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  1. #1
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    Question Mountain Car??? Grand Vitara vs XTerra vs Outback vs Tacoma

    I have a 10 year old 4cyl Honda Accord. It could do better on the snow. It doesn't have enough room for my stuff and other people and their stuff. It can't tow. It definitely can't go off road.

    Here is what I am considering:

    Nissan Xterra 4x4 Off Road
    Subaru Outback 2.5 XT Limited (turbo 4cyl /w LSRD)
    Toyota 4Runner 4x4 SR5 V6
    (off the list for now) Toyota Tacoma Xcab 4x4 V6 TRD + topper

    I need something that handles very well on snow, can do offroad, can tow 1-2 snomobiles, and hauls a lot of gear. Reliability and safety are critical.

    Here are my current thoughts:
    That XTerra could have better mileage, handling, and rollover ratings. Great offroad and capacity though... I think I could sleep in it super easy.
    That Subaru is recockulously expensive new and hard as hell to find used and has shitty approach angles. It does have almost as good of mileage as my Accord.
    That 4Runner seems like a mix between the Subaru and the Xterra.
    The Tacoma is a truck and I'm not sure if I need a truck. It also has crappy mileage and the worst safety ratings of the bunch.

    Who has opinions?
    Last edited by Summit; 05-25-2008 at 02:33 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  2. #2
    Liberal Genius Guest
    Buy Phishes Taco.

  3. #3
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    my taco gets 20 mpg on trips to the mountains. not too bad if you ask me considering my old wrx got 16.

  4. #4
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    I had an xterra and loved it. It was shit on climbing big hills, but that thing was uber rugged. Loved it! MPG was shit and that was when gas was cheap.

    My subie I have grown to love. It never has an issue in the snow, hauls gear well, and gets good mpg. I don't know how it would tow.
    ROLL TIDE ROLL

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Summit View Post
    That Subaru is recockulously expensive new and hard as hell to find used and has shitty approach angles. It does have almost as good of mileage as my Accord.
    But it uses premium gas.

  6. #6
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    i was seriously looking at two of the vehicles you are considering, the xterra and the tacoma.

    i ended up buying a nissan frontier. pretty similar vehicle to the tacoma but cost less, also at the time they had some good incentives running (low interest or cash back).
    keep in mind, unless your friends are very small or very tolerant, they wont want to ride in the back 'seat' of either the taco or frontier for much more than across town.
    "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    Ben Franklin

  7. #7
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    Just get the normally aspirated outback.
    Quando paramucho mi amore de felice carathon.
    Mundo paparazzi mi amore cicce verdi parasol.
    Questo abrigado tantamucho que canite carousel.


  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Liberal Genius View Post
    Buy Phishes Taco.
    02 I4 TRD taco = no rear locker and no rear doors on the access cab
    05 and newer = more spacious access cab seats and accessible space for storage

    Quote Originally Posted by The AD View Post
    But it uses premium gas.
    I was wondering about that... you can get away with lower-than-recommended octane in the mountains on normally aspirated vehicles (after all thats why CO regular is 85 when the rest of the nation has 86)... I wonder if i can do midgrade on a turbo instead of premium as long as you stay up high?

    Quote Originally Posted by irul&ublo View Post
    Just get the normally aspirated outback.
    I've been warned that the normal 4 cyl outbacks are underpowered. I'd think a big thing like an outback with a 4cyl would also object strongly to being loaded with gear while towing sleds up a pass.


    ALSO WITH THE SUBARU OUTBACK - Unless you get the Turbo-4 or the 6cyl model (which have the 5 speed auto), you end up with the 90/10 split AWD instead of the 55/45 AWD with a rear LSD.
    Last edited by Summit; 05-22-2008 at 01:17 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  9. #9
    Liberal Genius Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Summit View Post
    02 I4 TRD taco = no rear locker
    Survey Says!!!! BZZZTTT!!!-WRONG. You're not going to find a truck more capable than his for that price.
    05 and newer = more spacious access cab seats and accessible space for storage
    It's a truck. Your storage is in the bed.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Summit View Post

    ALSO WITH THE SUBARU OUTBACK - Unless you get the Turbo-4 or the 6cyl model, you end up with the 90/10 split AWD instead of the 55/45 AWD.

