Fireroad exploring vehicle ?

[phsycle]

I’m helping my brother find a new vehicle. Like me, he’s got 3 kids. But younger and two are still in car seats.

Requirements:
- Daily driver friendly for city driving (ie No full-size rig)
- Good MPG
- AWD/4WD
- Decent ground clearance for exploring forest service roads out West and PNW. Does NOT need Lo-range or lockers, etc.
- Decent cargo space for weekend camping.

I’m thinking an Outback (maybe Wilderness) or Ascent would be his best bet. With a slight preference to the Outback. The only reason being, he currently drives a midsize sedan and likes that size.

Any others that should be considered? Maybe a Passport? I don’t know what the cargo size difference is. But I do like the ZF transmission in that rig (vs the CVT in the Outback).

He may need to add a small trailer, but he’ll probably start with a roof rack/box and/or a cargo carrier.

 

[SDDiver5]

Price?

Explorer is my vote.

With 2 carseats, the one in the middle seat will not have much space. Explorer will have plenty of cargo room and one of the three 3rd row seats can be folded down.

 

[phsycle]

Forgot about the Explorer. Timberline has 8.7” ground clearance. Very nice vehicle.

Price wise, preferably in the $30k’s but low $40’s may be ok. This may knock off the Explorer unless there are some good deals to be had.

 

[Kingsize24]

Outback or 4 Runner would fit that bill pretty decent really. Unless he wants to go the jeep route, and pick between 2 and 4 door, but it's less civil in city driving.

 

[AbleGuy]

We’re on our fourth Outback. They’re truly great vehicles for moderate backroads explorations and have incredible ground clearance. A big bonus is that we are getting 35mpg highway with our 2018 (no joke!).

You definitely would need to consider putting a roof pod on top of an Outback though for all of your gear you’d want to carry with that big of a crew. And I’d recommend testing out the fit of the two car seats before buying one because you may find the back seat a bit cramped for the three kids (although the leg room back there is substantial).

Subaru as a brand generally seems to build a better quality rig than Ford with very, very few Suby recalls, compared to all of the ones issued by Ford. And it has something like the third best customer satisfaction rating IIRC, and a higher reliability rating than Ford, as seen in recent reports.

That being said though, for you the Outback’s size might be a tad too small.

 

[SDDiver5]

You definitely would need a to consider putting a roof pod on top of it though for all of your gear with that big of a crew. And I’d recommend testing out the fit of the two car seats before buying one because you may find the back seat a bit cramped for the three kids.

This 100000 times.

As someone who just upgraded the family car a month ago, you'll be amazed at how many of the mid size SUV's cant fit 2 carseats with room in the middle for a 3rd kid and haul all their gear. If your friend wants to know how it will work with the 3 kids tell them to youtube "The Car Mom (enter vehicle)." It's more so oriented towards moms searching for a car but I watched about 15 of her videos, all of them mid to big size SUVs and she literally goes over all of them. And shes adorable which helps lol.

 

[phsycle]

Thanks.

Regarding the car seats, he already has a midsize sedan which may be even more cramped than the Outback. Diono Radian car seats are narrow and he’s able to fit two no problem. Maybe even 3 across, if needed.
One of the kids will move to a booster next year as well.

I think the Outback is the obvious choice but he’ll have to do some test driving.

 

[Hnoroian]

I’d throw my money at a 1/2 extended cab truck with the size of family and expectations, but you/he didn’t want full size.

My vote would be a Honda pilot. Now that the new generation looks more similar to the first Gen. Awd, and the cargo space available. It is larger and similar to the Ascent but again full-size.

Comfort In The back seat in the next few years will be a welcome addition.

 

[driveby]

I’ll say then put on my fire suit. VW Atlas. I have leased 2 and they are super great city cars, tons of family space. And a few forums I’m in I’ve seen some other owners do some pretty stupid/impossible/crazy roads that I’d never try. This Is often on stock factory tires etc. That AWD is pretty good. I know in snow it’s like a tank. And it’s huge inside and parks like a minivan at the mall. And if he goes a bit crazy there are lifts/suspension and tire combos out there for them to make them even more capable. But from your description, stock (maybe AT tire swap) is prob just fine for now.

 

[Florida Native]

2020 Toyota Sienna AWD with Journeys Off Road lift.

Toyota Sienna

Journeys Off Road - Toyota Sienna Lift Kits and Accessories.

www.journeysoffroad.com

-Mike

 

[Markal]

I have an Outback XT and they are perfect for this. I’m in CO and spend a lot of time on dirt roads (towing a teardrop too) and it’s great. It has its limits compared to a real 4x4 though. Maybe cramped with three kids but might work.

If he’s OK with that size the Mazda Cx50 might also work.

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

The Subaru Ascent (3 row seating) with a roof box. Seems like a possibility.

 

[Ozarker]

Another vote for a Subby, I liked my Forester, you might like a late model Jeep Cherokee, more civilized than the quasi military jeepers.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

A prius le would be sufficient for this criteria. .under 30k

 

[phsycle]

Good gracious, it’s like talking to my uncle Remus, reading some of these responses. 🤣