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Small 4x4 Recommendation

pacodiablo

By pacodiablo
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Greg Senior Enthusiast

Greg

Posted
Posted

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 Senior Enthusiast

pacodiablo

Posted
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Posted

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.

carguru Senior Enthusiast

carguru

Posted
Posted

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.

carguru Senior Enthusiast

carguru

Posted
Posted

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 Senior Enthusiast

DigUout

Posted
Posted

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 Senior Enthusiast

Stepside Z

Posted
Posted
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 Senior Enthusiast

carguru

Posted
Posted
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!  :thumbs:

HiG4s Enthusiast

HiG4s

Posted
Posted

I think in the medium small size the Nissan Xterra is about the best choice, in the small size the Honda CRV or Toyota RAV4.

CRV has a more car like suspension and actually has the Prelude engine with drive train from the Civic AWD Wagon.

 

Having typed that, the Civic AWD Wagon may be the ticket.

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