[ARCHIVED THREAD] - BOV lite (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/30/2009 3:03:42 PM EDT
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Jeep won't be on the list
poll inbound Looking for reliability, fuel economy, and all weather transport. |
| I don't think the Honda's fit in the BOV catagory, too much electrical, hard to work on, and parts are not readily available. Why no Jeep. They can be found cheap, plenty of parts and aftermarker accessories, and good daily drivers. The only downside to the Jeep is the size and cargo space, but good for a two person BOV. I voted apple. |
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Although Apple was a close second, I went with the subaru.
I think that the Chevy doesn't really fit in your poll. If you dont mean the chevy as a joke, I change my vote to chevy. I have drived the subie and one of the hondas. I would bet my money on the subie's long term durability over the honda when used on fire roads and boinking curbs occasionally. Theres no way you'd get me to go over 70 in the honda either. ETA: LOL, yeah I drived em gud. I meaned 'driven'. ETA: I drive a jeep wrangler. Although I would consider putting a jeep on the list I understand why you didnt. I am going to be driving cross country soon and I am not looking forward to the countless gallons of gas I will have to purchase. Other than that, they are on par in reliability and the capabilities are not even comparable. |
| I know you said no Jeep but the XJ is really going to be the best bet. Almost to the level of the Wrangler offroad stock for stock and with a few mods just as capable. A lot of cheap parts which are also interchangeable with the Wrangler without giving up the space that you would sacrifice with the Wrangler. The XJ also gets better gas mileage than the Wrangler with the same engine and trans combo. Same cargo space as the tiny car based SUV's you listed, a little less MPG (about 20 in the XJ) with 10,000X more offroad capability and can be found for the same price or less than those you listed. Also much easier to work on. If you are only picking from your list then I vote Subie but it would be a distant second behind the XJ for all around driver with good offroad capabilities. |
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OK guys thanks for your response.
There will be no Jeep! TJ cannot buy a GM vehicle because GM has never delivered a good vehicle to him. My experience with Jeep has been like TJ's experience with GM. This BOV lite will be a daily driver. This BOV will be responsible to go to work every day on time with minimal fuss. So The vehicle must have: (these are deal makers or breakers) Automatic transmission Air conditioning Power Steering Power breaks The vehicle should have: (90% chance of breaking the deal If not there) Power windows Power locks Power mirrors Do want (50% chance of breaking the deal) 6 seats or aftermarket support for 6 seats 4x4 or AWD Limited slip axle Tinted windows |
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GM mid size van with 4.3 v6
They get around 20mpg depending on age, FI, and ratios. Can go 400 miles on a standard tank. Good room, basicly a 1/2 ton truck with good tow ability. long lasting drivetrain 200K plus with regular maitnence High ground clearence capable of off road use if your smart about it. there is a AWD model, bet it only gets about 16 mpg hiway |
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I had a '98 Honda CR-V and the thing ran like a top for +90K miles. We took the thing off-road monthly following easy and moderate trails. Of course we didn't do black diamond most extreme trails and I didn't ford many streams with the thing but it took to the trails with ease. It had full-time four wheel drive and ABS brakes which helped out when we lived in wet/snowy Washington. I took the thing to Australia and it did well out in the deserts there.
I changed the oil and filters, replaced the tires at 60K and had the starter relay fail about 75K so I had to replace the alternator ($180) but other than than I had zero maintenance costs on the thing. Coming back from Australia someone stole the fuel pump ... the Navy covered the theft under my shipping insurance. 
I passed a CR-V yesterday on the road, completely different third generation cross-over looking thing. Replaced it with the Nissan Xterra which is a real 4WD SUV. 
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I know you said no Jeep but the XJ is really going to be the best bet. Almost to the level of the Wrangler offroad stock for stock and with a few mods just as capable. A lot of cheap parts which are also interchangeable with the Wrangler without giving up the space that you would sacrifice with the Wrangler. The XJ also gets better gas mileage than the Wrangler with the same engine and trans combo. Same cargo space as the tiny car based SUV's you listed, a little less MPG (about 20 in the XJ) with 10,000X more offroad capability and can be found for the same price or less than those you listed. Also much easier to work on. If you are only picking from your list then I vote Subie but it would be a distant second behind the XJ for all around driver with good offroad capabilities. +1 on this... I currently have a 98 wrangler. But have had several XJs & ZJs in the past. But out of the vehicles you listed I vote for a subaru. My parents have had several in the past with good results. They currently have a new toyota rav4 and IMO is better then the different subarus that they owned. |
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No Jeep?  or Toyota
Sory John I buggered my poll. The Rav 4 is a top contender in the possibles. I've got a 2006 gen3 RAV4 with the V6 AWD for my daily driver and have been extremely happy with it. It is not a true off road vehicle and from your list, it does not have limited slip differential. It does have traction control which works very well in ice and snow but I haven't done more than that. I have been getting 20city/28hwy as long as I don't put my foot in it much but that can be difficult with 268hp 
I don't have the third row seat but those who do say it is really only good for kids. Without the seat you get a great under floor storage area which I have filled with BO gear. |
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Jeep is the only brand that has put me walking by dynamic engine dissasembly and dynamic transmission disassembly. Different vehicles different decades all on road. Jeep desperately wanted their time out and ban from the 22-440 family BOV list.
