Buying an SUV

“My van swayed much more than my RAV does on windy days, but it had much more surface area to catch the wind. The RAV is a lightweight vehicle and only weighs 3100 pounds, but the profile doesn't really catch that much wind. I haven't noticed sway to be a problem for me and I've driven it on the highway in some windstorms and heavy truck traffic on the turnpike. Out of all the downfalls the RAV has in my opinion this isn't one of them. This is pretty easy to check on yourself. Take a test drive down the highway and let some big truck pass you out. I thought the RAV feels pretty smooth on the highway. If anything the RAV's driving performance is its strong point. It's shortcomings to me are the ones I've listed. RAV's are kind of expensive compared to the other small SUV's, but on the plus side they hold their value well, but so does the CRV. The RAV scores poorly without side airbags and it's tinny nature is pretty much a big downer.”

“thanks rich. i figure if it sways a little bit i can handle it... my car right now sways so much that sometimes i feel like i'm going to blow off the road. tiny cars, man.”

“The only one I would buy out of those 3 would be the Xterra. It looks like it has okay ground clearance. It seems that most SUV's have turned into glorified minivans. Buy a truck.”

“I doubt it sways as much as a Toyota Echo. Talking about sway, I took my Yamaha XT350 down the highway once and pulled off at the nearest exit it was so scary. I thought I was going fly off the road when trucks started passing me out. I'll never take that on the highway again.

I think many SUV's have turned into glorified minivans because most people don't drive off road. Around here there's no place to drive off road legally so where can you go with it. State Forest roads are open, but you can drive on those with a car.”

“If you're going to do real off road driving, make sure you get some skid plates installed.”

“Off road driving here in the city would usually end up in a police chase, with unwary shoppers dodging out of your way, while you clip a few lamp posts, fire hydrants and store fronts. Perhaps a dog or two could be seen hurtling across your field of vision. In other words, it gets ugly!

On a good day, you could take out a farmers' market! :)

Hope this helped in your decision, Scorchy!
last edited: 1/26/05 8:32:44 AM”

“The Xterra comes standard with engine and gastank skid plates. It also had the highest clearance of the vehicles I checked out.”

“I have a xterra and love it. Got it last year and will not go back to smaller SUV..much more room. The small ones will turn over easier and my insurance went down on the xterra went from a 99 to 04 model.
Go for the xterra.... you'll love it.
Barbara”

“I'm not much into off-roading, but here in the west it sure helps to have ground clearance on the back country roads. I like having the ability to reach some of the remote trailheads and areas. Some of those little SUV's only have 6 inches of ground clearance.”

“I've never been out west, but I see the pictures of roads that Snownymph labels as "4WD roads"...they don't look any worse than the road I live on (though pictures probably don't do them justice) so is it just for the clearance issue that a 4WD vehicle is handy on those roads?”

“shoot, my driveway is a better test than most forest roads..UPS and most FedEx will not drive up it..our mail carrier has a 4 wheel drive so she gets up if she has a package..the secret, don't stop on your way up!”

““shoot, my driveway is a better test than most forest roads..UPS and most FedEx will not drive up it..our mail carrier has a 4 wheel drive so she gets up if she has a package..the secret, don't stop on your way up!”
mataharihiker
11:16:47 AM
1/26/05
ignore this user

That sounds like my uncles driveway. It's the only driveway I've ever walked up and gotten winded doing so.”

“You'll get winded walking up ours..it's not long, but steep with a curve that, backing down in winter, will land you in the woods needing a tow truck...and, we've had ruts in the past that eat exhaust pipes
last edited: 1/26/05 11:47:30 AM”

“Why do people buy SUV's instead of station wagons or minivans?”

“Why do people buy SUV's instead of station wagons or minivans? What is the big advantage?”

““It seems that most SUV's have turned into glorified minivans. Buy a truck.”

A truck would have actually been my first choice if I was able to afford it.. but, alas, I can't, therefore I'm looking at the smaller SUVs.”

“I'd rather have an SUV over a wagon or van because I like the ground clearance and 4-wheel drive. I like being up higher because I can see stuff better (other vehicles, scenery, etc.)
I don't want a truck because they don't do all that fantastic in slippery conditions with an empty bed and I don't need to haul stuff around in the open air.”

“Minivans give you the same view as an SUV, and some come with AWD. You can haul around as much as a pickup with a cab, but also use that same space for people (if you put the seats back in). Ground clearance would be as good as or better than some SUVS, like the Forrester.

