NEED Advice: SUV purchase

[ceaston]

I'm getting ready to purchase a used SUV and have narrowed the field to those below

1 Nissan Murano
2 Ford Edge
3 Toyota RAV4
4 Saturn Vue
5 Ford Escape


I'm hoping to get some feedback from you all. I have yet to drive any of them as that will be the next step, but would like to get some feedback from others taking everything into account (looks/cargo space/mpg/etc). MPG is important as I drive about 45 miles one way to work.

Thanks in advance

[drdisque]

The Edge is larger and significantly more powerful than the Escape. The Escape is a much more affordable design. The Rav 4 is also a compact SUV like the escape but is offered with a powerful V6 (although it is very expensive for a compact). The Murano is based on the Nissan Maxima and is an older design but otherwise very similar to the Edge.

The Vue was totally redesigned last year and is a great SUV that slots somewhere in between the compact Escape & Rav 4 and larger Edge and Murano in size. However, as it is a hot seller there are virtually no discounts on it out there right now.

If you're looking for a discount, your best bets are the Murano and Escape.

I really like how the Edge drives and its 6 speed transmission is very smooth. The Murano has a CVT transmission which can become problematic at high mileage (if you plan to own the car for 5+ years I'd avoid it).

If you're really concerned about fuel economy, there's the Escape Hybrid, but of course, as with all full-hybrid, it's considerably more expensive than the regular Escape and you will not save that money on gas.

[honda4us]

The Saturn Vue is indeed a good choice. I believe they have Honda engines?? Which is a great selling feature too! I know someone who has one and they like it way better than the Aztek they had before

Be sure to research the crash ratings for 2007.