Anonymous wrote:We are down to 4 suvs - Toyota CRV Hybrid 2025 (new), Honda CRV Hybrid 2026 (new), Lexus RX350 2022 (about 40K miles), Acura RDX 2022/23 (about 30K miles). All in the same neighborhood in terms of price - $35-$38K. If you were in my shoes, which one would you pick and why?

1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible. I'm an excellent driver. I drive slow on the driveway.

I love my RAV4 hybrid so much. My only regret is that I didn’t fully understand the benefits of the RAV4 prime and if I had, would have opted for it instead.

We intentionally purchased two RAV4 hybrids in the past two years. We also unintentionally replaced an older Subaru Outback with a Prius—hadn’t intended to do that just yet but circumstances forced our hand. The Prius is awesome as well, but I think it would be hard to go from a Highlander to a Prius. The Prius has excellent safety features, though, and if you don’t need much cargo space it is a very nice car with plenty of zip.

I will say at this point that if you are not ready to go fully EV, hybrid just seems like the obvious choice. We have been a Subaru family for a long time but they dawdled too long on hybrids/EVs so we have shifted to Toyota.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few questions first. How many miles a year will you be driving? How long do you plan to keep the car? Is having more features more important than gas mileage?

DP. Retired, so will not be driving a lot, probably less than 7k miles a year. My 2010 Highlander requires replacement with leaking windows, new brakes, etc. The car has been so reliable over the years and everything is happening at once and just better to replace and update. Kids are gone except for college breaks, I no longer need the space for golf clubs, soccer balls, tennis rackets. DH recently died, so now it is just me. He would have known exactly what to purchase. He never believed in buying a brand new vehicle, but it chose the best, reliable vehicles that served the family well. I don't even no where to begin in choosing the replacement vehicle. I cannot go back to a sedan, but my reliable Toyota Highlander just seems wasteful now. Any suggestions are warmly accepted. TIA.

With your Highlander traded in and year-end discounts, you should get a decent 2025 trim for about $20K.

A new rav4? No way, more like $30k after all fees even with the trade in

Depends on the trim. I just went through the process with their 2025 lineup. The most popular Rav4 hybrid trim (XLE) is about $35,810 MSRP. Of course, Toyota has these add-ons that features (completely optional though) which adds another $2K, bringing the total cost to $38K. The equivalent non-hybrid (but front-wheel drive) is about $35K. I was getting 10% off with not too much negotiation.. Could've gotten 12%, at which point the non-hybrid would be $31K. Add taxes, the total is about $33K.

Their LE trim is even cheaper. I assumed a $10k for the trade-in.

Add another $1k for dealer fees. And you are not going to get $10k for trading in a 15 year old highlander.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few questions first. How many miles a year will you be driving? How long do you plan to keep the car? Is having more features more important than gas mileage?

DP. Retired, so will not be driving a lot, probably less than 7k miles a year. My 2010 Highlander requires replacement with leaking windows, new brakes, etc. The car has been so reliable over the years and everything is happening at once and just better to replace and update. Kids are gone except for college breaks, I no longer need the space for golf clubs, soccer balls, tennis rackets. DH recently died, so now it is just me. He would have known exactly what to purchase. He never believed in buying a brand new vehicle, but it chose the best, reliable vehicles that served the family well. I don't even no where to begin in choosing the replacement vehicle. I cannot go back to a sedan, but my reliable Toyota Highlander just seems wasteful now. Any suggestions are warmly accepted. TIA.

I'm sorry abut your husband. Have you considered the Toyota Crown Signia since you like Toyota? My husband has the sedan version and loves it, so he is encouraging me to look at this one. (He did a lot of research before buying it.)

Anonymous wrote:Definitely a new Toyota/Homda vs a used Lexus/RDX as far as reliability goes. Toyota has bullet proof hybrids so a new RAV4 final choice.

Reliability of Lexus is consistently better than ToyYoda. Lexus is the final choice. But OP is widely confused because he doesn’t even know if he wants luxury, entry level luxury (acura] or basic econoboxes

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few questions first. How many miles a year will you be driving? How long do you plan to keep the car? Is having more features more important than gas mileage?