So no advantage, pixie?”

“My SUV definitely has better clearance than a minivan and I don't look like a soccer mom driving it around. I don't need all the space or seating that a minivan has. And the cab of my SUV feels more like a car and I can see out the windows better.”

“AWD Minivans cost more than smaller SUV's and if it's one thing I miss about my minivan it's the spacious interior it had. What I don't miss is how bad it was in snow and bad road conditions and lousy gas mileage. Most of the smaller SUV's and even some of the larger ones aren't intended to be driven in hardcore off road conditions. What they do well is what the marketing guru's have figured out most people want. Good traction in bad weather, decent, but not great gas mileage, good view of the road, reasonable cargo space and enough ground clearance to get through uncleared driveways, but not so much to make rollover too big of a risk.
last edited: 1/26/05 3:47:37 PM”

“I thought you said I'd look cute driving around in a minivan Pixie :(

What's wrong with a small pickup? My Nissan Pickup was the best vehicle I've ever owned... as far as reliability is concerned. I had over 200k on her with the original clutch. Only think I ever replaced was the tires, gas, oil and filter, and a starter solenoid ($27).”

“Nothing wrong with pick ups! They just aren't for me. And someone posed a question to those of us who prefer SUVs why they wouldn't want a truck or wagon.”

“Am I the only one who can see Scorchy in a Scion xB?

”

“Talk about no ground clearance...”

“Well you put the neon underneath it to give it the illusion of more ground clearance. You also have to put some 22's on it. Even more ground clearance.”

“Ruger makes a nice .22, but I fail to see how attaching them to your car would give you more ground clearance.”

“I've got a 90 S-10 Blazer with 216,000 miles on it (2nd motor). 4.3 litre V6, plenty of power, good ground clearence, 21-22 mpg. I don't know why Chevy quit making the S-10 series, I'm not very fond of the TrailBlazers even though they have the 4.3 vortec it's a heavier vehicle so I'm sure the gas mileage went down.

But, on the other hand I just bought a '99 Chevy Tahoe with the 350 cui V8. Gas mileage is not as bad as I thought considering I'm drving a 6,000 lb. truck (17 mpg hwy). I've done the mini-van thing, true they ride better than the SUV's but anyone that thinks they (mini-vans)set up as high as the full size SUV's have never driven one.”

“I thought the TrailBlazers had a straight 6 in them.”

“went tonight to test drive xterra and rav4... did NOT like the rav after driving the xterra. it was swaying all over in the wind and i could barely get up the hill.

will be buying the xterra this weekend. i couldn't afford a brand new one or even a 2004 leftover (they were going from 25k to 30k!) so i'll be getting a 2003 with 16k miles on it.... FULLY loaded... 6 cd changer, alarm system, alloy wheels, black front and rear truck guards, fog lights, etc... i fell in love with it. love the way it drove (actually less bumpier than i thought since it's a truck frame). although i think i scared the #&%!$ out of the dealer when i said "now i really wanna test it out" and pretty much floored it and slammed on the breaks. but i did give him fair warning.

i'll be picking it up in the morning to take it for the day to make sure it's what i want.
last edited: 1/26/05 8:58:04 PM”

“Congrats. I hope you enjoy it.”

“thanks. but don't jinx me yet. i haven't put anything down yet.”

“oops sorry. Ignore my last post.”

“Good luck?!!! What color is it?”

“silver with black truck guards which make it look even sportier... i really like them in case i rearend someone my car will barely have a dent in it... or if someone rearends me.. same thing.

the funny thing is... i went into the dealership saying i would NOT get a white or a silver truck. i hate those colors. but whatever. it has too many extras to turn down.”

“I thought the TrailBlazers had a straight 6 in them

You're right lumberzac, the Trailblazers do have the 4200 vortec in them. I stand corrected.”

“Did you test drive a GMC Envoy? Similar to the Trailblazer, only a tad more features. We don't have the 4WD version, but the Envoy is an awesome performing vehicle. My wife drives it and loves it. I have no idea how the price compares to the SUVs you are looking at. Best highway mileage we have gotten is around 20 mpg.”

“Good move Scorch and good luck with it.”

