Choosing a compact suv - need your help

[meateater]

* ervin...hmmm. Eto based sa research with the auto company i used to work with, subaru is one of the least targetted brands na ma carjack or carnap for the following reasons:

1. Its a mainstream brand abroad, but in the phils, medyo niche brand sya hence there is limited market to sell off chopped parts.
2. Due to the "niche" image, car jackers shy away from brands that are hard to sell or dispose off. Para hugas kamay na agad sila so to speak.
3. Due to the limited number of subaru vehicles on the road compared lets say to toyota, it's "hard to blend in" to make a very clean getaway. Easy to spot.

This was in 2007 pa from interviews with police stations with high occurence of carjack/carnap data by our research team. But that was in 07 pa. Ewan ko ngayon baka mas daring na sila.

+1 to this. I owned an MY 2008 Impreza. Sold it last weekend.
Never broke down once since I owned it. The only stuff I replaced are some bushings and parts for suspension. Quality is top notch pa.

One downside is that if you decide to sell the car, it will be hard to do so.

[JohnM]

Di naman masyado halata

My dad was in the same situation kasi. He's looking for a retirement car in that price range. Gusto nya medyo mataas para easy ingress and egress. He and my mom like terrorizing buses on the hiway so it should be stable at speed. That hiway is also notorious for flash floods, detours down rutted farm roads, slick mountain corners and the occasional jaywalking carabao so handling and ground clearance should also be good. Cargo space is not a priority dahil empty nesters naman sila.

The Fortuner and any other truck-based SUV were out because they don't corner that well and they're not easy to climb into. My mom is allergic to the Koreans and Mitsubishi so anything carrying their badge was out. My mom was partial to the CRV pero the new one doesn't look good to her. See where I'm going with this? Halos same choices na lang natira

Forester was out because my mom (aesthetics talaga ang girls hehe) thinks the rear end looks like an FX That left the XV and the CX7. When the CX7 was discontinued the big mouth of the CX5 scratched Mazda off the list. So what do we have left?

Then my brother announced that he was getting married so the purchase was held off until next year to prepare for any budgetary contingencies. Siguro naman by that time medyo ok na ang supply so they won't wait very long. He's planning to get a baby blue Premium.

[allenjo]

Di naman masyado halata

My dad was in the same situation kasi. He's looking for a retirement car in that price range. Gusto nya medyo mataas para easy ingress and egress. He and my mom like terrorizing buses on the hiway so it should be stable at speed. That hiway is also notorious for flash floods, detours down rutted farm roads, slick mountain corners and the occasional jaywalking carabao so handling and ground clearance should also be good. Cargo space is not a priority dahil empty nesters naman sila.

The Fortuner and any other truck-based SUV were out because they don't corner that well and they're not easy to climb into. My mom is allergic to the Koreans and Mitsubishi so anything carrying their badge was out. My mom was partial to the CRV pero the new one doesn't look good to her. See where I'm going with this? Halos same choices na lang natira

Forester was out because my mom (aesthetics talaga ang girls hehe) thinks the rear end looks like an FX That left the XV and the CX7. When the CX7 was discontinued the big mouth of the CX5 scratched Mazda off the list. So what do we have left?

Then my brother announced that he was getting married so the purchase was held off until next year to prepare for any budgetary contingencies. Siguro naman by that time medyo ok na ang supply so they won't wait very long. He's planning to get a baby blue Premium.

And i thought i was the only one who thought na disproportionate yung grille ng cx5. Actually yung lang naman in terms of aesthetics and gripe ko. The others are mechanical na.

[ghosthunter]

And i thought i was the only one who thought na disproportionate yung grille ng cx5. Actually yung lang naman in terms of aesthetics and gripe ko. The others are mechanical na.

You're not the only one complaining about the ugly front end of the CX5. I have the same opinion of it.

[ZENMasterTYL]

^ +1.

[baker123]

And all that black plastic is a good thing: minor scrapes are easier to hide

tama sir,. the plastic cladding helps lalo sa mga stubborn talahib or tall grass natin. and because of that. i havent had a scratch on it yet. it really is a big help. plus kahit may mud hindi ako takot i wipe off. easier to wash too.

[ervinelim]

Hehe! Salamat TS. Ganun pala yun. Ako pa natulungan mo with your knowledge!

Parang it boils down na lang talaga if Allenjo can make his wife buy the XV.

Okay siya! Go for it! Safety and Features wise okay talaga siya!

Wag lang yung Forester XS. Hina hatak nun lakas pa kumain ng gas.

[baker123]

Hindi naman siguro halata yung bias ko towards the XV hahaha. Maybe i should start renaming the thred to "How can i convince the wife to ge the XV". Just the same, im keeping an open mind. The CX5 does look good din overall. I just have to warm up to the "smiling whale shark mouth" grille it has. No offense to the cx5 owners out there.

guess what. my wife was the one that pushed me to buy the XV. i was looking at the tucson and the strada just because its "practical" for the price. but back in my mind i know i want the XV. but just not to be bias as i dont have anyone to talk to regarding XV i had to look at practicalities. but, after a few pakipots. i went and ordered it. you should have seen me floating in the air when someone backed out from the dark grey metallic premium. hehehe. waited a week since i ordered. im very lucky.

