Which Car?

The 2011 Kia Sorento was best in class in Consumer Reports and my mom loves hers. Having a third row is a must with all the grandkids, but know that when you utilize the third row there is virtually no tailgate space. No way you can fit anything bigger than an umbrella stroller back there and it would even be hard to fit a lot of groceries. I am hoping when we need to buy a car in a few years that I can find a 2011 (used by then) since I know what a great buy it is.

We have a hyundaii Tucson and love it! It's similar size to the rav 4

We LOVE our Ford Escape which is similar. Maybe add it to your list to check out. When we went car shopping last time we found it beneficial to go to as many dealerships as possible and drive everything! It took more time but then we felt very comfortable with our choice in the end. Good luck!

We love our Honda CRV. It's very similar to the rav4, but the hatchback on the CRV lifts up and on the rav 4 it opens to the left, really wide. It would never have worked in our driveway or supermarket lot. Also the Honda had slighlty better visibility for the shorter driver (me!). Best of luck.

Do NOT buy a KIA!!!! My husband had the Sorento when I met him. Nothing but problems. And after we were married and the kids got bigger, we needed 3 rows of seats. The only thing we could trade it in on was a Kia Sedona (the mini van). NOTHING but problems with it too! Stupid stuff, like all of a sudden the doors won't open, or the windows, then they'll be fine, and knobs just fall off in your hand. And the headlights go out constantly and are expensive to replace. I HAVE to take it to the dealer because they are guaranteed for a year, and sure enough, they keep getting replaced for free but I have to drive far and wait forever. Sucks. And their batteries are pattented by Kia so you HAVE to buy a Kia battery so you have to have it towed to the dealer for that too. We just hate them and can't wait to get out of it. My other car is a Toyota, never a problem, and my mom has had nothing but Toyotas and she loves them. Good luck!!!

Kimber:

My sister loves loves loves her Kia - it's 2.5 years old and has over 100K miles on it - no kidding!! This is her 3rd or 4th KIA...she bought one when they first came out because that's all she could afford...drove it into the ground (put something like 200K miles on it) and traded it in for another one...loved that one - had a fire at her apartment in Las Vegas and used the money to buy her current one...

My parents have a CRV and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It has 178K miles on it.

We have a CRV and LOVE LOVE LOVE it as well.

My next door neighbor have a Rav4 - they gave it to their son and DIL when their son was born - they moved from a Subaru to the Toyota.

There are people who either LOVE their Kia or hate it. I personally don't own one so I can't say...

I love our CRV. It's a great car. Holds a ton of stuff and is even a manual transmission!! SSSSSSWWWWEETTT!!!

I would say TOYOTA hands down BUT we have had some major issues with Toyota not backing their product. We purchased a new 07 Sienna in 2007 and we have had major issues with the brakes since day one. It has been in the shop 10-15 times. Toyota keeps saying there is nothing wrong although clearly there is. They decided to void the warranty on the brake so they would not have to deal with the issue. We went through arbitration twice with no luck so we went through the lemon law and Toyota offered nothing except sue us. Well that would have cost us about $100,000 so there was not way that would benifit us. So we still have a car with brake issues. Nedless to say we will NEVER buy another Toyota, which is sad because that is all I had ever intended on owning.
My mom owns a RAV 4 and to me they are a little small and not very comfortable.
Having said all that I think the KIA is a great choice. My friend owns one and loves it and we are thinking when we have the funds we will also purchase an KIA Sorrento. Also I think Sorrentos are a little larger than the RAV 4. Good luck in your search.

I had a Hyundai when they first came out and it was a peice! I had to buy 3, yes 3 batteries in the year I had it! Something was wrong with that car.the paint was also cheap and kept coming off. I know they have re styled them in the outside but what about under the hood? My sister had a kia and nothing but problems too! There is no resale value on them either. I would never buy a kia or a Hyundai even though they look pretty now! I would go with the Toyota
They are good, reliable cars that are worth the money and hold good value. That's my 2 cents! Good luck love.

Ask if you can drive it for a couple days.
Live with it, see how it fits in your lifestyle.
If they won't let you, rent one for a while to see which one you like better.

Hyundais are actually pretty reliable cars, now. They have great warranties. I would check out the Hyundai Santa Fe or Tuscon (can't remember which is the smaller). I have a friend who had one (the smaller one) and just absolutely loves it.

For the price, you really can't beat a Hyundai. Though, my husband is a Chevy man and I won't ever own anything but Chevy, now. I wish I could check out the Hyundais - everyone I know who gets one just loves it.

I have never owned a Kia so I can't comment directly on that. And I have not owned a Rav4, though I have owned a Toyota (many years ago). Toyota is a reliable brand. And they do better on the resale value. The little Toyota I had was a great vehicle for me (high school/college) until it was totaled in an accident.

What I am currently driving is a Nissan Xterra. I LOVE my vehicle for many reasons, but it doesn't sound like exactly what you are looking for so I won't go into it. But Nissan is a pretty reliable brand also and they have smaller crossover type vehicles you might check into. My Xterra is a 2005, manual 6 speed transmission (LOVE THAT) and I have over 230,000 miles on it. Yes TWO hundred thousand plus. And it still runs like a dream. Not looking forward to car shopping anytime soon, b/c I'll probably want another of the same thing and I can't make myself pay that kinda money (new car prices! eek!) for something I already have. lol

Anyway, what I would suggest you do, is go to some USED car lots and specifically look around for used older models of the vehicles you are considering. Test drive a few if you want. It will give you some idea of how they "wear" over time. If you are planning to buy new (2012) then I'd look for a 2007-2009, since that is the length of time for a standard car loan these days (5 years). With a standard 5 year car loan, YOUR new vehicle will be 5 years old when it is paid for... so see what sort of quality you are looking at owning 5 years out.
Personally, I have driven some of the older models of Kia or Hyundai and Ford, too. When I take my car in for any sort of lengthy service that will take all day (yes, sometimes routine stuff can take all day,especially when you hit one of those 100k milestone service appts). Anyway, when they need to keep it all day, my service guy arranges for me to drive a local rental vehicle. It is a private rental company, so no brand new cars. These are the "sold at auction" type vehicles... and I can tell you... there are a lot of vehicles out there that do NOT hold up well at all. You don't want to end up with one of them. So, check out what your "new" vehicle will be like 5 years down the road by browsing at some used lots.
Good luck.