DP. Retired, so will not be driving a lot, probably less than 7k miles a year. My 2010 Highlander requires replacement with leaking windows, new brakes, etc. The car has been so reliable over the years and everything is happening at once and just better to replace and update. Kids are gone except for college breaks, I no longer need the space for golf clubs, soccer balls, tennis rackets. DH recently died, so now it is just me. He would have known exactly what to purchase. He never believed in buying a brand new vehicle, but it chose the best, reliable vehicles that served the family well. I don't even no where to begin in choosing the replacement vehicle. I cannot go back to a sedan, but my reliable Toyota Highlander just seems wasteful now. Any suggestions are warmly accepted. TIA.

With your Highlander traded in and year-end discounts, you should get a decent 2025 trim for about $20K.

A new rav4? No way, more like $30k after all fees even with the trade in

Depends on the trim. I just went through the process with their 2025 lineup. The most popular Rav4 hybrid trim (XLE) is about $35,810 MSRP. Of course, Toyota has these add-ons that features (completely optional though) which adds another $2K, bringing the total cost to $38K. The equivalent non-hybrid (but front-wheel drive) is about $35K. I was getting 10% off with not too much negotiation.. Could've gotten 12%, at which point the non-hybrid would be $31K. Add taxes, the total is about $33K.

Their LE trim is even cheaper. I assumed a $10k for the trade-in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn’t quite an apples to apples comparison as you’re comparing “base” cars to their luxury counterparts. If you like more creature comforts, I’d lean towards the luxury. Actually, for a good compromise, maybe check out a new CRV with leather.

Maybe they have changed by my 2016 CRV has zero pickup. My next car will have a little more zip.

We have a ‘14 and a ‘17 CRV and I’ve never been worried about the get up and go. Maybe you have different driving circumstances than I do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few questions first. How many miles a year will you be driving? How long do you plan to keep the car? Is having more features more important than gas mileage?

DP. Retired, so will not be driving a lot, probably less than 7k miles a year. My 2010 Highlander requires replacement with leaking windows, new brakes, etc. The car has been so reliable over the years and everything is happening at once and just better to replace and update. Kids are gone except for college breaks, I no longer need the space for golf clubs, soccer balls, tennis rackets. DH recently died, so now it is just me. He would have known exactly what to purchase. He never believed in buying a brand new vehicle, but it chose the best, reliable vehicles that served the family well. I don't even no where to begin in choosing the replacement vehicle. I cannot go back to a sedan, but my reliable Toyota Highlander just seems wasteful now. Any suggestions are warmly accepted. TIA.

With your Highlander traded in and year-end discounts, you should get a decent 2025 trim for about $20K.

A new rav4? No way, more like $30k after all fees even with the trade in

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few questions first. How many miles a year will you be driving? How long do you plan to keep the car? Is having more features more important than gas mileage?

DP. Retired, so will not be driving a lot, probably less than 7k miles a year. My 2010 Highlander requires replacement with leaking windows, new brakes, etc. The car has been so reliable over the years and everything is happening at once and just better to replace and update. Kids are gone except for college breaks, I no longer need the space for golf clubs, soccer balls, tennis rackets. DH recently died, so now it is just me. He would have known exactly what to purchase. He never believed in buying a brand new vehicle, but it chose the best, reliable vehicles that served the family well. I don't even no where to begin in choosing the replacement vehicle. I cannot go back to a sedan, but my reliable Toyota Highlander just seems wasteful now. Any suggestions are warmly accepted. TIA.

If money is not an issue but you want safety, convenience and low maintenance, go with a Toyota Rav4. Even a non-hybrid should be fine. With your Highlander traded in and year-end discounts, you should get a decent 2025 trim for about $20K. If you want to 'win', make sure to do a lot of research and take someone who can negotiate for you (assuming you need the help).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few questions first. How many miles a year will you be driving? How long do you plan to keep the car? Is having more features more important than gas mileage?

DP. Retired, so will not be driving a lot, probably less than 7k miles a year. My 2010 Highlander requires replacement with leaking windows, new brakes, etc. The car has been so reliable over the years and everything is happening at once and just better to replace and update. Kids are gone except for college breaks, I no longer need the space for golf clubs, soccer balls, tennis rackets. DH recently died, so now it is just me. He would have known exactly what to purchase. He never believed in buying a brand new vehicle, but it chose the best, reliable vehicles that served the family well. I don't even no where to begin in choosing the replacement vehicle. I cannot go back to a sedan, but my reliable Toyota Highlander just seems wasteful now. Any suggestions are warmly accepted. TIA.

It is really not necessary to replace your car. The issues you mentioned are very minor and shouldn’t be more than $1k to fix. If you really want a new car and don’t mind spending $40k, a smaller SUV like Toyota RAV4 or Honda CRV is a good option.