Letx Talk About Small 4X4 SUVs

In reply to java230 :

Don't they share a platform with the Honda passport?

There is a good amount of overlap between 80 and 100 series prices, if you shop for models with locking diffs. The 100 should be a better DD. It'll still get atrocious mileage but the IRS should ride smoother. However, an 80 without lockers is dirt cheap, like mblommer said. 

Otherwise, a second gen Izuzu Trooper is a solid, affordable choice. Expedition Portal even likes them, and they're a picky bunch.

PS: Lexus LX450 is an 80-series Land Cruiser. Lexus LX470 is an 100-series Land Cruiser. Acura SLX is a second-gen Trooper. Might help find them on craigslist. 

I'm changing my suggestion to Honda Element

XJ Cherokees only have 2 major drawbacks: 1) around here at least they are starting to get pricey.  I think Cash for Clunkers had somethign to do with that.  There just aren't near as many as there used to be.  A cherry one is rare and when it shows up everybody knows it's rare.  2) THEY DRINK IT.  HARD.  Mileage is about on par with a large SUV.  

Having already DD'd an XJ for 12 years, I think I'd look for a previous gen RAV4 like somebody already mentioned.  The one with the 275 hp V6.  I had a rental like that and it was flat out surprising.  

I did a search and suprisingly you can find a newer Jeep Renegade 4x4 for $10k or under...

dxman92 said:

I did a search and suprisingly you can find a newer Jeep Renegade 4x4 for $10k or under...

But do you really want to own a Fiat Panda in drag?

First Gen Toyota Sequoia. Will haul anything and has 3rd row for all her friends. Or remove the 3rd row and put in several snowboards. They are pretty cheap now, terrible gas mileage though but Toyota reliability without the LC/4runner/tacoma tax.

The 4 door Dodge Dakota's have decent room in them for a small pickup too btw

Kingkong said:

First Gen Toyota Sequoia. Will haul anything and has 3rd row for all her friends. Or remove the 3rd row and put in several snowboards. They are pretty cheap now, terrible gas mileage though but Toyota reliability without the LC/4runner/tacoma tax.

The 4 door Dodge Dakota's have decent room in them for a small pickup too btw

I think if I were to put my own flesh and blood in something at that tender age it would be a tank like a Sequoia.  

Ger her a Sequoia, and tell her it is a pickup with a factory installed, fixed body passenger and cargo compartment?

In reply to Nick Comstock :

Yes, exactly, just different branding. However the two door, the Amigo and Rodeo sport were only sold under Isuzu IIRC

If she needs 'real'4wd, I would say a 4runner. It is basically a quad cab 4x4 preimum interior taco, but inexplicably cheaper. if not, the crv is a quality appliance. Be aware the later 2002+ drive different than the 1st gens due to struts on later models. Most prefer one to the other, but any 1st gen will need bushings and bearings refreshed soon. An element is also '4wd' and can be had cheap.

Both will go 200k easy, and regularly do more with fluid and pad changes. The autos and manuals in both are pretty well reguarded. 

Buy the best, not newest, example in your budget, accounting for any fixes or required upgrades. 

Was not a fan of the rav4s later in life, once they start needing things it got pricey compared to the hondas and 4runner. 

Edit: Where are sequoias cheaper than 4runners? 

s10 Blazers are good trucks and nearly impossible to kill.  I dragged myself, my wife, 2 kids, sometimes one of their friends and 2 dogs all over the south east in one.  18 to 22 mpg and will take a beating

Nugi said:

 

Edit: Where are sequoias cheaper than 4runners? 

Well I went on a quick CL hunt and proved myself wrong. Appears most sequoias are a little more than the local 4runners. But if you look at the 4runner's with the 4.7L V8 they get about equal. I guess when I look at cheap Sequoia's and cheap 4runners, the Sequoia's always appear to be nicer.  But you can get a nice Sequoia easily around 2500 if you look hard enough.

Nugi said:

Edit: Where are sequoias cheaper than 4runners? 

Where are you finding cheap 4Runners that aren't 3rd Gen or earlier?

