Last year I bought my bike, this year I want a new SUV (priorities:) I currently have a jeep cherokee and want something else, little more classier but with still enough room to bring all my bikes and gear around… I was thinking about the 4runner or trailblazer, any comments or suggestions?
"little more classier but with still enough room to bring all my bikes and gear around… "
Mini-van.
CG, she said “classier,” not “fuddy-duddier.”
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"not “fuddy-duddier.”
I’m still trying to determine who’s the most dangerous to us cyclists - middle age guys in UAV’s talking on cell phones or soccer moms in mini-vans.
Francois,
You obviously havent been in Texas long enough. Gas consumption be dammed. You need to get yourself an nice big urban assault vehicle(think Ford Excursion,Cadilac Escalade, Chevy Suburban or maybe a H2 if you have the cash). Put a set of Steer Horns on the hood and as you step on the accelerator the speedo needle goes up almost as fast as the gas gage needle drops!
No offense meant to Francois but the Element is just butt ugly. And my wife has express directions to put a bullet in my head if I get a mini-van.
I just picked up a used Toyota Land Cruiser for less than the price of a new 4 Runner. I can wheel my wife’s 48 cm P2K in standing up with both wheels on. My bike needs to have the front wheel off but it easily stands upright and leaves tons of room in the middle.
It gets about 17 mpg, which is the downside along with price, but I was only getting about 20 mpg with the Cherokee. The ride is so much different from my Jeep I feel spoiled. It also does not look at all like a mini-van like a lot of the newer SUV’s. My advice is to look at a '99 or later Land Cruiser, no way I can afford a brand new one but my '99 looks like new, in fact I have to show people the odometer to convince them it isn’t.
Cayenne Turbo. Porsche, there is no substitute
Mini-Van??? Hey I am still single, I don’t want to scare the guys away:)
Depands on how big you want to go and how much $$ you want to spend. I did the shopping for a new SUV abotu 1 1/2 years ago with the hauling of a lot of crap around criteria in mind.
I thought the mid sized SUV (Cheerokee, VW Torig, Outlander by Range Rover) were just too small. I went with a full sized Mitsubishi Montero (2nd one I have owned) and though it is not the biggest of the full sized SUV’s it is roomy.
Features to conside:
7 passenger seating - and how do you get rid of that 3rd row.
How the back end opens up. Real bitch if it is a split window door deal, or if the door opens up, even worse.
How you will put your bike rack on the SUV. The tow hitch usually costs extra.
Where the spare wheel is. If inside the car, that takes up a ton of space. If under the car, tough to get to when you have a flat (from experience on another car) rear mount, actually pretty good because you can get nice bike racks that mount right on top of the wheel.
Placement of cigaret outlets - I know you don’t smoke, but a lot of electrical gear now hookes into these things. I love having one in the far rear of the car.
How the middle seat folds and/or splits. The 60/40 split is great.
Are there and gear storage options inthe cargo space. Some have special fish net bags and holders.
Just a couple of things, have fun buying
Not sure if its classier, but I have a Nissan Xterra that I’m very happy with. It does everything I want it to do, without the pretenciouness of some of the more status oriented SUVs (Aviators, Lexi, etc).
I’d love an X-5 though. And, the Mercedes G500 … wow.
Got a Jeep Liberty sport three months ago, I like it a lot. It’s a lot roomier than I thought, especially if you have a Cherokee. Last month I got a “Life is Good” tire cover. I looked at the Element, I thought the seats were very squishy, cheap, and non supportive for a long ride.
<<Mini-Van??? Hey I am still single, I don’t want to scare the guys away:) >>
Heck, then skip the SUV route and get the real thing: A truck with a canopy. My current gir drives an F150 4X4, aftermarket exhaust, tires and wheels. Oh, it’s no garage queen either. It gets washed twice a year wether it needs it or not. A real woman driving a real truck–it doesn’t get any better…
Brett
This is good info… I have a bike rack on my cherokee and I never use it. It’s way too high for me. I didn’t think about how the door opens in the back, and it is so true, I like to just throw my bike in there… I don’t know how much to spend, 30-35k maybe? I like the rugged look of the x-terra but kind of want leather seats and all the nice gadgets. I want a new car. Mine is really beat up from having bike grease on the seats and all that but hopefully I can be careful enough… Gotta love this site for all the good info you get…
I agree. F-250 Crew cab with Powerstroke V-8. You could drop a camper in the back like Mr. Empfield and never need a hotel room again.
If you are single, how much stuff can you possibly have…a Golf TDI with a roof rack should be just fine. Save the extra cash and take a few tri trips around the world. Many years later, you’ll remember the trips, but barely remember the difference between vehicles. Better yet, get rid of all you vehicles and ride everywhere (grocery store, workouts etc etc).
Oh yeah, I do own a vehicle (Toyota RAV4) which my wife and son drive around in most of the time. I put more miles on my feet and Kestrel than she does on the vehicle. Still would like to replace it with a TDI if I could convince her that we actually need less space 
If you are single, how much stuff can you possibly have…a Golf TDI with a roof rack should be just fine. Save the extra cash and take a few tri trips around the world. Many years later, you’ll remember the trips, but barely remember the difference between vehicles.
Quite possibly the best advice I’ve seen on this board. Go for it, Marisol!
I’ve got 145K on my 97’ Grand Cherokee from years of doing SF-Tahoe laps every weekend. The thing won’t die. You need room? Yikes! For the few times when I’ve had 4 people with bikes and gear in my car for a road trip I’ve put the rocket box up top for the duffle bags and could still see out the back window. We hit the Wildflower course this weekend and three of the 5 cars at our cabin were Jeeps. We chuckled that we all wanted new cars, but the darn things won’t die. When I’m feeling like my car is getting a bit tattered, I just take it in for a detail and it feels new again.
I’ll agree that mini-vans are amazingly roomy and not a bad ride after renting several at destination races, but unless one has kids, there’s a tough image to overcome. And not good for snow country if you ski.
To increase interior cargo space you need to step up to the Yukon size vehicle, and chop your gas mileage in half. A few friends rave about their Durangos. Going up market, I’ve heard only good things from owners of the Volvo V90 and the BMX X5. Have you considered a wagon? The Volvo CrossCountry rocks on the snow, has more room than a Jeep, and drives rather nicely.
A good source of info for pricing, specs, and features is edmunds.com. If you haven’t already found it, might be worth checking out.
You can get a full tahoe for the same price as the trail blazer, and it has quite a bit more room.
----->Trent
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If you don’t plan to go offroading with it, and you still get an SUV (four wheel drive, high clearance, etc.), then you are a poser who cares more about what you think other people think about you than you do about things that matter (like the environment and your own safety). Get a minivan or wagon for the storage space, better mileage, and far better safety.
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Ken “Honda Accord and Passat Wagon” Lehner
G Wagon?!?! Puhleeze. If you are going to drop that kind of cash, get the ML55 AMG, or the Cayenne. Save the G Class for Lil’ Bow Wow. 