Those are tiny vehicles once you have two kids, a stroller, two car seats.

Not much room to car pool or bring home groceries.

The Volkswagen Atlas or GMC Acadia a better size. A little bigger but no so big and a third row for car pooling.

Anonymous wrote:OP: Any update ?

We've had a Outback Premium for a month now, and although we don't commute, we (mostly my husband) have put almost a thousand miles on it from a beach trip and weekend outings. We really like it. My husband thinks the blind spot detection is a must have because he feels there's a large blind spot (option on Premium; think it's standard on Limited). I'm not the best driver so I don't love the Outback's length when I'm dealing with cramped parking situations, but that's the trade off for having a safe vehicle that fits my 6'3" husband with a rear-facing car seat in the back.

Some other SUVs have been mentioned in this thread. I should explain that I had narrowed it down to the Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Outback after pouring over the IIHS safety report for small SUVs (and sedans, which is how the Outback is categorized). The updated side crash safety ratings for the vast majority was disturbing to me, even ones with top IIHS pick ratings. No way was I going to buy a car with marginal head protection when I had a couple alternatives. The Outback didn't fare quite as well as the CX-5, but we decided that it was more important to keep our daughter rear-facing. After the Outback, I think the next best was the Honda CR-V but that was a distant third choice.

Inventory is flying off the lots. A dealership would have an Outback available and it would be sold the next day. The guy who sold us our Outback said it was the 3rd car he sold that day. This dealership was charging a $900 "dealership fee". We got them to take $700 off, though. Dealerships were telling me that they wouldn't get 2023s until Oct or Nov but we lucked out and got a 2023 in late Aug that had just arrived that day. The 2023s have a lot of black rubber on them, similar to the Wilderness. I think it looks dumb, especially on a white vehicle. But I couldn't be picky if I wanted to drive off the lot with a new car.

Anonymous wrote:I have a 2019 CX-5 and love it. Have never noticed any visibility issues. My husband has the CX-9.

Consumer Reports shares: Mazda CX-5 outward visibility is good to the front, but the sloping roofline and chunky rear pillars hampers the rear three-quarter view.

Also, Mazda's new infotainment system is frustrating to use.

Mazda CX-5 rear seat has less room than the Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, and Hyundai Tucson.

MazdaCX-5 is quiet and upper level models have a turbo engine.

CR overall score = 83 & road test = 78.

Subaru Forester CR overall = 89 (highest in thie small SUV class) & road test = 90.

Honda CR-V CR overall = 82/81 & road test = 82/80.

Hyundai Tucson CR overall = 80/84 & road test = 86/92. The second number is the rating for the hybrid version.

KiaSportage CR overall = 80 & road test = 78.

The Mazda CX-5 does not have enough headroom for a 6'3" driver.

I have a 2019 CX-5 and love it. Have never noticed any visibility issues. My husband has the CX-9.

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP, I am in the market for a car and was considering the CX-5. I am 5'4" for reference. I also have 2 middle school age kids and my husband is not very tall. I found the CX-5 to have very poor visibility while I was driving. The side pillars are so thick! and the side windows come up super high and I felt like my head was barely above where they began.
I also felt like the backseat was going to be too small for my 12 year old son who is 5'8" and growing, let alone any other full size adults.

I also drove an Outback which to me felt more like the right size (and utterly boring to drive). The Forester I sat in had the best visibility but frankly was still too small for a family of 4 and all our stuff on road trips.

I was bummed about the CX-5 because I think Mazda is onto something with their design. I also sat in the CX-50 and it was basically the same size and visibility feeling as the CX-5.

Good luck to you in your search.

You should try one of the XT (turbo) models, they're a bit more fun to drive.

Hi OP, I am in the market for a car and was considering the CX-5. I am 5'4" for reference. I also have 2 middle school age kids and my husband is not very tall. I found the CX-5 to have very poor visibility while I was driving. The side pillars are so thick! and the side windows come up super high and I felt like my head was barely above where they began.
I also felt like the backseat was going to be too small for my 12 year old son who is 5'8" and growing, let alone any other full size adults.

I also drove an Outback which to me felt more like the right size (and utterly boring to drive). The Forester I sat in had the best visibility but frankly was still too small for a family of 4 and all our stuff on road trips.

I was bummed about the CX-5 because I think Mazda is onto something with their design. I also sat in the CX-50 and it was basically the same size and visibility feeling as the CX-5.

Good luck to you in your search.

OP: Any update ?

You should look at the new CX-50. Basically the remodeled CX-5.

Forester is great for tall people.