1997 Chevrolet Tahoe. Champagne metallic outside, tan leather interior. Loaded to the gills with options. Super comfortable, super safe. Super shitty gas mileage what with the big V8 engine. Never had a bit of problem with it mechanically. I lived 1/2 mile off the main road and in the snow it was the only thing that got me out into the real world.
I too am a hated SUV owner.
My previous car was a 1993 Jeep Cherokee Sport (standard transmission, 4-L, v6).
Likes - Small SUV (I would not want a big one). Got me through the New England winters safely (snow, ice, etc.). Was great for toting stuff around (I moved to several different places back then). No worries about going off-road. Good ground clearance. A real workhorse! I had 180,000 miles on it with no major problems. I don’t recall exactly, but the gas mileage averaged around 20 mpg. Cool looking vehicle too. Things weren’t too crowded under the hood.
Dislikes - None, although better gas mileage would have been good.
My current car is a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport (automatic transmisstion, 4L, v6).
Likes - Same stuff. Gas mileage averages 19 mpg (ranges from 17-23 mpg).
Dislikes - Doesn’t seem as rugged as my '93. But I only have 30k miles on it so far…it’s long-term durability remains to be seen. Nowadays I have a wife and baby…and the backseat is smallish so it is difficult getting my baby into and out of the car seat. If I have a second baby, then I’d probably need a different car. Again, I’d like better gas mileage. My wife dislikes the suspension (bumpy ride).
My next car might not be a SUV. But winter safety is still of concern.
Phobos, if you want the safety and utility of 4WD (sounds like it would be useful to you), you may want to at least look at the Suburus. I don’t know if they still make the Legacy wagon, or if it’s been replaced by/mutated into the Outback. For what you’d pay for a Suburu, you can get a larger 4WD like the Jeep; but they do have a good reputation, they’re not big (you said you like small), and they might be just what you need for New England traffic.
I wonder if there are any Suburu owners on these boards? Since Suburus are not seen as being “SUVs” (i.e., they’re more like AWD cars), will they read this thread? I’d like to hear their opinions.
A co-worker drives a Blazer, and it’s easier to get into the backseat than the Cherokee. It also has a split rear bench, which (I think) is an option on the Jeep, and is a useful thing to have. I’ll bet a baby seat would fit nicely in there. But I still favour the Cherokee over the Blazer.
Another Cherokee owner here. 98 2 Door Sport. 4.0L 5 Spd. Dark Green. Love it do death. Goes like a raped ape (and if you have ever seen a raped ape go…)
Decent milage, I would say about 24MPG on the hiway, maybe a bit more. Town milage sucks though. I am real lucky if I get 275 miles on a tank.
No real problems… block heater packed it in a few months ago. Front Left stereo speaker cut out. All seems fine now though. It will be a keeper for me. I owned sports cars all my life (OK, previous 10 years) before this, and while I may miss the power of my 300ZX Turbo, I do prefer my Jeep. Its way more practical.
I drive a 1999 Toyota 4Runner SR5. I passed on the 4wd version, and I’m glad that I did seeing as gas prices went through the roof. I do get about 18-20 miles per gallon.
The vehicle itself has been great. I’ve got about 20,000 miles on it in 18 months. I’ve not had any problems with it whatsoever. That was one of the reasons that I got the 4Runner, high owner satisfaction, along with the high resale value.
I swear, I’m only posting about my GF’s car today…
Anyway, we have a 2000 Subaru Forester L. It’s a pretty cool little car. It’s about the size of a CR-V or a RAV4, but I think it’s a little lower.
The Good: Incredible build quality. Great in snow. Looks like a smaller car than it is. With the back seat folded down, it holds a lot of stuff.
The Bad: The engine is a little weak. I am always hearing people talk about how it has a lot of power, but I dunno. I don’t think the pickup is all that great. My normal car is a 4.9L V8, though, so I think I may be spoiled. I’d recommend driving one to decide.
