I am driving myself crazy trying to assess which of the compact SUV’s I should buy. One side of my brain says stick with proven reliability of the Honda or Toyota. The other side really likes the Hyundai Tucson. (I know it’s a Hyundai, but recent reviews seem to be positive and that warranty is nothing to sneeze at.) Am I nuts for even considering the Tucson? (I have excluded the Rogue and Forester because they seem underpowered on hills. Any thoughts?
Have you driven all the vehicles you listed or just read reviews? Cars are like shoes – what fits me may not fit you. Hyundai’s reliability has improved a lot over the past few years and is equal (or better than) the Japanese manufacturers. Also check out the Santa Fe. Depreciation falls off the cliff, however. Drive every vehicle under consideration, then find the nicest 2 - 4 year-old one and save 50% of MSRP.
Twotone
How many years/miles are you planning to drive this vehicle?
If you’re going to keep it a long time, depreciation on the Hyundai isn’t a big problem and you’ll have the longer warranty.
They’re all good choices. Take each one for a nice, long test drive. I would honestly choose the one that I would realistically be comfortable with taking on a 1,000 mile trip (physically and mentally comfortable), or roughly a 16 hour drive.
Hyundai products have increased their reliability but no one that I know of puts them in the league of Honda/Toyota. For my money, of the three, I’d recommend either CRV or RAV by personal preference. People are generally more satisfied with their purchases in CR than Hyundai.
I like “Jeffmw05” 's advice in car choosing too.
I don’t see much difference between the 4cyl versions (don’t know why Rogue or Forester would be under powered in that company), but the Rav4 with the V6 is a performance standout, with decent mpgs to boot.
I’ll throw another suggestion at you, the Mazda CX-7. If you’re buying new, there’s 2 engine options, if used, only the turbo charged motor is available.
They all are very good choices, but you should test drive them and see what fits best.
If mileage matters, the 2.4L, 2WD Tuscon gets 23/31 (city/hwy), the 2.5L 3WD RAV-4 gets 22/28, and the 2.4L, 2WD CR-V gets 21/28. The Hyundai is a lot less than the other 2. If you take care of it, you should have few, if any, problems.