Frisky Dingo

I think the Tour X looks great. The standard car looks.....questionable. It's not working for me.

Yes, it's in Audis.

A Durango won't do squat off road with that enormous wheelbase, overhangs, low ground clearance, and big wheels with street tires. Even the GX is greatly hampered compared to what they used to be able to do. There's no choices outside of the 4Runner and Grand Cherokee if you want something this size with good off-road performance.

The VR6 is much more free-revving, sounds better, more linear, and is paired with a much better trans than the V6 Exploder. It's a tremendous difference. That's not even touching the poor ride quality, noise levels, and excessive body motion of the Ford. I admittedly have not driven a new Sport, but I would cross the Explorer off in general simply for packaging reasons, even if the ho-hum driving dynamics were on par with others in the class.

I'm a pretty big fan of the Durango myself. I don't think I'd buy a RWD one, though, and wouldn't buy anything under a GT trim. In AWD you're at 40K for a GT with no Nav, Roof, and the V6. I think I'd go one further and say I'd have to have the V8. Explorer does nothing for me. It's very pretty to look at, but it's driving dynamics are poor, and the short of the EB V6, powertrains are a letdown. Plus, I hate the dash, and the back is cramped and doesn't offer near the flexibility of competitors. If I were buying a base model, it'd be an Atlas all day. Higher up, the Durango and Highlander become options. Hard loaded, though, I'd probably go Durang R/T or just step up to a Q7.

Smaller than Traverse. Same rough size as the others.

So, for the sake of discussion, what would YOU buy in this class?

This thing has a strong value proposition in 'S' trim. Especially for anyone placing a higher emphasis on driving dynamics. S, SE, and SEL Premium seem to be the best trims. I think they should have priced the SEL Premium lower, personally.

That's good, because you'll have to rev it out to keep sight of the GTI gapping you in the next lane.

The only one arguing is you. I'm simply presenting facts. It's more expensive than rivals. And I for one, don't believe Mazda has the cachet or reputation to justify it.

@ykX Last time I checked, $31,795 is less than $34,530.

Wow, Acura and Chrysler down deep into double digits. Ouch. Alfa gets an award for most improved!! Lol.

I did. They are all cheaper. Every. Single. One.

@ykX Malibu Premier has 2.0T and things like A/C seats that Mazda doesn't have. With all options, every single competitor in this segment comes in cheaper.

Before options and destination. As-tested it was 35K.

@ykX The Mazda's MSRP is 35K. Some of the other cars have things you can't get on the Mazda, so it works both ways. And you can get heated leather seats with the Malibu's base engine.

You can disagree all you want, but you'd be wrong. There is not a single other competitor than reaches this price when loaded up with all available options on the standard engine. The Fusion won't even come within 2 grand with the 1.5 equipped. Honda, Chevy, and Toyota are all between 30 and 32K.

It's still crazy. It's way higher than competitors. Mazda doesn't typically run real aggressive incentives, either. Besides, it really isn't as amazing as people make it out to be. It wouldn't make the top 3 if I were shopping in this segment.

LOL. That price is comical. Mazda is high.

We've got multiple deposits on just about every remaining new 2015 we have. It's going to be nuts seeing how sales of these things go.

VW needs to make the Beetle RWD and rear-engined again!! A mini-911.

It's interesting to see how some of the cars were multiple posters' selections. I think that says a lot about a vehicle.

Focus ST and GTI laugh at these torque figures. They also laugh at CVT's.

Daily Driver; 27-30K- GTI Sport DSG Off-Roader; 35-40K Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Willys Cruiser/GT; 45-50K- Chevy SS Sedan 6MT Back road/track; 65-70K Cayman 718 PDK

So in an attempt to spice things up a bit, I had an idea for a new 'Dream Garage'. It's somewhat similar to one I've done before in that there will be criteria to follow, but with freedom within those criteria. I will give you a segment of vehicle that you can choose from; and there will be price brackets that you assign to those segments as you prefer. Rules- 1- You must have ONE off-road vehicle. Truck or SUV. 2- You must have ONE daily driver. This is open. 3- You must have ONE long-distance cruiser/GT vehicle. It must be a 2+2 or 4 door. 4- You must have ONE weekend back road burner/track car. It has to be a 2 door. 5- ALL OF THE SELECTIONS HAVE TO BE NEW VEHICLES CURRENTLY ON SALE, OR PENDING WITH CONFIRMED PRICING. 6- One vehicle must be between 45-50K in price. 7- One must be between 27-30K in price. 8- One must be between 35-40K in price. 9- One must be between 65-70K in price. Have fun!!