Toyota suv

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The only Toyota SUV that I would consider is a Highlander simply because it's built on a truck chassis. Very few SUVs are built on truck chassis's, Suburbans and Tahoes come to mind.
 
Used cars can be a great deal if you do your homework. I normally buy 1 owner, dealer maintained and normally owned by the elderly vehicles.

We did buy a new RAV-4 a couple weeks ago. Had a really good deal on a used Highlander a couple months ago. Passed on it as it was too big (and had crap MPG's) for most of our family's needs. We have a truck for the big stuff and have a Lexus RX-350 (also crap MPG's), A Mazda CX-5 and a few sedans.

We live in an area with hilly terrain and the back roads aren't really maintained. In the truck and SUV's, the ride is pretty rough.
 
zoomzoom said:
Used cars can be a great deal if you do your homework. I normally buy 1 owner, dealer maintained and normally owned by the elderly vehicles.

We did buy a new RAV-4 a couple weeks ago. Had a really good deal on a used Highlander a couple months ago. Passed on it as it was too big (and had crap MPG's) for most of our family's needs. We have a truck for the big stuff and have a Lexus RX-350 (also crap MPG's), A Mazda CX-5 and a few sedans.

We live in an area with hilly terrain and the back roads aren't really maintained. In the truck and SUV's, the ride is pretty rough.
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The mpg is a really important issue for a lot of people. Almost 100% of my driving is around town & our town is not even 10 miles across in most places. And I rarely make trips. So the millage doesn't matter to me. If I wanted I could drive on one tank of gas for a couple of months with planning. So my Highlander is perfect for me. Right now I've got a wheelchair strapped down in the back & when I picked up my wife from the airport there was still room for her luggage back there.

I'll add this but it may not apply where other are. We are in a town of 100,000 & have lot's of car dealers. Nobody wanted to deal on a new car. Toyota shocked me because they came down $6,000 on the internet advertised price. Great deal & Great car!
 
Spikedriver said:
I get that. The 6 is a well proven engine. I bet Toyota's turbo 4 will hold up just as well though. It seems that Toyota likes to get the bugs worked out before they release new engines and transmissions...
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Agreed.
I love their 6-cyl engines. Damn near bulletproof. I have that engine in a 23 year-old Avalon and a newer Lexus RX-350. Except for a starter in the Avalon at age 22, I haven't had a single issue.

I'm in vehicle buying spree right now, especially if I want Toyota since most of their fleet is going hybrid starting next year. Bought a new RAV-4 a few weeks ago, a Mazda CX-5 a couple months ago. Have been thinking about a new Camry but I want the V6. Probably just buy another SUV (of some brand...).
 
zoomzoom said:
Agreed.
I love their 6-cyl engines. Damn near bulletproof. I have that engine in a 23 year-old Avalon and a newer Lexus RX-350. Except for a starter in the Avalon at age 22, I haven't had a single issue.

I'm in vehicle buying spree right now, especially if I want Toyota since most of their fleet is going hybrid starting next year. Bought a new RAV-4 a few weeks ago, a Mazda CX-5 a couple months ago. Have been thinking about a new Camry but I want the V6. Probably just buy another SUV (of some brand...).
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I'm actually thinking about a Toyota hybrid. They've proved to be so damn reliable that it almost doesn't make sense to get the regular gas ones.

I do like Mazda too. I had a Mazda6 sedan with a 6 speed manual transmission. Best handling car I ever owned, but not very comfortable for long trips. The CX5 is on my short list, as they have shown to be very reliable too.
 
The current gen Grand Highlander is available in 3 different powertrains.
ICE-only
RAV4/Prius style hybrid tuned for mpg, and it delivers. ROI vs the ICE is very short, making this the value option.
Tundra-style hybrid tuned for power. Much more expensive and virtually no mpg improvement over the ICE. No sure the grunt is worth the premium in this chassis.

edit: I lied. The Grand Highlander has these 3 available options. The regular highlander only has the ICE and mpg-tuned hybrid powertrain
 
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Spikedriver said:
I'm actually thinking about a Toyota hybrid. They've proved to be so damn reliable that it almost doesn't make sense to get the regular gas ones.
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To get the benefit of the hybrid, you need to drive it more than we actually do. I did the math a few weeks ago (and going from memory here), if you drive less than about 12-15,000 miles per year, the ICE is a better financial decision.
 
About 2 & a half years ago my neighbors bought one of those EV combo Rav4's. When I got my Highlander they came over to look at it. They said that it was to expensive for me. He repairs windmills so I guess the EV part was important to him (they also installed solar panels on their house. Anyway fast forward to 2 days ago & they drove in with a Highlander. I bet it had something to do with them having twins about a year after they bought the Rav4. Next time the Highlander they got is out I'm going to find out if it's a combo like the car they traded off. I'm betting it isn't.

Oh & shortly after they put up the solar panels on their house we had a hail & they had to replace all of them. Being green can sure cost you.
 
I don't give two shits about gas mileage. I care only about performance, HP, torque, ground clearance and towing capacity. I use my vehicles everyday for what they were designed for. All of our vehicles are 4 wheel drive, not this misleading all wheel drive BS.
 
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