Suggestions on an SUV.

[Devil Diver Down]

My oldest decided to roll test our Pathfinder last weekend with his little brother riding shotgun. Overcorrected on a blown right tire, they jumped the median, taking out some of City of Chandler's trees, and made it across 3 oncoming lanes of a busy street and then turned it the opposite direction and onto the passenger side. Both kids are fine - Pathfinder looks like a crushed beer can.

I'm thinking Toyota Highlander or 4Runner - have had great experiences with Toyotas, but haven't had a chance to look around at what's out there and would like to hear some ideas.

thanks in advance!

 

[SFC B]

Are you looking new or used? Do you use off road? How big or small are your limits? Another suggestion, depending on how big the folks riding in the back are.....I have a Tacoma Double Cab 4x4 4.0L with an Undercover hard, locking tonneau and we love it!!

 

[JohnDeereGreen]

I'm on my second 4Runner now, a 2012, and they are just terrific. Can't recommend them enough. You won't be sorry if you get one. They will go anywhere a truck will for hunting and drive nice in town and on the highway. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Hof]

We just got a new explorer for my wife. I was hesitant when she said she wanted an explorer, but after looking at them and reading the reviews, this thing seems pretty legit. I was told the design team from land rover designed the new model. My wife was set on having 3 rows but did not want to go full size. Tow capacity of 5k so you can pull small boats, trailers, atv's.

If it were up to me I would look at the explorer and the 4 runner. cannot go wrong either way.

 

[Hammerhead]

Just picked up our second Subaru forester- first one is 10 years old, and now belongs to our daughter with 174,000 miles and running perfectly- nothing ever put into it except brakes, tires, and oil changes every 3000 miles.

The 2014 has been getting a surprising 35-36mpg on longer road trips, and already have packed a whitetail doe in the cargo area with plenty of room. I still take the Tundra to pull the camper, boat, and into elk camp, but for bird hunting, fishing trips, and all hunting trips close to home, the Subaru is ideal.

They seem to last forever too, and although I'm not as cool as the boys in their $50,000 diesel trucks, my gas bill is 1/3 of what they pay, and I have no car payment either.

I suspect I'll still be hauling birds, deer, and English setters in this rig 15 years from now. Not only that, but I fit right in with the hippies in Missoula and Bozeman when we go to town too!!

 

[Bulldog0156]

Subaru. I call mine the "meatwagon" for a reason

 

[kansasdad]

Love our Toyota Highlander. Third row seating available but when in place there is almost no room for gear in the hatchback area. Decent in town mileage, easy driving in highway applications. Side wind doesn't affect it as much as the town/country van.

 

[WapitiBob]

I have two kids and have bought 3 subarus. They're first on my list if snow will ever be in the picture.

 

[utah400elk]

I have an 08 Toyota FJ. Besides being just plain cool...It will go damn neer anywhere. I made a few simple mods to the inside and I can comfortably sleep in the back and II am 6'4" 240 lbs. It has the same engine as the Tacoma just with better weight distribution.

 

[dainer]

My wife has a Highlander. It's a great car for her...but notice I called it a car. 4 wheel drive or not, it's hard to overcome that lack of ground clearance. The ride is great, as I would imagine it's probably built on a car chassis...It also has great get up and go, but has a bit of torque steer. For getting around town and the occasional main dirt road, they are fine..

 

[Devil Diver Down]

I should have probably qualified that it's not going to replace my Tundra as my primary hunting vehicle. We haven't decided if we're going new (wife's choice) or used (mine) yet. I doubt it will see much off-road use like the truck does. It will be used for general driving around Phoenix area, plus trips north to visit family, to Mexico and all that - 4 of us and a dog. I never really thought about Subarus and they might be too small, but I'll toss them in the mix as well.

 

[Bulldog0156]

The newer subarus are pretty big. And they will get into some pretty nasty country as long as you have decent tires

 

[A-con]

If your looking for a hunting/off road vehicle, be advised.

Toyota 4Runners are built on the small truck chassis, a tough, proven off road platform.

Highlanders are built on a Camery chassis, a reliable, comfortable street platform.
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Highlander = haul the kids to soccer games

4Runner = haul equipment to elk camp

 

[SFC B]

My wifes vehicle is a CRV EX AWD and if that is big enough for your purposes it is awesome. Averages 30+ in town and 32-33 on the higway. Tons of room and good value. This is our second one and have had ZERO issues with either. It ison road only but it is great at what it does.

 

[npaden]

I've only had it for about 4 months now, but I'm really liking my Chevy Traverse. The Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and one of the Caddilacs are all on the same basic body and powertrain. They've been making them pretty much the same for 5 or 6 years now and they have a ton of interior room and ride really well and get decent gas mileage.

 

[Elkoholic]

The last 4yrs I have loaded up my Honda Pilot with 5000lbs (including trailer) and drove 1300mi to elk camp. It performed well except mpg is only 14 pulling that load. You can't go wrong with a Honda, although I'm bias since Honda puts a roof over my head and allows me to elk hunt!

 

[Sytes]

Glad to hear your boys are alright! Whew!
Price is the relative difference. Wife picked up an '11 Rav4 Limited and loves it. Not suggesting for you though we also appreciate the Toyota line.

All I've read on the two, the 4Runner does all. (edited - after reading a couple reviews, revised my post a tad).

 

[RobG]

I should have probably qualified that it's not going to replace my Tundra as my primary hunting vehicle. We haven't decided if we're going new (wife's choice) or used (mine) yet. I doubt it will see much off-road use like the truck does. It will be used for general driving around Phoenix area, plus trips north to visit family, to Mexico and all that - 4 of us and a dog. I never really thought about Subarus and they might be too small, but I'll toss them in the mix as well.

If it is just for normal driving I'd get a sedan of some sort with a low center of gravity and a roof cargo carrier to use on your trips. If you get an SUV sliding they will roll. But I guess you figured that out.

 

[hedjam]

I am glad none of my 4 runners knew that getting sideways causes them to roll. I think setup and driver input may affect that. I love getting them sideways.

mike r

 

[Devil Diver Down]

I definitely think driver input had something to do with the roll. I've had that thing sideways more than a few times and it never got tippy with me. Number 1 Son has some learning to do.

Still don't know what direction we're going on the next vehicle - hopefully right side up. I'm actually pushing for a sedan considering gas prices and better mileage - plus I have a Tundra to fool around in off-road. Wife claims the soccer moms in the Valley are trying to kill one another and she wants to be well armed with a high profile vehicle.

BTW, seat belts are a really, really good thing. This could easily have been one of those threads that gets a bunch of condolence responses. Make your loved ones buckle up.