Boy, it's been a while since I've been here. Used to own a 2003 Outlander LS AWD, but traded it in 2005 for a Honda CR-V. Still own the "V", but I'm looking to trade it on an 07 Outiie. One of the things I noticed in my test drive was the miserable quality of the interior door panels. The tester's panels were all scrached up. I rubbed the panels very slightly with my own fingernail and they scratched ever so easily.

Are other people having the same issue with the panels? Do they look beat up and scratched like the tester's?

 

After seven months mine still look like new and that's with three kids under the age of five for what it's worth. I use Plexus on my panels which cleans and fills small scratches and works beautifully on the interior panels.

 

Interesting. Where do you buy this "Plexus"??

 

Quick froogle search: http://www.google.com/products?q=Plexus

I agree that plastics are easily scratchable, but after owningthe car for over 2 weeks I no longer pay attention to door panels

 

My GF's dog scratched up the panel a bit, so I would say they can scratch easily, but if you are careful... you shouldn't have any problems. I don't have any scratches on my driver's side, so my tip is to just be careful.

 

it seems like people worry about keepin this particular CUV in pristine condition. I would say, this car meant to be used rough, it's not luxury car after all, it's meant to be driven off road, taken to the mountains etc... so scratches are given.

 

Yes and no....Just because I do need an SUV/CUV with 4WD to make it to my cabin, through blizzard conditions, etc, doesn't mean that people aren't buying it as just a large car for hauling work equipment (for me thats computers/servers). SUV's are typically going to be safer in a collision and have more room for passengers, equipment and luggage.

That is why the 2WD exists...

One last thing, for a super offroad vehicle there are much better SUV's designed specifically for going offroad with much more ground clearance, torque, etc. The Outlander is a vehicle with a lot of luxury features for a very low price, hence plastic door panels. However, it isn't designed as a luxury vehicle any more then it is designed as an offroad vehicle....It's a crossover, and thats pretty much the definition.

 

i bought my outlander to put it to work. Offroading, Driving in bad weather, hauling stuff!

 

let me rephrase, my point it's not a luxury car that needs to be babied. I had Acura TSX (that I babied) prior to trading in for Outlander and one of the reasons I decided not get any luxury SUV is for practicality. "Best bang for your buck that doesn't need to be babied."

 

True enough