[hema4saran]

Originally Posted by AccordSport

Once the new Rav-4 is launched in a few months you can get a descent discount on it ~4k . (This is the case atleast in Dallas).You can check the True car pricing for CRV, camry and Accord to get the idea. Unless he gets a 7-8k off the price it is not worth to buy the old model at all.

If I were your friend, I would pick the CRV/CX-5 or wait for the new RAV-4. Buying an old model within days of the new model launch in one of the biggest car market makes no sense at all.

Thank you. He is getting $6k below MSRP as of now. But he is still not decided and waiting. CRV EX-L variant is not having much offers as of now and he is still negotiating. But the dealer is pushing him to go for Pilot EXL and he is giving $36k OTD price for that. I asked him to wait till this month end and asked him to decide.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by RSM_TorqueZoner

Alright, so after looking at several options for a used car, I've narrowed down to the Mazda 6 and the Nissan Maxima (Both 2016 models). Maxima is dearer by approx. 3 - 4k. These cars, technically, are in two different segments but I've always loved the Mazda 6 and it has marginally bigger interiors. Gadgetry or the lack of it isn't a deal killer. The way the car drives and comfort (Front and Rear) is important. Is the Maxima worth the additional $$? Or should I just stick to the Mazda 6? The Accords, Camry's and Altima's of the world have been written off.

Contrary to popular opinion here on getting the Mazda6 , my choice would be the Maxima. This is the redesigned Maxima, which is a very good car for the price. The performance is on a whole another level compared to the 6. Each time you press pedal down on 6, you will wish you had got it's turbo model or Maxima. Maxima's V6 engine with CVT is a sweet combo (I had similar in '15 Murano and it was sweet). The rubber band effect is long gone. All the new CVT's by various manufacturers have reached a point where rubber band effect is hardly noticeable especially with powerful ones. May be noticeable on 4-cylinders but i have driven '17 Maxima and its very good. Also the features, reliability is hard to match. The engine of Maxima (3.5L V6) is an award winning (15 years) engine. You can't go wrong with it.

Mazda6 has cramped rear seat, understeers easily when driven hard and performance is just meh. Mazda6 has its own set of issues that needs to be looked into (transmission and infotainment).

I would advise you go test drive both back to back and decide. The grin from the v6 will be hard to miss when taking it to twisties while in Mazda6 you will wish you had more power.

[RSM_TorqueZoner]

Originally Posted by RJK

Hey RSM - I've recently bought a 2016 Maxima with 25k kms on the clock in Dubai & I must say the only thing slightly wrong with the car is light steering. I don't feel any rubber band effect that seems to plague CVT's (maybe I've gotten older?).

Cheers

Originally Posted by chevelle

Contrary to popular opinion here on getting the Mazda6, my choice would be the Maxima. This is the redesigned maxima which is a very good car for the price. The performance is on a whole another level compared to the 6. Each time you press pedal down on 6, you will wish you had got its turbo model or Maxima. Maxima's v6 engine with CVT is a sweet combo (i had similar in '15 Murano and it was sweet). The rubber band effect is long gone. The engine of Maxima (3.5L V6) is an award winning (15 years) engine. You can't go wrong with it.

So here is where I'm now. Test drove the Maxima and Mazda 6 back to back. I agree the power on tap for the maxima was quite addictive. Totally loved the surge! However, I felt the Mazda outscores the Maxima in almost every other aspect, it felt so much more fun and agile minus the power.

Now I'm down to two choices again - Lease a 2018 CX-5 if the deals are tempting in December. Or buy a pre-owned Mazda 6!

On a different note, I'm trying to get my head around Crossovers being a family necessity in the US and scoring points over a sedan. In India, crossovers are more of a fashion statement than being utilitarian while sedans are more of the family haulers. Can someone explain this difference in perception? The CX5 vs Mazda 6 debate is something that has been perplexing for me, especially with my 5-month-old son! Help me

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by RSM_TorqueZoner

..

Now I'm down to two choices again - Lease a 2018 CX-5 if the deals are tempting in December. Or buy a pre-owned Mazda 6!
..

On a different note, I'm trying to get my head around Crossovers being a family necessity in the US and scoring points over a sedan..

Mazda and Subaru barely ever let go of their cars with the type of discounts you might expect to see from other manufacturers; they don't need to. If you chose to go for a new CX5, it wouldn't matter much regardless of if you purchased it in Dec/Jan.

