Wow are they really that bad or you just hate Crossovers/SUVs?
It would help when lugging my Dj equipment.
I used to be someone that absolutely hated SUVs and swore that I would never own one. Well, back in 2022 I was having quite a few issues with my 2021 Accord that wasn't even a year old. My local Honda dealers (yes, as in several) refused to fix it- and I got so frustrated with Honda that I told my local dealer that if they didn't fix it, I was going to trade in my Accord across the street and go back to Toyota. Well, they still refused- so I drove across the street and found that my local Toyota dealer had a base Corolla, a fully-loaded Avalon, or a mid-grade Highlander available (this was at the height of Toyota's supply issues, so selection was pretty minimal). I test drove the Avalon and didn't really like it at all, so I took the Highlander for a spin. While it isn't the most engaging to drive- it's extremely comfortable, quiet, and has loads of space. I really wanted to get a Camry with the V6 to replace my Accord- but at the time it would have been a six month wait, so I ended up buying the Highlander. Over the next few months, I grew to really love it and slowly had to accept the fact that despite my long-term hatred of SUVs, they actually are really nice to live with on a day-to-day basis. I ended up liking my Highlander so much that ended up trading it in a year later for a fully-loaded one.
I still miss the fun-to-drive factor that the Accord had- but these days, you can't get an Accord with a higher-output engine anyway- same with the Camry. The whole idea of a fun-to-drive athletic midsize sedan that's affordable and reliable has vanished- you can't get one anymore from any manufacturer. Your choices are now to buy used or to spend more and get a midsize sedan from a luxury or near-luxury brand... but it seems like those are slowly dying too. The Acura TLX is now out-of-production, although you can still get one of the last ones if you visit your Acura dealer soon. You could get a midsize German sedan- but that often turns into an expensive proposition once the warranty runs out... and those are really expensive to buy too. Lexus discontinued the GS sedan about five or six years ago, and the ES350, even in F-Sport trim, isn't really a sporty car.
The Acura RDX compact SUV is decent to drive and has the same fun 2.0t engine as the Accord used to offer- but it has an awful infotainment interface and I don't really like how Acura forces you to get the top trim if you want certain features. That's the same for the MDX, which is a very nice SUV. I think you need to spend $62k to get an A-Spec if you want ventilated seats, $67k for the Advance trim if you want a heated steering wheel and a heads-up display. To be fair, you can add a heated steering wheel to lower trims as a dealer-installed accessory- but it retails for $520 and who knows how much Acura dealers would charge to install it.
One of my friends has a 2023 Pilot and loves it. I initially warned him to avoid it given how many issues the previous generation had- and how reluctant Honda was to address those issues even later in the generation's lifespan. My wife's 2021 Passport suffers from a lot of those same issues, given that the cars are pretty much identical from the C-Pillar forward, other than a slightly different front bumper. After two years and about 20,000 miles of owning the 2023 Pilot, my friend reports that it's been problem-free. I do think that Honda really got the trim levels right for the Pilot- there's a lot of trims to choose from and people can usually find one that meets their needs and budget. Like Acura though, they restrict certain features to higher trim levels. One of the things that I like about Toyota is that they generally offer a decent amount of factory options that can be added to different trim levels so that you can usually find one that has the features that you want without having to buy the top trim level.
Speaking of Toyota- you might want to cross-shop the Highlander, Grand Highlander, or even the RX350. All three of those models offer Toyota's excellent hybrid powertrain that is efficient and incredibly reliable (the base hybrid powertrain... the jury is still out regarding the long-term reliability of Toyota's Hybrid Max powertrain)- but it might be worth a try. I've driven a Grand Highlander with the Hybrid Max powertrain and it's very quick. It's still a box on wheels, but it's a very quick box on wheels. The base hybrid powertrain is more than sufficient, but it's not quick.
