What SUV?

D

dc2005

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Jul 26, 2005
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By the end of summer, I am looking to possibly purchase an SUV thats costs under 30k. My criteria (in order) are reliability, horsepower, off road capability and gas mileage. I am thinking of either the Toyota FJ Cruiser, Hummer H3, or some type of Jeep vehicle. Anyone have any suggestions or experience?

Thank you
 
You rarely go wrong with Toyota. Stay away from the H3 (and this is coming from a Chevy guy). It's just a revamped Chevy Colarado which, in my experience, tend to be large steaming piles of poo. I tend to stay away from Jeeps since I have had bad luck with them in the past.

I think the Toyota looks cooler anyway. :thumbup:
 
fj is pretty nice

i dry a 4runner... good off roading :)

like locomike said can't go wrong with a toyota :D

cheers
 
I am going to suggest the Toyota 4 Runner, as well as the FJ Cruiser.
 
Stay away from the H3 - guts are a Colorado/Encore... Reminds me of those old coin machine rubbers phrase, "just for show, not for go". FJ's are neat but a Tacoma offers more passenger room. Also, I'd want 4 real doors. I'd look at the 4 door Wrangler. Also, a used LR Discovery would be neat truck. I'm 6'2" 325 and I fit comfortably in the back seat. I'm seeing a good number being outfitted for offroad like jeeps. Boy, I wish they'd bring back the Defender.
 
Want a car? Buy a Honda or some other sissified excuse for an SUV.

Want a truck? Buy an Isuzu Trooper, an older one, and fix it up.

Leave these newer imitation SUVs to the soccer moms and their brats.
 
For sheer off-road capability and fun, I'd recommend any of the Jeep Wrangler line. I'm driving an '03, my sister's family own the 4dr model that they fit 3 kids into (all under 10yrs old) and a Liberty. They've recently started adding more convenience features to the Jeeps (for good or ill, no comment) so they're relatively family friendly.

Some points to consider tho':

- Nothing compares to being able to drop the soft-top at any time in 5 minutes or less. Nothing.
- Storing the hard top in the summer can be a problem if you don't have a 2 car garage or shed/backyard room
- The ride is stiffer than most SUVs, a concession to being able to pretty much steer it off the road and onto wilderness trails with no clearance worries.
- Did I mention the top comes down? The doors come off too. All four of them on the 4dr. No top. No doors.
- Jeeps aren't very pretty on the inside. They come from a military heritage and it still shows in the starkness of the interior.
- The starkness of the interior also allows you to forget to put that soft top up in a rainstorm. Jeep full of rain? There's drain plugs in the floor to empty it out. I've 'swamped' my Jeep a few times and nothing has stopped working. Radio is ok. Electronics are ok. Middle storage console was dry. Seats were wet tho'
- Noisy ride from street noise. Carpets aren't insulated to allow you to unattach the velcro holding them to the floor and dry em out on the lawn. If your an audiophile, you won't like the noise. Otherwise, you can hear the radio very nicely as it isn't really an issue for most. Top down? Turn up the radio.
-Single? Jeeps and girls. 'Nuff said.

I'll say only one more thing, that being my main reason for owning a Jeep Wrangler (TJ up here in Canada). You know that 'brotherhood' that is the Harley Davidson owner? The brotherhood that finds you stranded on the side of the road with your Harley for a short time because another Harley owner will always stop (on their Harley, in a truck, car, etc.) to help you out. Same with Jeeps. I'll always stop and on numerous occasions they've stopped for me.

Oh. Yah. Then there's The Jeep Wave
 
A used Toyota Landcruiser FJ-60 (or HJ-60 in Canada) with a diesel engine, you can't go wrong...
 
i've been looking at the FJ myself.
about 20mpg and great reliability.
 
