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Nissan Murano vs Toyota Highlander vs Subaru B9 Tribeca vs Honda Pilot
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Comments
-juice
I'm a Davis Aggie living in the Seattle area. I test drove and solicited offers on the V6 RAV4 Limited w/3rd row, the Honda Pilot EX-L, and the B9 Tribeca 7 Passenger Limited.
The RAV4 was the most fun to drive, the Tribeca was the most refined, and the Pilot drove similar to my old Pathfinder. When I was in the market (March) the V6 4X4 RAV4's were just starting to hit the lots, so the best offer I could get was north of $33K, just a few thousand less than best deal I could get on a loaded Tribeca. The only way I was going to commit to a RAV4 was if I could get it near invoice and I was miles away. Plus, the deal on the Tribeca made it a no brainer.
Not sure what your circumstances are, but if you can save a bunch on a loaded, comparably equipped RAV4 (about $5K) then the RAV4 would be worth considering. Otherwise, spend a little more and get a whole lot more of a car.
Price was not really an issue with both vehicles which made deciding tough. I can get a standard Tribeca (with some options) for $2500 under invoice at $28.5K or a limited for $29.8K. The Rav4 V6 AWD with the third row seats is going for a bit less than $27K (it includes the side curtain airbags, 6 CD changer, tow prep, mats). So it was a close call. Besides, I'm a loyal Subaru owner. I really enjoy driving my Legacy GT 2.5 Ltd - I replaced the rear sway bar and had the ECU reprogrammed
In the end, I decided on the Rav because of the better gas mileage, lower pollutants, non-premium gas requirement, etc. Also, I had to speak up before the car was spoken for. I hope it's not the wrong choice.
Sounds like a great price. Does that include leather and DVD? I think the demand in the Pac NW is such that dealers aren't into heavy discounting, just yet... But I haven't been following the prices ever since I bought my car a few months ago.
Enjoy your rig - and the weather down there! :shades:
Is that still a good deal? It's the only one I've found after a month of searching.
The '07 Rav should come out in October and wonder if there are any improvements. I know the Tribeca has some upcoming improvements. If the Tribeca only needed regular fuel and got better gas mileage (even slightly better), I would have gone for it.
-juice
If I run a tank of mid grade with all local/city miles, I get about 17 on average. When I ran out a tank of mid grade on a run down to Dulles to see the new P-61 at the Udvar-Hazy center, I got 24. But that was pure highway miles with about 5 miles of parking lot, etc miles.
Of course, I only have about 3800 miles on her at this point. She's not even close to being broken in yet.
It requires premium - I tried mid-grade, and the performance suffered.
Based on my mileage, I only spend $120 more a year using premium.
-juice
I burn premium all the time, I figure that with the way gas prices are now, there isn't much of a difference between paying $45 for a tankful of premium versus $ 42.50 for a tank of regular.
is more accurate than the computer readout.
-juice
-juice
Good Luck!
Alan
But...you found a bargain semi-used model, so that's great. Congrats.
-juice
Tribeca was too stiff (seats and suspension). Transmission lagged with AC on. Turned off by dealer also. Two test drives.
Tribeca also had less 2nd row room, and the 3rd row is a joke Limited didn't have as many options as the Touring Package Murano.
Rented the S Murano twice through Hertz and drove it up and down Hwy 1. Very impressed with power and transmission through all the dips, climbs and curves.
Highlander wasn't option due to styling.
They go back in two stages. 4" back with the regular knob. Then you hit a release and it goes back another 4". So it slides back a full 8", but most people can't locate the release.
When you do slide it all the way back, the 2nd row touches the 3rd row, so it cannot be used at all, but there is *plenty* of 2nd row leg room.
Just an FYI. Most of the press missed that, even.
-juice
Think about it, if I fill the car up to the brim. Then drive 300 miles. Then go to fill it up again and put in exactly 15 gallons, I know that I've used exactly 15 gallons and therefore have gotten 300mi/15gal = 20mpg. I don't need to use all 16.9 gallons in the tank to know that I used just 15 of them. In fact, it doesn't matter how big the tank is, nor do you need to know. You only need to know how many gallons you used.
Think about it... I hope this helps.
Now, I agree one should not stand at a gas station & squeeze every last ounce of gas in the tank (as I do) For the next few fill-ups do the same thing. After a few tank fill ups even if not filled to the brim, you will still have a a pretty good idea of actual mileage.
Usually, when the auto pump shuts off first time at a gas station, there is usually "room" to put in upwards of another 1.5 gallons.
Alternatively, just put gas in until auto shut off. After a few fill ups what you have determined is actual gas mileage will be fairly accurate.
