I have been doing some research and shopping around for a new small SUV or fullsize SUV for the last several months. Right now I have narrowed it down to one vehicle but I wanted some input from you guys/gals on your thoughts on what you drive and have or currently own before I spill the beans on what I have narrowed it down to.

Our list isn't extensive however I will tell you we have a 2003 Lexus E300 and a 2006 Acura TL 6 Speed manual.. iam selling both to replace with something new.

We want something that can carry some cargo, our 110lb dog or pick people up at the airport and have room for their luggage. We have no kids now, but might change and even if it does we could always upgrade. We are looking for something with all wheel drive or 4WD, easy to park, something nice inside and comfortable for a road trip with 4 people and something that looks good. Nice options are heated seats, navi with phone and ipod integration, some power and of course some guts.. - fun to drive is always a plus

MPG is important but honestly in the SUV market its not going to be great anyway.. resale value is important as well, we wont own it forever. (usually 4-5 years)

My wife will be using it the majority of the time for her 5 mile roundtrip commute, so some gargantuan SUV is out (must be able to parallel park). plus we live in the city and will probably be parked on the street 50% of the time.. if the bronco isn't in the garage ;)

Anyway thought it would be cool to throw that out there. Even after evaluating a few vehicles there are a few out there that I haven't even considered and would be willing to do so. Iam keeping an open mind.. Budget wise.. well there are no range rovers on my list.. but some luxury SUV's are.. ;)

I bought my wife an 04 4Runner back in 06-07 or so. Now, while my Tacoma just didn't do it for me, this 4Runner has been one helluva vehicle. 4.7L V8 that gets ~20+/- consistently (I ran it to KC on I-70 hovering around 82mph and saw 22mpg constant). Very comfortable seats (was looking for a wrecked one to pull seats and put in to my Bronco). Excellent cargo space. Comfortable for adults in the back seat. And all around a great vehicle. We've put a little over 30k on it since we bought it and have had 0 issues so far.

Considering the length of time you usually own cars, I would personally be looking at a good quality pre-owned vehicle versus a new purchase. I detest having a note on a car and for what we paid and the amount of use we've gotten out of this thing, it has been worth every penny.

We did have the chance to drive a new 4Runner during our last vacation to Alaska. It was pretty comparable in comforts and features. However, those things are HUGE. I don't know if I would want to parallel park one and putting one in the garage might give me reason to pause.

Full Size - Tahoe/Yukon. I love my GMC Denali. 100,000 miles and only part I have changed is a Battery. Added a programmer and exhaust for a little better accelleration, mileage, and towing. Love the rear air ride, 6.0L, road trips, and 3rd row when people come to visit.

Mid Size - 4Runner. A real truck frame, towing capability, available 3rd row seats or pull-out cargo tray, resale, warranty, rugged (compared to others), trail tires vs. highway tires, real 4-wheel drive vs. all-wheel drive, cool interior, and reasonably priced with the SR-5 package.

The new Explorer may be a good option as well but have never seen one up close. Girl at work loves her newer FJ.

The only one that truly fits your criteria is.............

an Audi Q7 TDI

Audi has an awesome CPO program that provides 100k miles / 5 years so the trick is to find a low miles / 2011 or 2012 in service date. The price for this is near new but the extended warranty is built in.

drive one and you will own one.

+1 for Audi or VW TDi. Just bought my girlfriend an '02 4runner and it's been great so far. She was dead set on that body style. We have the new Explorers as company vehicles and they're crap imo.

You said no Range over, but we're selling our 2006 Land Rover LR3 HSE this summer. It has 10k left on an extended warranty (has 75k now) and is in the shop right now just to make sure everything is up to snuff. It's in excellent condition. We don't drive it all that much.

Has air suspension that rides so nice! The interior is the quietest I have ever been in. Heated front and middle row seats. Can seat (7) adults and every seat was designed for up to a 6'2" person.

