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My girlfriend and I got rear-ended at a stop light yesterday and I am pretty sure her '04 Saturn Vue V6 will be totaled. She wants another small SUV along the lines of a Vue. I was thinking a Forrester would be a good choice. What do y'all think?
Edit The only money she will have is from what she gets from the insurance company.
Forester. Or another Vue if she really liked it. If off-road ability is an issue, IIRC Suzukis are the most capable in the class.
I think the thing to look at is what is important to her in a car. Does she just want the image? Is she looking for cargo space? How important is 4x4 or AWD?
I'll vote for the Honda Element... most useful vehicle ever made, they thought of almost everything.
She only wants lots of cargo space and reliablity but good gas mileage and image wouldn't hurt. Both the Forester and Element are a little more then the Vue according to the KBB so I am wondering if she will have the money for them. I wasn't that impressed with the gas mileage of the Vue. How do the Forester and Element compare?
For cargo space is a smaller package and decent milage, the Rondo is worth a look.
Do people say anything bad about the Ford Escape? If you get it with a 4 cylinder, front wheel drive and a 5 speed, you can get around 30 mpg on the highway (At least thats what my boss says he gets with his, but I've never seen him above 2000 rpms either 
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Compare mpg for any vehicle sold in the US since 1985 at www.fueleconomy.gov
I don't think that the Escape is any better then the Vue and since she knows and likes the Vue I feel like that is a better choice then the Escape.
Pontiac Vibe? She would likely put ~1500-2K in her pocket and they are available with AWD if necessary. Tons of storage space and great gas mileage (33+). Not and SUV but sits higher than most standard cars and is large.
Daniel
kia? hyundai?
Rondo or Elantra Touring. If not, Kia Sportage/Hyundai Tucson.
If she doesn't need 4wd, why not a minivan? Great driving, more cargo space, and more mileage.
I really like the Ford Escape, the VW Tiguan is pretty neat but maintenance scares me after the 30K mile mark. The NEW Equinox/Vue is awesome as well.
For your stated needs, a Mazda5 sure fits the bill.
Get a left over Saturn Vue. GM has started the fire sale.
I <3 Elements...
In reply to John Brown:
Borrowed the grandparents awd exuinox to pick up pizza after the restaurant closed on us during the snow last week in dfw. I hadlow expectations but it suprised me, no stability control bs to get around, and when the fronts spun it would lock up and send half the power to the rears, making for easy enough hoonage turning corners where everyone wasn't driving 10mph in a big clusterberkely.
This appeared to be a base model awd tho, so watch out in case they were available with nondefeatable stabilitrac.
While you can (probably) pick up another Vue for next to nothing, keep in mind that if she is prone to accidents, totalling another Vue will result in next to nothing from insurance co.
I haven't driven one (yet), but my vote would be for the Escape. You sit up high, have a decent amount of space for load carrying, and if you look at Edmunds they don't have a lot of serious issues reliability-wise. My other choice would be a CR-V, but they are expensive and the 2nd gen model has a bad rep for "exploding" a/c systems.
96DXCivic wrote: Both the Forester and Element are a little more then the Vue according to the KBB
That speaks volumes my friend. Both the Subie and Honda are much more sought after, because they will work after a few years. I'll tell you this. I have 2 friends with Saturns, (Ions, both of them) and I do the repairs/maintenance for them. I credit Saturns crappy build quality for me not having to foreclose on my house even though I've been out of work for the better part of 16 months.
My Forester just asks for gas and oil (gas to the tune of about 23 mpg mixed).
she might also check out a CX-7. ours has been a great car for the past three years and drives and feels 1000% better than the '07 Pontiac Torrent (Equinox) my parents have. i'd recommend it in a second.
^ that, or a CR-V. I really love my sister's.
My wife has a CR-V. Didn't think I'd like it, but now I absolutely love it. Drives great for a SUV, gets good mpg, and never, ever a problem. We drove a lot of SUVs before we got this one, and for the money, it was by far the best of the lot hands down.
Dave, the CRV and Element are mechanically the same just a different body.
Shouldn't the question be: "Which small SUV?"
the question should be "why an SUV?"
If she doesn't need big cargo space, why not a Mazda3 wagon or Impreza wagon....not much less space than a small SUV, better handling and mileage, etc..Or Mazda5 for that matter....