Sending texts back and forth and I mentioned that what she was looking at would be pretty expensive and sent her a few of ads to look at.  All were $10K+.  I ask her if she had thought about a small SUV?  She said "Ummm..."

Found an ad for a very clean 2006 Escape - AWD, V6, leather, 129K miles, owner asking just under $6K.  She thought it was "cute" and really liked the pale green metallic paint. 

I am suprized.  Options may be opening up.

I mentioned in the first post that my granddaughter was driving a beater because she wrecked her Jetta.  The totaled Jetta was preceded by 2 speeding tickets in as many weeks.  I suspect I would be found lifeless behind a dumpster if I suggested something with a bunch of horsepower... her mother would just not understand and I kinda like my skull in its present shape - not pretty, but I'm attached to it.

Many good ideas here, as expected.  She will have to do some saving, but I suspect that mom will help some with the purchase which will speed things up. Will be talking to mom in the next couple of days to see where she is at.

The Beetle has just over 80K miles and, even though it is ugly, there is virtually no rust, the interior is decent, it has good rubber, and I did the timing belt / water pump a couple of thousand miles ago.  In the college town where she lives, I think it might bring around $1,700-$1,900 with some cleanup.

She will be driving over tomorrow so I can do some maintenance on the Beetle.  Think I will get her to sit down and took at pics of the vehicles suggested here and see what she likes and hates.  And then we can come up with A Plan.

Thanks to all for your thoughts and suggestions!

Speeding ticket, eh?  Maybe one of these is more her "speed"...

A word of warning on the Escapes (and Tribute/Mariner siblings). The 4-speed automatic they came with until 2008ish is a Ford CD4E, used in the Mazda 626 and Ford Contour. It does not like being hooked up to more power and more weight while having fluid changes ignored. My parents never changed the fluid on ours (bought new in 2001) and it died at 92k miles. 

You may see some advertising a trans rebuild or replacement. That's fairly common and you can extend the life with a cooler plumbed inline. This is more a concern on the V6 vs the I4 variants.

They are great little SUVs though. The AWD is very good in the snow, and the early (01-04) models have a knob that will keep the center diff engaged instead of relying on "slip and grip" status. Basically a Mazda 626 with a lift and AWD. 

Basically a Mazda 626 with a lift and AWD. 

Look, i'm no great fan of that trans either but if you go around saying stuff like the above im going to have to seriously look into what it would take to get the awd stuff tucked under a late-model 3.0L MPV.  

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

My brother had a previous generation Santa Fe and it was a pretty good soft roader. He put good tires on it and used it on dirt trails and beaches without a problem.

A 1st gen 4runner has a removable top, closer to a truck than any other... and with the 22r, no speeding tickets possible without a serious effort. A cherry one should be in the budget. Lacking in airbags...

Fair enough on pricing, 4th gen is 07+? I personally think the early 2000s were the peak of value to performance ratio. Thats late 2nd gen? 

In reply to Nugi :

That's late third gen. Went from 96 to 02.

If my child totals a car after 2 tickets he will be lucky to have a bicycle, much less an old beater Beetle.  My granddaughter (if i had one) would probably get whatever she wanted, even if i had to sell a kidney.

Vigo said:

Basically a Mazda 626 with a lift and AWD. 

Look, i'm no great fan of that trans either but if you go around saying stuff like the above im going to have to seriously look into what it would take to get the awd stuff tucked under a late-model 3.0L MPV.  

Per Wikipedia, the CD2 platform is an evolution of the Mazda GF platform that underpinned 626. The trans is from the Contour, Duratec V6 from Taurus, steering wheel from Probe, etc.

Nick Comstock said:

In reply to java230 :

Don't they share a platform with the Honda passport?

The other way. The passport was a Rodeo with Honda badges. All the part numbers were Isuzu. Same with the Acura Trooper. God I hated looking up parts for those piles.... The Isuzu catalogs sucked balls. 

As for the OP.... I'd rock the newest/cleanest Grand Vitara you can afford. Very durable little offroaders. I wish we had never traded ours in .

Mitsu Monteros (both normal and sport) seem to be pretty undervalued at the moment. Not the most popular, but ExPo guys seem to only have good things to say, and they don't seem to have any glaring reliability issues.