Looking for a new ride.

Cherokeekid88

Cherokeekid88

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2007
Location
High Point, NC
So I need a new DD. I am just tired of driving around my XJ and want something newer and better on gas.
I bought the wife a new car 3 years ago with the intent that I would just drive my Jeep till the car was paid off, but plans have changed. I want a Tacoma, but cannot afford a $400+ a month car payment.
Looking to spend around 16k with low miles. Looking for an SUV, since the wife and I are planning on a baby very soon and honestly just want something I can haul some things in and just have more room.

What do you guys recommend?
 
Don't get a small SUV, might as well get a car. At least get something Midsize or above. Say Grand Cherokee or Pilot. We have a Grand Cherokee, I'm ready for her to get a Tahoe or a Suburban.
 
Can confirm. Renegades are tiny. GF has one and the trunk is ity bitty. Besides that it is actually a decent ride.

Suburbans are awesome. I miss mine.


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Agree with above, don't buy a small SUV for a family vehicle. We got an 05 Yukon xl a couple months before my first child was born. Now we have 2 kids and it's always slam full of crap...
 
I love my new Ram, if I had a family, I would buy a crew cab 2wd, if I wanted mpg and some grunt, grab a 3.6L with 3.92 gears. When I was shopping, they had awesome deals on the crew cabs for lease and buy.
 
More room than an XJ and better fuel economy might be difficult. That's large crossover territory. The newer Rav 4's and CRV's are fairly roomy and get good mileage. With one kid on a trip, you'll need the extra room for a diaper bag, pack n play, bottles/formula and a little changing area. Totally doable in most any modern'ish small/mid suv or wagon (think vw, Volvo, etc) - I'd exclude the compacts though.

When we had one kid, we drove a 95 4runner, although there wasn't much room to play with your seatback with the rear facing baby seat poking between the front seats. Not as big of an issue in a newer Toyota/Honda as they have more rear leg room, and we only dealt with that for a year before we turned him around (now they want you to keep them rear facing as long as possible) But we usually had enough space for our stuff + the baby's stuff in a not-big SUV. You can always add external temporary storage for trips if you need to.

When you get to 2+ kids, you'll want to look midsize or bigger. We went from the old 4runner with 1 kid, to an 02 explorer with 2 kids, to an 07 suburban recently when we had the 3rd. Fuel mileage has been 15-18mpg with all of those.

If you don't mind the high-teens mpg and you want something with 4wd, I'd probably look at a used 4runner. If you want mid 20's or better you'll want to look at small/mid cuv's, wagons, crossovers, or (gasp) minivan :D
 
I love the wife's Edge...can get those pretty cheap. I'm 6'5" 330lbs...easy in and out, and plenty room in the back seat for 2 of me and a normal sized person to sit. I'd avoid the earlier 5spd autos, for fuel efficiency alone, but still get 24hwy/16city. Ours has 170k on it, I had to replace the OSS and TSS sensors in the trans at 150k...but no issues beyond that. We do a couple trips a year towing a loaded 8x10 Uhaul as well. Fold down the rear seat and we have plenty of room for our Great Dane or...uhhh...

IMG_1019.JPG
 
paulevans76 said:
More room than an XJ and better fuel economy might be difficult. That's large crossover territory.

If you don't mind the high-teens mpg and you want something with 4wd, I'd probably look at a used 4runner. If you want mid 20's or better you'll want to look at small/mid cuv's, wagons, crossovers, or (gasp) minivan :D
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Uh... our 05 Yukon xl 4x4 gets better mileage than my old xj...
 
LBarr2002 said:
Uh... our 05 Yukon xl 4x4 gets better mileage than my old xj...
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Yeah, but that sorta depends on if your XJ was stock or modified, and even if it was stock, I can't imagine you did worse than the low teens in the XJ and you probably get high teens, 20-ish in the Yukon. You can definitely do "better" but would it meet the OP's improvement requirement (which I'm not sure is established)?

I'm just saying, if you want mpg's to be in the 20's in mixed driving, a full size truck based SUV isn't going to do it regularly unless you can figure out how to drive downhill the whole time. High teens is totally doable, and comfortable/roomy while you're doing it.
 
BigBody79 said:
A minivan is the absolute best platform for kids and families. But, people hate them for some reason.
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Every time i see a kid in a parking lot with their back door against the car next to it, I laugh. I'm glad i don't have to deal with that in the van. It might not be the coolest ride, but I would have one many times over with kids. I have toys to use as toys. I don't need my daily driver to be one.
 
UTfball68 said:
I love the wife's Edge...can get those pretty cheap. I'm 6'5" 330lbs...easy in and out, and plenty room in the back seat for 2 of me and a normal sized person to sit. I'd avoid the earlier 5spd autos, for fuel efficiency alone, but still get 24hwy/16city. Ours has 170k on it, I had to replace the OSS and TSS sensors in the trans at 150k...but no issues beyond that. We do a couple trips a year towing a loaded 8x10 Uhaul as well. Fold down the rear seat and we have plenty of room for our Great Dane or...uhhh...

View attachment 241060
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I'll second the Edge. My wife is on her 3rd one and best so far imo. 2016 Edge sport with the ecoboost v6 and all wheel drive. It will flat get it and if you drive like you have some sense (not like me) it gets 26-27 mpg on the highway.
 
The edge is nice but UTFOOTBALLMONKEY is FOS about 2 big dudes in the back seat.

I'm 6'0 275 and my son is 6'5 300...we cant both fit in the back of MILs Edge without rubbing knees the whole ride.
 
I'll put another vote in for the edge, the wife really likes hers good gas mileage, I have also packed it full of tires just ask @sammi_davis. I'm a little over 6' 5" I'm comfortable in it.
 
Ron said:
The edge is nice but UTFOOTBALLMONKEY is FOS about 2 big dudes in the back seat.

I'm 6'0 275 and my son is 6'5 300...we cant both fit in the back of MILs Edge without rubbing knees the whole ride.
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Meh...works for me. That's usually the drunk wagon for me and buddies, wife DD's, we pile in back. Maybe you're fatter than we are??? Not all big ol boys are created equally.
 
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