On the topic of SUVs, if you tend to live in the North East, SUVs sell like hot chowder owing to the unpredictability and amount of snow/ice, where the ability to maximize traction (AWD/4WD) and ground clearance become key attributes in a vehicle. From personal experience, I regretted almost every moment of a short-lived ownership of a Ford Fiesta hatch for the same reasons.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by RSM_TorqueZoner

The CX5 vs Mazda 6 debate is something that has been perplexing for me, especially with my 5-month-old son! Help me

It all depends on your location, how many people & how much luggage you usually carry. If it's just your immediate family (i.e. your wife, your son & you), you'll do just fine with a sedan even with weekend getaway trips. If you love lugging extended family & loads of luggage, then probably not.

Just remember that a smaller cross-over will only give you extra luggage space, not increase seating capacity.

Granted babies come with a lot of extra baggage - strollers, diaper bags, etc. & if you're one that spends his weekends doing groceries / at wholesale warehouse clubs (Costco, BJ's, Sam's), then yes, you'll probably be well off with a bigger boot from the get go.

I do get the appeal of a cross-over / SUV & eventually - a few years down the line you're probably going to want to (have to?) switch but for now if you want to enjoy a sedan for a few years, then why not?

[hema4saran]

Originally Posted by RSM_TorqueZoner

The CX5 vs Mazda 6 debate is something that has been perplexing for me, especially with my 5-month-old son! Help me

I think we are on the same boat. My daughter is 10 months old and we are facing difficulties in taking her out of child seat from our Altima. Stroller is taking half of the trunk and we need to plan all our grocery shopping accordingly. Go for the CX5 and you will not regret it.

Now I am in market for a second car and this time I am definitely going for a SUV. I got best deal on a 2018 Nissan Rogue SV trim for $23.5k drive out. It has all the bells and whistles including 2 position memory seat. Only missing thing is Leather seat and Sunroof. But I am not interested in one more Nissan and I am literally bored of my car.

If things go as per plan, I will be getting a 2016/17 model Acura RDX/MDX pre-owned with less 30k miles and a maximum budget of $30k. Still searching and getting few deals as of now.

Originally Posted by theMAG

Mazda and Subaru barely ever let go of their cars with the type of discounts you might expect to see from other manufacturers; they don't need to. If you chose to go for a new CX5, it wouldn't matter much regardless of if you purchased it in Dec/Jan.

+1 to that. Mazda/Subaru dealers are not known to provide great deals on their cars. Nowadays even Honda joined that league for CRV and the CRV-EXL is still at $30k and is selling like hot cakes. Dealers are not at all interested in negotiations for it and instead pushing to take Pilot. Things will get interesting once the 2019 Rav4 comes to market.

[Technocrat]

Honda has announced the return of Passport name. Its essentially a lifted and chopped Pilot which makes it very interesting as the interior space till 2nd row is like Pilot.

Would be interesting to see how well its priced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp8TKC4mAgM

[v1kram]

Picked up a new 2018 Kia Optima LX (2.4), traded-in my Infiniti G35x.

[sabret00the]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Mazda and Subaru barely ever let go of their cars with the type of discounts you might expect to see from other manufacturers; they don't need to. If you chose to go for a new CX5, it wouldn't matter much regardless of if you purchased it in Dec/Jan.

I had walked in with a similar thought into the showroom but walked out with a pretty neat discount (by Subaru standards) on my 2019 WRX. Not sure how they behave in US market but Subaru barely discounts the WRX in Canada. I purchased my car in Sept last week. The 2018s had a 0.5% interest offer but only STIs were in stock. I had casually walked into the showroom in the evening and after hours of negotiations we agreed on the price. They milked me slightly on the add-ons but I wanted to add extra warranty and Subaru complete care anyways. I would suggest walk in the 2nd half of the day on month ends. Sales staff is trying to meet targets and might end up giving good a deal.

On the topic of SUVs, if you tend to live in the North East, SUVs sell like hot chowder owing to the unpredictability and amount of snow/ice, where the ability to maximize traction (AWD/4WD) and ground clearance become key attributes in a vehicle. From personal experience, I regretted almost every moment of a short-lived ownership of a Ford Fiesta hatch for the same reasons.

If you live in downtown don't think GC is an impediment. Worst comes to worst take transit on the snow storm day. As long as your front street is cleaned you'll get the same amount of traction with a good set of winter rubber in an AWD sedan as you would in something like a CRV.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Mazda and Subaru barely ever let go of their cars with the type of discounts you might expect to see from other manufacturers; they don't need to. If you chose to go for a new CX5, it wouldn't matter much regardless of if you purchased it in Dec/Jan.

