2011 highlander

[chiFX45]

hey guys!!!

my girlfriend is looking at buying a 2011 highlander. she is/was leaning towards the 4 cyl.... at least at first just to be a little cost-conscious - gas, overall price.

i would prefer the SE which is the 6 cyl and 4x4. putting the "SE" on there adds about 6000-7000 with all of the options. tech package, leather, power lift-gate, etc.

what i'm wondering is, does anyone own one of these or at least know someone who does? i know it's a toyota and i know they're reliable, but, i'm wondering everyone's thoughts on 4/6 and front-wheel drive/AWD or 4x4...

we live in chicago and for the time being, she'll be driving about 25 miles round trip per day to work with no highway miles. i say for the time being because we just closed on our house and she may potentially be looking for a new job within the year.

at first the sound of 30,000 was making her sick lol, but, now she is starting to listen to my reasoning that she deserves toys and if we're about to drop 30,000 why not go for 35,000 and get a really kick-ass ride?!

thoughts?

 

[PMG 705]

My parents have the previous model and my sister and sister in-law have the newer model. All are AWD V6s. Great car and very reliable... The sport version comes with larger wheels and stiffer suspension, but compared to the Fx it rides like a cloud. I would go up to the V6 as the car is heavy as is. The 2011 models look good in my opinion.

 

[Chedman13]

hey guys!!!

my girlfriend is looking at buying a 2011 highlander. she is/was leaning towards the 4 cyl.... at least at first just to be a little cost-conscious - gas, overall price.

i would prefer the SE which is the 6 cyl and 4x4. putting the "SE" on there adds about 6000-7000 with all of the options. tech package, leather, power lift-gate, etc.

what i'm wondering is, does anyone own one of these or at least know someone who does? i know it's a toyota and i know they're reliable, but, i'm wondering everyone's thoughts on 4/6 and front-wheel drive/AWD or 4x4...

we live in chicago and for the time being, she'll be driving about 25 miles round trip per day to work with no highway miles. i say for the time being because we just closed on our house and she may potentially be looking for a new job within the year.

at first the sound of 30,000 was making her sick lol, but, now she is starting to listen to my reasoning that she deserves toys and if we're about to drop 30,000 why not go for 35,000 and get a really kick-ass ride?!

thoughts?

Hey Ron. Toyota isn't up there for me after all that has happened and the CEO admitting they were cutting corners.

Honda/Acura, Nissan/Infiniti are my favorites for reliability. I personally would tell her to go for a used Acura RDX, with a turbo I-4, the first turbo I believe on a production Acura and you can tell her too that it was designed and created by a female engineer (the truth).

AWD is better, why do you need a locking differential of a 4x4 unless you really go offroading? =) Full time 4x4's aren't good to go past certain speeds anyway and disengage, so for road drivers, AWD is better.

FWD/RWD/AWD/4x4 -- I personally like AWD, but none really matter unless you have good tires, the only part of the car that touches the ground/road. FWD with snows will be better than AWD and all-seasons, unless you have certain situations where you are stuck in heavy snow and only certain wheels have traction etc... but for the most part in Chicago, FWD w/ good tires is fine. AWD with no traction, wheels just spin.... so doesn't matter if all 4 wheels are spinning.

$30k for a highlander? Makes me sick thinking about it =) I'd rather find a used one SUV 30-50k miles in good condition and spend the extra money taking care of it, because once that is over with, it'll last a long time.

 

[chiFX45]

thanks for the responses guys. i've been hinting about possibly getting something a year old and not eating the depreciation, but, she has been a little leery about doing that thinking that she doesn't want someone else's potential problem.

it took me a week to talk her out of the chevy equinox lol. she had great reasons for wanting to get it, but, after we sat down at the dealer, she wanted nothing to do with it.

i'm going to do a little research to see if i can find something barely driven that was traded in. as far as comparable suvs, the murano doesn't have enough room to fit the dog and doesn't have a 3rd row seat... (which she may never use but wants) and she doesn't like the pilot at all.

thank you chedman!! thank you also PMG!!

 

[trainerKEN]

I already what kind reponses I'm going to get from other members but I don't really give a crap...

But you should have your g/f check out the New Kia Sportage. I almost bought one in Vancouver but I don't have credit in Canada.

It has one of the best mpg's in it's class.

 

[chiFX45]

lol ken. i actually like the sportage. we also looked at the sorento. the problem with the sportage was that there wasn't enough room for the dog in back - he could fit but wouldn't have much room to move at all.

 

[trainerKEN]

Oh, okie dokie

 

[porkandbeans]

For 3rd row seat and sporty factor, look at Volvo's XC90. Pricing may point you toward the used market. I like the XC60 better, but don't know if it has a 3rd seat option.

Ken, shame on you.
Okay, it's not that bad of an idea. Doesn't Hyundai have a decent one too?

 

[trainerKEN]

Ken, shame on you.
Okay, it's not that bad of an idea. Doesn't Hyundai have a decent one too?

yeah, but I actually like Kia's Sportage/Sorento better than Hyundai's SUV's.