AWD/4WD car recommendation

drkelly

drkelly

Dipstick who put two vehicles on jack stands
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Oak Ridge/Stokesdale, NC
My wife is nurse, and does not have the option of staying home, going in late, or leaving work early when bad weather comes. She currently drives a Hyundai Santa Fe that is front wheel drive. Over the past couple of years I have let her drive my Tahoe whenever we had snow or ice. My DD is a Dodge Ram now and I really don't have a need for an SUV and a pickup, so I want to sell the Tahoe, but she will need to upgrade her car to something AWD or 4WD before I do. She doesn't like driving my Tahoe so would prefer a car of some sort that is AWD/4WD. My sister drives a Subaru Outback wagon and has been happy with it. I don't keep up with cars, so what other options are out there for cars with AWD/4WD besides Subaru?

Thanks,
Danny
 
A friend of mine has a Nissan Murano and loves it. I'm not sure how it is labeled though...AWD or 4WD. I believe you have to engage the AWD / 4WD or something like that.
 
I have a 2005 legacy sedan. If it were stolen RIGHT THIS MINUTE, I would go and get another and not even look around. Ive been a long time Honda man, but dang, AWD is the $hit. Get the wagon though.
 
Another vote for the Subie. If I was in the market for a n AWD and/or a wagon, that would be it. Like others, I've heard nothing but great things about them.

W/ all the snow we just had, there were only trucks and Subarus on the road up here.
 
I have owned several audi's. Great driving cars. All the bells and whistles you will ever need or want. Just expensive on maint. and repairs. Everything for them is speacialized and most only comes from the stealership.

If you dont mind the maint costs go for one. I love them. If you want something easy on maint and highly reliable for a subi.
 
Non-turbo Subaru is a good way to go.

I sold off my STi because the damn thing was pickier and cost 3x as my rig...MY RIG!! Specialty parts, high performance this and that just cleaned me out. On top of that, it sucked on the highways. An STi is either stopped, or going 85 mph...there is no in between. This is cool for like, a month but when everytime you go to buy a taco it turns into a race, it is annoying.

The non-turbo ones are a far more relaxed, comfortable and cheaper car than the WRX/STI vehicles. No worry of turbo, don't need a radar detector and looking over your shoulder ever 3 seconds for the law, and not every little fucktard in a god damn Honda Si is trying to get you to drag race off the line. Putting premium in it always pissed me off. Oh, and I couldn't keep my foot out of it so 15 mpg...on the highway was pretty common. New ones have shit ton of electronic crap that is in the way and does nothing but take up space, and eat tires and brakes every 10k.

The outback/legacies are good if she wants a mid-size, probably the way to go. The entry level 4 banger has plenty of power but the new 6 is ballsy. If I were to go get a Subaru, I'd just get the entry level 4 cylinder unless I lived up in the mountains, then the 6.

If ya'll are fat/have fat friends, avoid the Imprezas. I'm a touch chunky but all my friends are pretty much morbidly obese. They couldn't fit in that car unless they rode in the trunk. But if ya'lls are within 10% body fat of your target weight then it isn't a problem.

Subarus have crappy sound systems. They just do. If audio is important to you then go ahead and plan on ripping that crap out first thing. All it is going to do is piss you off.

If you do get a Subaru, get the trunk liner! Its a cargo thing that goes in the back and it is AWESOME. Must have.

To be honest, I'd put a woman in a new Forester. I drove one (as a loaner) and it was very nice. I drove it with the entry level 4 banger and an auto. Plenty of power.

Lastly, my Formula Ford made the STi it's bitch everytime at the track.
 
I would drive a forester or outback for a dd if I could afford another new car. My dad's wife has had two, maybe 3, I can't remember, but they've all done really well. except parts can be a little $$.

but if you want another option, you know cherokee classics aren't that big. I bet the size difference between a cherokee and a forester isn't much at all. and you know that it will last. 2000's or so are nice and modern.

If I could find a decent older body style cherokee country, that will most likely be my next dd. cheap+reliable+4wd.
 
X11 for the Subaru, though I'd say go FOR the turbo, but not a WRX.. Legacy 2.5GT or something similar.. it's a "grown-ups" car that can still scoot.

My wife has put 30,000 miles on her Baja Turbo (at 93k now) and it's been flawless. We're going to be doing the 100k service in the spring which will be kinda costly, but is still nothing compared to the European cars..
 
agreed on the subaru. i had a WRX for a while and really enjoyed it. Parts were a little expensive, took premium, and i was always spending money on making it faster.
Id look at the next to newest forrester if i were looking for an AWD car.
Although, the late model cherokees were awesome, simple, comfortable, low maint. GREAT VEHICLES!
 
I've got a 06 mazdaspeed 6 and have really enjoyed it. close to 300 HP, AWD, 6 speed and low maintenance so far (41k miles). they no longer offer them, so you'll be looking for a used one.
 
Wrangler!

Asheville just had 18" of snow. my 2000 Wrangler went up and down the hiway, past the tahoes, dodges, fords, and subis which were stuck and abandonded. Four different times I went from leicester out to hiway 26 to pick up stranded friends and family members. The Wrangler never let us down. The Jeep really proved itself in excessively bad road conditions.
 
Cool, thanks for the all the replies guys. That one website really opened my eyes. I had no idea so many different cars were offered with an AWD option. She will be buying a used car, probably 2-3 yrs old.
 
Didn't ford have some newer awd models? I like my superpoo ok, but they're a bitch to work on, because they're so low. I prefer it to the CJ in light snow because it stands up in a crash better (and people too dumb to lay of the gas are out in force).

Could you get a beater XJ for snow days?

J
 
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