Looking for an SUV and need some opinions
 

i've got a few i'm considerring and i'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with any of them.

before you reply with the obligatory "suv's are for assholes" remarks i'll start by saying my wife and i already own an 04 velocity red rx8 and i have a project first gen turbo swap i'm still working on. i need to trade in my 01 ranger while it still has trade value and i need to get something that will hold its value and be somewhat reliable. i've pretty much ruled out the domestic offerings - the explorer and trail blazer/envoy seem to have quality control problems out the ying-yang.

i was considering the GMC Envoy for a little while but there is something fishy about a car with all the available options that has such a dramatic drop in resale value.

Right now i'm considering an 03 Toyota 4Runner, anyone have any experience with one - likes or dislikes?

anyone have any other suggestions for me?

Ray

I could make a few suggestions if I knew what you needed it for. Towing? offroading? etc.. would you consider a pickup with a large cab?

Do you need a mid-size to large SUV? Perhaps a smaller one would do the trick (Tribute, etc.). Or maybe a car-based crossover or wagon (Pacifica, Magnum, etc.). If your sticking to SUV, I would suggest a Honda Pilot or a Touareg if you can go that high.

owning 2 rotary cars still don't excuse you from buying a gas hogging, road blocking, and generally excessive vehicle. Heck you already have TWO fuel inefficient cars! :p

that said, are you interested in the future hybrid offerings from Toyota (Hybrid Highlander)? or even an awd wagon like the new subaru legacy/outback??

My best friend has an 02 maybe 03 4 runner and I don't like it one bit. The interior is horribly dated, it has no power and as far as driving feel goes is the worst SUV I've ever driven. Let me qualify that with the only other SUVs I've driven are a late 90s Blazer, late 90s Explorer, 04 MDX, QX45, and Forester XT. The MDX is damn nice but kinda pricey, if you can afford one it's certainly a good choice. Other than that the Forester XT was a blast, very fast, good road feel for an SUV, and not so bad on the fuel economy.

By the way I find it very comical that someone who drives an RX-8 is calling SUVs gas hogs, c'mon man, look at the numbers for many of the midsized SUVs and and think about what you just said...

Weird, I drove an 04 4 runner over the christmas holidays. I liked a lot, although, I will give you the dated interior. It is a bit heavy, but does your buddy have the V8 or the V6? I could see the 6 being weak, I read a review once that said low 7 seconds for 0-60 time of the V8 which was faster than the time the mag got in the MDX. As far as ride quality goes, it is a truck, based on a truck platform, unlike the MDX or most SUV's these days. I like it for its purpose, I felt I could take it off road and give it a beating and not have to worry about it falling apart. Felt rugged, which was fitting. It can tow 7200 lbs too, the mdx can do...well I can't seem to find that on their web page.

Different strokes I suppose.

My friend has a V6 which I'm pretty sure at the time was the biggest engine available. I don't think the 4 runner was available with a V8 in 02 or 03, but cars are my thing, not SUVs so I could be way off. My biggest complaint about it was that it was floaty and odd feeling, it didn't even feel like I was really driving. They hate it as well and will be getting rid of it gladly as soon as the lease is up. Odd thing is they are probably going to get the new 4 runner so they didn't hate it so much that they were scared away from the new incarnation. On a good note it has been trouble free. The MDX is more a Luxury vehicle than it is an offroader for sure, but honestly who uses their SUV for offroading nowadays. The cool thing about the Forester is it's not huge, it handles well for an SUV, it's fast, and offroad capable, but if you want a big roomy vehicle it's not a good choice, but neither is the 4 runner unless the new model is roomier.

SOunds like he has the older 4 runner, in 02 there was no v8. The new version came out in 03, and the V6 is about 65 hp and 60 lb-ft stronger than the previous v6 with both trucks weighing nearly the same and there was a V8 option which is plenty powerful. The new truck is a big step up in evey way, an is one of my fav's as far as looks. It looks rugged, like a truck.

Anyway, give one a test drive GTRay

Must be an 02 then, but the interior looks like it's from 82 :p

apparently you didn't read through my WHOLE SENTENCE:

and then I promptly mentioned a soon-to-be hybrid SUV and a AWD WAGON as FUEL EFFICIENT alternatives :p rotaries aside, SUVs are still less efficient than the 2 alternatives I mentioned, I was trying to mention some good alternatives so he can save some gas $$ for his thirsty rotaries lol

My brother just bought a Porsche Cayenne S - hands down the best SUV I've ever driven! Goes like stink and handles unlike any SUV you've seen. And he doesn't even have the turbo. I don't think I could consider another SUV after that . . . although it'll be a while before I can manage one of those.

They are certainly nice cars...urrr trucks urrr carucks? Seriously though, I have no clue why someone would want an SUV to go like stink. They're supposed to be rugged, powerful, manly. I just looked it up and porsche claims 0-62 in 7.2 so realistcally probably 6.5-7 not much quicker than the 4 runner. Even though I know it is capable, i cant see many people taking a cayene off road, hell I can't even find the towing capacity on their webpage. I really don't know how someone justifies something like this, i never could. Just an opinion so keep it :cool:

edit: I just found the towing capacity, cleverly not listed on the specifications page :confused: anyway, it is more impressive than I would have thought, around 7700 with brakes and a special trailer attachment.