Wiredgargoyle has it pretty much down on a jeep. I had a Cherokee in 90 and I bought a new sport wrangler in 04. Wrangler had a soft top, tinted windows, full doors, and for the time I owned it was a dependable vehicle. It also required one hell of a lot of money in suggested maintenance. The tires had to be rotated regularly or be ruined. I suppose that was mainly from the extremely short wheel base but dunno. Check the maintenance schedule and figure that cost in before you jump in. The gas mileage was exactly what they stated. 16-19mpg. I got 20 one time out of 32k miles. The interior on some of the new models is actually quite nice for a Jeep. Mine had cruise, ac, cd player, and they have a moveable steering wheel which acts more or less like tilt. You know they wrote the book on 4WD and thats no joke. It was very fun to drive and looked real cool. The top may go off in 5 minutes but it does not go back on so easily. It took me 2-3 times that to do it alone. It also was very easy to oversteer and that can be a problem if you hit a quick little panic mode but it will fit in most any parking place and turn around on a dime. They provide a great feeling of being able to go anywhere (probably cause they damn near can) Having said all that, I got rid of it and got a Toyota Tacoma. They run forever and I just cant get by without a truck. I am a Toyota fan but if you gotta have a Jeep, you gotta have one. I think they very much relate to Harleys, there are parts available everywhere to customize them and the owners do look out for one another on the road (or off). Good luck.
 
For a very long time i have been looking at the new Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8. It is out of your price range but it will blow away any other car in terms of off-roading and horsepower. More realisticly why don't you look at an older H1, they can be had for around $30k and provide simply the best platform for off-roading on the market.
 
If I had to purchase a SUV right now, I would buy 4 door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon soft top with a manual tranny.
 
Off-roadability = live front axle. IFS won't cut it except on nice dirt roads.

Jeeps are about it for real off-road capability. How far off road will require sway bar disconnects, lockers, and the reasonable expectation that body damage will occur. Jeep offers this up front, with a body that isn't sticking out all over waiting to be snagged on a rock outcrop, tree, or brush.

All the others are limited by the IFS - and worse if its full independent. The wheels simply will not travel as far due to the differentials being bolted to the frame, much less the CV joints putting up with multiple angles while transmitting 4LO torque.

Real 4WD is two live axles, and why extreme rigs all swap in axles to conquer the really big stuff. Anything less is simply all wheel drive capable, not 4WD.

Well, yeah, I own a '90 Cherokee. And, yeah, my son has a '00 Cherokee, but he listens to common sense (like it can haul his Crate amp and gear, too.)

So, are you fourwheelin', or SUV'ing. Crawl or Mall?
 
I think all anyone heard was off-road capability. Some of the Jeeps may be best for pure four wheeling but they lack in other areas. They are not so hot in the reliability category. I would be surprised if you really plan to take your new $30K SUV hard core four wheeling. If so, I would also look at a Jeep.

If you want a more all around vehicle I would look at a Toyota. I have a Toyota 4Runner with 120K miles on it in 8 years and have been very happy with it. I haven't had any problems with it at all. Never had it in the shop for repairs. It is also a very respectable offroad vehicle. Granted I am not into hardcore off-roading, but I do take it hunting and have always felt very confident it could go anywhere I needed to and then some. Hard to get a new one for under $30K though. I am also thinking about getting a new SUV pretty soon and I keep coming back to the 4Runner as the way to go even though I am also looking at every option available.

The Hummer is rated very poor for reliability. Jeep is a bit better. Toyota is the highest rated manufacturer there is for reliability.
 
The wife had a Navigator. Not exactly under 30 k but the biggest piece of junk ever made. Within 4 years everything broke at least once, that can break in a car. After the extended warranty expired we traded it in really quick. Lincoln attempted to talk her into buying an Aviator last year, but she went with a Mercedes after I went though the roof when she came home with the papers.

If you try to buy American, like I try most of the time, go for a Cherokee, a used BMW X5, or a Dodge Durango.

Just in case, the X5 is made in Spartanburg, SC and the M Mercedes in Alabama.
 
The SUV in your criteria that has my eye is the Nissan Xterra. The power has been upgraded. Good clearance, and a capable offroader. Not a crawler, but can take some pretty rough terrain.

Phil
 
X.jpg


x2 on the XTERRA.

The X is dead nuts reliable.

It's good looking.

It has four real doors, plus the hatch.

It's fast (265 hp) and has traction control and electronic brake-bias that works in the real word.

It has the highest emergency lane-change speed I've seen tested.

It is quite proficient off-road.

It has an easy to clean interior.

It has tons of storage cubbies and auxilliary power ports.

It has interior space for a ton of crap.

It will tow 5,000 lbs.

It runs on regular gas and gets reasonable fuel economy for doing all of the above.
 
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