USED CARS - SUVs Reviews

Archived from March 2005

The following report was originally published on ConsumerSearch to cover new cars manufactured and sold in the 2005 model year, and so can offer a good guide as to which cars from past model years are good bets as used vehicles. We are keeping this report on our site as a convenience to our readers who may be shopping for a used car.

For this report, we focus on SUVs costing less than $40,000; some of the vehicles here will exceed that figure if fully loaded with optional equipment. Higher-priced SUVs are covered in our separate report on luxury SUVs. Besides cost, the vehicles discussed here are generally more utilitarian than luxury SUVs, with less opulent interiors.

Despite rising fuel costs, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) have not lost their popularity and more than fifty variants are now offered in North America. Many consumers like the commanding ride height, cargo room and the rugged go-anywhere looks SUVs offer, despite the fact that less than five percent of SUVs are driven off-road with any regularity.

We found the most thorough and credible report on SUVs at Car and Driver magazine. Editors evaluate twenty models for styling and road prowess, awarding three models best-in-class awards. Articles from Automotive Magazine, Motor Trend, Edmunds.com and Consumer Guide also help round out our reviews chart. Kiplinger magazine contributes an interesting perspective, ranking SUVs for resale value, insurance expenses and fuel costs. For this report, we looked for reviewers who balance the results of hands-on road and off-road testing with more subjective factors like comfort, cargo space, towing capability and style.

Consumer Reports magazine is also a valuable resource and ranks highly in our All Reviews chart. Editors test dozens of cars and trucks each year for safety, reliability and performance, picking a handful to recommend. Editors consider data some dedicated car magazines ignore, such as fender-bender repair estimates and crash test information, though editors do not test performance in as much detail as the automobile-specific reviewers.

Car and Driver magazine published one of the most thorough and credible SUV reviews we found; editors evaluate 21 models for styling and road prowess, awarding three models best-in-class awards. Articles from Motor Trend, Edmunds.com and Consumer Guide also help round out our reviews chart. Kiplinger magazine contributes an interesting perspective, ranking SUVs for resale value, insurance expenses and fuel costs. For this report, we looked for reviewers who balance the results of hands-on road and off-road testing with more subjective factors like comfort, cargo space, towing capability and style.

Consumer Reports magazine is also a valuable resource and ranks highly in our All Reviews chart. Editors tests dozens of cars and trucks each year for safety, reliability and performance, picking a handful to recommend. Editors consider data some dedicated car magazines ignore, such as fender-bender repair estimates and crash test information, though editors do not test performance in as much detail as the automobile-specific reviewers.

"We found some mixed reviews for the Volkswagon Touareg (*est. $34,900 to $43,000, depending on model and options) . Only the V-6 varient can be had for under $40,000, the price cutoff for our report (see our separate report on luxury SUVs for pricier options). Although Motor Trend awards the Touareg Sport-Utility-of-the-Year accolades, the reception is somewhat less enthusiastic at Car and Driver. Motor Trend's editors love the Touareg's design lines as well as its interior, noted as "fresh, contemporary, adult." Car and Driver concedes the Touareg is "handsome," but has major quibbles with driving "oomph" for the money.

The Touareg V-6, according to Car and Driver, lacks prowess, straining to make 60mph in just under 10 seconds, decidedly slower than the V-8 equipped Touareg. Editors felt the less-powerful engine was sluggish under the truck's weight, but generally handled well. Motor Trend has strong praise for the Touareg's adjustable pneumatic suspension, which can vary the ride height (and thus suspension) from a suburban-ly 6.3-inches up to an off-road-worthy 11.8-inches. Car and Driver isn't quite as overwhelmed, noting that the option adds $2,300 to the price.

While Motor Trend's editors say the Touareg is a good value compared to the likes of the Porsche Cayenne, and upcoming BMW X3, Car and Driver isn't as bullish: "Convincing Americans that a Volkswagen SUV deserves to be cross-shopped with today's luxury nameplates is a steep hill the Touareg is faced with." While the Touareg is an interesting entry, Car and Driver's hesitation over the V-6 Touareg convinced us to pass on including it in Fast Answers. The V-8 varient will be addressed in our separate report on luxury SUVs."  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Our consensus chart also includes a number of luxury SUVs, which are addressed in our separate report (Luxury SUVs). However, vehicles such as the Cadillac SRX, with both a V6 and V8 option, can fit into both mainstream and luxury categories, depending on options.

The Honda Pilot and Cadillac SRX earn their spots in Fast Answers by winning over four reviewers. The Subaru Forester and the Toyota 4Runner both win three times The Chevrolet Equinox wins both a Motor Trend road test and Edmund's comparative value evaluation, and the Chevrolet Suburban/Tahoe, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and Lexus RX330 also win twice.