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NFR Need vehicle opinions.
- Thread starter clarkman
- Start date
Non-fishing related
That is a real good looking rig......but were you working as a long-haul trucker?? I went through Europe camping all the way with a handlebar pack and a set of small panniers in the rear.
I have a bought new 2004 Honda Pilot that is a great outdoor rig, with ONLY one issue. The one and only time I had to chain it up, a nice logger stopped and helped me put on the chains. Great rig of that era. It is better than a truck for the outdoors.
That said, I tried to buy a brand new 2017 Honda Pilot and they have "citified" the entire rig. The worst ;part, is to get the gas mileage up the low gears are way to high and you need to ride the brakes on steep downhills. I have a 1000 foot descent at one house, and a 2000 descent. All I can think of was the cost of replacing the brakes every year!!!
The salesman could not figure out a solution, so I don't know if he was clueless, but he lost the sale on that issue.
I believe the Honda Passport is the "new" Honda Pilot for outdoor folks.
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My wife and I and extended family have had a bunch of Subarus with no problems beyond routine maintenance. Manual transmissions are all but impossible to get any more, but the CVTs appear to work just fine despite people generally complaining about them. I found myself needing a daily driver, grocery getter almost 2 years ago, thinking I would use the Toyota Tacoma for all my fishing trips. I was replacing a used car that I bought a year previous that turned out to be a lemon, so I bought a new 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. It has the smaller 4 cyl. engine and gets up to 38 mpg during the summer months. Because of the fuel economy difference, I'm driving the Crosstrek all the time unless I'm towing my Lund or need more cargo space, like for Montana trips. I may kick the bucket before I get 100k miles on the Tacoma, let alone 200k. All in, the Crosstrek was just under $30k.
This thread is timely for us. We're going to get rid of both of our vehicles and get a new one, with some sort of AWD a requirement. We're looking at something in the outback/passport/highlander class, most likely CPO. We've just started the process but that will pick up in earnest in the next month or so.
We had a 2010 Forrester we bought used with ~45k miles. At 90k miles it developed rod knock and needed a new engine and was no longer under warranty. That led to us getting a 2018 Jeep Cherokee new, which we've enjoyed and put 150k miles on, but it's FWD and we're in a stage where AWD and reliability (and warranty) is important to use.
We had a 2010 Forrester we bought used with ~45k miles. At 90k miles it developed rod knock and needed a new engine and was no longer under warranty. That led to us getting a 2018 Jeep Cherokee new, which we've enjoyed and put 150k miles on, but it's FWD and we're in a stage where AWD and reliability (and warranty) is important to use.
Our family has been driving Hondas for decades. I still have my 2006 Ridgeline bought new. I would sell it but it only has 110k miles. We sold all of our other Hondas and will never buy another due to poor to bad customer service. We now own a Rav4 and a Crosstrek. Have not been happier with those choices.
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Regarding AWD, keep in mind if one tire needs complete replacement, it is recommended all 4 tires be replaced. Has to do with the new tire not being the same diameter as the other three, putting stress/torque onto the drive train/gears.
FWIW if you rent an AWD vehicle and you need a tire replaced, they usually require you to buy 4 new tires. This is usually not covered even if you purchase the extra accident coverage, Its also not usually covered by your own personal insurance carrier either.
FWIW if you rent an AWD vehicle and you need a tire replaced, they usually require you to buy 4 new tires. This is usually not covered even if you purchase the extra accident coverage, Its also not usually covered by your own personal insurance carrier either.
This happened to me. I had a sidewall blowout in one tire on my old Crosstrek and had to replace all four. It was expensive!
interesting.
Fourbtgait
Life of the Party
As a side note, Subaru says if front tire goes flat, put a rear tire there, the spare on the rear. Spare is slightly smaller in diameter.
A couple people have put a full size spare in back, switching it out when rotating to keep even wear.
A couple people have put a full size spare in back, switching it out when rotating to keep even wear.
Fourbtgait
Life of the Party
That could happen to any AWD vehicle, including Ford, GM, Stellantis/Fiat.In short....
Fuck that shit.
Not buying a rig that needs that sort of thing
Read your vehicle manual.
It's pretty hard to do donuts in an AWD.
You have to do them in reverse in a FWD.
Cafeteria trays under the rear tires was fun in the snow.