Seating & Visibility

The SRX seats five people and follows the common practice of having a large cargo area at the expense of backseat room. I didn't have enough legroom to sit behind a driver of my height (6-foot-1), and headroom felt cramped. Also, the rear seats don't slide forward and back, which might have solved the cargo-versus-passenger tradeoff.

Up front, there's a manually extending seat bottom that offers more support for your thighs. It works better than a lot of powered ones, and it's a nice touch for us longer-legged sorts. More cars should offer this feature.

Visibility to the sides and behind is poor because, as the roof slopes downward, the bottom sills of the rear windows slope up, making the rearmost window vestigial. This is more common these days among passenger cars, but it's a bit more of a hazard in the higher-riding SRX: Low-slung cars can creep in "below" you. You have to really make sure you have your mirrors set properly — more so than in other vehicles I've driven. It's a true blind spot.

    See also:

    Checking Engine Oil
    It is a good idea to check the engine oil level at each fuel fill. In order to get an accurate reading, the vehicle must be on level ground. The engine oil dipstick handle is a yellow loop. S ...

    Distance to Destination
    This display will show the vehicle distance with estimated time of arrival to destination. The value can be cleared or reset by pressing the SET/CLR button. Move the thumbwheel up or down to increas ...

    Navigation System
    If the vehicle has a navigation system, there is a separate navigation system manual that includes information on the radio, audio players, and navigation system. The navigation system provides d ...