Economy 'suv'

B

Buck268

Joined
Nov 5, 2006
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Well, according to my plan, if I do well this winter in school I'm going to drop student loans to replace my 13 year old (190,000 miles) Crown Victoria... And since I'm schooling in michigans great white north I'm thinking an SUV would be the logical route. Thing is, I'm looking for the biggest bang for the buck. The following is my list of priorities.

In order of importance...

Cost
Rugged and reliable
Highway mileage
City mileage
Fun
Winter Driving

Currently at the top of my list is the base model ('X'?) Wrangler which comes standard with their new 3.8L V6 and 4.10 posi. Now, the mileage is slightly less than what I'm used to with my crown vic based on my dad's mileage in his Liberty with the 3.8, but the 4.10 posi is a big plus and with the standard 6 speed manual highway mileage shouldnt suffer to much. MSRP about $19,000

Other considerations are the Volkswagon GTI, looked at one and sat in it in the show room a few months back, really like the feel and IIRC the cost is fairly comparable to the TJ. Some of my buddies have mentioned he Dodge Nitro and Caliber as well as the S10/Blazer/Sanoma/Jimmy option as well (though in my experience they lack the reliablity of the Jeep).

Am I missing any note-worthy, comparable vehicals? I'm not as knowledgable about these newer cars as I am about the 70's thru the 90's models so bear with me.
 
I have to say love um or hate them the nissan pathfinders live for ever. I had a 95, bought it new kept it for 11 years and it had like 165,000 on it and NEVER needed anything but a battery and tires. after the pathfinder i bought a 4 door car.. to save on gas...kept it for 6 months and bought a big pick up truck. After having an s.u.v there is no going back. Pick ups and s.u.v.s are so useful, you can throw everything in them. Saving gas is nice, but in my opinion, it gets old quick. P.s im not a huge fan of jap stuff, but in the case of a pathfinder i cant take it away from them, that sucker was bullet.
 
Have you considered a pickup?

Jeep generally ranks very low for reliability and initial quality, so if that's your yardstick, you should be fine with almost anything. No offense intended at all. We used Jeeps regularly for archaeological surverys, and although they had re-occuring mechanical issues, there were no other off-the-shelf vehicles that could compare for ability.

If you're considering older Jeeps, I really like the 4.0 straight-six engine, and would avoid the 4-cylinder.

190,000 miles on a Crown Vic. They (along with the Grand Marquis) aren't top-rated for reliability for no reason! Good Job!

Best Wishes,
-Bob
 
have you considered a subaru? The jeeps are hogs and unless you feel like driving stick they're even worse.
 
Well I'd prefere a stick for sure, and I have a couple of freinds with jeeps. Those who didnt take it wheeling generally had very few problems with their YJ's, although I've heard some TJ's have had QC issues.

As for pick-ups and subies, the smaller cheaper ones don't have the room (what little there is) that jeeps have, in my experience. Although none of these choices will be a spacious as my good old Vic. Another thing I'm considering is I may be driving to and from compus next year, depending on a variety of factors, so overall compactness is a "consideration" since it would make finding a parking spot easier here (especially in winter, it gets a little chaotic).

Still, me, my freinds, and family, have in general had far more problems with their compact pickups (eg S10) than the Jeeps.
 
Unless you're going to do some serious offroad, you can't beat the RAV4. It's not a fancy car, but the value is unparalleled.

I'd recommend you pick up the Consummer Report car reports. The 2007 just came out.
 
I would buy a used 4Runner way before a new Jeep (reliability, resale, etc.) for comparable cost. That being said, the Subarus are now the top rated vehicles I believe, for customer satisfaction although there have been some issues with certain years and models. You have a fun choice :) Good luck!
 
Well, the Jeep still has the lowest cost base model with such luxories as A/C removed. Too bad I can't get it without a radio and speakers (since I already got a nice setup in my vic). I'll have to look into prices on the subies, but I think the toyota is out, it tops 21k with the lowest cost package.
 
Both the Subaru and the Wrangler are rock solid.

Ignore anecdotes about somebody's car that lived forever / was a POS, because that's a sample size of one.

The Wrangler will eat the Subaru alive in rugged reliability, but make sure you get the 6 or you'll be kicking yourself.

The Subaru will perform like a sportier car, so the question is whether you want something that's adequate for the winter and fairly quick in the summer (Subaru), or whether you want something that'll eat any terrain alive in any condition and let you have open-air, non-sporty fun in the summer (Wrangler).

