Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Which small SUV / Crossover?

Heck we have a Ford 1994 Explorer with over 300,000 mile son it and my wife still drives it 100 miles 5 out of 7 days.

I sure liked my Audis better than my Subarus.

My Legacy GT Limited is quicker than any of my Audis but the road feel and driving comfort of the Audi is superior. As is the quality of the interior.
Reliability and maintenance costs are similar with a slight reliability advantage to the Audi.

I really like the look and feel of the Audis, but not the price. Until I figure out the best direction, I'll just keep running my '97 Explorer with over 200K on it. It runs pretty good most of the time, but the upkeep can add up pretty quick.

Chris

In late August, we traded our 2000 CRV with 204,000 trouble-free miles on it and got $4800 for it on the trade. Got a 2011 CRV EX-L with the navigation system on it. Have already put over 8,000 miles on it, mostly on two long trips out west.

We love it. Have gotten averages over 30mpg running two lane highways at 65 mph or so. Have averaged around 22.5 to 23 around town, and wife is not easy on the go-pedal. Have averaged 26 to 27 mpg running 70 to 80 on interstates and 23 to 24 running around 85 or a little above.

It really surprised us averaging 24.5 mpg driving for two days all around Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Pk and Estes Park area, with four adults in the car.

And it is VERY comfortable, smooth and quiet. I can drive for 12 hours straight without feeling beaten up at the end. We also love the dual zone climate control. Wife and I have quite different comfort zones and used to constantly be dickering back and forth with the controls. No more. I set it where I'm comfortable and she sets her side where she feels comfortable. We're both happy and there's no constant diddling with the controls.

We get a lot of snow here and we have always liked the Honda AWD system. Always performs very well in the snow and muck. The CRV is a 4 cylinder, but sure gets up and goes better than our '00 model did.

We also have an '05 Tacoma 4-dr double cab, 4 wheel drive, and the CRV is MUCH more comfortable. Son and daughter-in-law have a RAV4, and the CRV is more comfortable than that, front and back, but especially in the back seat.

I have had 3 Honda C-rv's, a 2001 SE(new), sold that one with 12,000 miles as I didn't care for the performance characteristics of the A/t (my first automatic trans in more than 2 decades.

#2 and still have is a 2002 CRV with a 5 speed manuaal. I was completely surprised at the performance of the vehicle ina 17"dump we had here last year here in Arkansas. It simply was a no issue (miss being able to do handbrake turns though). MPG is 27 -29 but I have not seen 30 on it. I get pretty anal about accurately calc'ing MPG from time to time. No timing belt on the 2002 model year and on. Plenty of power for what it is a "soft roader" that can go in the dirt and mud but it is certainly not a hardcore offroader.

#3 and a recent purchase from about 6 months ago, a CPO 2009 ex with a great warranty, 19kmi and a extremely nice vehicle overall as (I think) it has all the bells, whistles and power leather. A very nice vehicle overall and absolutely no problem to power drive from Ft. Myers FL to NW Ar in one day (1275+ miles) Very acceptable stereo, comfy seats and the mpg is actually BETTER than the manual (27 -33 carefully measured and calculated).

Also, ZERO maint issues on any of the C-RV's....

I do like Scoobies but am a Audi loyalist for the last 25 years owning more tha a dozen new and used A4/S4 models both sedan and Avant (wagon in audispeak),. Simply the Ne Plus Ultra forus in comfort, utility, reliability and performance, but unless you go with a series forget offroad.

FWIW, out next likely vehicle purchase will be a slightly used or maybe even new with a smokin deal Toyota Tacoma cab and a half 4x4 auto trans with the "turd" (TRD) package as we intend on getting a small to modestly medium size travl trailer and 18' or perhaps a smidge larger boat for coastal fishing and general mayhem and some camping for a hunt trip here and there as health permits...

Good luck on you choice and enjoy the hunt
Be safe
Patty

Not trying to sell anyone anything, because my SUV thingy is a GMC Sierra 2500 HD 4x4 Crew Cab with the DuraMax Diesel and Allison transmission - all 6,700 pounds of it.

What I would like to mention is the Jeep Cherokee, now only available in the Grand Cherokee dress. I drove a Cherokee as a patrol vehicle from 1996 through 2004, and it was one of the best rides I had. I put over 100K miles on it over tough mountain roads, dirt and gravel forest roads, fire roads, through mud, snow rain, floods and even forded creeks daily. Wore out a set of brakes, and the only other part that quit was an oxygen sensor. It never let me down, never got mired, and could pull the steepest grades in mud. It may be expensive, but if I didn't need the room of the GMC, I'd give it some thought.