Trying to narrow down a short list of SUV for wife

patperry2766 wrote:
UPDATE..still haven't pulled the trigger yet. The Highlander has the best bang for the buck from a price and safety feature stand point, but the 4 Runner and Durango are the leaders so far.

Her reasoning is that she turns 50 in October and has had 3 kids, but wants something that is "cool" and to show that she's not a middle age boring person driving a boring car. Can't figure a way for logic to prevail in this situation....my logic specifically....so now just trying to find the best deal. I guess that "if momma ain't happy, nobody's happy" rings true in this situation.

You might be able to pull a win/win, (cool and logical). I participated in a thread elsewhere that featured the Durango for a specific need. Usually being a V8 guy, I was surprised to discover the "sleeper" popularity and reliability of the Pentastar V6, combined with the wide array of Durango options and packages, make it quite the value, especially in a leftover 2018 deal.

Example:
2018 Durango SXT Anodized Platinum Edition
V6, tow package, leather, heated seats, 2nd row tumble captains chairs, power lift gate, third row seating, power sunroof, "Octane Red". Seems a lot of vehicle for the money. (Hint, it's up in Frisco, if you want to track it down).


Alternately, Kia snuck up on me with this one, designed in California, built in West Point, GA, arguably very cool, and the brand has been hanging around at the top of the J.D. Power initial quality survey for a couple of years. You may not want to jump on board with a first year model launch, but when you drill down the specs, it's a pretty nice setup.
2020 Kia Telluride

Edit: Just saw your prior post on the Telluride. In stock near you, and yes, I think it is going to be a big winner based on Kia's quiet success in quality and reliability in recent years. I'm likely not to buy new, but I can see picking up one of these in 2-3 years on the used market, and not hesitating. I've had a hard time getting my head around the possibility of owning a Kia/Hyundai product, but it's been a long time since the days of the Excel, it's my memory that is stuck, not the carmaker's quality...