jleblan1

For me, I looked at fuel efficient SUVs priced below 23k out the door. I almost purchased the Chevy Trax, but felt it looked a little feminine and fleet car looking. I also strongly considered the Honda HRV, but felt it was too drab and plain for the asking price. I looked at Jeeps lower end offerings but none clicked with me. Ultimately the Mitsubishi wasn't even on my radar till I saw it mentioned in an article about the Honda HRV. I went and test drove an ES when the sales person mentioned I could get the SE trim for about a grand more. Ultimately I liked the mercury silver color, but it had the premium package putting it above my 23k out the door price. Luckily the dealership was more than willing to deal and I got that vehicle for 22.7k with TTL. For roughly the same price as the Chevy Trax I had picked out I got a good bit more features and a seemingly better warranty.

Landshark

Subaru Forester (too big, too $$ for what you get)

Subaru Crosstrek (too meh)

Nissan Juke (too weird)

Ford Escape (interior too busy)

Jerp Renegade (LOL i just threw that out there to the wife, luckily she thought it was stupid-looking. would probably never actually buy a Chrysler product)

Infiniti G37 AWD sedan (threw that out there to her, too, and later on i bought a coupe)

CottageLifer

Subaru Forester (son has one - I like); too expensive though
Nissan X-Trail
Toyota Matrix AWD

Main criteria were 4wd/AWD, safety, fuel economy and dependability. Needless to say, no domestics or overpriced Euros.

Morgan Carter

iTrader: (1)

Lexus nx and the outlander sport. I just love the OS bodystyle so it won over the Lexus

CottageLifer

Anyone ever test drive the RR Evoque? I like the look (but probably not the price)

jono119

Ford Escape se 2.0T
Toyota RAV4
Mazda CX-5
Nissan Juke and Rouge
And the OS- loved them since they came out but didn't like the underpowered 2.0L .

Once the 2.4L OS came out I knew what I wanted!!

Landshark

definitely not the reliability.

mRVRsport

We did, back when it first came out.

Great features, had enough zoomzoom, BUT was WAY too expensive for the basic trim $54K starting.

And, it was basically a Ford Escape re-skinned.

AWCAWD

Here is what I did before purchasing my RVR:
My criteria were: affordability, safety, reliability, fuel efficiency, comfort,...... and driving dynamics (somewhere at the end).
Unlike many people and certainly automotive journalists I think test drive is a deceiver one way or the other, so I did it at the very end of my research. I would compare it with dancing with your sweetheart in a ball or a disco. It can be very appealing but it can tell you nothing about how the life together will be.
Affordability: I decided how much money I am willing to spend and/or responsibly can afford. I seriously doubt that a $50+K Range Rover Evoque could be in the same buying decision as the $25K OS/RVR. The figure I ended up with allowed me to buy a midsize sedan or compact SUV.
Safety: There is no safe car just one is safer than the other in one particular accident. In crash tests the cars may perform well against concrete walls but in real life collisions the safety systems should not be bypassed. What it means is that the bumper height makes a huge difference besides the vehicle mass of course. If your bumper height is higher than the other vehicle in the crash you are the luckier and vice versa. What swing me over to the compact SUV was this factor demonstrated in these videos:
Ford F150 and Honda Civic frontal crash test by IIHS - YouTube
Huge cost of mismatched bumpers - YouTube
I have considered nearly every crossover that was available that time: the brand new CX-5, Crosstrek, Forester, Encore, Juke, Rogue (1st gen), Escape,CR-V, RAV4.
IIHS just introduced the new small overlap crash test and that time only the Forester and the OS/RVR got, good and acceptable results, respectively (0:48 in the following video):
IIHS small overlap crash test results for small SUVs - YouTube
The Rogue was out as the worst performer. Escape failed it also badly (poor rating) and unlike the others that corrected their scores by the next year, the Escape and the BMW X1 although not in my list due to high price; with marginal rating) did not bother to even attempt to fix it until the model change this fall.
Reliability: I wanted to avoid direct injection, turbo, and CVT but as I also wanted AWD (my city gets 82 " of snow annually) that leaved me with no car to chose from.
I have read about Subaru"s excessive oil consumption, the class action lawsuit was in the air. I was not ready to take the jump with Mazda's high compression ratio, direct injection engine technology (now I think this is the only that avoids carbon deposition but that time I could not predict ), I was also concerned about Mazda's notorious reputation in rusting. There were so many problems, recalls concerning the 1.6 L turbo engine of the Escape. I turned to reliability records (world wide not just US) and found out the Mitsubishi is doing quite well (to be honest I did not even see many RVRs at that time). The Lancer (on which platform the OS/RVR is built upon) was named the world's most reliable car in 15 years"
http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/mit...icle-1.1205917
The generous warranty and the relatively few problems with Mitsubishi's adaptation of the JATCO CVT eased my opposition against CVTs. I have heard nightmare stories about the Saturn VUE's CVT before. The quirkiness: I wanted a car that was made in Japan (not just made by a Japanese company somewhere else). This may not be fully supported (or even silly for some of you) but I have owned watches, computers, and cameras (still and video) exclusively made in Japan in the past 15 years or so. I simply value the Japanese work ethics. It never failed me so far (because as Reagan said: Trust but verify).
Fuel efficiency: That was not particularly a concern as nearly all on my list had comparable fuel economy figures.
Resale value: This was not high on my list as I knew I would keep the car for 7-8 years minimum.I am a fiscal conservative and know that the car is an expense and not an investment. One should run and keep the car until it has little value left otherwise the financial loss is substantial.
Driving and comfort: At the end I test drove only the CR-V, the CX-5, the Crosstrek and the OS/RVR. I knew I would not buy the CR-V (due to its sub par AWD system and low ground clearance) and lack of negotiation power (see later) but I wanted to see the bench mark. I liked the CX-5 the most and the Crosstrek the least. It showed that it is a jacked up Impreza. The seating position was car like not SUV like (legs forward, little thigh support).
Bottom line: I had little to none bargaining power for the Mazda and Honda. The Mazda was about $5000 more if comparably equipped than the OS and I dropped it from my list. The Honda regardless of my lack of desire (not made in Japan) was also $3000 more expensive. Finally the better deal and better comfort made me swing to the OS/RVR as if was an outgoing model , the 2013 models were already there.
This is how I ended up with the OS/RVR. I do not regret it.

