SUV/Compact SUV

0497 said:
My vote is on a Subaru wagon (I'd go with a Forester). Very reliable, somewhat sporty (drives great on tarmac) and will probably fulfill the vast majority of peoples' offroad ventures.

A RAV4 and the terrain the toughest terrain you're likely to face - http://media.drive.com.au/?rid=18570
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That is true I have been driving a Forrester off and on for a while now and it is a good car. The problem is that some body types don't fit in Subbies very well. If my legs were an inch longer I wouldn't fit in it.
 
Firecat said:
Thanks for all the advice, I have kinda opened my search up a bit....so carrying goods is no longer that big of a factor. I still have another month to decide....
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If carrying goods is not as big of a deal and you aren't planning on going offroading, what's wrong with your M3? :p
 
lv2xlr8 said:
Nissan Xterra - $20g base
Toyota FJ Cruiser - $22g base

Both are badass cars and they are reasonably priced.
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Although I like the look of the Xterra, I would never buy one. According to Consumer Reports, it's the most tip-over prone vehicle on the road today. (at least in the US).

FJ Cruiser all the way.
 
British_Rover said:
Ha you have no idea what you are talking about.

The old freelander had nothing to do with the Escape and neither does the new one. The old freelander was designed before the escape was even thought of. It was designed back in the late 80s early 90s and went on sale about the same time as the RAV4. Yes it was a bad vehicle in the US because you couldn't get a diesel but its off road ablity was vastly superior to anything else in its class.

The new LR2/Freelander 2 is a clean sheet design and uses an Inline 6 cylinder engine shared with Volvo. I was at the LR2 launch in California and it was bad ass. The LR2 shares its front clip with the S80 sedan but uses more heavy duty suspension components. The rest of the LR2 is unique to Land Rover for now.
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Wikipedia: "The second generation Freelander is based on the Ford EUCD platform, which itself is based on the Ford C1 platform. The EUCD platform is also used by the new Ford Galaxy, Ford S-MAX and Volvo S80, and will be used by more upcoming vehicles from Ford and Volvo."

sharing a platform is not a "clean-sheet" design.

I guess the guy at the auto-show display didn't know what he was on about. That is where I got the information about Freelander, Tribute and Escape being the same platform. I guess sales guys don't always read their own material.
 
bartboy9891 said:
If carrying goods is not as big of a deal and you aren't planning on going offroading, what's wrong with your M3? :p
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It's a lease, and almost up. I'm looking for a bit of a change too, not that there was anything wrong with the M3.

Maybe i'm just ignorant (and arrogant), but I'm still liking the Land Rover. The only thing is that the payments are higher than what i'm looking for, but still under what i'm paying right now. My brother is trying to convince me to get a GTI.

I'm still just as lost as before. :p
 
Today I test drove an LR2, Range Rover Sport, and XC90. OMG, the Range Rover Sport was fantastic. The Volvo had pretty good handling as well, so did the LR2 but it felt a little loose compared to the others.

Oh, and then I went to eat at the mall...and saw an M6, Continental GT, 360, and i'm 80% sure a 599GTB.
 
Soo....I'm sure you guys are going to think i'm flighty. But now i'm optioning GTIs and A3s (2007 models, '08s are out in aug/sep...not sure what the differences will be).
 
Blind_Io said:
Wikipedia: "The second generation Freelander is based on the Ford EUCD platform, which itself is based on the Ford C1 platform. The EUCD platform is also used by the new Ford Galaxy, Ford S-MAX and Volvo S80, and will be used by more upcoming vehicles from Ford and Volvo."

sharing a platform is not a "clean-sheet" design.

I guess the guy at the auto-show display didn't know what he was on about. That is where I got the information about Freelander, Tribute and Escape being the same platform. I guess sales guys don't always read their own material.
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Nah the Tribute and Escape are on the old Mondeo/contour platform. The old Freelander design started back in the late to mid 80s but the launch was delayed by all the problems Land Rover had so it was delayed untill 1996.


Only the front clip is shared with the S80 and even that is beefed up compared to the S80 and other EUCD designs. In the world of everything sharing the platform of everything else I would call that as close to a clean sheet design as you can get. I was at the launch I saw the chassis cuttaways and talked to the engineers there. The only non-exotic I can think of that doesn't share its platform with something else is the current Range Rover and even that had bits of the last gen X5 in it untill the 2006 MY.
 
Just an update, i'm pretty much going to go for the GTI. Very basic, black 4 door w/dsg. No packages. Cost will be under 24k.
 
Firecat said:
Just an update, i'm pretty much going to go for the GTI. Very basic, black 4 door w/dsg. No packages. Cost will be under 24k.
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That is cool. I like the four door GTI myself better then the two door one.
 
Firecat said:
Just an update, i'm pretty much going to go for the GTI. Very basic, black 4 door w/dsg. No packages. Cost will be under 24k.
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Skip the DSG.
 
True, True. But there are others in my family that may have to use the car sometimes, and don't drive stick. I read that the DSG is actually faster, whether it's more fun or not is a matter of taste. I've been using the SMG transmission on the m3, so i'm pretty used to paddle shifting.

I may be able to get a better discount from the dealer by going through Sams Club (or costco, but from a different dealer). That might save me another 700 bucks or so. I'm thinking that if they do give me that discount though, they may hit me with the "destination fee" because they have to bring the car in from somewhere else...so it may cancel each other out.
 
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