Best SUV?

[No_Man]

So my wife and I have always bought compact, fuel efficient cars. Currently she has an '06 Cobalt and I have an '06 Corolla... both get 40+ mpg highway and are pretty much incapable of getting less than about 25 mpg, even in the worst stop-and-go. However, two factors have us looking at trading-in one of them for an SUV:

1) We recently moved out of the city and quite a bit farther north, into a rural area with heavy snowfall (potentially 100+ inches this winter). We'd like at least one 4WD vehicle that we could put tire chains onto if things get really bad.

2) We've been talking about at having a baby within the next year or two and a bigger vehicle with room for car seats and baby baggage would be nice.

But, deep down, I think we'd both like to get the best fuel economy possible.

So for all the car/truck guys out there... what would you recommend?

 

[jasonk282]

I love my SUV. It's a 2001 Chevy Blazer 4WD, plenty of run in the back for all the baby stuff(stroller, pack n play, bouncer etc....). Whatever you decided on getting make sure it has the latch system for the car seats and base, its MUCHHHHHHH easier than using a seatbelt.

The sad part is that many SUV's are bulit on a truck platform and really your not going to find 25-40 plus MPG's. If you have 4WD you do not need tire chains, just get a good all terrian tire(BF Goodrich makes a great one, Goodyear etc....). most of the time your not going to have to drop it into 4th with thoese tires, unless it gets pretty bad. Also if you get 100 " plus at a time your fucked anyway since your stock suspension height will bog you down. Can't really go wrong with Ford or Chevy also the 4Runner is very nice as well. Its finally going to come down to your perferances

I am a huge 4WD enthuseist, so just PM me with any questions you have.

2001 blazer 4in suspension lift, 35in tires.

 

[mongo18]

I drive a Jeep Grand cherokee that I like a lot. I live in a snowy region and often have to get to work or school before the plows have been out and the Jeep has never missed a beat. It has full time 4WD (make sure you know about 4WD versus full time 4WD and AWD, they ARE different). If you're used to getting 40 or even 30+ mpgs, any SUV is going to be a shock to your system, but plenty of companies are making smaller, more efficient AWD models. Are you expecting that there will be times when you need to drive and the roads are not plowed? Because driving on icy/snowy roads is very different to driving on a road with a foot of snow on it. If you think you can manage to work around the plows then you should consider an AWD sedan or wagon, Subaru aren't the only company that makes them. I commute a reasonable distance to school several times a week and the cost of gas for my Jeep last year nearly sunk me so this year I bought an Audi A8 quattro, haven't driven it in snow yet but it seems to have pretty good traction control systems.
Tires also make a big difference, whether you're in a 2 or 4 wheel drive. I use goodyear fortera tripletreds on my jeep, they're pricey at about $250 a pop, but they have an 80k mile warranty and have NEVER slipped while I'm driving on snow and ice.

I moved here from Australia in 05 having never even seen snow, now I drive in it probably a lot more than the average person, as I commute on average 600 miles /week and drive a plow and I've managed to stay out of trouble.

 

[jasonk282]

I drive a Jeep Grand cherokee that I like a lot. I live in a snowy region and often have to get to work or school before the plows have been out and the Jeep has never missed a beat. It has full time 4WD (make sure you know about 4WD versus full time 4WD and AWD, they ARE different). If you're used to getting 40 or even 30+ mpgs, any SUV is going to be a shock to your system, but plenty of companies are making smaller, more efficient AWD models. Are you expecting that there will be times when you need to drive and the roads are not plowed? Because driving on icy/snowy roads is very different to driving on a road with a foot of snow on it. If you think you can manage to work around the plows then you should consider an AWD sedan or wagon, Subaru aren't the only company that makes them. I commute a reasonable distance to school several times a week and the cost of gas for my Jeep last year nearly sunk me so this year I bought an Audi A8 quattro, haven't driven it in snow yet but it seems to have pretty good traction control systems.
Tires also make a big difference, whether you're in a 2 or 4 wheel drive. I use goodyear fortera tripletreds on my jeep, they're pricey at about $250 a pop, but they have an 80k mile warranty and have NEVER slipped while I'm driving on snow and ice.

I moved here from Australia in 05 having never even seen snow, now I drive in it probably a lot more than the average person, as I commute on average 600 miles /week and drive a plow and I've managed to stay out of trouble.

I got Sumoto A/T's never had to put it in 4WD.

 

[Shifty]

The Mercedez Benz GLK350 is quite awesome. I know two people who own one - very very nice!

 

[Rey C.]

So my wife and I have always bought compact, fuel efficient cars. Currently she has an '06 Cobalt and I have an '06 Corolla... both get 40+ mpg highway and are pretty much incapable of getting less than about 25 mpg, even in the worst stop-and-go. However, two factors have us looking at trading-in one of them for an SUV:

1) We recently moved out of the city and quite a bit farther north, into a rural area with heavy snowfall (potentially 100+ inches this winter). We'd like at least one 4WD vehicle that we could put tire chains onto if things get really bad.

2) We've been talking about at having a baby within the next year or two and a bigger vehicle with room for car seats and baby baggage would be nice.

But, deep down, I think we'd both like to get the best fuel economy possible.

So for all the car/truck guys out there... what would you recommend?

