Need an AWD Vehicle

[Mal Paso]

My car was totaled, I'm kinda burnt on Subarus and looking for something different. I have a 3/4 ton truck want something smaller for shopping and trips. My driveway is dirt and 22 degrees in places so it's gotta be All Wheel Drive. Looking for something used about $6K. I've seen just about every make with AWD and don't know which to watch out for so I thought I would ask the brain trust. What have you got that works or doesn't?

Thanks!

[blackthorn]

We have had a Toyota Highlander since 2008. It has given stellar service, with only one problem with the left front wheel bearing. I have replaced tires and brakes as needed but any car will require those. I have it serviced every 5000 KM (more or less). I do not think you can go wrong with Toyota.

[metricmonkeywrench]

We have an AWD Dodge Journey that gets us anywhere we want to go, but for the rough weather we default to my full size 4WD truck.

The downside to most AWD platforms is the need to change all 4 tires when worn to stay within a +/- on tire diameter. We had to replace all our tires once after a bad flat that were just under half worn.

[mattw]

This is my main complaint about AWD. I drive an '07 Expedition with 308k miles and really do much prefer 4x4 vs. AWD.

[William Yanda]

Some of these AWD's move (or not) on one wheel until they get up to about 20mph according to the last tow truck driver I rode with (don't ask).

[StuBach]

MiL has been pretty happy with her EcoSport. She travels to our house every day to watch kids and I live in the snow belt portion of Lower Michigan and it’s done well by her for a little over a year now. She had 3 different Kia Souls prior to that and she will probably go back to those when this lease is up cause they have performed admirably for her and the price is decent.

I rotate work cars every 2-3 years (45k+ miles a year) and they’ve always had me in midsize SUVs. I had stellar performance out of my 2013 Ford Escape, 2016 Ford escapes had lots of transmission issues in most of the ones I knew of in the cold areas, 2018 Chevy Equinox has been garbage pretty much since I got it (lots of tire wear issues, transmission lags due to engine ecoStop, marginal in poor weather, terrible in bad weather).

Just some of my experiences though.

[Froogal]

We have owned Chevy Blazers, Trail Blazers, a Chevy Equinox, and a Dodge Durango. There were things I did not like about all of those, and all of them made regular trips back to the dealer for warranty work. We now drive a Chevy Silverado with full, 4 door cab. Bought it new in 2012. We take it to the dealer for service work, but it has NEVER been there for warranty work. Comfortable to ride in and drive, vision is great with no blindspots, and the fuel mileage is as good as, if not better than those Blazers and the Durango. 4 wheel drive gets us where we want to go even when the roads are nasty.

[.429&H110]

Tacoma
I have had a million miles of service vans/pickup chevy gmc ford dodge, that died under me pretty quickly, enough detroit!
Bought a used rusty '89 Toy 4x4 drove it ten years traded for the Tacoma '01. Bought it in White River Junction pulled a uhaul to Scottsdale drove it to North Pole commuted to work in Fairbanks 26 miles in the ice fog, Mobile One and a block heater will start at -50F. Don't take it out o first until yor sure, cause it won't go back. Drove it to Green Valley and darn! 18 years old it needed freon! Original brakes clutch front end. 190000 miles. Needs tires again. New Toys aren't the same. Mine was made in Kentucky and I think they lost the knack. Wish I had kept the '89, the salt got into the aluminum o-rings channels so 1600cc was mostly glued together, state inspection allows no oil leaks. If I had gotten it cleaner, the blue glue wooda held. She was mighty rusty, though. Would have made a fine arizona atv. She is still crashing around Vermont, I expect.
Trucks are like wives, you hope for a good one, take your pick.

[Hogtamer]

Can't argue with a Toyota. This is a '72.

[BD]

I'm going older for my around town vehicle. Any of the original 4x4s, jeep CJs, Toyota Landcruiser, early Bronco, even a Suzuki Samari. They do need maintenance, but it's simple. Nothing going on there you can't understand. I'm running a '47 CJ2a I paid 4,000 for. No computers, nothing I can't repair myself.

[brass410]

D-9 Cat, not very fast, but stands up well in frontal collisions , also easy to park, leave anywhere, Mines never been towed yet for infractions. Its a real crowd pleaser in rush hour, trust me no one road rages with ya drivin a D9 along the ditch on the highway.

[Mal Paso]

I wouldn't have sold my 85 Tacoma had it been 4 wheel drive. Even with bed weights the 2 wheeler did not like this hill. I will hit Craigs List again. I wasn't thinking older, I had an 06 but easy to work on would be great. How are parts for older Toyotas?