    Is that true w/ a manual tranny?
    Quando paramucho mi amore de felice carathon.
    Mundo paparazzi mi amore cicce verdi parasol.
    Questo abrigado tantamucho que canite carousel.


  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by irul&ublo View Post
    Is that true w/ a manual tranny?
    All the manuals are 50/50 with viscous transfer.

    I'm only looking at autos though.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  12. #12
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    higher octane gas is a rip


    my 4 cyl subie sucks climbing, really underpowered.

    The wife has a 6cyl and it has 0 issues
    ROLL TIDE ROLL

  13. #13
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    If you can resist the urge to floor it all the time, my '06 TRD doublecab longbox gets pretty good mileage in the real world. Over 2 years my monthly average has been 9-9.5L/100km (25/26mpg) and it it spends a lot of time on mountain roads hauling sleds, pulling a camper and it regularly carries a couple thousand pounds of work related equipment to locations all over Alberta and ne BC. Not great numbers, but as good or better than a lot of vehicles that are less capable. I've been tracking my mileage every fill since I got the truck, so they should be a pretty accurate reflection of what the Toyota can do.

  14. #14
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    Our XT has plenty of power and performs well at altitude. We had it pretty packed (skis, bikes, camping junk) going up to the Mammoth Mini and didn't have any issues once we got up high, but that's not the same as towing a sled. The (automatic) transmission seems to kind of suck but as long as it holds up I don't really care about the smoothness of the shifting.

    As for gas... It's decent on gas, not great. I think we got about 23 mpg on the way up, 25.5 on the way back.

  15. #15
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    PM JesseJones, I hear he's selling a used Grand Cherokee. From what everyone around here says they're sweet. I'd jump all over it.

    Or you could go the Suby route and get everything that comes standard with such a purchase:

    Lifetime supply of Melissa Etheridge MP3's, 2 strap on's, and a big fat stack of stickers that tout, "KEEP YOUR LAWS OFF MY BODY!"

    i dont slay ur groomerz with teh steeze so dont carve corduroy in r park nOOb!

    my arsenal !: 4FRNT CRJ : Armada Pipecleaners : Salomon 1080 Gun Lab : Rossignol Scratch FS : Salomon Yellow 1080s : Rossignol Powair : Elan SCX : K2 Extremes (4 versions)

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Summit View Post
    All the manuals are 50/50 with viscous transfer.

    I'm only looking at autos though.
    That's a good idea.

    https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?t=122978

  17. #17
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    Summit, my 02 has the rear locker but you will probably NEVER need it. I have driven it up Keystone with snow over the tops of the tires in 4-high. 4-low is insane, and with the locker its like a fucking Snowcat.


    Bro deal man...bro deal. I literally have 6 dollars in my acct. right now.


    edit to add: its a 3.4L V6 not an I4

  18. #18
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    If you are looking only at an auto subaru - forget about it, it will suck on hills, however, with the 5sp, they rock up the mountains. Also, the older ones, like 99's, were lighter, so the engine was a better match for the weight of the outback.

  19. #19
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    jeep liberty?

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by PlayHarder View Post
    If you can resist the urge to floor it all the time, my '06 TRD doublecab longbox gets pretty good mileage in the real world. Over 2 years my monthly average has been 9-9.5L/100km (25/26mpg) and it it spends a lot of time on mountain roads hauling sleds, pulling a camper and it regularly carries a couple thousand pounds of work related equipment to locations all over Alberta and ne BC. Not great numbers, but as good or better than a lot of vehicles that are less capable. I've been tracking my mileage every fill since I got the truck, so they should be a pretty accurate reflection of what the Toyota can do.
    I'd love one of those but doesn't a longbed + double cab = HUGE wheelbase = huge turn radius + easy high center = bad offroad and hard to park?
    Last edited by Summit; 05-22-2008 at 01:18 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Summit View Post
    Here is what I am considering:

