Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Hell for Stout small SUV

Looking for a tough smaller SUV. Will be used for daily commute and hunting trips. Would like one that gets around 20 mpg or more. I'm 6'8" and need some room though. Would like to find an older Trooper, but all I find here in NE are totally used up. NO S-10 Blazers or pickups, please!!

Sounds like you want a Volkswagon Toureg. Get the 300 HP Turbo Diesel. I consider it small, it should get good mileage, and it should be big enough for you. It is supposed to be incredibly capable off road. I think it runs about $60K............ <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The Trailblazer will get 20+ mpg on the freeway and might be big enough. I don't know how offroad capable it is. I just bought an '03 model AWD for my wife. It would need Bilstein or Rancho RS9000 shocks for better off road capability, and ours will have Bilsteins soon enough.

My '02 2500 HD Duramax/Allison gets around 20 MPG (best was 21.9 at 65-70 mph, followed by 19.7 at 75-80 mph) on the freeway, has plenty of room for you, and with it's 4" lift and 33" tires it has decent offroad capability. Too bad you cvan't get a Suburban or Tahoe with a DMax...............

If you are 6'8, I think you need a full-size SUV. A regular gasser Tahoe should get 20 mpg on the freeway, and you should be able to fit comfortably in that. If you replaced the shocks with Bilsteins/RS9000 and went with BFG ATs in either 265/75R16 or maybe even 285/75R16 (go one size larger than stock max) you should have a good commuter/hunting truck.

Good luck! I think it will be hard to get a smallish SUV that you can be comfortable in. Then again, by now, you may just be used to being uncomfortable, so maybe the little rigs don't seem any more uncomfortable than what you are used to. I think you'd be ruined for like in a rig that is really big enough for you..............

"Tough smaller SUV" = Jeep Wrangler

I'm a mere 6'-4" and have plenty of head and leg room. I commute alone and have usually have a lone companion on hunting trips. I pulled the rear seat and rigged a flatbed with underneath storage. Wranglers are so square in the cargo area it's amazing how much stuff you can pack back there.

What kind of mileage does the Wrangler get?

Mine is a '95 2.5-liter 4-cylinder and averages around 20-mpg. I would recommend the 4.0-liter 6-cylinder, which is supposed to average around 18-mpg. I have the 4-cylinder only because I got a smokin' deal.

My brother is 6'6" and weighs about 330lbs. He drove a Wrangler for years and always said he had plenty of leg and head room. He went to a fullsize pickup when he got tired of the Wranglers limited space for gear.

My sister bought a Toureg last year. She got the V-6 and it was only $45K <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

For as small as it is the Toureg has amazing leg room. Its a VERY nice SUV and is supposed to be great off road. My Sister was telling me all the things it is supposed to be capable of,it sounds impressive. Hers will never see anything other than pavement though.

Jeep. Period

If you can find one, get a CJ-7 (a good used one will run you about $5k). I had one, and oh do I want it back. The 258 cu.in. I-6 (same as the 4.0/4.2L I-6) and a 4-speed stick gave me about 22 mpg. Interestingly, I also got the same mpg out of a Grand Cherokee Laredo with an overdrive automatic and a Jeep Comanche with 5 speed stick. Several conversations re: the 258/4.0L I-6 with other Jeep-lovers relate the same mpg (roughly 22 mpg) no matter what Jeep model or tranny is paired with the engine. You really have to dog one, or have a serious problem to drop below 20 mpgs with the I-6.

BTW - with a CJ, if you want more room, you have two choices: find/buy a Scrambler and/or take the rear seat out. The second option worked very well in my CJ-7, as did removal of the carpet because of constant bloody, messy cargo and/or top-off periods.

A CJ-7 will run 31x11.50s underneath with no lift required and get plenty of clearance and traction. When tires get bigger, it starts to float and skate, narrower/shorter = lessened clearance and plowing.

Also, the top off gives much head and shoulder room ( <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> ). I'm 6'1" and have several good buddies who spent many miles in my Jeep who are all over 6'6"; no one ever complained about being cramped in the legs, shoulders, neck - unless they had to ride the cooler in the back, but that's another topic altogether. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Already have Navigator, nice for long trips, but 14mpg sucks, and the wife will kill me if I get it dirty. I have been really impressed with the Trooper, and they seem to fit OK. I drive 80 miles round trip, so mileage is important. Anyone have any experience with the Amigo? These look like fun! Cheap is also a consideration, as payments cut into the gun fund!

Its going to be hard to beat a Toyota 4-Runner. Very high resale value & tough to find a good one cheap, but there is good reason for that <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Avoid the early 90's 3.0 V6, they had some head gasket issues, but the later 3.4L & earlier 4 cylinders were bulletproof.........

How about the older Mitsubishi Monteros? I would look at vehicles on Ebay and autotrader. I bought a Jeep when I was in New Hampshire last year. It had low miles, but it lived in Maine and is starting to show rust that you hardly ever see here in Nebraska. Look for a vehicle from an area with minimal snow and road salt. I've bought a couple of vehicles via autotrader and have been happy, but I have bought from dealers, rather than from individuals. Good luck!

Jeff

Second recomendation for the 4-runner, you won't find a more reliable small suv, engine and drivetrain is good for 250-300k miles. Most 4-runners are yuppy vehicles so never taken offroad and kept in great shape. The 3.0's did have a headgasket recall, but once replaced, they are bulletproof, just a bit underpowered.

The only problem I can see is the cab will be tight for someone 6-8, I'm 6 even with mutantly long legs, and find that I just fit in the cabs.

Third recomendation for the 4runner. I have had 3 toyota trucks and loved them. I had the 3.0 v6 and never had a problem.

Another suggestion is the nissan pathfinder. I am not much on nissans pickups but my wife has a 91 pathfinder and its been great. It has a 170,000 and all we have done is replace the starter. We have taken her pathfinder everywhere I have taken my trucks and it performs as well if not better off road.

I always heard the 4 runners got poor fuel mileage.......I would own one buy don't want anything that uses more fuel than my S10 Blazer which averages 19-20............

I bought a new Montero in '93......it was a decent vehicle but started using oil at about 120K........this was an extremely well maintained vehicle with oil changes every 3000 using Wix filters and Valvoline oil........that experience put me off Mitsubishi!

The 3.0 runners get 20-21 on the freeway, and 17-18 in city driving. I found out an interesting tidbit on the first model toyota trucks and 4-runners, ie 94 and earlier, the chassis is actually the 1 ton truck frame, though they put softer springs and axles in for the US market. The truck was designed for 3rd world countries and constant offroad use. You really can beat the heck out of them, and it is a rare one that needs an engine rebuild before 200,000k miles, and many go 250-300k miles on the original mil.

I have a 94 3.0 toy truck with 125k on it, just broken in <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I've done routine maintenance and opted to have the water pump changed with the 120k timing belt change, as you've done most of the work to get to the water pump when you change the timing belt. The original water pump looks great, so now I have a spare, and the piece of mind that it won't crap out in a remote location.