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NHTSA Releases Model Year 2007 New Crash and Rollover Safety Ratings
Saturn Outlook - nice looking, although I like the CX 9 interior more, has a much roomier feeling inside. Less confined than the Mazda. Lots of room behind 3rd row. The heights of the 2nd & 3rd row seats were no problem. Access to 3rd row OK from passenger side split bench. Access not as good from driver side because this wider part of the split bench seems to only slide instead of the passenger side sliding and folding forward.
Overall though, I can't say I was interested in a test drive. These cars are off my list.
Still waiting to see the Veracruz and Enclave.
You know, I was kind worried about the CX-9 being a CX-7 with a 3rd row. I am really happy it is not. Don't get me wrong, I really like the CX-7, but, it is obvious Mazda went all out on this vehicle.
I have driven the MKX many times, and have sold a few to date, and I also like that vehicle as well, but, the CX-9 just drives better, and has a much "richer" feel to it. Is "richer" even a word?? hmmm....
I went to the Auto show in Baltimore and tried the Acadia, CX-9 and Nitro.
The CX-9 is a good looking vehicle with good capacity but does does not have headroom. Also the doors are huge! This could be interesting in parking lots with tight spaces.
The Nitro to me has a hard look which is what I like to move to from my recent life with minivans. The looks, capacity, price and stopping distance is great but I would want to wait till the full time 4WD is available.
The GMC Acadia was a surprise. I thought it was going to just be a not distinct large box but it was a bold smooth truck with great hauling room. I only will need 4 seats so the 3rd row will be down. It also surprised me with the MPG.
I not yet sure which will win for me but I am glad there are good choices.
Wow, that's low. The Freestyle has 22 Cu ft back behind the third row.
When is the Veracruz supposed to arrive in the showrooms?
I have no definite time of arrival. I've heard March and April.
Overall, we found the Nitro to be a great alternative for those who want a big, bold look - Hummer H3 buyers and such - but who don’t need to live with an overly thirsty, uncomfortable nightmare of an offroad vehicle. The Nitro is quiet, comfortable, and refined on the highway, with a tough-enough basic chassis proven along many trails in Liberty form, but with suspension tuning and interior concessions to support the modern-day traveler, who doesn’t need to climb the larger rocks or cross the deeper streams.
This is the type of vehicle I am looking for since I am not an offroad type but am looking for the hauling capacity, decent gas mileage, respectable starting and stopping and looks that are not the curvy cookie cutter style that a lot of CUV/SUVs are developing. Besides I believe I can get the Nitro the way I want it around $25,000. The Acadia would be around $30,000-32,000.
See this article
link title
At this point the Acadia and Nitro are still on top. I have to decide if the $5000-7000 more for the GMC is worth it.
Then in another post (314) you say " There is 10 cu. ft. behind the Santa Fe's 3rd row. I'm not sure how much is behind the Veracruz".
So which is it?
Seems like the picture of the Veracruz looks like it has much more room behind third row than I remember the CX 9 having.
You might be right about the minivan - I'm looking forward to seeing the 2008 Chrysler T&C - seems as if it has almost all the bells & whistles and I'm having good luck w/ 3 Chrysler vehicles. Never owned a GM product.
Unfortunately, you can not totally rely on specs, although it's information that is useful. I do not believe ea. manuf. calculates the specs the same way (remember they have a marketing dept. that can manipulate the #'s to their advantage).
Do they always give the specs with all the seats forward, backward, middle position, etc.? No. It seems to vary.
So the overall best way to know which will be most suitable to you is to go into the vehicle and make the adjustments as if you were driving the car - adjust the drivers seat position, then go to the 2nd row - adjust that to where it seems comfortable & then go to 3rd row. Or you can have passengers adjust 2nd and 3rd row. And then use your better judgement to eyeball if it's obvious or measure the cargo areas. None of us want to have complaining passengers, right?
Also consider if you can comfortably put your toes under the seat in front of you. On some vehicles, it's hard to do. On others, it can be comfortable.
I've had good luck with GM and bad luck with GM. So far I've had good luck with my Intrepid although the Infinity stereo has eaten it's fair share of factory speakers so far. I've replace 5 out of 9.
I'm interested in seeing what kind of mpg the new T&C can get. The new Pacifica only gets 16/24 FWD with the 4.0L & 6-speed. My wife is anti-minivan right now. I could care less as long as the new vehicle is safe, semi-attractive, has a good 3rd row, and can tow 3500 lbs.
My mistake, the official number is 20.7, including the deep seat well (the area where the seat goes when folded); this is from the Ford site. I don't know where Edmunds got their number; Ford lists 15.8 cu ft if you don't include the seat well. But realistically, I don't see how you can't include the deep area where the seat stows when folded. Other manufacturers include that area.
What, people are supposed to NOT use that deep area? I wonder how one would accomplish that... float stuff over thin air?:confuse:
BTW, I would recommend the FS for anyone wanting comfortable 3rd row seats. They are great.
I have not looked at the possible 2008 vehicles yet. I do not want to purchase any new model car for at least 6 months and preferably up to one year after introduction. There still seems to be a break in period to find the initial problems. So the newer model would mean waiting till the summer of 2008 and I not sure my current minivan will last.
I do like the expected starting price range of the Crew at $20,000 for this mid sized CUV which could beat the 25000 for a Nitro and 32000 for the full sized Acadia.
Don't take this the wrong way, but youre probably on the wrong forum. This forum is about CUV's, not real SUV's. And most people on this forum(I'm NOT one of them) can't stand real SUV's. Good luck though
I don't know if that's true, but if it is, then good for Ford. I don't like how the seat folds, thouggh. i hate that cheap cover floor. It's just that- cheap. At the auto show, the Lady working the Ford area broke it. I was going to chalk it up to little experience, than she told me SHE OWNED ONE!!! Well, I can see why she went for the Explorer! I don't hate all SUV's with fold in the floor feature-MMontero did it nicely!. But it handled no tthat great.
But thanks for the input anyway.
The FS spare is stowed underneath the seat well, behind the 3rd seat. There is a false floor on top of that, which forms the floor of the well. So the area of which we are speaking is an open well that goes to the ceiling of the car.
Really, Ford did a remarkable job in desiging the interior space of the FS...
http://media.ford.com/products/presskit_display.cfm?vehicle_id=1463&press_sectio- n_id=398&make_id=92
And why isn't the 3rd row dimensions on there? Did I miss it somehow?
Good luck with your new Acadia and transition from minivan to CUV.
The Acadia compromises weight and driving dynamics for sheer size. The CX-9 compromises interior room for sporty looks and excellent handling. I'm hoping the Veracruz will do neither. I'd love an R320CDI, but at around $53k for what we want, it's not in the budget.
As for looks, we'll have to agree to disagree on the Acadia vs. CX-9. I liked the look of them equally until I saw them in person at the auto show. Then my wife and I both liked the Acadia (and Outlook) much better. The enormous rear doors on the CX-9 kind of turned us off.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070215/VIDEO0302/70215002/1015- - /BUSINESS01
Scroll down and look at the video at that link. You will see him fold the second-row bench with one hand (the wide side), slide it backwards and forwards and also see three women fit in the third row.
Here is a GIF of the captain's chairs in action:
Ok, dueling URLs. I got my data from the specifications on the FS listed on the Ford Vehicles website. It appears that some nameless press kit writer goofed up.
FS Spec page from Fordvehicles.com