OP-

I recommend you test drive all the cars you are thinking of. As you can see from these posts, there are people who love and who hate pretty much every car you mention, so I recommend trying them all and seeing what you like.

FWIW, I have a toyota RAV4 which i really like. I test drove a bunch of the small suvs when I was looking because i didnt know which I'd like best. The CRV is VERY slow and sluggish compared to my V6 Rav4. There was just no comparison, and I would never consider a CRV for future purchases. The santa fe I did not like for a variety of reasons, particularly the overall handling and the interior space.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The elephant in the room here is that Subaru's cost a lot more than the CRV (or the Santa Fe). I have a CRV and I love it. But I don't feel like I chose it OVER the forester, because I couldn't spend the extra money anyway.

I just looked at the 2012 models and the base model Outback is only $1,000 more than the base model CR-V.

OP isn't looking at the Outback - she's looking at the Forrester.

We hate our Subaru Outback, it's been nothing but a PITA and it's very uncomfortable. We'll never buy a Subaru again.

^^^PP here, back to add that we test-drove the CRV, the Forrester, Nissan Murano, and the Ford Escape, and liked/like the Santa Fe best.

Our mechanic likes Hyundais. And you can't beat the five-year warranty.

We have a 2yo Santa Fe and LOVE it. LOVE it. We have had zero problems and are so pleased with how comfortable it is - and for its size, it gets good mileage. Our boys are 14 and 11 and it is comfortable for all of us riding together, plus another teen.

The CRV is significantly smaller, more comparable to the Hyundai Tucson.

I have a 2007 CRV-it has been a great car with lots of trunk space. However, I would not buy another CRV because it is not a powerful engine, definately would help if it had a V6 engine. The other reason is that I had trouble with the AC compressor. Dealership mainetenance kept telling me nothing was wrong until the warantee expired, then it was "obvious" to them that something was wrong. In addition, customer service at their service department needs to be improved.

I have a 2010 Forester and have never regretted the purchase. The interior is simple, but we chose the vehicle because of safety ratings, and the capabilities. My DH spent months of research before buying the Forester, and we did lots of test driving. The Outback is one hell of a good looking vehicle, I might add, and would consider it in the future.

OP, the Car Talk guys have a lot of info on these cars. Have you checked out their website: http://www.cartalk.com/content/car-info#buying.

I haven't tried the Kia yet! Thanks PP.

We test drove all of the above and ended up going with a Kia Sorento. It was the roomiest of the bunch, drove great, and you can't beat the warranty. The Santa Fe would probably have been our second choice but the driver's seat didn't go back far enough to comfortably fit my husband's long legs. I hated the sluggish pick-up on the CRV and thought both the Outback and the Forrester were ugly.

the myth of Honda invulnerability is as phony as the now exposed Toyota myth...

they both have weak points and flaws, it's just that Honda aggressively denies they exist and has a raft of "secret warranties" like the PP with the FUBARd AC system found ... you don't learn about them unless and until you have a problem and ask or complain.

Do your research on ANY model before you buy, there are things to learn & know about any of them.

Santa Fe!!

Whatever you do, don't get the Volkswagen. They are super fun to drive, but my last one barely made it to 8 years/90,000 miles and it started slowly falling apart as soon as the warranty was up at 4/27,000. The interior buttons melted (like the radio dials) and the windows would go up and down at random. Had to replace the tie-rods every two years (never had to do that on a car before, so not my driving). Then the last night we owned it we went to open the door and the door handle came off in our hands. Had to climb in through the window. Other than a reasonable engine and a fun driving experience, everything else on those cars is cheap, cheap, cheap.

We bought a VW Jetta wagon recently and I really like it. It was a replacement for our 2003 BMW sportwagon -- a great little car -- so the Jetta had a hard act to follow. So far, it's holding its own, though. It handles well and gives a smooth ride. I can't speak to durability at this time since we've had it only a few months. As to size, our teen son drives it often and he and his friends seem comfortable in it. What I wonder about, though, OP, is how any sportwagon would work as a replacement for a Siena. Isn't that a minivan? Sportswagons are great for zipping around town, getting into tight parking spaces, and carrying groceries or small cargo items, but for long family trips, big carpools, hauling lots of stuff (e.g., taking kids to college) we use our SUV.

Hi OP here. Thanks so much for all the feedback. We are looking at a budget of around $23K (including discount through USAA buying service) and all these cars are around this price, when you factor in the discount.

I originally wanted the Outback but when I sat in it, it seemed oddly proportioned for me. The Forester was better.

We could also go used but we generally drive a car for about 10 years/100,000 miles so I feel like we get a good value out of it anyway, and I like having the full warranty.

We got a Forester a few years ago and it has been great (liked it better than the outback, although I think one or both may been redesigned since then), only downside is that because it's got 4 wheel drive the mileage isn't that great for driving around town.