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I may take a road trip in mid-November from Portland, OR to Dallas, TX. I'll have my bf and 3 dogs (2 Shelties & a Weim). We'd like to rent an SUV for space and just in case for weather.
We're trying to find the most fuel efficient, that can handle the terrain (I have no idea what the drive is like and how many mountains we have to go over), bad weather decently, and that is comfortable.
From doing a general rental car search, it looks like the following are our main choices, priced lowest to highest:
Jeep Patriot
Jeep Compass
Nissan Rogue
Toyota RAV4
Ford Escape
Ford EcoSport
Hyundai Santa Fe
Subaru XV Crosstrek
Subaru Forester
Thoughts on which one of these will work the best? I haven't looked at all the mileage, but I'm also thinking comfort; it's a friggen 30 hour drive (give or take)!
Subaru Forester will handle everything well. It's spacious enough for 2 people and 3 dogs, fairly comfortable (though I would have to upgrade for a drive that long because none of those are super comfortable vehicles) and gets great highway gas mileage. My husband drives one and I call it his mountain goat. We live at the top of a mountain in NC, so nothing like the Rockies, on a dirt/gravel road and his Forester goes up and down like it's nothing. See if they have one with crossbars and buy a used car top cargo carrier and you'll have even more space.
I'd agree simply because they're more comfortable on long drives.
Drove an Odyssey with 4 people and 2 Great Danes from CA to CT, then later from CT to CO. Could not have improved on the drives.
However, they were both summer drives, no significant weather involved. AWD might be a very useful asset for the OP. Consider an AWD Sienna, if one can be found at any reasonable rate.
Tahoe. Or Yukon. Massive cargo room, very safe, feels like a tank. I rented one once, we also went into mountains to skiing resort. It does not care, it just goes.
Of course, 16.3 mpg.... But it very comfy to drive.
If I go the minivan route as a few of you suggested, how would that compare to a SUV for cold weather, mountain roads, maybe some snow, etc. We'll be driving straight, or pretty straight, and that means night driving through 20+ degree weather; hopefully it won't snow/ice, but ugh.
Tahoe. Or Yukon. Massive cargo room, very safe, feels like a tank. I rented one once, we also went into mountains to skiing resort. It does not care, it just goes.
Of course, 16.3 mpg.... But it very comfy to drive.
I'd go that route, but gas mileage would kill us monetarily.
If I go the minivan route as a few of you suggested, how would that compare to a SUV for cold weather, mountain roads, maybe some snow, etc. We'll be driving straight, or pretty straight, and that means night driving through 20+ degree weather; hopefully it won't snow/ice, but ugh.
The Subaru Forrester is the only one I'd expect to do better than a minivan in the snow.
Tahoe. Or Yukon. Massive cargo room, very safe, feels like a tank. I rented one once, we also went into mountains to skiing resort. It does not care, it just goes.
Of course, 16.3 mpg.... But it very comfy to drive.
A full size van kicks the crap out of a SUV for storage and utility. Plus you can walk to the back from the pass seat.
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