Nissan Rogue or Mazda CX-7?

[pwrof3]

Hello folks! My wife and I are looking to buy our first "Family" car as we prepare for the arrival of our first child.

We were loking into small SUV Crossovers and, based on availability of funds, have whittled it down to either the Nissan Rogue or Mazda CX-7.

I've done some reasearch and found that the Rogue is much better on gas, but lacks the accelaration and handling of the CX-7. Also, the CX-7 gives us more space in the interior and "trunk" area. However, the fuel benefits of the Rogue are very attractive to my wife, as well as the smaller frame, as she is used to driving sedans.

I was just wondering if anyone here has experience with either car and would care to give some feedback. Thank you in advance for the help!

[katty.jim]

maybe you have a lot to ask to all through the forums here

[speediva]

Can't speak specifically to either car, but I can say I loved every Nissan my family has ever owned.

And honestly, while you'll lack some cargo room in the Rogue, it's a cute little crossover, and acceleration isn't everything. Especially with precious little ones on board, handling and fast driving won't be a top priority. I drive my gas-sipper VERY gingerly, but I LOVE the fuel savings I get compared to when I drove it like I stole it.

PS - the money you save on gas going Rogue will help pay for diapers.

[pwrof3]

Thanks for the help! Yes, the gas is a killer on the CX-7. The Rogue may be out as of now, as I just read tons of reviews about transmission failures. Some folks are on their 3rd or 4th transmissions already.
I think the Rogue we were looking at may be replaced with a CR-V, which is more money, but the most reliable

[speediva]

Honda makes a good car - no question about it. I hadn't heard about the Rogue transmission problems... I have some friends who work at a Nissan plant so I might have to ask "off the record" and see what they say about it.

The CR-V is a nice small SUV. Have you considered any of the Subaru wagons? You get AWD and good gas mileage.

[pwrof3]

I'd be interested to hear what your friends say about the transmission. I believe it was edmunds.com where I read the reviews for the Rogue. One guy only had 2553 miles and needed a brand new transmission.

We looked into the Subaru Forrester, but we are looking at used cars under $19,000 with less than 30,000 miles on them and we could not find any Forresters in that range. There are cheaper Forresters, but they all have about 45 to 60 thousand miles on them already. Plus, my wife doesn't like the styling Of course, I'm the one doing all the research and she just picks out the ones that look nice.

[speediva]

The Forester is boxy, but the Outback does come in a wagon form. Just thought I'd throw that out there, as my Forester 2.5X can easily pull 24mpg city and was about 28mpg highway (although it is a 5spd manual). You should be able to find DOZENS of Subarus in your price range. I bought mine used in 2005 with 6k miles on it and it was only $16,900. They are out there - but I understand that "pretty" is important.

Just watch on the CR-V, as there was just an airbag recall. http://www.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?id=5376 Just make sure if you do get one that it's been serviced.

Keep us posted!

[pwrof3]

Thanks everyone! In the end, we decided against the CR-V because just too many people out there have one and I don't want to have to remember which CR-V is mine in a parking lot full of them.
I ended up finding a Mitsubishi Outlander and Mazda CX-7 at the same used car dealer. We test drove both.

The Outlander was a 2008 manufacturer car with 8,000 miles on it and an upgraded navi system. The interior was clean and nearly brand new. My wife drove the cars, so I don't have the exact details, but the Outlander handles very well and literally feels like driving a sedan. Engine noise is tolerable. Not as powerful as the CX-7, as it has a 4 cylinder and gets about 26mpg.

The 2008 CX-7 drove like a dream, according to my wife, but the interior seats are made of suede and did not feel very comfortable. The suede also felt as if it would be easily broken by objects like pens. It had about 21,000 miles on it. Engine was definitely quieter, and riding in the CX-7 was an overall more enjoyable experience. However, the 16mpg and premium fuel requirement was a letdown.

In the end, we ended up with the Mitsubishi Outlander over all of the cars I ended up researching. The Rogue had too many negative transmission problems on message boards around the Internet, the CX-7 didn't feel like it was constructed with quality in the interior, the suede threw us off and the gas mileage was horrendous. And, of course, the CR-V was just too plentiful and not a good bang for the buck. You pay extra for the Honda name.
I found the Outlander at the last minute and did some quick research on it and couldn't find any negatives.

Hopefully this will help folks looking for a small crossover.

[speediva]

I always forget about the Outlander as it never did gain popularity despite the crossover segment blooming!

Thanks for coming back and keeping us posted!