Choosing the right AWD Car/CUV/SUV

[mwmorph]

Subarus and SUVs are quite popular in Alaska here.

I have a Dodge Magnum SXT AWD which works well too, you can get it in AWD with the 3.5L V6 or a 5.7L V8 and I enjoy having the car. It's a Mercedes transmission and 4matic AWD system so it works quite well up here, it's a great car, drives almost exactly like my E500 4matic except it's a more practical wagon. Any LX platform AWD car should drive similarly with differing levels of practicality (300C, Charger, Magnum).

 

[Dirigible]

Volvo XC70 (the station wagon one)

I've got 160k miles on my xc70. Comfiest car I've ever had for freeway cruising. Maintenance is not super cheap but hasn't been bad. It's done great in Sierra Nevada snow.

 

[Jumpem]

Forester owner too and overall, it has been a great car. I agree though, when other manufacturers have moved to 5 gears and more, it's hard to consider another Forester when I'm ready to move to another vehicle. And the Subaru CVTs are just bleh for me.

The CVT is epic. It's perfectly smooth with no gears, but still has six virtual "gears" for when you want to shift. It lets me get 30mpg out of a 3500 pund AWD vehicle.

 

[thepd7]

Forester owner here, I picked up an 08 forester last year to replace my 99 Chrysler 300M. After a year+ ownership, it has not surprised me.

Pretty much 100% predictable and reliable.
If you decide to test drive one, be sure to be aware of the cars issues ...
If yo uhave non-turbo 2.5 boxer engine ...

in cold weather, the engine idles loudly and irregularly until it is warmed up

with the automatic, the transmission takes its time. If you are accelerating, it'll take about 1-2 seconds longer to downshift than you may be used to.

There's a moderate amount of road noise

The back seats have very little leg room (I sometimes drive around with 4 adults, but, since I'm 6'2, the person behind me doesn't get much room for legs...

Cargo capacity is pretty impressive... I can carry 2 x 24inch kitchen cabinets in the back, and still have room for more
Works great in the snow ... it's got about 8 inches or so of road clearance, but, even if there's 12 inches of snow, the car drives just fine. I want to get snow tires, but, not gonna happen this year ...

Anyhow ...
I like it so far, and plan on my next car being a Subaru as well, though most likely a turbo 🙂

Thanks for the input!

I was going to see this vehicle:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2003...6773090?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4aa50e88e2

Then I saw this:

http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/volkswagen-passat/TO0A83V4FAOJUSPIU

So not only will the fix likely be more than $360, you could burn the engine out literally in minutes. So that's a no go.

I'm going to check in the magnum, thanks mwmorph

G35 awd

 

[thepd7]

Late model Ford Fusion AWD and good snow tires. A fully loaded SEL will fall right in the middle of your price range.

I decided I won't do the Fusion, great car for a rental but not pretty enough for me.

Suzuki sx4 isn't doing it for me either.

I'm looking hard at the xc90 and rav4 right now but definitely keeping an eye out for a nice Audi.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Being from the area, knowing that you're going to be doing lots of traveling and going up north, you've received lots of good options. Volvo's and Subaru's are very popular in the northeast for dealing with snow, ice, etc. Living in the city, will you have garage or on-street parking? If on-street, you may want to go used and if in a garage, something in the wagon/compact SUV size.

Within the next year, I'll be looking to get a new vehicle. I'll probably be looking at a Subaru Outback, Audi Q5 or maybe a Volvo XC70 or XC60.

 

[Vic Vega]

This Taurus seems to be doing pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyA61gmHJO0

 

[Zap]

I will be driving ~3-4 hours per day, including trips to Vermont and Maine.

With that much daily mileage, whatever car you end up with you should get dedicated snow tires.

 

[jlee]

Forester owner too and overall, it has been a great car. I agree though, when other manufacturers have moved to 5 gears and more, it's hard to consider another Forester when I'm ready to move to another vehicle. And the Subaru CVTs are just bleh for me.

5 speed FTW? I love my Forester, but I have the XT -- I like power too much to have a non-turbo auto. 😛

 

[ZipSpeed]

5 speed FTW? I love my Forester, but I have the XT -- I like power too much to have a non-turbo auto. 😛

XT owner too but with stop and go traffic, I'm done with manuals. There's rumors of a WRX powered "XTI" coming for 2012 so hopefully there will be an upgraded transmission attached to that.

