Utility / Daily Driver vehicle

[MichiganMat]

I have two cars right, my Subaru Impreza wagon (no turbo) and my P-car. The scooby has given me years of good service but I think I may want to trade her in for a small SUV or truck, preferably something that can tow (possibly the P-Car) and that has 4WD. Im looking at '95-'99 Jeep Cherokees, Toyota PreRunner, maybe older Honda Passport (Isuzu Style). Anybody have any advice on any of these vehicles? How are the Jeeps, dependable? I really like the Passport, we used to have one. Got any suggestions for me? Id like to spend no more than 10k if possible. Thanks guys.

mat.

[emcon5]

Originally posted by MichiganMat
has 4WD....Toyota PreRunner,

Those are mutually exclusive. The Prerunner is a 2WD Tacoma pickup dolled up to look like a 4WD. Or do you mean 4 runner?

I have a 98 Toyota Tacoma extracab with a V6 and the TRD offroad package. As near as I can tell, it is indestructable. I towed my old Toyota pickup to Oklahoma with it, no problem at all.

Tom

[Hugh R]

Look at a Toyota Highlander

[catuck]

I have a '96 Chevy K1500 extra cab pickup - It's big and tuff and cheap to fix but if you need something smaller, I love the Toyota xtracab 4x4 SR-5 and the 4 Runner. My bro has a 4 Runner and his only complaint is underpowered with the 6 cyl. I needed the larger back seat of the Chevy for my dog.

I wouldn't recommend a Jeep. Unless Chrystler has fixed their problems, they're very unreliable. I had a '87 Wrangler for a few years and dumped thousands into it to keep it on the road.

Go with the Toyota! Great resale, very dependable and like Tom said, indestructable. Oh, and the Tacoma will fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood with the tailgate open, just like my k1500.

[JTO]

You know, we have a 99 Isuzu Trooper and its been great. They aren't very popular so they depreciate quickly. Its a solid rig with a powerful motor and just enough features to make it comfortable. Its really roomy inside to boot.

Just my $0.02.

Troy

[cantdrv55]

Go to www.craigslist.com and do a search for 4runner. You'll find great deals there for your price range. Can't say enough about the 4runner - reliable, go anywhere, tough. My only issue is with the small gas tank.

[MichiganMat]

We had a '95 Passport (basically an Isuzu Rodeo) with a V6, big wheels, with 4WD and it was a beast. Prices are really low on those vehicles and I might try to find one again. Keep the advice coming!

[SpeedracerIndy]

I would say stay away from the Passport/Rodeo. I have a friend who had one and it was a NIGHTMARE!!!! It broke down constantly, and was very hard to work on. We did all the work on it. Parts were hard to find and expensive. I realize that he could have had a lemon but... When we went to the dealer to get parts once, the parts guy asked what kind of car and we said: Passport. The dealer groaned. Then my buddy said under his breath "I hate that car". The parts guy then quickly said "The guys in the back like to call those thing Trashports because there is always one in here for something." Just my $0.02. I'm looking for a new car also. I have been looking at four door pickups. Dakota, Explorer Sport Trac, Frontier, and Tacoma. I'm currently leaning toward the Ford believe it or not. Their reliability has gotten suprisingly better in the recent years.

[Jim Richards]

I wouldn't recommend a Jeep. Unless Chrystler has fixed their problems, they're very unreliable. I had a '87 Wrangler for a few years and dumped thousands into it to keep it on the road.

I have a similar viewpoint based on my experience with a '93 Cherokee 4WD.

[cantdrv55]

I sold my '87 Jeep Cherokee that had less than 50K miles because little niggly things were always pooping up. Bought a 2000 4Runner Limited instead with almost the same mileage. Great car except for small gas tank I metioned on previous post.

[Oldporsche]

I would stay away from Jeep products.

I had a friend have his catch on fire while he was driving it down a 4 lane. He simply pulled it into the center turn lane and let it burn. He was never so happy!

David Duffield

[Tim Walsh]

I towed my 911 with a uhaul trailer and I6 Grand cherokee 1000 miles from milwaukee,WI to Greensboro, NC. It worked well and we didn't have any problems but I would recommend something a touch beefier. With the 911 on the trailer it really let you know it was there. It wasn't so much a factor of power it was a factor of weight. A 2000 pound trailer plus a 2400 pound 911 came closer to it's rated capacity than I'd have liked.
Another problem we had was that the weight was shifted to far forward than I would have liked at first but some shifting around fixed it.

