Rogue vs. Rav4

Today we went shopping for a new car for the wife and we narrowed it down to the 14 Rogue or the 14 Rav4. Was curious if anyone here owns one and if they can give me their experience owning the car. Wife seems like the fact the Rogue seats 7 (small people) but we also trust Toyota's reliability. Decisions decisions...


vs

 

Nissan has slipped in reliability, if you are thinking of keeping it after the warranty expires I would go for the rav4.

That being said, if you won't keep it out of warranty the Rogue is a nicely refreshed vehicle. 7 seats is a waste unless you have more than 3 kids. I would check fuelly.com to see real world fuel mileage of both.

After checking fuelly, both seem to get 25ish mpg. I would take both for a long drive and see which you like better

 

shhhhh don't say that. haha have to be cafeful what you say don't want to disturb the herd

Also it is what you like better and what fits your family.

 

My wife has a 14 Rav4 XLE that we purchased around labor day. We looked at the Mazda CX-5 and the Rogue as well, but she was coming from a 2001 Rav4 so she fell in love with the new one. I've been impressed with the car so far. Quiet inside going down the highway,handles well, interior is nicely updated, rear view camera, decent gas mileage. IMO Toyota is much more reliable than Nissan, but my only experience with Nissan is friends and family's vehicles.

 

Build quality and the resale value are going to be better on the Rav4.

 

My wife test drove every SUV on the market and fell in love with the Murano, doesn't help much but worth a look, I love it as well

 

We went Rav. Reliability and the fact it was 2k cheaper and they had 0% also helped. That and with the better resale, if in a few years we want to change cars, it wont be too painful haha. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

I hear good things about the Mazda CX-5. My brother test drove one along with a Forester and CR-V and he loves the CX-5

 

I drove the cx5(2.5l)as well. It drives better than the rav4, but the seats were not as comfortable(back seat were out right uncomfortable), and I felt the Rav had more leg room front and back. Being 6'5" that matters a lot. I told my wife if I was a single dad I would buy a cx5, but the Rav had more features and its her car, so practicality won over performance today.

Out of the 5 I drove, I would rank them in the following order: rav4,cx5,rogue,forester, crv. Wifey liked the rogue more than me.

 

The Rogue is a nice vehicle but I still would choose the Rav4 because it has a 6 speed auto over the CVT.

 

Didn't drive the Nissan.

Rav4 rode like shit, very harsh and the dash sticks out like a shelf over the cup holders, the rear seats recline which was cool but I didn't sit back there.

We bought a 2015 Subaru Forester premium.

 

^This. Forester > every other compact SUV. You get a real AWD system, reliability, and decent handling.

 

I live in CA, awd is a wasted on me, and I'm still not the biggest fan of cvts, but the forestor is not a bad vehicle by any means. If my wife was more of the out doorsy type it may have rose higher on my list, but thats what the tacoma is for

 

^A balanced AWD system like the Forester's results in very neutral handling compared to the mostly FWD system on the other CUVs even on dry pavement. But you certainly could do worse, like the Ford Escape with 11 recalls after one year of production.

 

My buddy has the new RAV4, and I have to say; I am pretty impressed. It drives great and cargo room is awesome! Overall a great car!

 

My wife has a 2013 rogue and we both actually like it alot. I think it rides smooth, handles good and has enough room (even though its just me and her) but i like nissan alot. My dad has a 93 pathfinder with 342,000 miles on it and starts up everytime. But to each their own ya know. I also really like my tacoma to, even though i dont really off-road but i still like it. I think its all in your needs, if she is happy with the rogue, get the rogue, if its the rac, get the rav.

Good luck with your decision!!

 

Forester has been top in reviews for last two years.

Subi - AWD standard, all other brands it costs about 2k extra on top of what you want, back up camera, heated seats and mirrors, huuuuge moonroof (are all standard on premium model and higher), can fit 3 adults comfortably in the rear with plenty of extra room. I don't need leather/navigation and it's mainly my wife driving it so not the turbo model either. The CVT is incredibly smooth and you don't notice it unless you are launching from a dead stop. Once you understand that it's constantly trying to get the best gas mileage it's easy to drive accordingly. We've had it for a month and put approx 1200 miles on it now. (moving cross country)

First tank was all city 27.4mpg, second was all highway with A/C on, ~70mph and got 34.5mpg, third was all highway, A/C on ~75mph and got 32.4mpg. If you can stomach going 60-65mph I've seen high as 36mpg.

 

I didn't see the California comment until now. By your sig you're pretty close to Lake Tahoe, we lived just south of there for 5 years.. just think, you won't have to get chains or blah blah blah if you go up there. Yeah you probably won't NEED AWD but if you can get it for the same price as a FWD different model, why not? My wife will probably not even drive if there's more than a dusting of snow on the roads here but she HAD to have AWD so..

Yeah my dad made a lesbian joke when I told him what I got her, but I think the more LL Bean birkenstock bandana wearing women buy the Outback to haul their pallets of plaid shirts as they're larger than the Forester.

 

^OP already bought the RAV4. At least it will be easy to work on, like most Toyotas.

 

Gah... and I just wasted 15 minutes typing that for nothing! Hahaha, well congrats OP