Long story short I have a friend who totalled her car and is looking to replace it with a small Suv rav4, crv, tribute,etc. I'm a diesel nut so I have not followed any of those non diesel cars and trucks in a few years. Looking for opinions on what's holding up and what's not, Chronic issues, etc. With the insurance money and other funds probally looking to fall in the 7-8k range no more than 10k. Any help would be apreciated.

 

My dad in on his second Honda CRV and loves them. First one went to another family member and it had about 150k miles that were very trouble free. Enough that he bought another one (2009) and zero problems so far.

That is about all I know about those.

 

Nissan Pathfinder tops the list, but there are some equally good ones such as Infiniti and Mitsubishi.

 

Wife had a Kia Sorrento before the Durango. Loved it. Sold it to my sister and it has been trouble free with 80k on the clock. Its an 06 so relatively new.

They come quite well equipped, are RWD (solid axle) and priced pretty decent.

 

We have a Saturn Vue that has been pretty trouble free for about 90K miles now.

 

subaru outback, or forester

 

I second the Subaru, however After many buying experiences over the years I have found that price alone is not everything. With expense of parts now I look at warranty, such as my Hyundai 10 years 100k drivetrain. I also consider interest rate. Depending when you buy and your credit rating makes a big difference. I have good credit and in 08 I bought a new Avalanche with 6 year finance at 0 interest. Now truck is worth more than I owe. This would not be so with most finance options so price is not the only thing to consider. Be careful when you shop and do your homework to understand actual cost. In todays market you have the advantage if you are careful.

 

X2

Loved the VUE when I had one. Zero problems. Peppy little SUV with great mileage and AWD....

 

My wife loves her Subaru Forester, it has almost 150k on it with zero problems, my mother has a Honda CRV, don't know how many miles it has but it has been trouble free as well.

 

Xterra is a bit shorter OAL. also a bit less preppy and plush.
what kind of price range are we looking at? will it ever see anything more extreme than that place in the road the city temporarily filled in with gravel?

 

Wife has a Subaru Forester. I shopped around for small SUVs for a few months and narrowed it down to the Forester and the Hyundai. Went with the Subaru since it had AWD for the same price as the FWD Hyundai.

 

No need for an extended warranty with either of these vehicles.

Subaru is unequivocally the best bang for the buck. Say what you want, their warranty history speaks for itself.

 

We owned a 2000 subaru outback, bought it off e-bay drove half way across the country to get it cause i am picky about color and options, but it had 125,000 miles on it when we got it and on the way home the head gasket started leaking, it was easy to change, did it myself, and when we sold it it had 185,000 still running strong, would get 29-31 hwy mpg, got $4,500 out of it, and we know the people that bought it and they still love it with 256,000 miles, those things will go through snow like nothings on the road, we now own an 03 tdi jetta and i cant weight till its paid down so i can trade it for another outback.

Darwin

 

We just bought a 2010 CRV. Did lots of research and that seemed to be one of the best. A little low on power, but great fuel economy and the vehicle stability control on it is amazing (they advertised it, so I HAD to test it). The AWD system on it is excellent.

 

Diesel Jeep Liberty!!!!!