On the topic of SUVs, if you tend to live in the North East, SUVs sell like hot chowder owing to the unpredictability and amount of snow/ice, where the ability to maximize traction (AWD/4WD) and ground clearance become key attributes in a vehicle. From personal experience, I regretted almost every moment of a short-lived ownership of a Ford Fiesta hatch for the same reasons.

https://www.bestbuysubaru.com/

This is my goto dealer for subaru discounts. I bought my STi from them, they were able to knock off some more of the advertised internet price.

They do nationwide shipping, and all the transactions can be done over email.

[vineeth47]

Originally Posted by RSM_TorqueZoner

On a different note, I'm trying to get my head around Crossovers being a family necessity in the US and scoring points over a sedan. In India, crossovers are more of a fashion statement than being utilitarian while sedans are more of the family haulers. Can someone explain this difference in perception?

Cross overs are much more practical than a sedan for a family with kid[s]. It usually has more distance between front and back seats so that you can install almost any sized child seats(especially with a taller driver in the front seat), because of the height of the SUV it is easier to install/take out child seats and buckle/unbuckle child seat belts standing outside, more space in trunk to include grocery/shopping bags/Costco stuff in addition to kids stuff like strollers, more cabin space inside especially head room so it feels airy on longer drives with 3-4 ppl.

All these makes a big difference when you start doing these everyday. I also feel modern crossovers generally has a more comfortable ride than the sedans, even though handling may be a bit lacking in some. They get comparable gas mileage too. Also, if you live in an area with lot of snow or likes to drive to the snow mountains on weekends (like I do with my Subaru Forester), SUVs with their ground clearances and available AWD makes all the difference. These are my experiences after using both sedans and cross over SUVs.

In India, child car seats are not a necessity as per law and strollers are too few. As the number of people using these catches up, I am sure cross over SUVs will become the default family hauler. The number of accessories we tend to carry in the US than in India really makes the difference in perception.

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by RSM_TorqueZoner

On a different note, I'm trying to get my head around Crossovers being a family necessity in the US and scoring points over a sedan. Can someone explain this difference in perception? The CX5 vs Mazda 6 debate is something that has been perplexing for me, especially with my 5-month-old son! Help me

SUV's/Minivan's makes more sense for families with young children. Try placing and removing a child seat in CX-5 and Mazda 6 couple of times and you will notice the difference right away (especially if you are taller).

[hema4saran]

I am now in the market for crossover segment. Initially thought of adding this as second car to the garage. But after lot of back and forth calculations we have decided to let go of the Altima.

I have test driven 2018 Rav4 and I couldn't find a comfortable driving position in that car even after adjusting it for a long time. After spending close to $25k on this car, I am not even getting power adjustable seats. Interiors looks worse than my 2015 Altima.

Forester base variant price itself coming close to $27k. The car is nice but I don't see the need for it in Texas weather and price also is on higher side. Nissan Rogue is another good car which I can get around $24k out the door but my mind don't want one more Nissan. Ford Escape/Jeep Cherokee are not spacious. Test drove 2016 Acura MDX FWD in pre-owned market. I am not convinced to spend close to $30k on it.

I reluctantly test drove the 2018 Honda CRV EXL as it was the last option in my list. And guess what, I immediately fallen for that car. I adjusted the seat to my height (6.2) and still had ample amount of space behind me. Trunk is also huge and only grousing point is the price now. Everybody is quoting around $29k OTD for 2018 variant. But I have decided not to spend more than $27k for 2018 and If I am spending more, I will go for 2019. I will post the update once the deal is finalized.

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by vineeth47

Cross overs are much more practical than a sedan for a family with kid[s].

I second you, that was my actual thought before buying the Toyota Highlander

Originally Posted by hema4saran

I am now in the market for crossover segment.

Why don't you try the Toyota Highlander. I believe 2018 models should have some discounts now. You can also look at 2019 models.

I recently bought a 2019 Highlander LE AWD and it costed me 35K for the LE variant with almost 4K$ discounts. I would suggest you to consider it if you are okay with a SUV.

[hema4saran]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Why don't you try the Toyota Highlander. I believe 2018 models should have some discounts now. You can also look at 2019 models.

I don't need a 7 seater SUV as of now. For my daily commute of 35 miles, I need to spend more on gas in case if I go for Highlander. Also my wife will have her apprehensions against driving a bigger car in case if I go for one. If at all I need to commute 7 passengers, I would opt for Honda Odyssey. Nothing beats the minivan interms of comfort and luggage carrying abilities except may be Suburban/Yukon/Expedition XL.