The Ugly: One of the rear wheel bearings decided to go with 10K miles on it. It was under warranty, though, and we haven’t had anything else go wrong.
All in all, I’d say it’s a good little car. I’ve told my GF that when the warranty runs out, we’ll bolt on a supercharger to give it more pep. 
I’m going test driving this weekend! I have another question for the Jeep owners… my dad says that Jeep parts cost twice as much just because of the name. Is that true? I really like the Cherokee and I’m going to check out the CRV and Blazer this weekend. I never considered a Suburu but I’m going to look into that too. I have to do some more research on the others that have been mentioned. I’m not in a hurry which makes the whole process a lot easier!
I have never heard that before. A Cherokee is one of the least expensive sportutes out there, and arguably one of, if not THE toughest. I love it very much. Its a great vehicle that has lots of power for the hiway and town, and is pretty roomy too. When the time comes to get another vehicle, I will very seriously consider staying with Jeep.
If you want to buy a new one, hurry. They are going to shut down the production line in a couple of months.
Make sure you get a 4L engine. The full time transfer case is nice, but not a necessity.
If you buy a used one, make sure you get it inspected at a reputable shop. Preferebly one that deals with 4x4s a lot. A 4x4 with mechanical problems can get very expensive very fast. So get a well maintained one, preferebly not driven by a 17 Y.O. Male.
I think the Cherokee is slated to be in production until at least mid-2002.
Nope. She’s dead Johnny. Production ends June 30th of this year. It was a big news thing last month, I’m suprised that as a Jeep’er you missed it. It was even on the news on TV and such…funny thing though, I am trying to find a site to link for you, but I am not having much luck.
Seriously, trust me though 
DC shitcanned it.
That’s what I heard also. Daimler-Chrysler reputedly plans to introduce a new vehicle, the Jeep Liberty, for 2002 to replace the Cherokee.
You can get some information about it here:
http://us.media.daimlerchrysler.com/index_e.htm
Scroll down to the bottom and click on the picture of the Liberty.
Incidentally, my crack about “putting my foot in it” was supposed to be a joke. The Cherokee is my wife’s vehicle, and she is a very conservative driver. That’s why I was wondering about the mileage difference.
And my comment about the cup holder stems from the fact that when I’m the passenger I’m constantly wacking my knee against the thing. (And I had to glue up an adapter out of ABS black plastic sewer pipe to secure water bottles and other larger containers.)
One more thing. The Cherokee is a very tough vehicle. My wife was in an accident on the freeway in ours a couple of months ago and came out relatively unscathed. The other driver, in a new Blazer, IIRC, was taken to the hospital.
I’ve personally seen a Cherokee rear-ended by a car where the car was towed away and the Jeep just had a dent in it’s bumper.
I have a '96 Ford Explorer Limited (ooohhh, leather). I love it. It is big enough to carry 5 guys over 6 feet tall, I have the pictures to prove it. Also, my 5’3" wife can still get in and out of it without breaking herself. At 72,000 miles it still gets +/- 16 city, 20 highway (V6). I can make Las Vegas on a full tank without stopping (appx 300 miles). Not too bad for a 4wd. That truck (well, really a 4wd minivan) has been on the sand at Pismo and Glamis, above 12,000 ft in Colorado, and driven every inch of the I-5 in the United States. Nothing to replace but gas, the Firestone Tires of Death and wiper blades so far.
bernse, according to This Site:
I didn’t read all of Bumbazine’s link (I’m at work), but it indicates that the Liberty is a 2002 model.
It sounds like the Liberty is going to lose the truck-like suspension. Pity, that.