    Nissan Xterra 4x4 Off Road
    Subaru Outback 2.5 XT Limited (turbo 4cyl)
    Suzuki Grand Vitara 4WD
    Toyota Tacoma Xcab 4x4 V6 TRD + topper

    I need something that handles very well on snow, can do offroad, can tow 1-2 snomobiles, and hauls a lot of gear. Reliability and safety are critical.
    I shopped the Outback XT awhile back, and more recently, the Xterra (V6) and 4Runner (V6). I posted a thread on this too with my opinions. I wound up buying the 4Runner, and my wife has an '05 4-door Tacoma TRD (same motor & transmission as in my 4Runner).

    Out of the ones you listed, the Outback has an on-road advantage of having fulltime 4WD, which I really like for snow-covered road driving. This is one of the reasons I went with the 4Runner: fulltime 4WD option. So I'd throw the base SR5 V6 model 4Runner into your consideration list too.

    Some other comments/observations: the Xterra MPG is going to be slightly worse than the 4Runner and Tacoma; my research indicated I could expect 18ish highway MPG on the Xterra. Wife's Tacoma turns in 20 MPG regularly. My 4Runner gets 21ish MPG mixed city/hwy; pure freeway cruising at 70-75mph was around 22.5-23 MPG.

    I went with the 4Runner despite some ergonomic issues, because it was (1) made in Japan, (2) Toyota reliability reputation, (3) fulltime 4WD, (4) not much more $ than the Xterra (~$3-4K at most), and IMHO nicer-finished than the Xterra. I fit better in the Xterra (6' tall), and liked the Xterra seats more. Oh well.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Summit View Post
    I'd love one of those but doesn't a longbed + double cab = HUGE wheelbase = huge turn radius + easy high center = bad offroad and hard to park?
    havent had mine offroad yet, personally, i dont like offroading in a truck i have a loan on. but the huge wheelbase, huge turn radius and not very easy to park are spot on for my frontier crew cab longbed.
    "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    Ben Franklin

  23. #23
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    My last subaru died with 328,000 miles on it. Great car, got me thru college and many, many road trips- was low maint. and ok gas mileage. Car that I rarely had to worry about in any condition, only bummer was clearance in big snow storms.

  24. #24
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    https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?t=120209

    I sleeps diagonally all the time. HWY mileage = 22 (+), city = 18.5-19.
    "It is not the result that counts! It is not the result but the spirit! Not what - but how. Not what has been attained - but at what price.
    - A. Solzhenitsyn

  25. #25
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    I guess I should clarify that I'm not planning on doing offroading for the sake of offroading (OTOH I might end up liking it that much... it's more of a get up the gnarly rocky access "road" type of thing.

    Quote Originally Posted by El Chupacabra View Post
    I shopped the Outback XT awhile back, and more recently, the Xterra (V6) and 4Runner (V6). I posted a thread on this too with my opinions. I wound up buying the 4Runner, and my wife has an '05 4-door Tacoma TRD (same motor & transmission as in my 4Runner).

    Out of the ones you listed, the Outback has an on-road advantage of having fulltime 4WD, which I really like for snow-covered road driving. This is one of the reasons I went with the 4Runner: fulltime 4WD option. So I'd throw the base SR5 V6 model 4Runner into your consideration list too.

    Some other comments/observations: the Xterra MPG is going to be slightly worse than the 4Runner and Tacoma; my research indicated I could expect 18ish highway MPG on the Xterra. Wife's Tacoma turns in 20 MPG regularly. My 4Runner gets 21ish MPG mixed city/hwy; pure freeway cruising at 70-75mph was around 22.5-23 MPG.

    I went with the 4Runner despite some ergonomic issues, because it was (1) made in Japan, (2) Toyota reliability reputation, (3) fulltime 4WD, (4) not much more $ than the Xterra (~$3-4K at most), and IMHO nicer-finished than the Xterra. I fit better in the Xterra (6' tall), and liked the Xterra seats more. Oh well.
    Great... now the 4runner is in the mix too... thanks for making my decision easier.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

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