Post
by MWmetalhead » Sun Aug 08, 2021 5:25 pm
Yes, I've owned or leased a number of GM and Ford products. I'm not a fan of either manufacturer at the moment.
My GM vehicles were all relatively reliable, but I didn't put much mileage on any of them. The one I kept the longest was a 2006 GMC Envoy. Had that one for five and a half years. Was getting sick of excessive wind noise and mediocre handling in cross-winds. Around 42,000 miles (into my fourth year of ownership), the fuel gauge stopped working (I had it replaced, and more than a year after the work was performed, GM finally sent me a check refunding one-half the cost). At some unknown point, one of the tail lights also stopped working.
Since then, it's been a parade of Ford vehicle leases. My two Explorers were good cars, although the second one had a sound system that wasn't quite as good as the first one, and its ride also wasn't quite as cushy as the first one (both were FWD vehicles).
My first Ford Edge was a very dependable car, but performing infotainment firmware updates to enable Android Auto connectively was more difficult than it needed to be. Ford kept postponing the rollout for 2016 model year vehicles, which annoyed me greatly. Actually found a leaked "beta" copy of the software that worked fine; the official release didn't occur until six months later. Ride quality was great so long as you weren't turning a corner (body roll was *very* noticeable). The heat was piping hot, and the A/C was freezing cold...two strong suits for sure!
That lease ran out in 2019. I had no interest extending that lease or purchasing that car. I hated the body roll when cornering. The options I considered at the time were the Subaru Outback, the Honda Passport, the Kia Telluride and the Edge ST. I didn't want a Blazer because (a) it was the inaugural year for that newly launched vehicle, (b) it's built in Mexico and (c) the 2019 model lacked auto stop-start deactivation. I hate auto stop-start!
I didn't want an Equinox because those things are just fugly and the prior body style (which I like a bit better) was known for reliability issues. The GMC Terrain has far more palatable looks but a reputation for somewhat cheap interior materials, and I also could tell just from looking at the vehicle that blind spots would be an issue.
Wasn't a fan of the Outback's CVT and driving position. Range of functionality for steering wheel adjustment was too limited. My frigging legs were brushing the bottom of the wheel. The Passport, like the Blazer, was a new launch, although that risk was mitigated by the fact the Passport shared much of the same architecture as the Pilot. The interior of the Passport was just too "blah" for my liking. The proportions of that vehicle also screamed "body roll" to me. Whether or not that issue is actually common, I do not know.
Kia Telluride - great first impression, but again, it was a new launch (no reliability track record). Also, the car felt big and somewhat unwieldly when driving; it was too big for my needs.
I thought about the redesigned Toyota RAV4, but the lack of Android Auto in 2019 coupled with derogatory reviews regarding engine potency and noise turned me off.
Hyundai Santa Fe? Wasn't a fan of the exterior look and some earlier model years had recalls due to some significant issues (fire risk, for example). Similar comments apply to the Kia Sorrento at the time.
The one car I am *kicking* myself for not considering more seriously is the Mazda CX-5. That might very well be my next car.
I would've loved to have given the Acura RDX some consideration, but their horrible execution of the Infotainment system was a non-starter for me.
I ultimately went with an Edge ST lease, only because Ford was offering a butt load of incentives at the time. They were also offering a butt load of incentives for outright purchase, but I wasn't going to plop down mid to upper $30's for a car that likely would depreciate quickly given its power train (the sticker was laughably high - just shy of $50k; the big stack of incentives brought that number down to ~$39K right off the bat for purchase).
The dual-clutch transmission on the Edge ST is hurky-jerky in lower gears unless you hit the gas hard, there is noticeable turbo lag, and the OEM Hankook tires are not wearing too well. On the positive side, the engine does have a LOT of power, and handling is far more nimble than my prior Edge. On the annoying side, the A/C sucks compared to my prior three Ford vehicles (it is merely adequate in this vehicle), and the ventilated seats features works nowhere nearly as well as the heated seats feature (which works incredibly well).
When I was test driving my current car, we were experiencing record cold for June (afternoon temps in the 50s with rain), so I really couldn't put the A/C to the test.
I might have to put my infotainment grievances aside when shopping for my next car in late 2022. I hate the trend of deleting knobs and buttons in favor of integrating more functions into the touch screen. Lexus is committing that sin with its newly redesigned NX350, which is a crying shame, but that otherwise would be a very good car.
Morgan Wallen is a piece of garbage.
I literally would have no room for storage in front of the car.