Small 4x4 Recommendation

Greg · April 12, 2002

We have a caregiver who is a single lady, about 60, who wants to replace her Durango with something more thrifty, reliable, and smaller. She lives on a dirt road that seldom sees a snowplow so she wants a 4x4 or AWD. She sometimes carries medical equipment so she wants an enclosed cabin with a large rear opening. She regularly transports patients and wants something low that is easy for them to transfer into from a wheelchair. She went through a series of Jeeps and now this Durango and has had reliability problems. She wants to buy used, 2-4 years old, in the mid- to upper-teens. Forester and CR-V come to mind. Other suggestions?

pacodiablo · April 12, 2002

she might want to look at an escape, explorer, or blazer. the escape might be her best bet. she can find a 1 year old one, 4x4 XLT for maybe around $18-19k.

LarryE · April 13, 2002

hyundai mom and dad love theirs

pacodiablo · April 13, 2002

thats right! i forgot about the santa fe. cheap, long warranty, car-like, 4wd! used ones should begin showing up soon...

General Lee 01 · April 13, 2002

The Subaru Outback or the Forrester comes to mind for me.

pacodiablo · April 13, 2002

outbacks are expensive, and both are ugly, but if it works for her...

carguru · April 13, 2002

I actually like the revised CR-V. If she is hauling people around, then it might be a bit small. The Bravada is a good buy. At least it will have a longer warranty to cover any probs.

;)

There is also the Kia Sportage. Not sure about the reliability on those though.

pacodiablo · April 13, 2002

no, not the sportage...they are awful, underpowered and they have poor quality materials

General Lee 01 · April 13, 2002

Well if she gets the '98 or '99 model, I'm sure the cost wont be terribly expensive.

carguru · April 13, 2002

Of course if looking at 2-4 yrs old vehicles, most of them in the class are a bit underpowered. The CR-V, Rav 4, Tracker, Sportage. The Wrangler is the only one in that size class that has plenty of power to get you out of most anything, but it has tons o reliability probs. Or you might luck out and get a really good one. :ehh: The Subes are decent, but I agree that they are a bit pricey.

DigUout · April 13, 2002

No KIA! It needs the 10yr/100K mile warranty!

My recomendations would be the Toyota Rav-4, Suzuki XL7 or a Honda CRV.

An AWD mini van like a Chevy Astro, Dodge Caravan or GMC Safari might be worth looking at too -

Keep in mind that any small 4x4 will likely have a 4 cylinder, including the Outback and Forrester, but that doesn't necessarily mean underpowered anymore. How much power does she need anyway? ;)

Stepside Z · April 13, 2002

The Subaru Outback or the Forrester comes to mind for me.

I have to agree with the Outback. I have a friend back in Maine that is on her second one. She does home health care and drives about 40K a year. She has never had any problems with her Outbacks.

carguru · April 13, 2002

No KIA! It needs the 10yr/100K mile warranty!

My recomendations would be the Toyota Rav-4, Suzuki XL7 or a Honda CRV.

An AWD mini van like a Chevy Astro, Dodge Caravan or GMC Safari might be worth looking at too -

Keep in mind that any small 4x4 will likely have a 4 cylinder, including the Outback and Forrester, but that doesn't necessarily mean underpowered anymore. How much power does she need anyway? ;)

Depending on how many people and how much supplies to be hauled around. And how she will be using it. If full load, poor little ute might not be able to pull itself out of a rut or will have a difficult time accelerating an onramp. I guess more power does corrupt. LOL!