| baggins |
My wife and I have been debating between these two vehicles to lease. Here's my opinion:
The explorer limited v8 with every option is a huge upgrade over previous models.
Pros: It rides great, is virtually silent, has 7 seats available, with power rear seat dropdowns, and has a good towing capacity on the V8, the tri-coat cashmere color is really nice and with the new grill looks a lot like the much pricier navigator.
Cons: It does not have Bluetooth or satelite radio available from the factory, it's a gas guzzler, the new door handles are annoying (the handle has been moved so I flung the door open several times and picture passengers doing the same), the rear dvd player takes up too much head room (although the dealer said it's more low profile than last year).
Here's the biggest reason we have put a reserve on an MDX to pick up next wednesday: The price and depreciation of the explorer. We got a fully loaded explorer v8 limited priced at $37,314 from cars direct (the dealer wanted around 44,000) and with $1500 down they quoted us $682/month for 36 months without tax.
The MDX quoted at above MSRP ($44,000) is quoted at $575 for 41 months with $3000 down. I'm going to hagle the price to closer to invoice (39,000), so this will go down even more.
Apparently, when you lease a car that loses value very quickly like the explorer you have to pay that difference. Thoughts? |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by baggins
My wife and I have been debating between these two vehicles to lease. Here's my opinion:
The explorer limited v8 with every option is a huge upgrade over previous models.
Pros: It rides great, is virtually silent, has 7 seats available, with power rear seat dropdowns, and has a good towing capacity on the V8, the tri-coat cashmere color is really nice and with the new grill looks a lot like the much pricier navigator.
Cons: It does not have Bluetooth or satelite radio available from the factory, it's a gas guzzler, the new door handles are annoying (the handle has been moved so I flung the door open several times and picture passengers doing the same), the rear dvd player takes up too much head room (although the dealer said it's more low profile than last year).
Here's the biggest reason we have put a reserve on an MDX to pick up next wednesday: The price and depreciation of the explorer. We got a fully loaded explorer v8 limited priced at $37,314 from cars direct (the dealer wanted around 44,000) and with $1500 down they quoted us $682/month for 36 months without tax.
The MDX quoted at above MSRP ($44,000) is quoted at $575 for 41 months with $3000 down. I'm going to hagle the price to closer to invoice (39,000), so this will go down even more.
Apparently, when you lease a car that loses value very quickly like the explorer you have to pay that difference. Thoughts?
You discovered the first major downside to the explorer - horrible depreciation. The second is reliability. I wouldn't want to be locked into an Explorer for the length of a lease given it's reliability history. Excellent choice going with the MDX. |
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| R-MDX |
A very good way to make up your mind is walk over to the used car side of the dealership and take a look and drive a 1 year old version of the cars you have questions about. You will basically notice no difference in the drive or fit of the Acura, this won't be true for the GM or Ford.
The Acura is no slouch in towing up to it's maximum. Unless you tow something very large or heavy, the Acura will do for most people. |
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| baggins |
yeah, we didn't want to be locked into the explorer..especially with the 3 year, 36000 mile warranty. that is horrible on a car that has so many known problems and really poor depreciation.
Oh, we also test drove the new Jeep Grand Cherokee fully loaded but didn't like the way it drove. it felt much stiffer than the MDX.
We also drove the Lexus 330 but it's overpriced for what you get. We don't like the looks of it...it looks too round, like a minivan. and it's overpriced. you pay for the lexus name. we DID however think the leather was better looking than the MDX.
Does anyone else think the leather on the 2006 MDX could probably look nicer? I'm referring to the camel where you can see all the vent holes. |
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| Hazelmn |
Due to very frequent business travel, I rent SUV's frequently. While the major car rental companies don't carry Acura's, several of them carry Fords. It was only after renting Explorers and Expeditions that I decided to not even look at the Explorer. I was amazed how, on Explorers with 15,000 or even 10,000 miles, the ride had loosened up considerably and I felt that some of the new car quality was long gone.
Besides a little wear and tear on my seats, I still feel like my '01 MDX has most, if not all, of the tightness in right that it came off the lot with.
To me, the choice would be easy. |
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