Anonymous wrote:Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe sport

Highly recommend the Sorento - could also try their smaller SUV.

Anonymous wrote:You can't get the CRV EX AWD For $25k. You can get it for $28K. I did. But, you won't get it for $25k unless you have a trade in. That said, you might be able to get a slightly used 2017 for $25k. It would probably be hard to find. But, it seems to fit the rest of your criteria.

I got the EX-L AWD for $27k out the door. There are lots of Honda dealers around here. Throw your business out there and see who’s willing to cut you a deal.

Buy used, any of the above. You will save a ton, and use the rest for something else. Cars are such a rip off.

CX-5 by far my favorite car I own.

You can't get the CRV EX AWD For $25k. You can get it for $28K. I did. But, you won't get it for $25k unless you have a trade in. That said, you might be able to get a slightly used 2017 for $25k. It would probably be hard to find. But, it seems to fit the rest of your criteria.

Another vote for Mazda CX-5

Anonymous wrote:Mazda CX-5. They are gorgeous and consistently rated top in class for reliability, ease of maintenance, and fun to drive. I'd place the enjoyability factor squarely among the ranks of BMW and Mercedes, just without the prestige factor.

This is our car. Fits your needs and we've been happy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honda CR-V
Yes, everyone has one but there's a reason: they have decent MPG, reliability, safety and cargo capacity. Tend to hold their value too.

+1 We just bought one. It's nice. We liked it better than the Subaru Forester which we considered.

+2 not sure if he’s tall but I’m 6’ and the crv was the most comfortable small suv I trie.

Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe sport

Anonymous wrote:Honda CR-V
Yes, everyone has one but there's a reason: they have decent MPG, reliability, safety and cargo capacity. Tend to hold their value too.

+1 We just bought one. It's nice. We liked it better than the Subaru Forester which we considered.

What about a Subaru Forester? It's different enough from the outback and meets all your requirements.

Mazda CX-5. They are gorgeous and consistently rated top in class for reliability, ease of maintenance, and fun to drive. I'd place the enjoyability factor squarely among the ranks of BMW and Mercedes, just without the prestige factor.

Honda CR-V
Yes, everyone has one but there's a reason: they have decent MPG, reliability, safety and cargo capacity. Tend to hold their value too.

Mazda CX-9. We got a three row one for the storage - most smaller ones have limited storage space if you can’t put the second row down. So you get one where you keep the third row down.

Ideally we'd pay $25K for a middle of the road small SUV (like a Subaru Outback, but we already have one and don't want to buy another one of those). The most we'd want to pay is maybe $28,000. Here are our requirements:

AWD -- this is a MUST because of where our families live
Moon roof (my DH is so weird)
Auto seats (most cars have this now, right?)
Roomy backseat for one rear facing + one forward facing car seat
Roomy cargo area for strollers, suitcases, sports stuff, etc. since we travel to visit family a few times a year and our older child is just starting sports
Infrequent and inexpensive maintenance (so...no Volvo or Volkswagen!)
Takes regular gas (not premium)

We don't need fancy like leather seats, safety sensors, etc. - we'd probably end up getting the mid-level of something (I think there's usually 3 versions of a car, right? low/med/high-end?)

What do you recommend and like? This is going to be DH's car, and he refuses to get a minivan, so don't recommend one of those, please!! And he won't take my 5 year old SUV and let ME get a minivan, LOL!