“I was skimming through an older Consumer Reports during lunch (Oct. 2004) and they listed an overview of MPG and cargo room for minivans, wagons, and SUVs. Page 9. First number is MPG, second is cargo volume in cubic feet. CR does NOT recommend the two with the *, the rest are recommended.

Minivans
Toyota Sienna LE 21 70.5
Honda Odyssey EX 18 67
Mazda MPV ES 19 56
Nissan Quest SL 18 60

Midsized SUVs
Honda Pilot EX 19 42.5
*Nissan Murano SL 19 35
Toyota Highlander Ltd 18 41.5
Volvo XC70 18 35.5
Lexus RX330 18 34.5

Small SUVs
Toyota RAV4 21 36.5
Subaru Forester 2.5X 21 35.5
Honda CR-V EX 21 32
Honda Element EX 20 47

Wagons
Scion xB 30 33.5
Pontiac Vibe (FWD) 26 25
Toyota Matrix XR (AWD) 24 28
Ford Focus Wagon 23 38
*Volkswagon Jetta Wagon GLS 23 33.5”

“Those MPG numbers seem off. I have a Forester and I generally get between 25 and 27 MPG. The worst mileage I ever got was about 23.5 and the best was 30.”

“I just noticed they listed the Forester 2.5X, which is turbo charged. My Forester isn't. That probably is where the difference in gas mileage came from.”

“Do you have the 2.5X model lumberzac?

Back to CR, just 2 pages later in recalls:
ALL Saturn Vues ever made have been recalled due to rear suspension failure.
Also The Xterra ('99 to '03) has a recall due to a faulty fuel pump.”

““Do you have the 2.5X model lumberzac?
techntrek
12:45:42 PM
1/27/05
ignore this user

Nope. Mines a Forester L. I noticed that it was the 2.5X after I posted.”

“this salesguy is jerking me around for price. i'm holding out for my payment i gave him in the beginning when he said it was "do-able." now all of a sudden the higher price he's giving me now is the "bottom line deal."

i'll be looking elsewhere if he can't come up with the figures i gave him in the beginning.

whatta J.O.”

“Stand your ground.”

“What is your "looking" price SC?”

“You hang in their Scorchie..and, thanks for Bradelicious..eh eh eh”

“Now instead of a small girly SUV how about a Tahoe/ Yukon? Specifically a 2 door version... not the land boat 4 door versions. This is similar to the one I have, a '97 Chevrolet Tahoe 2 door.



Now the 2 door is a short sheelbase and is only a one rear bench seat. Lots of cargo room though. I get about 16-17mpg. It's a very wide seat so you can comfortably seat 3 in the back though. You should be able to pick one up around $8-10k. The Chevrolet 350 v8 is a very easy to maintain and upkeep drivetrain and lasts a long time. Parts and labor on these things are dirt cheep. Mine has the tow package (class 4 hitch and transmission cooler and locked read differential)... push button 4wd.. nerf bars... luggage rack... etc. '98 was the big redesign in the Chevy truck line so you'll see the biggest price drop between '97 and '98. The pre-'98's have a very trucklike feel to them. The '98's and up have a more carlike feel to them and is a lot "smoother" luxury type vehicle. This model tahoe has a seal that tends to fail at around the 60-90k mark between the manifold and the block which will run about $200-300 to fix. It will start leaking coolant when this gasket fails. Everyone I know with a Vortec headed Chevy 350 has had to replace that gasket eventually. Other then that... they are rock solid vehicles and you should EASILY be able to get 200k out of them... and much more if you maintain them correctly.
last edited: 1/27/05 2:14:46 PM”

“i dont know much about torques and stuff, but I love my little forester....
1. it has a rack for the yak and it is low enuff for a short person such as i to load it easily.
2. Plenty of clearance...more than the honda and rav4 ..to go over the roots and ruts in my driveway.
3. while others are swishing around in the wet , rutted, clay/mud on my road after the monsoon rains, i just cruise on thru with not one little swerve.
4. Has the most rear view window area than the rest, (you can see children that might be behind you) the tire is not attached to the outside.
5. the test drive took me off road fast and hard (more than i would ever attempt anywhere)

it suits my purposes fine, I have driven 2 previous subarus over 200K miles.( one when i lived in the smokies)...till i just wanted a nice clean car to drive in...”

“DDX, you of all the guys should know that a two door SUV is bad for girls. How will Scorchie's chicky friends get in and out in their mini skirts and heels? Wouldn't be pretty...”