Landshark

the difference in quality was obvious between my 2002 WRX (built in Gunma, Japan) and my 2005 Legacy GT (built in Layfayette, Indiana) ....

AWCAWD

(the auto journalists) when you are up for a new car to buy?

Only read this post if reliability matters to you.

Many times I wonder how and why the accolades are given to a certain car by the auto journalists.
Recently, the Mudfest SUV of the Year Awards were given to cars that are low on the reliability ratings:
Best Compact: Jeep Renegate Trailhawk
Best Premium Compact: Land Rover Discovery Sport
Best Family: Jeep Cherokee
Best Premium: Acura MDX
Overall winner: Jeep Renegate Trailhawk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT8ixWmtMSo

Consumer Reports reliability survey just pointed this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfpZRbjzeUU

Acura: 0:53 (Transmissions : 8 speed dual clutch and 9 speed auto, Acuralink Infotainment System)
Fiat-Chrysler (1:57) produced 5 of the 7 worst brands (one of the is Jeep; with 9 speed automatic transmission (2:15))

Why auto journalist only live for the "now"? They are not helping us, car buyers.
You can only take them seriously if reliability is not among your top priorities.
To be honest, I could write another post about them neglecting safety as well.

You do not have to shop for a budget SUV, luxury brands are also affected.
Mercedes (a luxury brand) is just above Fiat-Chrysler (2:35 in the Consumer Reports Survey video).
Tesla was given the highest score ever earlier by Consumer Reports in their test (above 100%) and the public's verdict said otherwise (2:40)- below average rating.

Consumer Reports became apologetic to save their reputation and their ship from sinking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y94sVKZ-mrY

I can go on and on. My comments on youtube are hidden on cannels of TFLcar ( ground clearance remark about the Best winter cars part 1), Alex on Autos ( Honda CRV AWD capabilty), Everyman Driver (Mitsubishi MMCS vs Venza flip out entertainment screen) and now since yesterday from the creators of the Diagonal Test (featured in one our our thread, for asking why the OS/RVR was only attempted to clime for only 5 seconds an let fail the test, while the Mazda's CX-3 and CX-5 were pushed for 16 and 14s , respectively, before making it). Not because I made obscene comments (that would label me not them and they would be happy to let me do that) rather because I questioned their objectivity (that labels them) and testing integrity. I am also fed up with Edmunds' assessment of the OS (read their test about the 2015 OS and you will find my comments below). Be very careful if you base your opinion on the test results of automotive journalists. I bought my car, I am safe, I am only doing it for those, who may not have that much time to spend before they commit themselves.

Here is an entertaining video about awards given by journalists and their real value. I really like it (it is from down-and-under but uses North American statistics as well). Do not miss it, it is funny and most of all has a great message value:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys4nU8HS1xE

Landshark

i research cars reviews online for specs only, to get me in the ballpark. then i'll check out specific forums, noting that there are "fanbois" for most cars who will praise them no matter what their faults.

Motorweek just did a segment on the new Outlander, but completely forgot to include the OS in their compact SUV comparison shootout in the very next episode.

i tend to like weird cars that aren't a dime-a-dozen. there is a lot of OS's in my immediate area due to the Mitsu dealer close by, but not so much everywhere else.

vnaald

I researched a bunch of cars and test drove a few as well. Going in we were looking for something to better haul around our 2 children, and something with 4wd for Midwest winters and drives around the lake to Michigan. Go figure we've got record warmth thus far this winter. Not complaining though. Cost was a factor with 2 kids in full time day care, and while we could have gone for a more expensive car we didn't feel like stretching the budget for unnecessary luxuries.

Honda HRV - Nice car but I felt it was too small. Also, my wife's car (now my daily driver) is a 2008 Fit, and the HRV didn't feel substantially larger to justify the cost. The AWD was weak and the center console felt awkward. But it drove and road nicely.

Nissan Rogue - I really liked this car. Nice feel, good size and plenty of trunk space. But with AWD it was 25k before taxes, etc., and the dealership was pretty up front in that they were selling well and they weren't really running discounts. So that kind of priced us out.

Ford Escape - Very nice car, solid. Just didn't really excite me at all. Seriously considered a used one.
Mazda CX5 - See Escape.

Subaru Outback - Rented one for vacation this summer and really liked it. Nice size, but they get pricey quickly and pre-owned hold value too well to get a nice used one.

But in the end the options and the price tag of the Outlander won us over. A 4wd vehicle for less than 20k out the door when double day care kicked in was a big factor. Basically it was about 5k less than any other alternative out there. Haven't looked back.