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AWD/4WD vehicle for snowy hill conditions

Soccerman06

Soccerman06

Diamond Member
I need a AWD/4WD vehicle for college up in Duluth. It can get very snowy up there and I need something that can get up and down the hills, the college campus is up on a steep hill. I will also be going skiing up at the local ski resort/hill.

So the criteria is:
AWD/4WD
Newer
Decent Mpg 22-30 hw
preferably Auto tranny
safe and reliable
decent engine (no 4 cylinders)
under $15k after rebates, negotiations, and trading in a 94 Bonneville SSE
under 60000 miles

The cars I have been looking at and have drivin are the: Suburu Outback and Impreza, Ford Escape and its clones the Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute, Honda CR-V and Pilot, Toyota Rav4, and the Jeep Liberty. As you can see, most of the vehicles are small SUVs, because I need the ground clearance for 1ft high snow drifts. Each vehicle listed model years are 2003-06.

I am leaning toward the Jeep Liberty, Please give opinions and feedback, need final decision and purchase by August 19 the licence plate deadline for a parking permit.
 
outback.

practical and its got the grip u need. liberty is jeep..and its more offroady and sacrifices other stuff. i think they roll over rather easily to boot. remember you are talking awd for snow and stuff on roads.. not low gear slow creep in the mud. rather different things.
 
Ya I was considering the evo but 1) its too pricey for my needs and 2) it cant handle 1ft snow drifts

practical and its got the grip u need. liberty is jeep..and its more offroady and sacrifices other stuff. i think they roll over rather easily to boot. remember you are talking awd for snow and stuff on roads.. not low gear slow creep in the mud. rather different things.
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The Liberty has 4wheel low and hi if thats what you meen, and who knows, I might be off-roading a little in the spring because theres some d@mn good paths in northern MN

Edit: Any good outbacks (low mileage) at the local dealerships are $20k+, I could get it down to 17k but thats still too much.
 
The weight and the tires are the most important things for 4WD and snowy climb. Remember that even 4WD won't be much help if there's ice.
 
I like the Rav4 out of the SUV's...

If the Evo can't handle the snow, I doubt either of the Suby's can. Out of the SUVs you have listed there the Rav4 appeals to me personally the most. Looks better than the CR-V, and seems bigger overall than it (probably not true in reality). Second would probably come the Jeep, even though it's an american car they're pretty much proven. I'd still stick to Jap reliability...
 
any impreza you get will be a 4cyl engine. that being said, my wrx has been the best car I have owned. my wifes durango will still go through more snow (obviously), but I can make it around just fine, without having to worry about getting stuck.
 
I know the Subys are good cars, but my parents intervene here and say some are too sporty because they "look" fast. And my dad knows a lot about cars and says "no son of mine will get a car with a boxster engine while I pay for his insurance! I cant afford that kind of luxurie." I like the Subys to, but they couldnt clear a 1ft snow drift if their rear axle depended on it. I know because my Bonne couldnt clear a 1ft snow drift and got high-centered (and was late to work) and it has higher ground clearance than the Subys.
 
Originally posted by: OdiN
Where the hell is the Jeep Wranger or Jeep Grand Cherokee?
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Wrangler isnt my type of vehicle and the GC have been know to have bad brakes and have unreliable electronics, according to consumer reports, models 99-03. I actually saw a perfect GC and loved how it drove and everything (fully loaded w/o high output 03 with 35k on it) it was $15900 at the first offer. Then I found out the brakes on it had been replaced 8 times before it was sold...... :brokenheart:
 
stick with subaru.

imo, outback is just BIG. I like outback sport or impreza, it is small but look sporty. I drive a 96 impreza L.

well, subaru has been specialized only in the AWD, there is something to say about it. I took a trip to maine before, I had never seen so many subaru on the road before.

link
 
This Liberty is just what I want but its too much 🙁 test drove it and thought it handled better than most others I tryed on Saturday.

I drove a brand new 05 CR-V and it was a decent ride but not much guts to it, along with the Rav4.

