iaink

Do you know a good Chiropractor, and a tame mechanic?

If the answer is no to either then give the Jeeps a miss.

bats

I have a Jeep Patriot. It's lovely, but then it's only the 2WD version. No need for a charlatan and though the mechanic is relatively tame we haven't had to use him for other than the usual stuff.

iaink

I wish my buddy Kelly could say the same.... Absolutely nothing but trouble from his Patriot

I had a jeep (cherokee) when I first arrived, and although it never went wrong in the 2 years I had it, the rear window on one side never ever closed properly, it drove like a truck ,which was fun for a while, but wearing on long road trips, and it was horrible on gas compared to its replacements.

Even in the snow it was of mixed benefit as with the manual 4x4 transaxle it was never entirely clear when it was slipery enouigh to have it in 4x4 mode without risking damaging the transmission. Certainly not as seamless as AWD on demand systems, but ideal for taking off road, which with a new leased vehicle I never did of course

cheeky_monkey

i was thinking a new Jeep not a used one..but then im very choosy..i still want my Audi quattro but cant justify the price

bats

The Patriot is relatively good on gas and comfy for long drives. It drives well, certainly much better than the scabby Saturn we used to have. I like that I can use gears as well as auto, (CVT?) had to use these to get up and down a wet dirt road. Touch wood, no problems with it.

iaink

Kellys was a new jeep They dont have the best reputation.

If you want an Audi wannabe then head to the Subaru lot. Maybe not as nice on the inside, but at least as good to drive and perhaps better engineered for less money.

cheeky_monkey

maybe but then Subarus look like a bag of spanners

iaink

Yup, they peaked with the 06-09 4th gen wagon.

Piff Poff

We've had a couple of Grand (and otherwise) Cherokee's of differing vintage and models, the bigger engined ones are gas guzzlers, we would have another one if the opportunity would present itself (i.e. cheap as chips for make and model and year lol). The only 4x4 that we have had that I would be wary of in the future would be a Durango.

Greenhill

These look ok on first glance (and still around half the price of a nice Audi):

http://www.subaru.ca/WebPage.aspx?We...WebSiteID=282#

dbd33

The designer must surely be a contender for this year's Aztek award for achievement by a blind vehicle stylist.

Greenhill

Please never again remind me of the Pontiac Aztek. If anyone, ever, reminds me of that car, carbuncle, I will likely fork one of my eyeballs out

Hawk13

Wrong Subaru. I'd take one of these over an Audi anyday.

And I don't know anyone who has anything good to say about Jeep's, the new ones seem to be prone to computer chip problems - just what I heard.

Atlantic Xpat

As my sig says..."YMMV" but the gas liberty's are well known for being thirsty. I used to burn around 16l per 100km which is almost full size truck SUV territory. That was an 04. The 06 diesel was a lot better but still ate suspension components, drivetrain components etc. I took the precaution of leasing it for the 3 years of the warranty and gave it back just as it started to fall apart again.

It was OK in the snow - having both full time and part time 4x4 - if a little twitchy due to the shortish wheelbase. It was also passably good offroad. I have idly toyed with getting a Wrangler Unlimited as a replacement for my Suzuki as I like proper 4x4's and don't drive that far. Thirsty though and the reliability would still be a worry. A Nissan Xterra would probably be a better bet but I'm not fussed on the styling.

helcat12

I am also a Honda fan.
I had the smaller version, the HRV, in the UK. It was an automatic and was 4X4 only when needed,so it was very economical on petrol.

It was the best car I have ever had!

It was really reliable, never broke down or failed to start and was cheap to service.
There is such a lot of room in the back when the seats are down and yet it is comfortable for four people with still good luggage space left over. I have long legs and the driving position was great for me!

It is really quite compact to park and was easy to reverse into my rather small garage, no problem. The visibility in it is great but it doesn't look like a Postman Pat van like my friend's car!
I loved my HRV and was gutted to have to part with it when I moved over here.