-juice
Like I said before, going on 6000 miles now and have not reset the trip computer and the recorded mpg is exactly 22.2. I have driven so many miles now I will probably reset it and start over. It would only go up to the next level (22.5) or down next level (21.9) if I went on a long highway trip of a few thousand mile in which I averaged more like 23, or might go down a notch if I did nothing but city driving for at least a month or so.
Like I said before, the actual mileage per gas usage probably more like 21 to 21.5. In fact, later tonight I will report back exact mileage calculated by miles driven divided by actual consumption
I took the time to add up all the miles since I got demo at 10,000 miles. Have put on exactly 6788 miles (since first week in August) and have put in exactly 314.6 gallons. That comes out to an average of 21.57 mpg. Considering that the trip computer on the car, which I have not reset since I bagan says 22.2 mpg, I am pleased. The computer goes up and down in increments of .3 mpg as some of you are probably aware. I have driven over 2000 miles since it last budged up or down, so I assume the 22.2 is not going to change for a while.
So, the trip computer is only imflating the mpg by approx 3%
Probably at least 75% of my miles are "highway" back & forth to Montreal from Prov RI area, the rest a lot of short stuff dropping kids, etc. It is my estimate if that was the only kind of driving I did, mixed in with a small amount of highway driving, average would be around 18.
thx for sharing
The loaded Pilot is roughly the same as the stripper MDX. Nicer finishes available on the MDX, better styling and options, IMO.
Depends on if we're talking base, or leather, etc.
-juice
Therefore would like to evaluate the differences. For one thing the 07 MDX is not a touchscreen NAV which has been a complaint for some though before they used it and i'm sure Acura who has the best tech did it for a reason and supposedly well according to salesman at dealership he doesn't miss the touchscreen at all though he also was skeptical at first but now loves and wouldnt' go back saying that its very intuitive. so maybe acuras is good but i know other non touchscreen navs like audi were pretty bad using knobs for everything.
supposedly touchscreen breaks down sooner and obviously gets lots of fingerprints.
can't compare 07 mdx to b9 tribeca in mdx threads because many dont know the tribeca there.
speaking of nav screen size though getting bigger in some of these models in topic...
i am wondering though if the 07 mdx nav screen is larger then the Tribeca as the one i test drove didn't have nav and dealership didnt' have any yet with nav.
from pictures it doesnt' seem as big as the Acura TL nav scree which is also closer and lower down in position as well as being touchscreen.
from pics the 07 mdx which is at top of dash and has a little ledge/roof over it i guess to block glare seems kind of small. i really like the larger nav screen of the TL and wish the Tribecas was larger.
Also speakin of tech like nav and the screens,, i saw in a magazine the new Chrysler Sebring has an all in one NAV unit with 20gb hard drive and usb connection so you can put mp3s and i assume movies and pictures as well. I am very interested in something like that i know Pioneer has some amazing all in one touch screen voice activated nav units some of whic i think have some hd space.
i would get an Acura just for the superior voice activated nav which the new ones also have live traffic but if aftermarket units like the Pioneer might be better anyway then....
this would prob be more for a Tribeca thread but i think i already asked if one of the Pioneer head units with larger screen then B9's nav would fit where the nav screen is on the tribeca. of course then you might lose the other menus of the nav system like the mpg, temp etc. which wouldn't be too preferable.
The Murano doesn't have that much cargo space, and visibility isn't as good. They put the emphasis on the rear seat leg room.
I can't imagine having to carry 8 adults. For use it's the 5 of us plus a friend of one of the kids. A small 3rd row is fine.
-juice
Different people can in fact have different priorities--"I guess." The Murano's visibility is fine, by the way. And the back-up camera and screen that are standard in the Murano SL and SE are only available with a navigation system on the Pilot. That's a significant "visibility" advantage for the Murano.
I felt the Tribeca handled better. It has more cargo room, too. Slide the 2nd row back the full 8" and the 40/20/40 split seat is quite comfy. The 20 portion is the perfect divider.
-juice
"Highlander is too narrow, Murano is not an suv - its a car with big tires, and the tribeca is the second most ugly car on the road. (Aztec is the first.) "
You must be driving the Pontiac Aztec!!!
And the beauty of the Tribeca is one of the main reasons people buy this car!
Because it has much more room in the first and second row seats than Highlander, Tribeca, or Pilot.
Why? Because they didn't have to squeeze those two rows of seats in order to fit in a third row (whether standard or optional, it still impacts placement of rows one and two) in which adults or teenagers can't fit. Murano has three to six inches longer wheelbase than the others and as a result has three or four more inches of combined legroom in the first and second rows of seats. Plus, Tribeca's swoopy dash cuts into legroom, especially for the driver's right leg. I couldn't drive it. And in the Pilot my legs are bent like pretzels. Murano has 2.5 more inches of front seat legroom than Pilot.
None of them are SUVs. They're all "cars with big tires." If you want an SUV get a Land Cruiser or Range Rover or big Jeep.