 

[alkemyst]

With that much daily mileage, whatever car you end up with you should get a dedicated set snow tires/wheels for the major days and an all-season set for non-major days

Fixed 🙂

 

[skyking]

and an electric impact and torque wrench and a nice floor jack to go with it🙂

 

[jlee]

XT owner too but with stop and go traffic, I'm done with manuals. There's rumors of a WRX powered "XTI" coming for 2012 so hopefully there will be an upgraded transmission attached to that.

WRX powered..? My 04 XT essentially has the 2.5l WRX STi motor from the same year, but with a WRX turbo (if I swap to STi turbo/etc, I can actually run an STi ECU). Are the newer ones much different?

 

[JulesMaximus]

LOL at all these people who seem to think 4WD/AWD is necessary for living in the northeast.

I grew up in upstate NY, learned how to drive there, drove hundreds of thousands of miles through many winters...never owned a 4WD or AWD vehicle when I lived there though. Just give yourself extra time and drive slowly...same as you would if you owned a 4WD (unless you want to end up in the ditch which is where I've seen a fair number of 4WD trucks and SUVs during a good snowstorm BTW).

In reality, there might be and I repeat **MIGHT** be a couple days out of the year where the weather is nasty enough that you'd want it but honestly you'd be better off just staying home on those days. For the rest of the time there are crews of people who work for the state who do nothing but plow and salt the roadways after a snowstorm to keep things moving.

Unless you live in a remote area with a long un-plowed driveway you really don't need 4WD to get places in the winter in the northeast.

 

[jlee]

LOL at all these people who seem to think 4WD/AWD is necessary for living in the northeast.

I grew up in upstate NY, learned how to drive there, drove hundreds of thousands of miles through many winters...never owned a 4WD or AWD vehicle when I lived there though. Just give yourself extra time and drive slowly...same as you would if you owned a 4WD (unless you want to end up in the ditch which is where I've seen a fair number of 4WD trucks and SUVs during a good snowstorm BTW).

In reality, there might be and I repeat **MIGHT** be a couple days out of the year where the weather is nasty enough that you'd want it but honestly you'd be better off just staying home on those days. For the rest of the time there are crews of people who work for the state who do nothing but plow and salt the roadways after a snowstorm to keep things moving.

Unless you live in a remote area with a long un-plowed driveway you really don't need 4WD to get places in the winter in the northeast.

It's certainly not necessary, but it's nice. 😛 I've typically had a 4wd truck with all-terrains..this is the first year I'm going to have AWD with snows.

I also don't have the option of just staying home when the weather is bad, though. 😛

 

[JulesMaximus]

It's certainly not necessary, but it's nice. 😛 I've typically had a 4wd truck with all-terrains..this is the first year I'm going to have AWD with snows.

I also don't have the option of just staying home when the weather is bad, though. 😛

Is your police cruiser 4WD? 😉

 

[jlee]

Is your police cruiser 4WD? 😉

The one that hasn't got stuck yet is. 😉

Like I said, AWD is not necessary but it's nice. Quite a few departments up here have SUVs or trucks in addition to Crown Vics. It sucks to need to get somewhere and find a hill and get stuck at 10mph for a quarter mile..lol

 

[JulesMaximus]

The one that hasn't got stuck yet is. 😉

Like I said, AWD is not necessary but it's nice. Quite a few departments up here have SUVs or trucks in addition to Crown Vics. It sucks to need to get somewhere and find a hill and get stuck at 10mph for a quarter mile..lol

Majority are Crown Vics though aren't they? Back when I lived there the police departments largely had Dodge Diplomats and very few trucks or SUVs. They seemed to make do during the winter months.

 

[jlee]

Majority are Crown Vics though aren't they? Back when I lived there the police departments largely had Dodge Diplomats and very few trucks or SUVs. They seemed to make due during the winter months.

It's certainly not necessary, but it's nice.

😕

"Making do" is different from "nice."

😛

 

[JulesMaximus]

😕

"Making do" is different from "nice."

😛

Agreed.