A Rav 4 is on the list. |
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Another +1 for the RAV4. Good ground clearance and I haul a 16 foot trailer with mine with no problem. They are nice and tight to drive, and mine has done well in ice and snow. Mine is a 97 with about 130K on it. It is comfortable for 4 peeps, but you can get 5 adults if you really push it, with a nice sized area for storage. I often fold the back seats down and use it to haul stuff. The AWD works pretty well also for keeping you on the road.
You can catch them for a fair price on autotrader sometimes, like I did mine. |
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Although Apple was a close second, I went with the subaru. I think that the Chevy doesn't really fit in your poll. If you dont mean the chevy as a joke, I change my vote to chevy. snip[ I'm spend my money serious about a Suburban. If I cannot find the right deal on an economy DDBOV then I'm gonna fo; get a Suburban, and not worry about the gas cost. Quoted:
How much are you looking to spend roughly? That depends on how the insurance settlement works out. Quoted:
The RAV4 v6 has a 3500lb tow rating. Not the best tow vehicle but it could come in handy. This BOV lite will be a DD it will not be expected to do heavy trailering. We've got a Suburban that can pull a trailer. In other news I did not know how good the interior was in our pickup until I looked at some for sale today; yikes. |
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PA22, FWIW,
I bought a 3rd new CRV in Jan. '09- I had a '02 that I traded in 117K- no trouble. Also had the earlier model with the smaller engine that also went over 100K- just tires & oil.. I also have an older Rav4 that I took the rear seats out of & use as my BLM shooting vehical & DD, currently 114K. IMHO, The CRV is a more comfortable highway car. After break-in it gets about an even 30mph. I did compare the new RAV4 with the CRV when I bought last year & went with the CRV. Incidently, my cabin requires 60 miles of single lane forrest rd. to get to & I have had the CRV in mild offroad & stream fording with it doing OK- obviously though it is not designed for serious off roading. |
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you are making a mistake not listing a jeep cherokee(xj) they can be found dirt cheap and go everywhere Quebec Tango Foxtrot..... You are seriously missing the BOV boat by ruling out an XJ. ETA I owned a corrola once that gave 4x4's a run for the money in snow. |
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How much are you looking to spend roughly? That depends on how the insurance settlement works out. If over $10,000 you have quite a few options. If under, it's gonna be all about vehicle condition and ease of maintainance and durability. My personal choice for a 4x4 under $10,000 is a well cared for 96-98 Z71 Chevy or GMC 4x4 ext cab with 3.42 gears. This truck will literally last forever as it has a Vortec 5.7L small block V8 which is a much more standard chevy small block vs. the 99+ Gen III engines. A lot more basic hardware that's been around since the late 80's, simpler design, less electronics for the most part and more heavy duty vs. 99+ which is nice but hasn't proven to last as long from my experience working years at a Chevy/GMC dealership. They used to many weaker "car parts" on the 99-06s than I liked to see. This caused the early ones to have issues. The 96-98s can be had needing work for as cheap as $1500 up to a mint condition one for $6500-7000. Same goes for the 96-98 (possible 99 as they may have run the SUVs one extra year before the model change) Yukons, Tahoes, and Suburbans. I know a lot of people on here shy away from fuel injection, but the 96-98 Vortec motors are pretty fool proof and not weak technology like the 88-95 TBI engines. Just really try to get one with the high gear ratio of 3.42s vs. 3.73s or 4.10s as those will destroy gas mileage. I'm mainly a GM guy as their stuff from a design standpoint on truck and performance cars makes the most sense and they tend to not cheap out as much as I've seen Ford and Dodge. Others to consider would be the early 90s boxy style F-150 that they ran for many years. Cheap, reliable, parts everywhere, etc. Maybe a Toyota 4Runner or the late 80's trucks, but you're going to pay through the nose for what you get and rust seems to be a bigger issue for the japanese 4x4s that a lot of the American 4x4s. |
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FZJ80 landcruiser I'm a big fan, but they are neither light nor fuel efficient. There are advantages to a lightweight, narrow vehicle. One of the reasons the U.S. chose the Quarter Ton Jeep over heavier alternatives is that on the rare occasion when it did get stuck, a group of G.I.s could un-stick it. I used to "4 wheel" a 1972 Datsun 510 with the tallest tires that would fit in the wheel wells without rubbing. I wish I had photos of some of the places I took that .
IMO, a BOV needs some cargo capacity, though, and lighter vehicles usually won't haul much. If you use a lightweight vehicle, your whole loadout had better be lightweight. 
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Another +1 for the RAV4. Good ground clearance and I haul a 16 foot trailer with mine with no problem. They are nice and tight to drive, and mine has done well in ice and snow. Mine is a 97 with about 130K on it. It is comfortable for 4 peeps, but you can get 5 adults if you really push it, with a nice sized area for storage. I often fold the back seats down and use it to haul stuff. The AWD works pretty well also for keeping you on the road. You can catch them for a fair price on autotrader sometimes, like I did mine. Pics? I have a 2000, which is the same body style, and it would struggle to pull a 16 foot trailer empty. Mine does great in the snow, but only gets about 22 MPG highway. Now, most of that is 80 MPH driving, with the 5 speed. I've been considering trading it for a Corolla, most of the reason I got mine is gone, I wanted something I could cut thru the highway medians with and not get stuck. Most of my ride now is cabled off, Jersy barriered off, or too wooded. I'd rather have the mileage of the Corolla, and if it's going to snow, I'll drive the Suburban. |
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I gotta throw these out there:
http://www.hatchpatrol.com/ http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/ There are some crazy bastards up here doing som wild things with old Subarus. |