Rogue vs Patriot vs Forester

[Mnlars]

My wife and I are looking for a small suv and have narrowed our choices to the Patriot, Rogue, and Forester. We need all wheel drive for the MN snow, want something our two labs can fit in the back of, and want enough space to take it camping, on weekend trips, etc. We do not have any kids, but probably will while we own the vehicle, so that is a consideration. Can anyone offer me any insight on these vehicles? Thanks.

[kerrton]

The Rogue and Forester are both great vehicles, I evaluated them relative to each other when making my purchase. The three reasons I went with the Rogue was the superior fuel efficiency, availability of FWD (I did not want the added upfront cost, cost of maintenance, complexity, and lower efficiency of AWD), and a much better price with a lot of options. However I'm sure I would've been happy with the Forester as it's rated very high in all categories by Edmonds, Consumer Reports etc..

The Patriot on the other hand, is not rated well at all, very low quality all around, I wouldn't even spend the time considering it when there are so many better options out there, unless you can get one REALLY cheap and you only want to keep your car for a few years.

I would add the all new Hyundai Tucson and the Kia Sportage to your list. Hyundai quality is rivaliing that of Toyota and Honda and these vehicles look awesome and priced really well. It's worth a look, however they are on the smaller side of the mid-size crossover class. And of course you probably can't go wrong with the usual RAV4 and CRV, but to me these just didn't excite me because there are so many of them around.

The key is to test drive all of your potential vehicles more than once on different days, take your time and really go with the one that you prefer. Reviews and opinions of others are good to consider but it really comes down to a subjective process to find the car that you prefer.

Good luck with the search and please let us know what you end up buying!

[daytrippr]

We own both a 08 Rogue and a 2011 Forester....both cars run great and feel very competent in the snow...The Forester has Bridgestone Original equipment tires on it and it seems to handle well in the snow, although I will probably change to Hankook tires (that we now have on our Rogue) before next winter.
Gas mileage: we consistently get 27 mpg with our Rogue in mixed driving over 57,000 miles and have averaged about 25 mpg in the first 3,800 miles with the Forester. Other than the usual CVT quirks, both are fun to drive and either one would be a great choice.

[kerrton]

My wife and I just test drove the all new Kia Sportage and Sorento (she's considering replacing her Mazda 3 Sport Hatch), and both vehicles were amazing. I love my Rogue but boy Kia and Hyundai sure are looking strong, we drove the 4 cylinder 2.4 L with 6 spd auto in the Sorento and I couldn't believe how that thing hauled a**!! And the Sportage comes with the same engine and smooth 6-spd and is rated at 45 mpg (imperial) highway.

The Rogue is great, I'm just saying there is a lot to compare it to.

[philipa_240sx]

And the Sportage comes with the same engine and smooth 6-spd and is rated at 45 mpg (imperial) highway.

45mpg imperial works out to 37.5mpg US

[philipa_240sx]

And the Sportage comes with the same engine and smooth 6-spd and is rated at 45 mpg (imperial) highway.

45mpg imperial works out to 37.5mpg US

Are you sure it was 45mpg Kerrton? The Transport Canada ratings for the Sorento 4cyl/6spd AT FWD are 29mpg city and 41mpg hwy (imperial measure). That works out to 24mpg city and 34mpg hwy US measure. The US ratings (which I consider more 'real world' due to the newer testing techniques) are 21mpg city and 29mpg hwy.

[kerrton]

Hey Phil, my post was a little unclear, the 45 mpg highway (imperial) is for the FWD Sportage with auto 6-spd.

I should clarify a little bit, I definately and not trying to start a Kia fan club on our NICO forum, not at all, the Rogue is still a great vehicle and I think in time will prove it's value even more when the Nissan reliability and quality really becomes even more obvious. Initial quality is one thing but long-term quality and durability is especially important and I'd bet on my Nissan over the competition in this category. The only reason my wife is really taking a close look at these two Kia crossovers is because they offer the manual shift 6-spd, otherwise we could very well end up with two Rogues!!

I am really surprised at the difference in the efficiency numbers between the US and Canada, using your Sorento example above, Canada rates the highway efficiency a full 5mpg (US) higher than the Canadian equivalent. It sounds like we're choosing to live in a bit of a fantasy world up here where everyone drives 80 kph on the highway and never comes to a stop light in the city.

[Pescakl1]

I am really surprised at the difference in the efficiency numbers between the US and Canada, using your Sorento example above, Canada rates the highway efficiency a full 5mpg (US) higher than the Canadian equivalent. It sounds like we're choosing to live in a bit of a fantasy world up here where everyone drives 80 kph on the highway and never comes to a stop light in the city.

What I usually do when I look at these numbers is using the american numbers as what I will get during winter time and use the canadian ones as what I will get in summer.

This proves to be quite realistic at the end.

[philipa_240sx]

What I usually do when I look at these numbers is using the american numbers as what I will get during winter time and use the canadian ones as what I will get in summer.

This proves to be quite realistic at the end.

But you are a very efficient driver Pescakl. Many have a hard time matching the EPA or Canadian fuel economy figures.