I have been leasing a 2008 BMW 335i, my contract is up in November, and I must look for a new car. As much as I loved my car, I do not want to spend that much money on a car again, I would like something cheaper, to get better millage, use regular gas;but I would like it to be fast, and a mid-size SUV,(as I just adopted a greyhound) and one more thing better support for my lower back. Am I asking to much??? 
Ibis Romero, Miami, FL
You want fast and SUV in the same vehicle?
Why?
You want a mid sized SUV to give you better gas mileage than a 335i?
How?
Good luck to you.
BC.
V6 Rav4 with fwd. Pretty much meets all your specs, except you’ll have to try out the seats.
And buy, don’t lease, if you want to save $$. Keep it for 10 years.
The Ford Flex is big enough for a dog, runs on regular fuel and can be had with a 3.5L twin turbo V6. Mileage won’t be as good as the 335i though. But yeah for the most part you are asking for vehicle that doesn’t exist.
The only fast SUV I can think of is the Porsche Cayenne, which is available as a hybrid or with a turbo.
The new Subaru Outback, when equipped with the 3.6 Liter 256 hp H-6 engine is pretty fast, as SUVs go. It is rated at 18 mpg city/25 mpg highway on regular gas, but I don’t know if this is better than what you can achieve on a 335i.
And, as was already said, leasing is the most expensive way of “owning” a car–except of course for the fact that you don’t own it. Do as I do–save your money, negotiate the best price, buy a car for cash, maintain the car flawlessly, and drive it for 8-10 years. You will be thousands of dollars ahead of the game, no matter what type of car you buy.
thanks all, this is all great information. I will post what I finally get.
Acura MDX and RAV4 v6 in that order…Acura is $42K…is that cheaper ?
Reminded me of this:
I can’t imagine it gets good gas mileage if you drive like that, though.
Mazda CX-7(no guys, I’m not biased at all, not one bit, no way no how :P) sport and SV use regular, but aren’t as fast as the 91+ octane requiring Touring/Grand Touring models with the turbo engine.
faster =/= better gas mileage
How about a Honda crosstour??
Test drive it and see if it’s right for you. I have a 2005 Accord V6 and the performance is quite good for a family sedan. The only way to know it to test it.
Have you taken a good look at the Crosstour?
The OP’s greyhound would become a hunchback if it had to ride in that cargo area with the extreme sloping roofline. This vehicle looks very nice, and being a Honda, it is probably very well engineered, but it is really a case of style taking precedence over function.
There is not a whole lot of cargo that could be carried in the back of that vehicle, and it definitely is not dog-friendly for any pooch the size of a greyhound, retriever, or other large breed.
The V6s in Hondas are pretty nice, but it isn’t as fast as a Flex Ecoboost. It’s also ugly looking IMO and I don’t think your dog would like the roofline.
Mazda has a nice crossover based on the Mazda 6 (zoom zoom) that will be fun to drive, economical and will hold your large dog. It will also be affordable for 300,000 miles since it won’t face the repair horrors of German cars when 150,000 miles rolls around.
that’s the CX-7 I mentioned earlier
“Have you taken a good look at the Crosstour?”
I don’t have to. If Ibis is interested in the car, she can test drive it to see if she and the dog will fit.
Acura’s selling a TSX wagon this fall, might be worth a look.
Thanks!
I’m not fond of the larger Accords, either. I like my 2005 much better in the looks department; it’s smaller, too. The Accord just got too big for me.