Just sayin' 😉

 

[ZipSpeed]

WRX powered..? My 04 XT essentially has the 2.5l WRX STi motor from the same year, but with a WRX turbo (if I swap to STi turbo/etc, I can actually run an STi ECU). Are the newer ones much different?

It'll be the 265 hp engine in the current WRX that is supposedly going into the "XTI". I hope Subaru doesn't just throw in a new engine and transmission and call it a day. The suspension needs major work too. And one would think it be more cost effective to streamline the entire Subaru engine line with one turbo engine rather than maintaining two.

 

[Capt Caveman]

LOL at all these people who seem to think 4WD/AWD is necessary for living in the northeast.

I grew up in upstate NY, learned how to drive there, drove hundreds of thousands of miles through many winters...never owned a 4WD or AWD vehicle when I lived there though. Just give yourself extra time and drive slowly...same as you would if you owned a 4WD (unless you want to end up in the ditch which is where I've seen a fair number of 4WD trucks and SUVs during a good snowstorm BTW).

In reality, there might be and I repeat **MIGHT** be a couple days out of the year where the weather is nasty enough that you'd want it but honestly you'd be better off just staying home on those days. For the rest of the time there are crews of people who work for the state who do nothing but plow and salt the roadways after a snowstorm to keep things moving.

Unless you live in a remote area with a long un-plowed driveway you really don't need 4WD to get places in the winter in the northeast.

It makes life a lot easier, for emergencies do I really want to be stuck, in the city many side roads aren't fully plowed and you don't have to be concerned about the weather. If the OP is going to travel up north often or has to do a lot of travel for work, I would definitely recommend it.

Everyone in my family have converted to AWD vehicles. I think it's always funny seeing people stuck in the snow with their Honda Fits, etc while I drive right by them. In the morning, when people need to shovel out their driveways to get out, I can drive right out and shovel when I come back.

 

[thepd7]

With that much daily mileage, whatever car you end up with you should get dedicated snow tires.

Fixed 🙂

I'll definitely do that if I have the space, thanks for the suggestion.

LOL at all these people who seem to think 4WD/AWD is necessary for living in the northeast.

I grew up in upstate NY, learned how to drive there, drove hundreds of thousands of miles through many winters...never owned a 4WD or AWD vehicle when I lived there though. Just give yourself extra time and drive slowly...same as you would if you owned a 4WD (unless you want to end up in the ditch which is where I've seen a fair number of 4WD trucks and SUVs during a good snowstorm BTW).

In reality, there might be and I repeat **MIGHT** be a couple days out of the year where the weather is nasty enough that you'd want it but honestly you'd be better off just staying home on those days. For the rest of the time there are crews of people who work for the state who do nothing but plow and salt the roadways after a snowstorm to keep things moving.

Unless you live in a remote area with a long un-plowed driveway you really don't need 4WD to get places in the winter in the northeast.

Like jlee, I don't have the option of staying home unless I don't want to make money (sales).

 

[thepd7]

UPDATE:

I just drove a 2004 XC-90 T6 and it is wonderful, I loved the ride and the engine is delightfully powerful (fun when the turbo kicked in on the highway).

Here's my hesitancy: it's a 2004 with 120k miles. I mentioned that really scared me since I'll be driving a ton and don't want to have to pay for a new transmission in 2 years. The sales guy let me know they have a bumper to bumper unlimited mileage warranty.

I've always heard warranties are for suckers, so I'm confused. This is 3 years, unlimited miles (until the car hits 200k which should be right at the end of 3 years for me). The warranty is called C.A.R.S. by protection plus, inc. There is a $100 deductible per repair and they pay up to $60/hour labor. Warranty is $550 btw.

Questions:
1) Are all warranties for suckers?
2) Is labor on a volve going to be more than $60/hour?
3) Any "catches" I'm missing?

Car in question

Warranty coverage list

 

[Capt Caveman]

My brother used to do sales for a Volvo dealership. The early model XC-90s do not have good reliability scores. I would definitely get the warranty if you plan to purchase it.

And yes, labor on a Volvo will be way more than $60/hr. Probably over $100/hr. A big vehicle to have in the city. If you have garage parking in the city, it will be a tight fit.