Not really enough info on your budget and what else you need it for (besides a potential baby mobile) to recommend anything. If the sky is the limit, get a Porsche Cayenne. Do you want a small SUV, mid-size or large? What is the maximum number of people and things (in cubic inches) that will need to fit inside the vehicle? Will you always be on paved roads? Will you need it for towing? So how big of an engine do you need?

Lots of factors to get you from here to there. Once you decide on size, price and class, get yourself a copy of Consumer Reports and also look up the most current J.D. Power rankings. Most anything we tell you is going to be one data point based on a personal experience.

 

[No_Man]

Not really enough info on your budget and what else you need it for (besides a potential baby mobile) to recommend anything. If the sky is the limit, get a Porsche Cayenne. Do you want a small SUV, mid-size or large? What is the maximum number of people and things (in cubic inches) that will need to fit inside the vehicle? Will you always be on paved roads? Will you need it for towing? So how big of an engine do you need?

Budget: ~$20,000US - we're looking mostly at low mileage used vehicles for that... like an '07 or '08 with 20,000 miles or less.

Size: Small to midsize - a roomy 5-passenger + cargo would be fine

Roads: Needs to be able to do anything except full off-roading. We've got paved, gravel, and two-track to deal with up here. No guarantees on how often any of it will be plowed either.

Towing/Engine: Might be nice in the future, but its not a need. I'm expecting a decent V6 will be fine.

Lots of factors to get you from here to there. Once you decide on size, price and class, get yourself a copy of Consumer Reports and also look up the most current J.D. Power rankings. Most anything we tell you is going to be one data point based on a personal experience.

I realize that and I'm doing other research. I just kinda like to get personal commentary too. Sometimes vehicles have quirks that you don't see until you've had the thing for a while. The professional reviews don't always catch those.

 

[Dexter Brown]

I'd say a RAV4, new they start around 20k, used you should be able to get higher model with more options etc for under 20k

 

[jasonk282]

Budget: ~$20,000US - we're looking mostly at low mileage used vehicles for that... like an '07 or '08 with 20,000 miles or less.

Size: Small to midsize - a roomy 5-passenger + cargo would be fine

Roads: Needs to be able to do anything except full off-roading. We've got paved, gravel, and two-track to deal with up here. No guarantees on how often any of it will be plowed either.

Towing/Engine: Might be nice in the future, but its not a need. I'm expecting a decent V6 will be fine.



I realize that and I'm doing other research. I just kinda like to get personal commentary too. Sometimes vehicles have quirks that you don't see until you've had the thing for a while. The professional reviews don't always catch those.

For around 20,000 you not goint to find a quality 07/08 SUV. Trust me get the 4wd if will be handy in the snow, the smaller you SUV the smaller the lighter it is and worse it can handle in the snow.

 

[mongo18]

For around 20,000 you not goint to find a quality 07/08 SUV. Trust me get the 4wd if will be handy in the snow, the smaller you SUV the smaller the lighter it is and worse it can handle in the snow.

I disagree, you don't need big and heavy to be snow capable unless you need to bulldoze your way through big piles of it, and then when you're on a road that's been plowed but is still slick all that extra weight works against you if you do break traction.
Since you know you'll be driving on unplowed roads, what you really need are ground clearance and traction. Ground clearance is ground clearance, most SUV's have it, so that's easy. For traction, like I said earlier, you want either full time 4WD or AWD, a lot of 4WD SUV's and trucks don't come with full time 4WD so make sure you check that out. The next thing I would look for is traction control. In most conventional 4WD vehicles, if one front wheel and one back wheel start slipping, you're screwed. Traction control systems use a variety of methods to transfer power to the wheels that have the most traction. The best of these is lockable diffs, which is pretty extreme as once you hit pavement you have to unlock them or driving will be a nightmare, some higher end SUV's have limited slip diffs front and rear(I think that Jeep Grand cherokees and Commanders with the "overland" badge have this), this is also a pretty hardcore setup designed for offroading, A lot of AWD vehicles with good traction control systems will detect a slipping wheel and apply the brakes to it, effectively locking the diff and transferring power to the other wheel. I think this is more along the lines of what you want.
If you're not going off roading, you don't need 4WD, just AWD, and with a decent traction control system you'll be about as well off as you can be.

 

[Embryoyo]

Go for a BMW X5/X6 or a Porsche Cayenne. Those vehicles are awesome!

 

[jasonk282]

this will get you where you need to go no matter the weather

 

[Rey C.]

Go for a BMW X5/X6 or a Porsche Cayenne. Those vehicles are awesome!

For $20K?

 

[jasonk282]

For $20K?

I was thinking that also, you might be able to get 4 wheels for 20K. Even as pre-owned, which I guess sounds better then used, is going to be way over 20K.

 

[Land0]

Range Rover

 

[Land0]

Doesn't ???

 

[mongo18]

Range Rovers are sweet, and badassed off the road, but check the mileage, I own a Jeep and a V8 Audi and it's enough to make me cringe.

 

[skechers]

Rocking my jeep wrangler 4WD. Gas mileage sucks, and there's no room for cargo. Even less when I get the back seats ripped out and replaced with a speaker box.

But 4WD minus the top, and doors? Beach-sexzay.

 

[Embryoyo]

For $20K?

Won't find anything good for under $20K :tongue:

 

[Rey C.]

Won't find anything good for under $20K :tongue:

No problem. I figured you didn't notice that he said $20K.