Need to get the wife a car, and she is looking in the compact SUV/crossover size, with the requirements that it be AWD and have heated seats (she gets into work early and we're frequently leaving at 5am, so it's nice to have in the colder months when it's in the teens/twenties). I'm looking at something under $30k new. We live outside DC and she works in IT, so she needs to be able to get in for work when the area closes down for snow (I think we closed 5-6 days this past winter).
I've narrowed our initial search down to a Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring or a Ford Escape Titanium. The Ford seems to offer a better engine but costs approximately $2k more MSRP. I've heard some good things about the how the Mazda handles, and understand they put a little bit more juice in the engine with the 2014 model, but was wondering what this forum thought about the options.
I was considering a Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium, but I've heard a lot of bad things about CVT and the overall cheap feel of the interior. The turbo would be nice but $7k more (heated seats only come in the top trim model for the 2.0's) isn't worth it.
Here is a comparison I put together for the cars... any others I should consider adding (just realized I neglected to add Kia and Hyundai, not sure if it would make a difference)?
I know it isn't the Mazda or Ford, but we've been happy with the CR-V. I think we ended up with the EX-L (has AWD, leather, and heated seats but not the navigation/BT package). Mid-20s on mileage (wife works about 30 minutes away) and this winter didn't have any issues. Hauls the kids and dogs around no problem.
We were looking at the Forester as well when we decided on the CR-V. Partially because of cost (Honda was running .9% financing) and like you said the interior on the Forester is cheap looking/feeling. She's been happy with the CR-V.
I would consider the Honda CR-V. I've owned the 1999 model (bought 2003) and she lasted all the way until I sold her with 234K miles (she was still going strong). I bought the 2002 model year in 2012 with 100K and she already has 130K miles.
I've got a 2013 focus ST and my understanding is that the escape and focus share a platform. The escape should do you really well. I honestly don't know much about the others you mentioned.
A co-worker just bought an Escape Titanium and so far is very thrilled with it. Fit and finish looks very nice.
There are very few real SUV's anymore. Crossovers now dominate the market. Based on how you (your wife) would use the vehicle you really don't need a SUV, many of the crossovers in the market fit your needs. If all you need is something to navigate some snow on the road then either of your finalists would be fine. Now if you also want something that will do some trail blazing a crossover isn't what you want.
Get her behind the wheel of both for a test drive and see what impresses her most.
We won't be doing any off-roading, just need to be able to get through the worst that NE winter weather can throw at DC and be able to get to work before roads are plowed (4-8" of snow/ice/sleet on the roads with AWD and good all-weather/snow tires). The rest of the year, it's usually a 15 minute drive to a bus stop, so gas mileage isn't a top concern (although no reason to go the other way with no reason).
I have Continental DWS tires on my Saturn Astra, which is a 2WD 1.8L I4 138hp daily commuter. It can handle rain or a little snow, but I am looking for a little more peace of mind when it comes to commuting over 30 miles in bad weather.
look into the crosstrek as well, it's basically a lifted impreza and slightly smaller then the forester, also, get winter tires, AWD gets you going but winters get you stopped.
last i checked, the CX5 and Forester don't use a full time AWD system but someone else could clarify on that a bit better.
AWD is not a safety feature, will get you off faster in a straight line. Will not help in corners if the road is wet or snow covered, some expect it will keep you out of the ditch if you take a corner too fast, a false sense of security. The first sign of snow and the first vehicles in the ditch a SUV, AWD. No mater if you get AWD or not always get 4 good winter tires. All seasons will not cut it. Some think "I have AWD so no need for winter tires". I have a SUV FWD and just run winter tires with no problems in winter and snow we get in the far north of Canada. AWD will give less M/G and when out of warranty will drain your bank account for repairs. The Mazda I had had a lot of rust issues only after a few years and numerous repairs. Check JD Power for reliability for anything you buy.
I've had 2 CR-Vs and loved them both. The first, a 2010, was totalled in an accident and I walked away without a scratch. I replaced it with a 2012 and have been happy. I had a 2004 Subaru that was a lemon. I racked up close to $10k in warranty repair. I get that bad cars happen, but Subaru of America did nothing to stand by their vehicle. The best they offered was $500 off a new car. I didn't want a new car, I wanted my current one fixed. The only thing that saved me was that you could buy a factory extended warranty up to the 36k warranty expiration.
If gas mileage is a concern, stay away from the Escape 2.0 ecoboost. We bought a Titanium FWD 2.0 in November and if I could give it back, I would. I barely get 21MPG driving 50 miles round trip to work on I-75 @ 70-75MPH - no where near the 30MPG advertised. I upgraded from a Neon SRT4 that would get 25MPG all day long in the city - reason I looked at the Escape, but much to my demise, the MPG is pathetic. If I did it again, I'd really look at getting the Mazda - not as quick as the Escape, but much better MPG.
Also - if you have kids that are in car seats/booster seats, the backseat belt buckles will get covered up by them.
Edit - if you are worried about snow, the stock tires on the Escape are HORRIBLE for anything more than 3 inches - not to mention if your wheels start spinning the traction control will bog the engine down and you will be forced to turn it off to get out - coming from a FWD perspective - AWD might be a bit different (same tires though).
AWD is not a safety feature, will get you off faster in a straight line. Will not help in corners if the road is wet or snow covered, some expect it will keep you out of the ditch if you take a corner too fast, a false sense of security.
This, all AWD will do is get you going forwards won't do anything more, so keep that in mind. 4-8 inches of snow, you need 4-8 inches of ground clearance... I would go honda or toyota, in general easier to work on and cheaper to repair and a better build (at least in the past)
There's a difference between 4WD and AWD. SIGNIFICANT difference. And that is also a completely different topic from just having sufficient traction to begin with.
If you're going too fast for conditions for your vehicle and tires and try to come to a stop, 4WD or AWD will not help you at all if those tires can't get sufficient traction to brake. Antilock brakes and traction control will benefit 'a little' as they'll computationally figure out the most efficient use of braking force on each individual wheel (up until the point you lock up all four wheels and then all bets are pretty much off. As far as the computer knows at that point you have come to a complete stop.) to come to a safe and as short a stop as possible.
For forward motion you still have to rely on there being sufficient traction from the combination of your vehicle layout/weight and most importantly tires. AWD or 4WD, if none of the wheels can gain any traction, you are going nowhere.
Now here's the kicker. AWD in a perfect world will try to find what wheel has the best traction, as little as it may be, and put the majority of engine power there. In reality each manufacturer's AWD implementation is different in how it functions. I won't go into detail for sake of post length and it's been covered elsewhere. 4WD on the other hand just places all power equally to all four wheels (or some locked ratio. ie: If memory serves my mom's old '00 Durango was a 40/60 front/rear split in 4WD)