Honda CR-V or ???

I will finally be able to buy a vehicle in early 2018. YAY!

I want something with reasonable clearance, functional in snow, and capable of driving on what passes for a "road" by BLM standards in the west. No plans on actual off road use.

Back seats that fold down, enough room to sleep back there, now and then.

I'm looking for economy, too, though, so Subaru is out. Too pricey to purchase, insure, and maintain.

Toyota is a maybe, as are all the brands like Ford and such. 

My hubby has a Honda Fit, which he likes, but we can't even back it out the driveway without shoveling snow first. So, the next size up.

What do all of you like in this range? 

Also, it looks like the newest CRVs are not as tall/boxy as an older model (? with the spare tire on the back)? What year did they change?

Thanks! Helen

If you can find one... used Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD. The 2010-2012 model. I have the non 4WD, and it fits everything you said except the snow part. 

Old lady H wrote:

I'm looking for economy, too, though, so Subaru is out. Too pricey to purchase, insure, and maintain.

Replace "Subaru" with Porsche/Mercedes/BMW and I'll agree but if you're looking for a reasonably priced AWD wagon the outback/forester is dang hard to beat. But I have no clue what your price range is and I've def got my "f-them" list of car manufactures as well but worth a second look at least. Tons of them in colorado these days so easy to find a used one.

Helen, you of all people starting a car thread? 

I own a 2017 cr-v with the leather package and its great. I average about 30-32mpg and with the turbo it's pretty quick too. I plan on doing a little road tripping here soon and feel it has plenty of room to sleep (even with 2 dogs). Hope that helps.

If you are looking new, you have a number of options.  The CRV, Toyotal RAV4, Subaru Crosstrek, Mazda CX-5, Nissan Rogue and Hyundai Santa Fe are all in the same general price range new for the base AWD models.  The CR-V and Rogue have a little better mileage, but not by much.  The Santa Fe has the worst mileage of the bunch, so if you take that out, The all get between 22/28 (RAV4) and 25/31 (CRV) and 25/32 (Rogue).  The Subaru has the best range because of the bigger tank, while the CRV has the shortest range because of a smaller tank.  Vehicle width and length are all within an couple of inches.  The RAV4 has the worst ground clearance, while the Crosstrek is best.  The Cross trek is th only one I could easily find with the bed length, so if you or hubby are over 5'2", you may need to look at the next bigger size, but you may want to double check.

mediocre wrote:

Helen, you of all people starting a car thread? 

Yup. Shocking, isn't it?

For those who don't know, I've had a bicycle as my sole transportation for years now, and before that, shared with my son, who had the vehicle most of the time.

Although I learned to drive quite young (even motorcycles), I didn't get a license or my first vehicle until my mid twenties. This will only be my third one. 

Ironically, just commuting to work on the bike isn't enough for fitness, anymore, and if I don't stay after it, I risk losing my mobility. Literally not walking.

So, I have to hit the gym regularly, religiously, which means time sitting around waiting for the bus in the winter is no longer acceptable. That same time needs to be put to use.

I also simply need to connect with people more. Flat out truth. Except for two of three local gyms, all the climbing is just too much for me to add on a bike ride. Ditto for just about everything here.

Living in Idaho, it's stupid tough to get by without. I am actually pretty proud that I did so, for such a large percentage of my life, earlier and later both, but the time has come. 

Besides. How else can I come meet some of you, maybe, maybe?

Best, Helen

How did you choose CRV as your top suggestion?

When it comes to "ruggedness/toughness", I think Toyota is hard to beat. If you check out images from countries with poor roads (Africa, Asia, South America), you are more likely to see Toyota, not Honda, Ford, or Subaru. Especially so if looking at off-road images. You easily get 200,000 miles out of almost any Toyota, and their trucks usually go for at least 300,000 miles. 

RAV4 would be the equivalent of CRV, but they also made the slightly smaller (cheaper) Matrix AWD for a few years (even though with not much additional clearance). The last year of AWD, I think was 2010, so it could be hard to find any low-mileage used ones. One huge advantage of the Matrix is that the front passenger seat folds flat. Build a small platform for the rear, and anyone up to 7ft can stretch out and sleep really comfortably. 

Gold Plated Rocket Pony wrote:

Replace "Subaru" with Porsche/Mercedes/BMW and I'll agree but if you're looking for a reasonably priced AWD wagon the outback/forester is dang hard to beat. But I have no clue what your price range is and I've def got my "f-them" list of car manufactures as well but worth a second look at least. Tons of them in colorado these days so easy to find a used one.

The only problem with the subaru (forrester? or outback?) is the seats dont fold down flat...big turn off

Are you looking for brand new or new to you? I have a 2010 RAV4 AWD and it can make it through 9-12in of fresh snow without bottoming out, has gotten anywhere that my girlfriends Subaru has, and gets decent gas mileage (26mpg avg). After 2012 the rav4 lost over an inch of ground clearance (7.5 - 6.3) so I can’t speak to the newer models. 

I’ve slept in the back no problem and I’m around 6ft. I use a Yakima box to keep the cargo area free, all the seats fold flat, and slide the front seats forward and it’ll fit a person and their dog easily for the night. Gets a little snug when adding another person to the mix. 

Edit: I’ll also add that the shorter wheelbase makes the RAV4 less prone to bottoming out on rough dirt roads than some Subaru’s. And it looks like the new CRV has 8in of ground clearance so if you’re going brand new it might be preferred over the RAV4.