Yeah, I found those too. That was the company line before the announcment last month. Damn it! I am trying my best as I get time to find a link. Trust me, this is relatively “new” news. I speakith the truth
I drive a 2000 Honda CRV. I love it. I am trying to talk my husband into getting rid of his 1999 Chevy Cavalier and getting a CRV. It’s better on gas, it has more power and it’s just a comfy ride. I wanted a SUV-type vehicle because with two kids I needed more room and still wanted something a littler cooler than our old min-van. With the CRV, I get great gas mileage, I got a large car that is small enough to handle easily and it’s still got all the power I want in a smaller faster car. It only cost us $19,000 so it doesn’t break our budget which is ultra important when you live on a budget. With a CRV you can actually fit into alot smaller places than even in some cars, the side mirrors fold in! It’s so cool, I love my CRV. It’s tall enough that you don’t have to slow down or stop for bumps in the road.
My sister drives an Explorer and I hate her car. It sucks gas and it has no power. I hate borrowing her car because it’s so slow and you have to floor it just to get it going.
If anyone is ever driving around San Diego and sees a dark green CRV with Pooh shades in the back, watch out because it’s me and though I obey the speed limit, I do it with attitude!
OK. The link didn’t work, but this is a cut and place from a site that quoted yahoo! news. January 4th
**
A date was reportedly set since then that put June 30th as D-Day.
Two time Blazer owner checking in.
I had a '93 Blazer that I used to tow a 21 foot boat, and absolutely loved it. Never a problem. I only owned it for about three years until an “offer I couldn’t refuse” for a company car replaced it (cost $1). We just bought a 2000 Blazer in September. You can get a medium trim model for a reasonable price, and they do a very nice job of merging the daily driver with the weekend truck.
Mileage really depends on how you are driving. “Normal” roads in 2wd we get in the mid 20’s… but the month in snow and constant 4wd it was about 13 (but we went anywhere we wanted without concern). We also do quite a bit of camping, and we like the convenience of “drive in” camping (we have three young kids) with the privacy of going to areas not just anyone can get to.
Oh, yeah… Mom really fits in at soccer practice too.
Yeah, I thought someone might recommend the Outback. My concern with that is reliability/durability. Two of my co-workers have Outbacks and they seem to be taking them to get fixed more often than I care for. Granted, that’s only two examples. I suppose I could check into some more stats on that model.
I haven’t looked at the Outback, myself. But I have seen a lot of old Subs (late-'70s to mid-'80s) in “ski towns”. Most of the ones I’ve seen are very ratty-looking – hey, they were over 20 years old, some of them. But they seemed to run. As I said, a co-worker had a Suburu sedan that he’s had for a long time. Even though it was old and ratty-looking, it ran fine. He finally replaced it when it became too small for his family.
In other news, I may be closing in on a Willys CJ2A Jeep. Wish me luck.
Ok, 1st, Phobos, you a an INLINE 4.0liter 6 cyclinder.
Not a V6. Sorry.
…
For the Jeep Cherokee, see Johnny L.A. He pretty much
covered it. I had a 95 Sport 2dr, 4.0ltr L6/auto.
Liked it, but wanted something better offroad.
97 Wrangler. Good power, good mileage 15/18
GREAT OFFROAD!!! I had the hardtop, with A/C.
83 Grand Wagoneer. Good ride. All the bells/whistles,
about 13.5-14.0. City or highway!!!
94 Grand Cherokee. V8/auto/Fulltime 4wd. GREAT power
with the upgrades I’ve done. Mileage varies. The
wife can update you, her Jeep. Rides good.
00 Grand Cherokee. Moms Jeep. (They’re in VEGAS!!)
I’ve been driving this thing all week. LOVE IT!!
Wife LOVES IT!!! It was ordered for the wife,
and then we didn’t get, so dad bought. They like it alot.
I’m waiting for the High Output Grand Cherokee to come
out. I’ll then order one for me. The wife likes the
looks of the new Liberty. Due out soon. I’m not sure
of the IFS, but I’ll give it a chance.
If you have any questions about Jeeps, email me.
We’ve had them in our family since 1983. You can
also check out http://www.jeepunlimited.com for other
opinions, (biased of course) on Jeeps.
Just bought a 91 Jeep Commanche. Basically a
Cherokee with a truck bed. Should be nice.
4.0ltr/5 speed. It’ll be my commute/beach truck
Good LUCK!!!