C. E. White wrote:
> Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my Mother
> to replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly
> was looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well
> we finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander.
>
> We visited dealerships for Toyota, Honda, and Ford. We eliminated Nissan
> and GM from the shopping trip before we began, Where my Mother lives
> there are not any other choices within reasonable driving distance.
>
> We started out at the Toyota Dealership. First car was a Venza. I really
> liked this, but my Mother seemed completely uninterested. I am not sure
> why, but it was pretty much out of the running immediately. Next was the
> Highlander. This seemed to be an immediate hit. My Mother didn't want
> the third row seat, but it seems that is almost a universal option. I
> still preferred the Venza, but I wasn't the buyer.
>
> Next we visited the Honda dealer. The Pilot was immediately eliminated
> as wildly overpriced. My Mother liked the CR-V but it seems that dealers
> load them all up with options that jack up the price. To get one
> equipped reasonably you ended up with a sun roof my Mother didn't want
> and a price higher than the Highlander.
>
> The Ford dealer was last on the list. We immediately dismissed the Flex
> as too weird. My Sister liked the Edge and tried to find reasons why my
> Mother should get it. Unfortunately the dealer had none properly
> equipped for my Mother. The MSRP on the Edge was the highest of the
> vehicles we considered, but there were rebates that made the price
> competitive with the Highlander and the CR-V. I was really impressed
> with the new Taurus and thought my Mother should consider it, but She
> was firm in wanting something taller. I'll add a few comments oon the
> Taurus later.
>
> So in the end we finally settled on the Highlander. The Highlander was
> the cheapest of the vehicles (4 cylinder, cloth seats, third row seats).
> The CR-V was the most expensive, noisiest, smallest, but best equipped
> (leather seats, sun roof, electronic temperature control). The Edge had
> the best seating, biggest, most powerful engine, most attractive (to
> me), but got the worst gas mileage, and was hard to find properly
> equipped for my Mother. All the dealerships were very co-operative and
> none were busy. I believe my Mother will be happy with the Highlander.
> It is a little dull, but it has good room, decent gas mileage and the
> reliability is likely to be comparable to the Fords she is used to
> (can't be better, since she hasn't had a problem with a Ford in a
> decade). I was in agreement with the Highlander as the best choice. It
> was the closest of the vehicles to the Freestyle (aka Taurus X) that she
> owned. Too bad Ford decided to stop making those, I think if they still
> made them, we would have just got another.
>
> While the salesmen at the Ford dealer were trying to find a suitable
> Edge, I sent a long time looking at a new Taurus. The one I looked at
> was a very expensive Limited model with almost every option. It was
> $35K....way more than I would consider paying for the car. Still, it was
> very nice. Looks great, well assembled. My only gripe is with the width
> of the center console. I can't figure why companies (not just Ford) have
> to install consoles that eat up a third of the front passenger space.
> Because of the ridiculously wide console, the hip space available to
> front seat passengers is no better than in my much smaller Fusion. Other
> than this, I really liked the car. If I was in the market for a new car,
> I'd definitely be interested in a new Taurus - but not a Limited!

If you preferred the Venza (as stated in the third paragraph of your
post), why would you be interested in a Taurus? Does bad judgment run in
your family?

My apologies for leaving Ed's entire post in my reply, I did it to back
up what I referred to in my response.