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If I was to get an SUV to take my family camping/fishing and I wanted to avoid a total guzzler but wanted something that can get down some bumpy dirt roads in 2WD to get there what's fits the bill best?
Not talking off road 4WD, just enough room underneath to clear some rocks and bumps in the road.
First idea in my head: The Ford Flex. It strikes me as a very useful looking crossover that might even be long enough to sleep in, assuming the seats fold flat. The styling is take it or leave it though.
I;d rent something for the first couple of outings just to make sure the rest of the family is really on the same page with this camping thing, be a waste of money to go buy an suv for the purpose only to find the novelty wore off after the first outing.
A Rav4 might fit the bill.
How big is the family? How much stuff, roughing it(sleeping bags and such) or bringing air mattress and other such things. Will you be bringing a camper or trailer? I know you said you want to avoid a "total guzzler" but I would suggest Tahoe. Lots of room, good ground clearance(as it is built on a truck frame, and its not some wimpy crossover)
I agree with jambo101, I always wanted a big SUV but my wife was against it. We needed one a couple years ago to go on vacation so we rented a Ford Expedition. It fit all of us and our gear and there was room for more. It got (in my opionion) decent gas mileage for the size of it and it was a comfortable ride. We both fell in love with it, my wife gave me the go ahead and I ended up buying one a month after we got home from vacation. Its been over a year now and we love it. So sometimes renting is a really good option, takes away some of that buyers remorse and makes sure that what you are buying is something you will really use or need.
Not many have a selectable transfer case anymore, so your idea of going 2wd down rutted roads might be a fantasy. Sounds like AWD would do just fine. Toyota Rav4 would be my recomendation. I'd say also the Element because it's cavernous but pretty wide for narrow roads.
I know my older Forester has been on some gnarly roads with no problem as well.
So much depends upon your budget and how much gear you want to take with you ...
I've been able to tow a small boat trailer, sailing gear, an 8' x 10' canvas wall tent, folding chairs, all the typical campsite gear including roll-up table, 2-burner stove, cookware, water jugs, sunshower, air mattress & sleeping bags, and clothing/gear for a several day trip on some less than graded dirt roads with a BMW 2002 ....
But my current driver for this use is a Subaru Outback Wagon. Better ground clearance, almost 30 mpg fuel economy, a very capable AWD, lots of interior space, good A/C & sound system, reliable & durable vehicle. Not an off-roader by any means, but a very capable vehicle for unimproved dirt roads and still a good highway vehicle. 15+ gallons of fuel in the tank gives it a good driving range heading into the backcountry. If you want to, the back seat folds flat so you can sleep in the vehicle. IMO, a much better vehicle than the RAV, too. Typically can be had for not very much money ... I bought my 2001 for under $4,000 and my most recent acquisition, a 2000, for $3,500 ... both around 100,000 miles on the odo and both are Limited models.
The family loves the outdoors so they're definitely onboard for camping and fishing. It's only my wife and son, so there's not many of us.
Budget wise, under $15,000, used, around 5 years old or so.
I just can't do a Tahoe or Expedition, as much as I'd like to, I drive 30 miles a day to work and can't afford that kind of mileage.
I was wanting to hear some opinions on some of the smaller models because even though I can look up the mileage and specs on clearance, whether FWD,RWD, or AWD, there's a lot of hearsay about how the little FWD RAV4's, CRV's and such are soccermom mobiles that are worthless off pavement. The RAV4 seems decent, but I haven't driven one yet. The Element's interesting.
Very interested in Foresters/Outbacks. Subaru seems to be just right, but I keep hearing the common 4 cyl. 2.5 motor is prone to problems. Something about fluids leaking into/out of the cylinder heads of the boxer motor causing problems, which I'd guess is a gasket issue and simple, but I don't know what I'm talking about really. Just going off forum talk.
Also heard the timing belt must be changed at 100,000 miles or so because of something about "this engine--like most modern 4 cylinder engines--is of the "interference" design, means that when the timing belt breaks, valves and pistons will collide, resulting in...extensive internal engine repairs." to quote another thread about subarus. Sounds costly and not sure I could do that myself(maybe).
Put another way, they have weird engines and some say parts/labor for them is harder to find (I live in PHX, we're not worried about snow too much).
You still haven't mentioned whether you want something to tow a camper or just something with space to haul all the gear.
I don't have much experience with small SUVs, but my sister and her husband have driven a Forester for years. They have one of those little egg-shaped campers that they haul all over the place with no problems. They took some video of a camping trip they took in the mountains near Colorado Springs, access to the campsite was via a Forest Service fire road strewn with the typical ruts, craters, and boulders, and they made it back in one piece. Overall I think it's been a fairly trouble-free car for them. And it's one of the older models that's really more of a station wagon, the newer ones are much better suited to this type of use.
Here's my take on timing belt replacement on interference engines: Would you rather drive your car to the shop under its own power and at your own convenience to have the timing belt changed at 100K miles, or would you rather just drive your vehicle with the non-interference engine until it breaks at 115K or so miles and add the cost of the tow plus the inconvenience of being without a vehicle when you didn't expect to? Just some food for thought.
I was wanting to hear some opinions on some of the smaller models because even though I can look up the mileage and specs on clearance, whether FWD,RWD, or AWD, there's a lot of hearsay about how the little FWD RAV4's, CRV's and such are soccermom mobiles that are worthless off pavement. The RAV4 seems decent, but I haven't driven one yet. The Element's interesting.
Very interested in Foresters/Outbacks. Subaru seems to be just right, but I keep hearing the common 4 cyl. 2.5 motor is prone to problems. Something about fluids leaking into/out of the cylinder heads of the boxer motor causing problems, which I'd guess is a gasket issue and simple, but I don't know what I'm talking about really. Just going off forum talk.
Also heard the timing belt must be changed at 100,000 miles or so because of something about "this engine--like most modern 4 cylinder engines--is of the "interference" design, means that when the timing belt breaks, valves and pistons will collide, resulting in...extensive internal engine repairs." to quote another thread about subarus. Sounds costly and not sure I could do that myself(maybe).
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The RAV4 (it was an older model) I took offroad was not at all worthless off pavement. I liked the way it handled itself. Would I have done the things to it I used to do to my jeeps? Heck no. But it doesn't sound like you're getting into that. Also worth noting that the RAV4 may be a soccermom mobile in the US, but I bet it sees plenty of harder use throughout the world.
The Subaru boxer motor is pretty well known for reliability. Its been around for a while. The head gasket is a must-do at about 100,000, by all accounts. Ours (99) was done around 100k and we're at 143k now, the motor's doing fine. I expect it to for quite a while. However, I think the ones from the mid-2000s on had the HG problem corrected? I also haven't found subaru parts to be that costly, but then again, I'm on the east coast where Subarus are very popular.
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