My wife and I decided it was time to retire her 2006 Saturn Vue and move her into something newer…after all she puts up with from me, she deserves it. The Vue was a pretty solid vehicle and went like an animal in the snow with the right tires. It truly never rode all that smoothly (other than the V6 motor) and even though it had only around 70K on the odo, I think she had enough and wanted something new. Only requirement was AWD and no leather interior.
We drove a Toyota RAV 4 and I wasn’t really impressed. It was a base model and although it didn’t have a lot of interior amenities, we drove it more to see how it drove / rode. I know there’s a lot out there to choose from in this size / class of small to mid sized SUV, but I’ve never liked the looks of the CRV or Subaru Forester. She did drive a used GMC Terrain and a used Envoy but she wasn’t thrilled with them either. I looked a little more into the Kia’s once I saw more and more of them on the road. I think what really hit me hard was the 10 yr / 100,000 mile powertrain warranty, along with the 5 yr / 50,000 mile bumper to bumper. My wife tends not to be one to switch vehicles often and with her planning on keeping it awhile, it made pretty good sense.
We drove three models, a 2014 with a 4 cylinder, a 2015 with a V6 and leather interior with some nice upgrades, and ultimately our 2015 with V6 and cloth interior. Has third row seating (which we’ll probably never use), and a generally well appointed interior. Touch screen with the basics like bluetooth and some other Techy stuff I just started reading about. Tons of steering wheel mounted controls and voice activation. Very clean and bright gauges with the little info center in the middle. Very roomy, comfortable, and a smooth ride. The V6 is the way to go though. The 4 seemed to struggle a bit and may be a little under powered. The test reviews stated pretty much the same with a 4 banger being a little noisier, with not much difference in fuel economy but they were a little hard to come across unless you were willing to go to the “baller” package in a 2014, or jump up to a 2015, which is what we did. 2014’s had some nice incentives (cash back or financing) to move them, but we opted to go with our credit union and get the V6. I think they came out with a 2.0L turbo option this year but they started pushing up into the mid to upper 30’s.
Already ordered WeatherTech floor mats (it’s an all black interior) and been looking for some nicer wheels. Ones that came on it are OK but the all seasons have already been known to be less than impressive in the snow and with her keeping it for awhile, it’s worth getting a winter / summer tire and wheel setup going. I think I’m going to get another set of Cooper AT3’s, (like she had on the Saturn) and mount them on the stock wheels, and put the smooth riding summer rubber on something like these:
On another note, I like the transmission setup (not sure of the proper name for it) where you can bump the shift lever over and manually control and gear selection. When you do that, the display goes from PRND to the number 12345 of the gear. Nifty feature. She’s going to go back Monday afternoon to pick it up after they install the remote car starter and prep it for her. I’ll keep posting anything good or bad as we drive it.
Avoid the machined finish with clear and paint like the one on the right, they lift and corrode in our climate and look absolutely terrible in a hurry.
I’m actually looking for hyper silver or gun metal. Being that they’ll be run in the summer, not too worried about finish. Thinking about the black inner barrel to limit brake dust showing up (my wife thinks Delta Sonic is a fraternity run fast food restaurant), but really think the one color option would look best.
Good choice on the V6. I love when the soccer moms go with the 4 cylinders in vehicles like this strictly for gas mileage, then end up getting worse mileage than they would have with the V6 since it has to struggle to get all that weight up to speed. Talked my sister into the 6 when she ordered her Terrain and she’s thanked me several times since.
I know she’ll drive it 90% of the time but it’s the 10% I’ll drive it that makes the V6 worth it. I hope it ends up being as reliable as Bing claims. I sort of directed her toward this and if it goes bad, I’m gonna swing for it.
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If I’m not mistaken, these are made somewhere in the southern US. Makes me feel a little better.
Well after jumping through a few last minute hoops, the wife had the day off and picked it up. We took it for a short drive to pick up dinner, and my son. Really nice to drive a new car. I’m sure it’s not on par with “luxury” vehicles but it sure does ride nicer than my F150. Really like the gauge cluster. Clear and bright and easy to read. Dealer installed car starter is already malfunctioning and can’t wait to see what it’s going to take to get that cleared up.
OK. Thought I had the one I liked but then decided to go up to a 19" wheel, which opened up some other options…including more cost. I’ll post my new favorites up and if you feel like it, let me know which one you like the best (not that I’, going to listen to what you choose anyway). Wifey isn’t a fan of the blacked out option (guess she’s seen enough of that with my truck) so I’m posting the all silver and the hybrid, which I kind of like since it should keep the brake dust showing to a minimum. Still need to locate info on the offset / bore of the stock wheel and the same for the potential new one. 67.1mm bore is what one guy told me but I’d have to verify.
Also, if anyone has more experience, I need to know what tire size might work best. It came with 235/65/17’s and I want to maybe will the wheel well a little more but also not do to so thin a sidewall that’s it’s going to ride like a shopping cart. This is one size I was thinking about. As a side note, when I figure this out the stock Hankook’s will go up for sale…with low mileage.
Think I’m going to go with the Miro 112’s. Next question. I had a horrible experience with my truck wheels and 4wheelonline. I don’t want to go through that again. Every retailer listed on the web seems to have enough bad reviews about their customer service to make me want to not purchase through them. Anyone on here had any good online buying experiences with anyone? Am I just going to have to take my chances?