[renzo_d10]

So now its down to 3. Its the:

XV Premium
Forester XS
CX 5 AT

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Cancelled the CRV due to the inferior features....too underspec'd for its class.

Recommend ko sana XTrail. Isa yun sa mga crush ko sa CUV category, eh...

Among your choices, I'd pick the CX5 as the first one followed by the Forester XS then the XV.

CX7 sana kaso discontinued na pala..

[Noel Salisipan]

You're not the only one complaining about the ugly front end of the CX5. I have the same opinion of it.

For me, mukha lang s'yang animated sa pelikulang "cars". Dun yata kinuha ang concept bago nagmaterialize ang CX5, or vice-versa.

Kaya hindi din ganun ang appeal nya sa akin!

[pop3corn]

the current colors of the MX5 don't appeal to me. parang pang-jologs. even yun blue nakita personal, pangit. maganda lang sa pics.

---

pero kung bibile ako ngaun ng CUV, Sportage M/T lang. been using CRV 1st gen M/T 4WD for thirteen years now. yun lang naman silbe sa'kin ng CUV, pag tamad ako magmaneho ng mas malaki na CRDi mid suv.

[foresterx]

XV na yan!!! then join subarusociety.org or scp to get 10-15% discount on MI for parts and labor. anyway the market for OEM and aftermarket parts for subaru's isn't as great as other cars but it's out there and joining scp and subarusociety will make it a lot easier to source parts and those clubs are pretty much the friendliest and most helpful people i've encountered out of all the car clubs in the philippines. also MI has the best customer service out of all the casa's i've encountered when i get my car serviced at MI i could leave all my belongings in my car and not worry about losing a thing. btw don't own a subaru anymore but plan to get another one which will be my 4th one if i do, just waiting for the brz to arrive so i can decide between the STi and the brz.

[jut703]

Recommend ko sana XTrail. Isa yun sa mga crush ko sa CUV category, eh...

Akala ko ako lang may gusto sa X-Trail. It's so refreshing to see a boxy CUV in the sea of aggressively curvy ones.

Pero ang talagang nakakapagpaimpress sakin sa X-Trail ay kaya nitong tahakin ang Pinatubo.

[foresterx]

Akala ko ako lang may gusto sa X-Trail. It's so refreshing to see a boxy CUV in the sea of aggressively curvy ones.

Pero ang talagang nakakapagpaimpress sakin sa X-Trail ay kaya nitong tahakin ang Pinatubo.

like this?

[jut703]

^ Hindi ba't Skyway ng Pinatubo yan?

From the pics of this article (The Nissan X-Trail Experience: Going where no other crossover could), mukhang yung X-Trail dumaan dun sa old route eh:

[allenjo]

like this?

Now that is what im talking about. Its that hidden off road rugged persona that hits it smack on. Thats what i keep trying to tell the mrs. Its like attending a black tie affair then ripping your suit off to head to the beach, climb sagada, hit the back roads etc. heck even my friend who does off roading with a defender has nothing but praise for subarus awd. Kaya sumabay.

[allenjo]

Jut...you just made harder for the wife now hahaha...nakita nya yung pics since i told her to read what other had to say sa thread na to.

[allenjo]

XV na yan!!! then join subarusociety.org or scp to get 10-15% discount on MI for parts and labor. anyway the market for OEM and aftermarket parts for subaru's isn't as great as other cars but it's out there and joining scp and subarusociety will make it a lot easier to source parts and those clubs are pretty much the friendliest and most helpful people i've encountered out of all the car clubs in the philippines. also MI has the best customer service out of all the casa's i've encountered when i get my car serviced at MI i could leave all my belongings in my car and not worry about losing a thing. btw don't own a subaru anymore but plan to get another one which will be my 4th one if i do, just waiting for the brz to arrive so i can decide between the STi and the brz.

Already have sir even if the decision to get the subaru is unsure pa...but im hoping she'd consider it.

[allenjo]

Hope theres a cx5 owner there who can chime in din.

[jut703]

Jut...you just made harder for the wife now hahaha...nakita nya yung pics since i told her to read what other had to say sa thread na to.

Kung rugged CUV ang hanap ni misis, X-Trail 4x4 na haha.

For the video of the Scooby on Pinatubo, remember that yung Skyway path yan, the artificial paved path that bypasses the natural lahar and rocks of the old Pinatubo traill. Any 2WD car with decent ground clearance can handle it.

That said, I'm not discounting the off-road capabilities of the XV, it's got even higher ground clearance than the X-Trail (surprisingly), and Subaru's got a rather clever AWD system. Just not sure if the suspension is up for it.