BWAAAHAHAHAHA! :p That's hilarious, since the vehicle of choice for soccer moms these days is an SUV. Do you ever look to see who's driving all the SUV's? Women. Manly women, I suppose. ;P

GTRay, why do you need an SUV? If for space, then many wagons and most minivans do a better job compared to all but the grossest, er, largest SUVs. If you need towing capacity, then fire away with the soccer-mom-mobile. Otherwise, a wagon like a Legacy GT makes a great alternative that doesn't completely sacrifice all semblance of handling capability and fun-to-drive qualities like SUVs do.

Regards,
Gordon

I felt the same way about it before driving it. I don't know first hand about the off-road capabilities, but from what I've read, it's supposed to be pretty capable. I seriously doubt my brother will ever find out though! If a 4Runner is as fast as this thing that's pretty impressive, but I doubt it will handle anything like the Cayenne. Plus he gets about the same gas mileage as my 8!

Oh I look, and I shed a tear every time. if it isnt a woman, it is a femine man, i believe they like to be called metrosexuals, maybe they don't :confused: haha j/k.

As for the Cayenne, as far as I know its on road capabilities are pretty well matched by it off road ones. It is impressive for sure, and certainly a cash cow for porshe, i think it was a good move, i could just never do it.

I don't know how we jumped from envoy/4runner to cayenne S which is like almost 2.5 envoys costwise. I like the 4 Runner. My family had a limited 6 cyl version and it had a great interior, drove pretty well for an suv, decent bad weather capability. I'll qualify myself to suvs i've driven: Pilot(too bland), MDX(so much different than the Pilot. Great ride but quality issues), X5 , Pathfinder. If you don't have to go so big, look at the mazda tribute or the toyota highlander (I know 4 people who have this and love the thing). I know they have some good deals on 04 Grand Cherokees with the new model just introduced. Don't know too much about their reliability though. Test drive a boatload and see what you like.

Wait until the 2005 Xterra comes out. Fully loaded around 26-28k, more horsepower than the previous models, new body styling. Not a bad ride.

And to the guy who said, "Who offroads their SUVs?" I give you www.njax.net & www.xterraownersclub.com

(FYI- own an Xterra, want an RX8. :))

The Wife drives a 2002 GMC Envoy SLT nothing major has gone wrong and it good on long road trips. I would stay with the inline-six / 5-passanger models.

Well--the 4Runner is a reliable truck--if it was me I probably would go with a Tahoe and call it a day.

My dad owns a 2000 4Runner Limited, and it's a pretty useful vehicle, depsite it's limited carrying capacity. If you need more space, I would invest in a van, or a pickup.

trail blazer/envoy
I've know 3 different people that have had electrical problems as well as air comditioner problems with these vehicles.

I'll self-censor my comments about SUV's in general. Having said that, however, if off-road capability is not a major requirement, you might consider the Subaru Outback/Legacy AWD or the Volvo V70 AWD. I went with a Saab 9-5 FWD wagon. Quick, great in the snow and its 22-28 mpg doesn't make me feel like Osama Bin Laden is riding in the back seat. More room in any of these than in mid-size SUV's and more enjoyable to drive.

And if off-road capability is a real requirement, get a Land Rover LR3

I rarely hear people buying an SUV for off-roading. Although, I beat the shit out of ours off road when we had it. BUT, we had it to tow. Also justification for the SUV.

ok, here's the deal!

I currently own an 01 Ford ranger - great little truck so far but with 20K on the clock i know something is about to go horribly wrong with it and i want to get rid of it while it still has trade value.

I am anticipating the growth of a family soon and my wife and i enjoy taking road trips to go camping or just visit friends and family. I have previously owned a plymouth(dodge) caravan and it's the last time i will ever do so - i am just not a minivan kind of guy and i can't afford a decked out monster conversion van.

i need a vehicle that will see some light duty towing - a trailer with lawn equipment, a small 17 flats boat, a trailer with lumber for household projects - so not many wagons will handle that duty.

I've looked at the 03 4Runner and i really liked what i saw, a noticeable difference from the 02's and downward.

i'm also a mechanic by trade and unless a toyota is absolutely and blatantly mistreated they seem to last forever. i don't need 4wd but definately want RWD - i just can't justify anything driven by the front wheels.

the smaller suv's are cute but just don't have the overall build quality or space i'm looking for... they are just too limited by their compact nature and flawed by their primary FWD.

i have considered the hybrid AWD highlander hybrid that toyota just announced but that will take too long to get to the used car market for me at this point. i need to trade my truck which is paid for before it's trade value dips much further.

if i had my druthers i wouldn't even be asking this question - i'd be all over the infiniti FX35 - controversal, yes... much like the styling of our 8.

i want something that will hold its value to the point i can trade it in for the new mazda MX-Crossport. i REALLY like what i see with that thing.

in summary, i need:

minimum 6cyl w/ ~250 HP
2WD/RWD
decent towing capacity
reliability
decent resale value
DURRABLE - i may have to rely on this thing to run a side business out of.

have fun kiddies!

Ray

Seriously, take a look at the Subaru Outback or Legacy. If you haven't looked at them lately, you'll be amazed at the improvements in the 2005 models. They'll meet your towing needs and give you something fun to drive as a bonus. (The 4 banger turbo is the most fun, but the six will give you a thrill or two, as well.)