I bought a 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI (diesel) Sportwagon this summer: FWD, 6-speed manual, lots of power in the mountains and I'm getting 57mpg round-trip to Rifle, which means fully-loaded, lots of mountain driving and two high (10.6K and 11K) passes.  There's the space you're looking for, but a hellava lot more fun to drive than a CRV.

VW has a boat-load of these.  They were part of the DieselGate cheating scandal but they've come to an agreement with the EPA and Justice Dept and are allowed to sell them with a software change and a hardware update.  They had to buy them all back, so they've been sitting around for two years, and they are anxious to sell them.  So you can get a fantastic deal on a low-mileage car.  Drive one before you decide.

Tapawingo Markey wrote:

Are you looking for brand new or new to you? I have a 2010 RAV4 AWD and it can make it through 9-12in of fresh snow without bottoming out, has gotten anywhere that my girlfriends Subaru has, and gets decent gas mileage (26mpg avg). After 2012 the rav4 lost over an inch of ground clearance (7.5 - 6.3) so I can’t speak to the newer models. 

I’ve slept in the back no problem and I’m around 6ft. I use a Yakima box to keep the cargo area free, all the seats fold flat, and slide the front seats forward and it’ll fit a person and their dog easily for the night. Gets a little snug when adding another person to the mix. 

Edit: I’ll also add that the shorter wheelbase makes the RAV4 less prone to bottoming out on rough dirt roads than some Subaru’s. And it looks like the new CRV has 8in of ground clearance so if you’re going brand new it might be preferred over the RAV4.

Do you have any tips or info about the Rav4 in snow? I bought an '07 very recently for Toyota's reliability and so I can deal with unplowed gravel roads a bunch this winter. Hopefully.

Carl Smith wrote:

The only problem with the subaru (forrester? or outback?) is the seats dont fold down flat...big turn off

I've heard they have really bad reliability issues as well.  Everyone loves them and they're a nice fit for climbing, but that's pretty concerning.

Ted Pinson wrote:

I've heard they have really bad reliability issues as well.  Everyone loves them and they're a nice fit for climbing, but that's pretty concerning.

I just sold my wife's 94' with 281,+++ miles. It was running fine. We replaced it with a 2008 Outback. I expect it to go at least 200. 

If you're interested on older vehicles I owned a Honda Element from 2005 to 2012 and it was great for everything you describe. They're hard to find, now, but awesome mini-climbing wagons.

caughtinside wrote:

That seems like a wild inflation of the mpg for those vehicles, especially post fix. 

I get better mileage in the mountains. I don't floor it on the up side and coast on the down side. I frequently got 24 in my t100 on that same route, 17-19 in the same truck anywhere else.

Patrick, I chose the CR-V to start, simply by watching hundreds of vehicles going by, and eyeballing the clearance, general Suze, and shape. The Honda kept catching my eye, and others also, including Subaru. Those are out though, as I explained above.

We''ve got a great mechanic, so I'll be asking his two cents, and that's who will check a used car if I go that way. I doubt I'll end up with new, but I could end up with newish. Dunno yet.

Thanks, all, I'll continue with research and window shopping, off of the suggestions. Much appreciated!

Best, OLH

Just a general reminder: if you're looking for a BLM worthy vehicle you're probably going to want to pay attention to the wheelbase (distance between rear and front tires) as much as the clearance.  

At a 101 level, clearance gets you over a rock but a short wheelbase gets you past a washout or a drop.  In the northern Rockies, the latter seem more common on access paths. Happy shopping.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote:

I just sold my wife's 94' with 281,+++ miles. It was running fine. We replaced it with a 2008 Outback. I expect it to go at least 200. 

Yeah, the old ones were great but they started having issues around 2005 or so.

http://www.thedrive.com/the-hammer/9423/the-quality-question-why-has-subarus-reliability-gone-downhill

I had a 2014 Jetta TDI. It was an okay car, but it's expensive to drive. John might be getting 57 MPG on the Interstate (highest I ever got was 47 MPG), but the city MPG is far less interesting. We drove ours in the city for around 40k miles and averaged 28 MPG. Also, the maintenance is really expensive. The vehicle requires specialty, DPF complaint oil which is not cheap and not easy to find locally. The DSG tranny flush at 60k was $600. The brake flush every 2 years uses low viscosity DOT4 (or 3, I forgot) which ran us another $300. Fuel filter changes every 20k miles for another $150. That's just the start of the list. We ended up trading it in for a hybrid which gets 47 MPG in the same city and has no scheduled maintenance for 150k miles other than oil, air filters, tire rotations and basic checks. I liked the VW, I just got tired of handing out stacks every time I needed basic maintenance.

NegativeK wrote:

Do you have any tips or info about the Rav4 in snow? I bought an '07 very recently for Toyota's reliability and so I can deal with unplowed gravel roads a bunch this winter. Hopefully.

I put snow tires on mine for winters in Tahoe and it had no issues in unplowed roads with ~6-12in of fresh on the ground. Anything more than that and you had to keep your speed up to get through it. This was on paved roads though. If you’re going to be doing a lot of winter driving on unmaintained roads maybe look into studded tires.

TLDR; I made it through last winter in Tahoe (200% snowpack) with no issues using snow tires but can’t speak to gravel roads.