Which 4x4 SUV.

[KJamesJR]

I live in New Hampshire. Which means we get a lot of snow during the winter months. Rain/mud during the fall/spring months... It's like 9 months of the year in crappy wonderful weather.

Anyways, my recent car was a victim of a hit-and-run at 2:30 in the morning. Now I'm on the market for a new vehicle. Though at this point, I'm f'n sick of cars (sedans...etc). I was looking for a reasonably priced SUV, late 90's (98ish), 4x4.

I have my search narrowed down to either; Jeep Cherokee Sport, Chevy Blazer, Nissan Pathfinder. So, I guess the smaller SUV models are what I'm looking at.

Any thoughts on the matter?

 

[toxicity_27]

I owned a 1990 Jeep Cherokee, a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a 2008 F150 and am now in a 2007 Jeep Commander. I guess I just love Jeeps, so I am biased on this, but I'd suggest the Cherokee. They have an amazing 4x4 system, they look awesome, and you can mod the **** out of them. Mine Cherokee was two wheel drive and it still did pretty good in the snow. My Grand Cherokee had the same 4x4 system that would be in the Cherokee and it did awesome in the snow. Put it in the ditch once because I was screwing around on icy roads, rocked it back and forth a few times, and it drove out of over 2 feet of snow. So I vote for the Cherokee. I catch myself wanting to buy one from time to time..

 

[KSoD]

I would seriously look to something newer than 98 or even late 90's for that matter. Those vehicles are already 10+ years old. Which means they are going to start requiring more and more work be done to them to maintain them. You could get yourself something from the 00's and save on maintenance costs. Having owned a Chevy Blazer from 1988 well into 2005, I can tell you that they are not cheap to fix. Especially if anything with the 4X4 goes on them. I spent more money on fixing that '88 Blazer than it would have cost me to buy a brand new TrailBlazer.

Living in NY i can understand how you feel. But honestly with the wear and tear the salt puts on the chassis of the vehicles, that old is only asking for trouble up here. You will spend more than you need to just to keep it going.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

I would look at a late '90s or early '00s Toyota 4runner. They are the same size as the SUV's you are looking at, have bulletproof reliability, and great 4x4 capabilities. They are more expensive than other models like the Blazer but you get what you pay for in this case.

 

[KJamesJR]

Well the thing of it is; we're going to need a vehicle sooner than later. I went with the 98ish because I simply don't have all the funds to dump into a newer model now. Also they've been proven to last the distance in the past. I'm willing to drop a few thousand on the vehicle now, and slowly pay for the cost of repairs later when I have the dough. So long as it can handle the weather and pass inspections, that's really all I'm looking for.

I haven't considered the toyota, I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the replies though. Keep em coming if you have them.

EDIT: Looked into the 4runner. Not a whole lot of them for sale up in these parts.

 

[patonb]

+1 to a 4runner. I had an Isuzu Rodeo nd really liked it

 

[KJamesJR]

Buddy of mine had a rodeo. It was just a funny looking thing.

I've also now been contemplating a pick-up. Chevy S10 4x4, or Ford Ranger... Probably around the 1999-2000 models.

 

[spikoman69]

+1 on the Jeep Cherokee. Lots of aftermarket if you into modding, I drive one a 96, and its got 233k on it and still drives like new (after replacing lots of worn front end parts 0.o)