What old(ish) compact SUV?

[Dante]

Having some downtime I've got to thinking (again) what would I replace the Outlander with?
It's a theoretical exercise on my end as this is the wife's car and she has no interest in replacing it as long as it works (and it still does just fine) and she doesn't have to care about it.
But I know that if it suddenly crapps out she'll come running to me, so I have to be ready 

A rational choice for her use case (car is a commodity) would be a new(ish) Mazda CX-5 GS AWD (without C/D) or ideally a new Honda CR-V Hybrid but I don't think she'd be willing to pony up what's needed for any of them. In fact I quite like the 2026 CR-V Sport Hybrid myself, but at 55K on the road it's pricy IMO.

Therefore I'm looking at some "disposable" options in the realm of 10+ years old and around 15K, but... something I would (secretly) somewhat like too 

One car I developed a soft spot for lately is the 2015 MB GLK 35O. I didn't really like it when it was new and I thought it was too small at the time but now the circumstances have changed. Small-ish cargo space or rear seats is no longer a problem. I've seen some units with under 150K for 15-16K...

Does anyone have any fist or even second hand experience with these? I don't recall any on the old forum but I thought I would put it out there. Any thoughts?




 

[GreatBigAbyss]

There are some 2017 - 2018 higher mileage CX-5's out there for that price...

Here's one: 

https://www.autotrader.ca/offers/mazda-cx-5-gasoline-black-b7feb401-3811-4b49-a93c-d7ec235c3424?sort=standard&desc=0&position=1&source_otp=t10&source=listpage_search-results&order_bucket=unknown&boost_level=b4&applied_boost_level=b4&relevance_adjustment=boost&boosting_product=total_boost

[Dante]

There are some 2017 - 2018 higher mileage CX-5's out there for that price...

Here's one: 

https://www.autotrader.ca/offers/mazda-cx-5-gasoline-black-b7feb401-3811-4b49-a93c-d7ec235c3424?sort=standard&desc=0&position=1&source_otp=t10&source=listpage_search-results&order_bucket=unknown&boost_level=b4&applied_boost_level=b4&relevance_adjustment=boost&boosting_product=total_boost

Well maintained unit but with cylinder deactivation feature which I would not want.

[Firm]

The first gen GLKs are not generally well like, but I kinda dig them too.....I like the more boxy styling vs the newer models, b/c they're lower rung in the Mercedes lineup they don't have all the fancy suspension stuff that goes bad and totals the car, and while the interiors are nothing special certain trim levels can look pretty nice inside. Mrs.Firm's uncle bought his 3 daughters white GLKs of that era, one of them must have been better optioned than the others and had gorgeous cream seats with thick black piping, it was quite nice. 

[Dante]

The pre-facelift had cheap interiors but the facelift (2013-2015) are nicer.
There is a 2104 for sale now just like the one you described.
From what I read the aspirated 3.5 V6 on the facelift (M276) has been generally reliable and a nice engine this is why I'm looking at a late model year. No fancy suspension bits either. Pretty "analog" car by today's standards. From what I can see parts support is pretty good.

[Blueprint]

Handing a 10 y.o. fgc to your wife for daily driving? Man you live dangerously 

From that era... Gen1 Toyota Venza with the V6, had a Hot Wheels vibe with the huge wheels and that funky windswept wagon bod. The Mentor had one - instant cred.

Gen2 Acura RDX, basically a V6 CR-V. Have the tranny inspected.

Infiniti QX70 (ex-FX) - still cool, probably lower resale value hence interesting

Infiniti QX50 - a G37 wagon, slightly lifted

[Firm]

If I needed an SUV that wasn't a full-sized GM, I'd probably seek out a nice 10-15 year old Cayenne, whatever trim level came with an NA V8.

[Tortoise]

You could really roll the dice and get a 2nd Gen Touareg. I think the 2nd Gen was a lot more reliable than the first.  But, that's only a relative scale.

I really like them.  They seem a lot more upscale than the modern VWs.

[GreatBigAbyss]

Handing a 10 y.o. fgc to your wife for daily driving? Man you live dangerously 

And yet the cylinder de-activation in a CX-5 (that isn't really known to be too problematic) is a problem to stay away from...

I think, like other of Dante's car selection threads, he already has something in mind, and this is just an exercise to slowly whittle away all the other choices until the only recommendation that is left is the one that's in his head already. 

[Bridgecity]

Handing a 10 y.o. fgc to your wife for daily driving? Man you live dangerously 

And yet the cylinder de-activation in a CX-5 (that isn't really known to be too problematic) is a problem to stay away from...

I think, like other of Dante's car selection threads, he already has something in mind, and this is just an exercise to slowly whittle away all the other choices until the only recommendation that is left is the one that's in his head already.

Correct, and a german one.

I like the Infiniti suggestions from Blueprint.  Something more interesting than an RDX or Venza, and should still be fairly reliable.

[TheHire]

Handing a 10 y.o. fgc to your wife for daily driving? Man you live dangerously 

I think, like other of Dante's car selection threads, he already has something in mind, and this is just an exercise to slowly whittle away all the other choices until the only recommendation that is left is the one that's in his head already. 

lol

And for the record, GLKs are junk to own. Air injection pumps, oil leaks, driveshafts, transmissions, transfer cases (which are one piece with the trans, BTW), etc.

Good luck with it!

[Dante]

And for the record, GLKs are junk to own. Air injection pumps, oil leaks, driveshafts, transmissions, transfer cases (which are one piece with the trans, BTW), etc.

Good luck with it!

This is actually helpful.

[Dante]

And yet the cylinder de-activation in a CX-5 (that isn't really known to be too problematic) is a problem to stay away from...

For the record, I really like Mazda CX-5 and it would be my first choice and recommendation to anyone looking for this type of vehicle, but to say C/D isn't known to be problematic is a bit awkward.

There are plenty of discussions online about it (especially early years), Mazda had a recall on it and for 2024 they dropped it all together.... Must not be a known issue...

CX-5 is not out of the picture just saying it's hard to find a good one AND without C/D (as a personal choice I do not want this feature).

Just like CVT is not my preference but not an absolute deal breaker in this use case (on my own car it would be).

[Dante]

Handing a 10 y.o. fgc to your wife for daily driving? Man you live dangerously 

This got me thinking and I think you are right. Like the saying goes..."nobody ever got fired for buying IBM" perhaps for this case I should stick with the common wisdom and look for a CR-V, RAV4 or CX-5.

For the low budget option I see a 2014 CRV (pre CVT) or a 2015 RAV4 with decent mileage can be had for $15K or a bit above which is good.

Boring but safe I guess.

[GreatBigAbyss]

I hear ya, but CX-5's aren't exactly falling off the road due to Cylinder Deactivation.  They are generally regarded as reliable.  There was a recall that changed some programming, and that seems to have fixed any driveability issues if they were experienced.  For MY part, my 2019 has cylinder deactivation, and I haven't noticed any issues with it.  Driveability is not affected.  Now granted, I'm a sample of 1, and my car only has about 90k kms on it, so I'm probably not the best sample here. 

If you're looking for the 'big 3' Japanese cars, well, the CX-5 will be the most engaging and nicest inside, the Toyota will be the most boring to drive, with Honda right in the middle.  Overall reliability is the reverse of that order.