I found 2 Highlanders in the SF area, one above $6K, I'll keep looking.

[Misery-Whip]

Honda crv. Well made, and simple. Lots of older ones on the road.

[.429&H110]

The junkyards are full of rusted out toyotas
Parts are easy, but parts aren't cheap anymore.
My 89 would break a spring if I sat on the tailgate
(lost a hundred pounds since)
I tried to haul firewood, found out each leaf was $100
A Toy is like a big wheelbarrow, maybe.
Can put more weight in my wheelbarrow.
Toys are not a dumptruck.

My youngest was sitting at a stopsign and a GrandAm ran over the hood of my Tercel, tore off everything in front of the firewall. GrandAm took the engine with him. My boy opened the door, got out and said "Dude! where's my car?". Door opened and closed, car didn't bend. Like cut with a knife. Looked like I could fix it if I could find the engine and wheels fenders and grill lost in the trees under the GrandAm twisted ruin. (Kid was fine, go figure we knew the kid, and he had no insurance, was his girlfriends unregistered GrandAm)
God smiled that day...
I like Toys.

[DocSavage]

Rav 4 for sheer dependability.Too many horror stories on jeeps especially since Fiat partnered with Chrysler. Ford,Chevy SUVs will pass anything on the highway but a gas station.

[pcolapaddler]

For older vehicles, Suzuki Sidekick/Vitara/Grand Vitara or Samarai. Pretty simple cars. Usually very dependable.

The Samarai rides pretty rough with it's short wheelbase and solid axles on both ends. The 1.3 engine really revs at highway speeds. I'm told that the engine really responds well to a 2bbl carb upgrade. But... These are tough little vehicles and they can go almost anywhere.

Sidekicks come in 2 and 4 door versions, 4cyl and v6. The newer ones have auto locking front hubs, so you don't have to get out to lock or unlock hubs.

Vitara/Grand Vitara are the newer, nicer appointed version of the Sidekick. They can have more bells and whistles, but probably not as many as truly new vehicles.

To my knowledge, none of them are being imported into the US any longer. There is pretty good aftermarket support for many mechanical parts. Probably similar for body panels, but I've not researched that.

Sent from my HTCD200LVW using Tapatalk

[1006]

If you can find a good deal on a low mileage RX300, RX350 made by Lexus. Check it out. I think they are great vehicles.

[HangFireW8]

The original Samurai had less than 2 inches of suspension travel, and are all very old. Later Suzukis are a better choice.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

If you are thinking of something smaller than the usual SUV ???

I have a 2005 Toyota Matrix AWD. I love it, and the 1.8 engine gets 30 MPG.
It's small, it's basically a Corolla in a hatchback/wagon format, but it does seat 4 adults comfortably. AND, with the back seat down, it has lots of cargo ability, much more than the Corolla sedan. I just recently bought and hauled a fully assembled exercise bike in it

It doesn't have the clearance of a SUV, but it does have 16" wheels, so it has more clearance than other "cars" that size.
AWD is a noticeable advantage in the Minnesota Snow and ice....I can't speak for a muddy steep driveway though?

4 years ago, when I was looking for a car, I did have the Matrix on my mind, most are 2wd, which is what I thought I wanted. Then I stumbled on this AWD, which is kind of rare in the Matrix line, it had lots of miles (220K) but was a commuter, and owner had maintenance records...miles were gentle. The owner was anxious to sell. Comparable Matrix's were over $6k at that time, the owner sold it to me for just under $4K. I've put 40K trouble free miles on it so far.

[Petrol & Powder]

OK, just to clarify - It sounds like the OP needs 4WD to negotiate a driveway but doesn't need (or want) 4WD for the other 99.8% of his driving. He wrote, ".....I have a 3/4 ton truck want something smaller for shopping and trips. ...."

So, I'm thinking part time 4WD instead of AWD. As others have pointed out, AWD often requires tires purchased in sets of 4.

To fill the need of something "smaller" (and I read that as more fuel efficient) I would look for something in the 4 cylinder/part time 4WD category.

An older 4 cylinder, 4WD Tacoma would be fine but they are getting harder to find.
A lot of the little SUV's are AWD.
Maybe you could find an older 4 Runner or Highlander?

A Jeep Cherokee would be a good choice for size but the fuel mileage would likely be poor.

There just aren't many small, part time 4WD vehicles out there. You may have to select an AWD vehicle to fulfill your "small vehicle" requirement.