been saying. Yes, in a spreadsheet war, the CR-V wins because it is the best appliance of the lot. It does everything well, has few flaws.

However, if you chose your vehicles with a little more than just numbers on a spreadsheet, if you need emotions when you sit in your car every morning... Well you're not gonna choose the CR-V... No matter how good it is at everything, it just doesn't have that little spark that makes you fall in love with it.

Bang on.

[Gurgie]

No I had both of them in my driveway last week though.

But the escape I had, had the 2.0 which makes a difference over then 1.5

Well, based on the pictures alone, the Escape is a winner for me!! 

Good input from everyone so far, No-san, Jacob, wing & I also agree with Niklasky - spreadsheet doesn't equal emotions. Just like with recorded music, turning an analog source into a bunch of binary code to make it digital & then back to analog so we can hear it... you lose the emotion of the real thing 

[JacobBlack]

I think those of you who are scoffing and dismissing the results of this comparison as nothing more than a "spreadsheet war" are demonstrating an enormous amount of disrespect to your colleagues and also a misunderstanding of what these tests are all about.

Firstly, some people actually do fall stupidly in love with things because they're practical, have a low cargo-load floor, use bugger all fuel, etc etc, so actually things like the CR-V do hold a "spark" for those people. You cant' outsell everyone else for year's on end without capturing hearts as well as minds.

Not only that, but the reason we do back-to-back driving, and fill out scores is so we can iron out some of our own "enthusiast" biases and look more closely at what the thousands of people who actually want to buy these cars are after. These are not scores we look at blindly, these are scores we compile with our own backsides, hands, eyes, ears and experience, in droves, in one hit.

To call it a spreadsheet war fails to address the fact that these spreadsheets are filled out with our senses, from our vigorous, back-toback, testing. 

And lastly, we shouldn't do comparisons of these sorts of cars with our eye not on whether or not everyone remembers what a car god we are, but on what the people who want this information want to know. That's why we use scores, scores we compile with our own hearts, bodies and minds.

And when the trends are all teased out and exposed, the CR-V won a close-fought victory.

[Niklasky]

Hey, I'm not dissing the article and the work done. It's good. This is a close fought battle. I liked the CR-V, which I drove back to back with the CX-5, and I would have picked the latter based on emotion. To me, the CX-5 looks nicer inside and out, is powerful and frugal enough to my standards, and a great handler, and those parameters are more important to me than a few more cubic feet of trunk space or a half liter less per 100km.

There is this wow factor in the CX-5 that you don't find in the CR-V.

If I were to pick my car based on numbers only, I would probably buy the CR-V. Granted I am probably not the typical buyer, but that's my take on it.

I also contemplate the Sportage, which is really a great vehicle, but the poor fuel economy kills it. It's not just a little more thirsty than the CR-V, it's really really bad.

[Noto]

Another segment-only is the dashboard reminder to check the back seat before leaving the car.

What kind of weird ass feature is this? To prevent leaving a child in the back when you leave the vehicle? 

The Equinox just honked at us every time we walked away, like, "please, don't leave me!!"

[wing]

That's the Detroit mode.  Locks when the key is 5 feet away.

[Noto]

That's why we use scores, scores we compile with our own hearts, bodies and minds.

...and tushies!!  Don't forget the tush-test!



I kid, sorry Jacob.

There is this wow factor in the CX-5 that you don't find in the CR-V.

Highest wow factor went to the Sportage, followed by the Forester, CX-5, Rogue, CR-V, Equinox/Compass (tie), Escape, and Tucson.

So there is some truth in what you say, but that's why the wow factor was considered this time.