Daily Driver, Family, Expo all in one?

[RememberTheAyyLmao]

Hi all, been looking for an expo rig that can fit my wife, baby, and I. Only stipulation is that it's 4 doors and as modern as possible. Budget is about $10,000. As close to 20mpg as possible preferred...haha been looking at 4Runners, Landcruisers, and some pickups but can't find the "one" yet that fits the bill. I know some info on Landrovers and Domestic pickups but I'm lost when it comes to Toyota, Jeep, Merc, etc.

 

[Martinjmpr]

That's a pretty open ended question. What are your "deal breakers?" For example, does it have to have 4wd with low range or would an AWD like the Subaru be acceptable? How old is too old? Are there any specific features you want or don't want? You say "close to 20 MPG" but how far are you willing to deviate from that? Do you want a pickup or an SUV or car?

 

[tarditi]

You'll be hard-pressed to squeeze close to 20mpg out of a TLC, but it's a great platform... budget will hold you back from that though.

My recommendation is to look at a Nissan Xterra - Jeeps and Toyotas are popular and demand a bit of a premium in the used market - you'll likely not like what you find in the 10k range in Jeep and Toyota circles.

You might hear the Montero and Trooper crowd chime in - good vehicles if you can find them in decent shape.

Issues with Xterras are relatively few, well-known and well-documented (particularly the Strawberry Milkshake of Death [SMOD]). You can prevent them pretty readily, too.
For $10k, you can find a used Pro-4x or Off-road (2007-2011ish) 2nd gen model with locking rear differential. They all come with roof racks, and decent (albeit a bit utilitarian) interiors. Very comfortable, tows better than a 4-door wrangler unlimited, and decent off-road chops. If you don't need the rear locker, the S and SE are great too, and you'll be able to find them up to about 2012-2013 for that price range.

I've had a lot of jeeps and recently went from an Xterra to Wrangler Unlimited because of a pathological/romantic need to have a top that can come off, but I really rarely put it down. Otherwise, I would have gotten another Xterra.

 

[RememberTheAyyLmao]

That's a pretty open ended question. What are your "deal breakers?" For example, does it have to have 4wd with low range or would an AWD like the Subaru be acceptable? How old is too old? Are there any specific features you want or don't want? You say "close to 20 MPG" but how far are you willing to deviate from that? Do you want a pickup or an SUV or car?

I would prefer 4wd with low range. And 15mph would be the lowest I'd want to go but for a really good platform I could bend some more. I'm ok with pickup or SUV but the pickup needs a fairly good size cab

You'll be hard-pressed to squeeze close to 20mpg out of a TLC, but it's a great platform... budget will hold you back from that though.

My recommendation is to look at a Nissan Xterra - Jeeps and Toyotas are popular and demand a bit of a premium in the used market - you'll likely not like what you find in the 10k range in Jeep and Toyota circles.

You might hear the Montero and Trooper crowd chime in - good vehicles if you can find them in decent shape.

Issues with Xterras are relatively few, well-known and well-documented (particularly the Strawberry Milkshake of Death [SMOD]). You can prevent them pretty readily, too.
For $10k, you can find a used Pro-4x or Off-road (2007-2011ish) 2nd gen model with locking rear differential. They all come with roof racks, and decent (albeit a bit utilitarian) interiors. Very comfortable, tows better than a 4-door wrangler unlimited, and decent off-road chops. If you don't need the rear locker, the S and SE are great too, and you'll be able to find them up to about 2012-2013 for that price range.

I've had a lot of jeeps and recently went from an Xterra to Wrangler Unlimited because of a pathological/romantic need to have a top that can come off, but I really rarely put it down. Otherwise, I would have gotten another Xterra.

For some reason xTerra's haven't appealed to me too much. Not sure why haha but I'll look into that

 

[p nut]

...would an AWD like the Subaru be acceptable?...

I'd opt for a Subaru as well. Forester a few years old, 5-sp manual available, and you've got a pretty capable and dependable vehicle that will get mid to high 20's on the freeway. Our Subaru has taken us to lots of places off road.

Gas prices aren't going to stay this low! If you need 20MPG to stay in budget now, double that for the future!

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Montero gets my vote.