We looked at an Audi TDI and the 3rd row is only for people under 4ft tall. I LOVE he idea of a diesel SUV, but the Audi is pretty small inside. Plus they were brand new on the market when we bought ours so no used available.

To touch your points, it does not have ipod interface, but you can add it, and let me tell you the Harmon Kardon system pounds! (factory 10" sub). Has everything else you asked for (bluetooth for most phones).

300HP 4.4L jaguar motor. It is a little slugish in normal driving mode, but pop the tranny into sport mod and it gets the job done. It may fall short in the mpg range. We range from 15-19mpg's (not too bad considering it's weight)

Parallel parking is easy with a tight turning radius and front and rear sensors. The side mirrors also dip down to get a good view of the curb. It has three seat/mirror memory settings.

Among these things, what sold me is that we could get into some pretty remote places with this rig. The air suspension raises to an off-road level and will even raise a bit more if it's dragging on anything. It has some amazing traction control gizmos that simulate a locker. With the dealer, we've done Mosquito Pass & Weston Pass without issue (except a screw in a tire). We did Black Bear and Imogene pass taking the harder lines and again had no issues at all.

Anyway, we can talk more details if you're interested.

My wife loves her 2011 grand cherokee. It has all the requirements and features you mention, we have taken it on 10 hr road trips, are currently in farmington new mexico with it, we have both boys and I spent half of this trip in the back seat (about 4 hrs) and it is fine, way beter than her old land rover piece of crap. Highway mileage is around 22-25mpg depending on how fast you are traveling (we have the v6 not the v8), travels well on the open road (i25 north through wyoming) as will as through the mountains (285 south and up over wolf creek pass last night) and nothing but good to say about it.

My only complaint is the rearview mirror seems to take up a lot of the visibility up front. But I am the only one of the 4 of us who seems to notice.

We bought it used with 11k miles on it a year ago. Paid 32 grand.

Only thing I can not testify directly to, off road capability. It might as well be a lincoln town car for all the dirt this thing will ever see...

My mom is looking for a new SUV to replace her big diesel excursion. I told her, I think the Grand Cherokee is probably the best right now. I hate to tell someone to buy from a bailout co. but the exploder has become nothing more than a gloried Taurus wagon. Why can't they put the v6 eco-boost in them? I hear the 4cyl eco is down on power. And you really have to get an upscale model to get into the air suspension and stuff.

Chris - we thought the same thing about the LR until we drove it. I would keep an extended warranty on it, because little things like the compressor and suspension bushings are very expensive, but we've really loved it!

Either way, tell us what you drove and how you like it.

J.D.

If we are just throwing some names out there to consider....

Nissan Murano....We had one with zero issues.

BMW X5..... My daughter has a X3. Maintenance is pricey.

For hot rods.......

Porsche Cayenne turbo or a Grand Cherokee SRT8, although the interior of the Jeep Overlands are very nice.

I have an Audi RS6 and have driven the Q. Audis are very comfortabke, powerful, handle and ride well.

I'll throw the 4Runner out there again. We have an 2006 Sport Edition with the V8, which brings in full time 4wd. Have only changed the oil and it's been great. Sold my 97 Land Cruiser which was locked f&r and haven't looked back!

I say you get one of these
http://bluecollarperformance.com/jeep.html
I think the wife would get a kick out of that grocery getter. And she can get to work before she leaves if she wants to. LOL
That place builds some nice rides. I want to take my Mustang out there and have Ron build it into one mean ride. He had a Legend Lime Mustang that he built to drag race in NMRA series. He drove it to the track raced and drove it home. If I remember right he won his class in national event and drove the car home. After drag racing he decided to road race it until he wrecked it last year.

Wow a high 9 SUV? That's impressive!

Have you driven the explorer? With the 4cyl. Eco-boost? Would like your feedback on that.

The new Jeep stuff is winning a ton of accolades. I would not classify them as a full-size SUV. The new Altitude Edition looks sweet:

http://www.jeep.com/en/2012/grand_chero ... olor=black