For the last few years I’ve been driving a '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and it has aquitted itself err… so-so. The best thing that can be said for it is that it has been big enough to suit my needs. The Jeep is now, however, at the age where it is beginning to be too damn expensive to keep it running. Thus the need for a new babe-mobile.
I’ve been looking around a bit in my free time with little success, so I’m seeking opinions.
I have a couple of requirements:
-It must be roomy enough for me to be comfortable driving. I’m 6’4", so I need a lot of leg-room. For illustrative purposes: I have tried a Toyota 4Runner; too small inside. A Toyota Sequoia, on the other hand, is plenty roomy-- but gets 15mpg. Ergh.
-It must have a bit of cargo room, as I haul stuff around quite a lot.
-It must not suck too badly in the gas consumption department (the aforementioned 15 mpg on the Sequoia qualifies as sucking rather badly).
-It must last me about 10 years, so it has to be something that will be pretty reliable for 100-150K miles with reasonable maintenance.
-It must not be a mini-van; we hates them. We hates them forever.
Here’s what I’ve looked at so far:
Toyotas: Sequoia, too big. 4Runner, too small. Tundra pick-up about right, but back to 15 mpg.
Subaru: Forester, way too small. Nothing else even close.
BMW: X5 would be OK if not for the absolutely HUGE door handle that digs into my left knee when the door is closed. I don’t think I could drive that thing 10 miles without losing my left leg to gangrene. Also too expensive…
Lexus: a couple models are roomy enough, but way too expensive.
Jeeps: I have one now, 'nuff said. Moving on.
So, any opinions? I need a balance between room, decent mileage, cargo space, affordability and reliability. Suggestions much appreciated!
Astroboy, I just bought this baby and she rides real smooth, man, real smooth. Plus I spend just over one-fourth as much a month as I used to with my old SUV. It gets me where I’m going on time and hasn’t broken down–and I’ll never have to take it to the gas station. I’ve met interesting people since I bought it, too. I think you’d like it.
I’ve also found I can get excellent directions here, which are always accurate.
Actually no, I have not… hmm… I will look into that.
Friend fetus, I have no problem taking the bus when it suits my needs and is going near where I need to go (in fact, during the 8 years I lived in Seoul, I did not own a car, and took public transport nearly everywhere… would that we had a system like that here!). Out of curiosity I checked your second link to see if it were practical to take the bus to work… it is not. No matter how I manipulate the inputs it tells me there is no service at my requested time. I may need to play with that a bit more! Anyways, I’m not kidding when I say that I haul stuff around a lot… this morning, for example, I had the jeep loaded up with two (2) 19 inch computer monitors, one (1) large (2’ by 2.5’ roughly) box containing speakers, two (2) bags of sundry electronics (power strip, rechargeable batteries, SATA PCI card, a heat sink for a socket 478 P4 motherboard, etc.), and one (1) wife wondering when we were going to have lunch. While not an everyday occurance, this is common enough that I do need the cargo space.
Astroboy, if you can work out the trolley/bus schedule, you can buy a car and the trolley passes. I spent as much per week for gas as I do per month now that I take the trolley/bus to class; and I still have the car in case I need to lug something around or drive somewhere for some other reason.
OTIS (my second link) can be a tad bit finicky at times; sometimes messing around with the walking distance or flipping the time from “Start time” to “Arrival time” or the other way 'round can make it work. If you email me some vague descriptions of where you’re going and coming from, I might be able to help you out. I don’t have a real intimate knowledge of the city’s bus routes as I just started taking the trolley and bus last week, but I’ve got a good handle on the trollely lines and I might be able to pick up some route pamphlets for you the next time I’m on the bus. I might not be able to help you, but I’ll try.
True… I’ll keep playing with the link til I get it to behave. I know there’s a bus stop not too far from my condo; I’m not sure about the other end though. I’ll figure it out.
Astroboy: I just wanted to let you know that I was pleased to see your name. I haven’t seen you around in awhile and was wondering what happened to you.
Have you looked at the Explorer (Exploder) or other Fords? My sister was quite fond of hers. I believe there’s a Ford Hybrid SUV out there, which would certainly take care of the 15mpg foolishness.
Hiya Ginger! I’m still here… just don’t tend to post a lot these days; but I’m here reading pretty much every day.
Ford is on the list of things to check out before I buy. I’ve heard bad thing about their transmissions, but I don’t know how current that negative information is… and the idea of a hybrid is attractive, assuming they aren’t too expensive, if only so I can say in a singsong voice “Thaaanks!”
I have a Ford Escape XLT V6. I absolutely love it. It’s three years old now, and the only work it has required is a brake job (because I’m hard on brakes). It doesn’t have a rattle or a squeak. It still looks brand new. My friend is 6’4" and he has one as well and loves it, so it should fit you.
It has 200HP, and gets 22 mpg highway, 19 city. Decent for an SUV. The wheelbase is shorter than a Ford Taurus sedan, making it easy to park and manoever around in the city, yet you can fit a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood in the back with the rear seats down. It looks good (mine’s a ‘sport’ model with one of those cool chrome rack systems where the rack can be slid back and down to act as a bike carrier and such), and it’s fun to drive. The Escape has very tight steering, and while it’s no sports car, there’s something about its balance that makes it feel pretty good in the corners.
Other than the Escape, I’ve also heard really good things about the new Toyota RAV-4 and the Honda CRV. Both are newer designs than the Escape, and from what I hear a little more refined. But you pay for it. Escapes are available for bargain basement prices with rebates and incentives, and there’s a good supply of them on the used market.
I’m a big fan of these smaller SUVs. They get the mileage of a car, with almost all the utility of a larger SUV. Unless you’re a hardcore offroader, they’re even better choices than the larger body-on-frame SUVs. The unibody construction and independent suspensions make them better handling on roads, quieter, lighter, and more efficient. The smaller size makes them easier to live with in the city, yet you still get the ‘command seating’ of an SUV, and immense cargo hauling capability. I’m always surprised by how much cargo room I have in my Escape, especially with the back seats down. I’ve never wanted for a larger vehicle, and I haul a fair amount of stuff.
I’ve been doing a little online research today; the Ford Escape looks interesting… especially that Hybrid version! I will have to make it a point to drop by a Ford dealer sometime this week and take a closer look at them. (the only reason I haven’t checked out Fords yet is that I haven’t driven past a dealership while I was thinking about it…)