Another thing to keep in mind, I need to buy snow tires too so the premium that Subys have are even more higher. The only Suby in my price range is a 98 outback with 93k on it and the manual's clutch is so worn out that its ready to be replaced.
 
Originally posted by: Soccerman06
I know the Subys are good cars, but my parents intervene here and say some are too sporty because they "look" fast. And my dad knows a lot about cars and says "no son of mine will get a car with a boxster engine while I pay for his insurance! I cant afford that kind of luxurie." I like the Subys to, but they couldnt clear a 1ft snow drift if their rear axle depended on it. I know because my Bonne couldnt clear a 1ft snow drift and got high-centered (and was late to work) and it has higher ground clearance than the Subys.
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that's fine except for the fact that your dad doesn't know what he's talking about. the subarus do not have boxster engines in them. they have boxer or horizontally opposed engines. it is just a design term, meaning the pistons are 180 degrees instead of 90 degrees, or whatever a V engine is. A boxer is very reliable, and keeps the center of gravity on the car low, which improves handling. if you can, I would get a forester. they have a higher center of gravity, definitely do not look sporty, and are practically an suv with good mpg. the snow up there may be a little too much for an impreza, and maybe even an outback. my wrx does fine in minneapolis, but we have hardly got any snow the past couple of years.
 
I probably should have mentioned that having a large amount of hp will probably get me in more trouble than I want. You see I have a very heavy foot *cough* and already have a 23mph over speeding ticket, so I cant really afford the insurance of a sporty Suby.
 
Originally posted by: Soccerman06
I probably should have mentioned that having a large amount of hp will probably get me in more trouble than I want. You see I have a very heavy foot *cough* and already have a 23mph over speeding ticket, so I cant really afford the insurance of a sporty Suby.
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right. so get a forester or outback non-turbo, non-sport. a 1998 forester is rated at 165HP at the crank. with about a 25% loss in power through the drivetrain, you're looking at ~125HP at the wheels. sure that is a good amount of power, but any car you get will take you 23mph over the speed limit, unless it's a 3cyl metro, but even then...

if you don't want a subaru, just say so. then I can quit arguing my point.
 
If you get an impreza it just has a 2.5 non-turbo engine, 180hp or something, nothing special and still AWD. My Intrepid has 250hp and it's still nothing sporty, when you get over 300, then he has cause for concern. I drove a 05 WRX, was impressed, but felt it wasn't really *that* fast.
 
Originally posted by: Soccerman06
I spelled boxer wrong whatever, its 4am
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yes, but the fact it's a boxer has more to do with reliability than it does performance, that was my point.

Originally posted by: Icopoli
If you get an impreza it just has a 2.5 non-turbo engine, 180hp or something, nothing special and still AWD. My Intrepid has 250hp and it's still nothing sporty, when you get over 300, then he has cause for concern. I drove a 05 WRX, was impressed, but felt it wasn't really *that* fast.
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yes, a regular impreza will get you the standard 2.5 n/a which I believe is even less than 180HP. When I was looking at getting a new car in 2004, I drove a brand new wrx and was not impressed at all. I then got a chance to drive an '02, and it was worlds apart. I want to say it has something to do with the break-in period, but I wouldn't know since I ended up buying the '02.
 
I have 94 Jeep GC, 02 Explorer, 99 Silverado. My sister has Outback. From my experience with my cars living in PA off of a dirt road that the Local Township plows out last:

GC > Explorer > Silverado. GC is getting old, but it is the snow king.

Last winter my sister called me up. She couldn't get up here driveway, snow packed / almost ice. She buried her Outback in the gutter. She has two small kids, so it's always a concern. I went over in my Jeep. I got her out of the gutter and proceeded to get her car up the drive. It was a bitch. Her AWD seemed to bounce power around all 4 corners looking for traction. I finally got it up the drive, but not easily. The Jeep is stupid, you lock it in 4WD and crawl towards places of traction, get some, glide across the ice, and repeat. It doesn't bounce power all over the place. Very predictable. If necessary, I'll pop in the snow next to the gutter and grab traction there. The Outback would not do this. Outback isn't bad by any means, but after that experience, I wouldn't trust it in the extreme.
 
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