Btw, as a student with a very old car I'm wondering why you want a new car particularly since you're looking at stripped-down base models. The sweet spot is 2-3 years old, so why not grab an 04-05-06 Wrangler on the cheap, get that wonderful I6 (instead of the new V6), and have more options in it to boot?
 
the Forester XT is probably well over 19k... and ugly to boot ;)

that thing is pretty hardcore though, it's basically the same engine as in my STi
 
I had some of the same concerns and ended up with a Jeep libery diesel (CRD).

I paid about $20,000 for it, it's bullet tough, and gets about 26-28 mpg. That being said, I've had to put up with a few recalls, and they quit making them in '06 due to emission problems, although they arguably cleaner burning than gas models. (Don't ask me, ask the policy makers in washington) You can still find 'em around if you ask your dealer.

Torque is through the roof for a smaller SUV, at nearly 300 ft/lbs, if that means anything to you.

Mine's a love/hate relationship, but pulling the boat and getting good milage are important to me. Nothing else I could find would fit the bill.
 
Bobby, right now I'm evaluating my new-car options; not even 100% certain my old vic will end up getting replaced (all the work is doable, its just a lot of time and effort to put into a car that old with zero collector value). Next step is checking out used models (of which I know a bit more about).

As for the 'stripped down' idea, its simply because I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. manuals locks/windows never bothered me in my camaro, I never use A/C anyways, and what else is there? Maybe a rear defrost would be nice if i got a hardtop TJ but thats all the comes to mind. Well, and a rear locker. All that money Id spend on pointless factory options (which isnt much) could go to useable aftermarket mods.

But you may be right about the 2-3 year old used. Only thing is, those leases get the piss beaten out of them, infrequent oil changes and all that so they worry me. Maybe with a good warrenty, I don't know.

But yea, I still got to find a place to live next year and unload either my vic or get the firechicken in the garage fixed up and sell her.
 
I have quite a few friends with jeeps, and have done extensive work on a cherokee, and a little bit on a mid 90's wrangler.
My advice is that if you get a wrangler, make it a hard top. Soft top is only fun in the summer when you can take it off. The rest of the time, its noisy, doesn't seal up well, and will end up costing you money as the plastic starts to deteriorate and crack. Forget the nice radio with a soft top too, anything left in it will probably be stolen. Thats especially true for a college campus.

Personally I wouldn't get a jeep unless I intended for it to be a toy that I wanted to work on all the time. After market stuff for them is almost endless, but reliability wise they're not that great for a daily driver. Everyone I know with one, regardless of model has had issues requiring dealer service. The wranglers seem better than the other models, and sticking with a stick shift and basic features will help alot....but there is still a chance for trouble.

You should definitely test drive one before you buy also. The ride quality is going to be very different from your crown vic. Make sure you can live with it.

I'd suggest looking at a Ford Escape as another option. Alot of folks on here badmouth ford and like to push imports, but I still swear by them. My brother has an escape and uses it for the same thing you intend to. Its been a good car for him. I personally think it handles and drives alot better than a jeep, and the interior is alot quieter and more comfortable.More seating and cargo room than a wrangler also. Its not a trail rig by any means, but it will handle the worst weather you can throw at it. Gets fairly good mileage too.
 
Despite driving my luxo-barge for years, I've had quite a lot of seat time in a number of different jeeps (not to mention almost two years driving International dumps at work!). I am really suprised about all these reliablilty issues. The people I've known with jeeps that didnt beat on them seemed to fair just fine with avoiding the stealership. Hell, my folks have the ever-hated KJ (liberty) and I don't recall it having any real problems...ever... Well, not counting the absolutely horrid access to the oil filter for changes!

I'm very reserved about all these FWD based SUV's. I guess I'm old school... I just don't trust transaxles and CV joints.
 
If you want to buy new I don't think there is a better value than the Honda Element. I bought mine new in 2004 and it was just under $20K for the top end model. Now, with the element there is no leather seats and stuff, but I really like the options it does have. The AWD makes for the best handling vehicle i've ever driven in snow and ice conditions. Milage isn't the best, but the thing IS shaped like a brick, so 22-25 mpg is pretty good considering... it has a TON of room inside, but just for 4 people.

Reasons NOT to get an element:

1) if you can't stand the looks
2) if you need REAL off-road capability
3) if you need to hold more than 4 people
 
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