How does a 2020 Elite price out to $52061?!

The funny this is (and I was thinking about this in depth yesterday) that the Passport fits EVERYTHING I wanted and needed in an SUV! Every other option, from every other car maker had some major negative issue:
Pilot - too big, did not want three rows
CRV - too small, did not want a 4cyl
RAV4 - Under-powered and overpriced,
4 Runner - same engine transmission and has no major upgrade in 10 years
Highlander - too big, three rows and is basically a van, disguised as a SUV
Tiguan: Would NEVER buy a VW, poor design, unreliable
Nissan: Pathfinder might be a consideration, but is not modern, all other SUV options are under-powered
Subaru's: Love their designs and reliability, had the CV transmissions and they are under-powered
Kia/Huyndai: Nice designs nice features, under-powered and I do not trust the brands
Mazda: same as Kia, don't want a turbo
Jeep: over-priced and VERY unreliable
Ford: Explorer looks nice, but it is a three row and high priced, no other decent models
GM: Nothing of interest
Chrysler: VERY unreliable
BWM: Very nice, and expensive
Mercedes: Except for their $120k SUV, all the others are street cars
Acura: did not want a turbo or premium gas

My wants and needs were quite specific as I wanted a vehicle that:
Had a 6cyl
burned reg gas
AWD and at least minor off-road capabilities
had modern safety features
did not have a CV transmission
looked half-way decent
that I could take camping
seats go down flat, so I could sleep in the back if needed
was in the $40k price range

And the Passport was the ONLY one that fit the bill, I suppose if there were no PP, I might have held my nose and went with a 4 Runner, but I'm greatful I did not have to!

Beachbum07 said:

StevenD, your needs and analysis matches mine exactly! The more I read, and watch a ton of video reviews, the decision is very easy to make. Except for the color! I’ve got to visit more dealers to see the colors, hopefully side by side.

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Agreed! We drove a lot of cars too. We were lurking for decent lease deals since the new car would be primarily for my wife and she doesn't drive a lot. I was really trying to convince her that she 'needed' a new Wrangler but she immediately didn't like it when sitting in it. Damn. So we drove the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk which was ok but felt cheap inside. She also didn't like how the side mirrors obstruct forward view quite a bit. My Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT has tall mirrors too but I've gotten used to it. The Subaru Forester was ok but the 4 cylinder felt gutless. Admittedly, the CVT didn't feel as bad as I expected it to. We also drove the 2020 Escape, which is a pretty good looking redesign. It looks so much better than the 2019. The base engine is now a 3 cylinder turbo. No thanks, the 4 cylinder SUVs are already too noisy (buzzy) enough. Their lease offer was ridiculously high so then we headed over to the GM house to drive an Equinox. The 1.5T in those is really noisy and the car overall felt cheap. We were going to check out the CR-V at the Honda dealership but saw the Passport and liked how it looked. Their lease deal came in lower than all the little SUVs than we drove, so it was a done deal.