Family SUV

[Neuk_]

Don't think I ever thought It would cross my lips but I prefer a CVT now over a traditional Automatic!
Drove a couple of cars on loaners for a couple of months.

First, a 2.0CVT Rav4 was a little noisy but power delivery was reasonable and smooth.
Had a nice 360 camera but no Apple Carplay!

Secondly, a Subaru XV 2.0L CVT had the best torque for me at low revs. power delivery was more consistent with less engine noise than the RAV4 CVT along with all the gadgets you could think of.

Lastly the 2.5L Rav4 with the traditional automatic. I hated the lag of switching gears! Sure it had more power but it was almost as if the car lost momentum in that action not using its torque properly from a really nice engine.
it started feeling unnatural to me compared to the CVT.

CVT's have their place as they can contribute to very efficient fuel use but one of their biggest limitations is that they can't handle high torque which is why you only find them on smaller capacity and output engines.

 

[azbob]

Bmw X3, any of the diesels and call it a day.

@I.am.Sam

 

[Neuk_]

I bet lots of vw's have a 1.4T? I'm not gonna read all the specs across all the vw range to figure it out.

Not anymore, locally the Tiguan has and maybe the Golf but most of VW's smaller cars are using the newer generation 1.0T, I assumed Tiguan because the thread is about SUV's.

 

[ShloshMalosh]

VW Tiguan, wide spares availability and relatively cheaper maintenance and repair costs.

average service cost ? (ppl have told me they are expensive)
anything to look out for in terms of things breaking ? (I've heard about the DSGs failing)
Petrol or diesel 2.0 ? (I know that the 1.4s are no good)

And any good indy mechanics/ Tig specialists that you know of ?

 

[pinball wizard]

Not anymore, locally the Tiguan has and maybe the Golf but most of VW's smaller cars are using the newer generation 1.0T, I assumed Tiguan because the thread is about SUV's.

Fair enough. I wouldn't know the vw range, is why I asked, and the guy waffles about trim levels and killerwatts.

 

[nazmo]

average service cost ? (ppl have told me they are expensive)
anything to look out for in terms of things breaking ? (I've heard about the DSGs failing)
Petrol or diesel 2.0 ? (I know that the 1.4s are no good)

And any good indy mechanics/ Tig specialists that you know of ?

The first gen 1.4T wasn't great. That being said our A1 had it and it was 6 yrs with no faults.
The current 1.4T is solid. Our maintenance cost on the tigaun for past 4 years has been R0.

We have collectively 4 cars with DCTs with a combined mileage of 320 000kms with zero issues.
If you get a VW, get a 5 yr plan. It covers everything property. Then extend it by 2 yrs. You can have 7 yrs with only expense being fuel and tires.

 

[RudderVator]

CVT's have their place as they can contribute to very efficient fuel use but one of their biggest limitations is that they can't handle high torque which is why you only find them on smaller capacity and output engines.

Thats a old myth. The Subaru WRX has a 200Kw 350NM 2.0L turbo and the CVT in it does just fine?

I think you are confusing old Belt driven CVT’s to Chain driven CVT’s.
The Chain CVT can handle plenty but they are expensive gearboxes.

 

[ShloshMalosh]

The first gen 1.4T wasn't great. That being said our A1 had it and it was 6 yrs with no faults.
The current 1.4T is solid. Our maintenance cost on the tigaun for past 4 years has been R0.

We have collectively 4 cars with DCTs with a combined mileage of 320 000kms with zero issues.
If you get a VW, get a 5 yr plan. It covers everything property. Then extend it by 2 yrs. You can have 7 yrs with only expense being fuel and tires.

Sorry i wasnt clear in my post, and im also hijacking (sorry OP), im in a similar boat and considering a late model 1st gen tiguan (facelift).

 

[RudderVator]

average service cost ? (ppl have told me they are expensive)
anything to look out for in terms of things breaking ? (I've heard about the DSGs failing)
Petrol or diesel 2.0 ? (I know that the 1.4s are no good)

And any good indy mechanics/ Tig specialists that you know of ?

Only thing thats terrible about VW is the Labour cost at dealerships. Almost 1k per hour!

When out of warranty that doesn’t matter anymore if you service it somewhere else.

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

So I guess in short the X-Trail should come off the list and maybe replace it with the CX-5.

It seems the Forester doesn't hold value as much with the Rav, CR-V and Tiguan all selling well above book value

The CX-5 is awesome. Boot is huge and interior is spacious.

Forester is also a good choice, and would be my pick if they had a few more dealerships. If you live near one, definitely go with this.

Depending on how much of a sucker you are for gadgets, you'll want the CX-5 Individual or Forester S-ES. Both come with virtually every conceivable option...

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

CVT's have their place as they can contribute to very efficient fuel use but one of their biggest limitations is that they can't handle high torque which is why you only find them on smaller capacity and output engines.

Subaru didn't get the memo.

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But yeah it can feel a bit weird if you're not used to it. Just takes a bit of getting used to...

 

[Neuk_]

The first gen 1.4T wasn't great. That being said our A1 had it and it was 6 yrs with no faults.
The current 1.4T is solid. Our maintenance cost on the tigaun for past 4 years has been R0.

We have collectively 4 cars with DCTs with a combined mileage of 320 000kms with zero issues.
If you get a VW, get a 5 yr plan. It covers everything property. Then extend it by 2 yrs. You can have 7 yrs with only expense being fuel and tires.

The first generation twincharged 1.4's weren't great, but VW did away with them and has opted for the turbo only version which has proved to be a really good engine.

 

[Neuk_]

Thats a old myth. The Subaru WRX has a 200Kw 350NM 2.0L turbo and the CVT in it does just fine?

I think you are confusing old Belt driven CVT’s to Chain driven CVT’s.
The Chain CVT can handle plenty but they are expensive gearboxes.

No myth, I think was Williams who tried CVT boxes in the early 90's in their F1 cars and they kept breaking, obviously this is at the extreme of power/torque figures. The chain driven CVT's will handle more than belt driven but as you say they are expensive and not used nearly as much. I honestly didn't know that there were WRX's with CVT's, I thought it was the more garden variety cars that ran them.

 

[nazmo]

The first generation twincharged 1.4's weren't great, but VW did away with them and has opted for the turbo only version which has proved to be a really good engine.

As an owner of the twincharged engine. It's an absolute POS.

But the turbo 1.4s was fine and got better and better

 

[ShloshMalosh]

Turbos and turbo diesels scare me from a long term ownership point of view... blown turbos can mean 10s of thousands in repairs, and often these go regardless of regular maintainance and care (Tin hat says built in faults to encourage new car sales)

can see why the n/a engines of the CRV and Rav are appealing then... for long term ownership

 

[qscwbt]

non turbo subaru will do 1 million kms on a motor

 

[nadeem_k]

On normal use with regular services will the crv, forester or rav4 last longer?

I read people keep the forester longer than any other car, is that because it’s a great car or because the resale value is so bad

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

On normal use with regular services will the crv, forester or rav4 last longer?

I read people keep the forester longer than any other car, is that because it’s a great car or because the resale value is so bad

They're all NA Japanese and will last forever. Add the CX-5 as well, another NA Japanese...

 

[nadeem_k]

So I guess the x trail will also last forever if the cvt was better

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

Just go test drive them.

IMO the CX-5 and Forester come out top because they feel more premium European. The Toyota and Honda while not bad, still have that Japanese plasticky feel to them. The Nissan is probably somewhere inbetween...