 

[SSF556]

If you wanted to do a diesel you can pick up a higher mileage 2007/2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Mercedes Diesel...3.0L V6 pre DEF. Stock you will be over 20mpg and they come with 4LO and some models come with FR/Rear Electronic LSDs. I have had good luck with mine, with an OME lift they will take almost a 33" tire. There is a great company called GDE that makes an engine tune that ups HP, Torque and MPGs. The tune also eliminates the swirl motor and a possible $$$ failure. Engines parts are readily available and can be found for cheap...turbos etc.

Here is a list of them on cars.com

http://www.cars.com/for-sale/searchresults.action?PMmt=1-1-0&crSrtFlds=stkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId-pseudoPrice&feedSegId=28705&isDealerGrouping=false&rpp=50&sf1Dir=ASC&sf1Nm=price&sf2Dir=ASC&sf2Nm=miles&zc=29605&rd=99999&prMx=15000&prMn=0&stkTypId=28881&mkId=20021&mdId=21222&pseudoPrice=undefined&fuelTypeId=31766&drvTrnId=27105&searchSource=GN_REFINEMENT

 

[calicamper]

Kids, daily use and flexible enough to get out of town with camping gear. Our Subarus have been doing this really well for yrs. Just know used Subarus are really used be very picky!!!! They arent used and treated like they are a lexus. ;-)

Just planned my first quick camping trip for 2016. Quick two day trip with the kids while mom is gone for work. Toss the 4x6 tent trailer on the Subie and split town!!! Cant wait.

 

[trbon8r]

Chevy or GMC diesel Suburban might well fit your requirements. It will haul plenty of kids and gear, can be had under $10k leaving you with room for repairs and modifications. Parts are cheap, and with the diesel engine can come damn close to 20 MPG.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Chevy or GMC diesel Suburban might well fit your requirements. It will haul plenty of kids and gear, can be had under $10k leaving you with room for repairs and modifications. Parts are cheap, and with the diesel engine can come damn close to 20 MPG.

AFAIK the 'Burb was not offered with a diesel in the GMT-800 platform which means 1999 would be the last year.

 

[Dake21]

I looked at a X terra first but the 16 MPG turned me off so I Went with a grand vitara. AWD with low range, 22mpg average, full ladder frame unto the unibody (ala XJ) good angles (approach, departure brakeover) and good gearing. It can tow up to 3000lbs. I do a 2000km trip yearly with it with my family of 5 and its doing good. at 10 grand you'll probably end up with a 2006-2009 with the 2.7 or the 2.4. Avoid the 2.4L made in 2008-09. Ground clearance was a bit too low so I put a 2 inch lift on it with the ironman4x4 kit. Suzuki has Aisin transmission just like Toyota so its pretty reliable.

 

[BEG]

A late model Gen 3 Montero would fit the bill. Good mileage, comfortable on-road, capable off, excellent TC system and even the best examples should fit within your budget.

 

[jamief]

I'm going to second SSF556's recommendation of the grand cherokee. with the diesel 100% city commuting to work really short distances (it's barely completely warmed up when I get there) I got 18MPG on the last tank. I was at 20mpg with 40% highway thrown in. It comfortably fit my 2 kids in booster seats, the dog in the back and wife up front. I'm just not sure about the 10k price limit due to currency conversions.

 

[Robert Bills]

My vote would be for a 2005+ Nissan Xterra in Offroad/Pro-4X trim. You won't get 20 mpg, but in my mind the overall utility of the Xterra makes up for it (I average 19 mpg highway/16 mpg city).

Mine:

 

[Martinjmpr]

I looked at a X terra first but the 16 MPG turned me off so I Went with a grand vitara. AWD with low range, 22mpg average, full ladder frame unto the unibody (ala XJ) good angles (approach, departure brakeover) and good gearing. It can tow up to 3000lbs. I do a 2000km trip yearly with it with my family of 5 and its doing good. at 10 grand you'll probably end up with a 2006-2009 with the 2.7 or the 2.4. Avoid the 2.4L made in 2008-09. Ground clearance was a bit too low so I put a 2 inch lift on it with the ironman4x4 kit. Suzuki has Aisin transmission just like Toyota so its pretty reliable.

Do you have a manual transmission? Because my wife had a 2006 GV with the 2.7 from 2008 to 2012 and we typically got 16mpg around town and maybe 18 on the highway. We never saw anything close to 20mpg. It was also very small and very noisy. The Xterra may get worse MPG by a small amount but it has much more interior space.

It may be "rated" to tow 3000lb but I wouldn't tow anything more than a 1,000lb or so teardrop or popup with one. I think that 2.7 put out 165 or so HP on a good day.