If I wasn't so close to it's rated capacity then I think a grand cherokee would be perfect. It's got plenty of torque under the hood, transmission cooler and a moderatly beefy frame. It's perfect for towing any trailer smaller than a car IMO.
Just my small rant.

[dd74]

Every Jeep I've ever ridden in seems destined for the boneyard. I've heard they break transmissions more quickly than a cowboy using chopsticks.

I'd probably get a Toyota.

Or an old Int'l Harvester. Those are very cool, and probably a blind man can work on 'em.

[Tim Walsh]

hmm.. lets try that again

[Bob's Flat-Six]

My wife and I bought a 98 Grand Cherokee V8 4/4 new and it has about 63K on it now.

We like it and find it comfortable and not too big. We have had to fix a seal that started leaking at the transfer case and just did the water pump a little while back.

The reason I went with the V8 was we took a trip with 4 adults in a GC to Death Valley that had the I/6 and just remember it working pretty hard all the time on grades and I didn't like it's sound under power.

I don't really like the sound of the V8 either when you romp on it but it has good power.

My 95 Chevy PU would be good too and the V8 sounds like a V8 should

I think the Jeep get's around 14 MPG average My wife drives it 90% of the time.

We just maintain them well and fix them when they need fixin.

[VaSteve]

I have a 99 Cherokee, 2WD though and it has been a great car. Always reliable. My friend has the same vintage in 4WD and his has been the same!
I have heard that the Grand Cherokees, while nicer, are more prone to electrical problems. But the regular Cherokee is good stuff!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Stay away from Chrysler products, at least pre-merger. My parents had a Voyager with unsolvable intermittent electrical problems, and then replaced three head gaskets between their Sebring and Stratus before they hit 50K, as well as other stuff (water pump, etc.). It was enough that my dad swore off of Chrysler for life, and he grew up in Richard Petty's hometown in NC, and had a dad who worked on Hemis for a living, so it's been pretty bad. They now own a Toyota and a Hyundai. Buy a Toyota. A friend of mine has a 99 Tacoma Pre-Runner, he's used it for work, towing, it hasn't had a single problem. My wife's car is an 03 4Runner V6 Sport 4x4 with 240HP, rated to tow up to 7000 (I think), also avaliable with a V8. Very nice car, very smooth aluminum V6, and 20 MPG too. Just watch which one you buy, some owners on Toyota BBS have complained of excessive valve noise, amplified by thin exhaust manifolds, luckily it seems to be an early production problem, mine is fine. Quality, durability, and great resale value, you won't be sorry.

[Erakad]

I've got to get in on this...I have a 91 Explorer with 170K on the clock and its been great....but....its getting to be that time. I too want something that can tow, not a lot mind you, but tow a small trailer, P-car, etc. I've been looking at the Hyundai Santa Fe...anyone have any intel on it. Seems to get decent milage, 100K warrenty, 2 or AWD. Downside is it only gives 175 HP, but coming from an Explorer with only 155 HP...well, it's looking pretty good. So, again, any intel on the Hyundais??

[jtratza]

I've had a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and with almost 30,000 miles its been faultless except for the cheap brakes (front rotors warped by 25,000 miles and most of the mileage was put on by my daughter.) 2001's with 4 wheel drive are bringing about $11,000. Its great off road, steering is very good on road, has lots of power (190 hp and it doesn't weigh too much over 3000 pounds) and about all the 2001's were sold fully equipped. Even the seats are nice for long distance drives. Other than the brakes the only complaint is it is noisy but then my Targa ain't no Lexus when is comes to noise. I'd consider keeping it but I have too many cars now (but still not enough Porsches.) I'm not sure it'd make a good tow car. It's not that heavy and the brakes would need to be upgraded. Besides its a classic like the 911.

[dd74]

Look, you want a good deal, buy a Mountaineer. It aint "the cool SUV," but it's plenty inexpensive compared to the more notable models.

It has enough luxury to please a Cadillac, and a nice little detuned Mustang 4.6 V8 in it, that only requires the Mustang cams and a good exhaust system to make 300+ horsepower.

As is stock: 0-60 in about 7 seconds. Not too shabby, me thinks.