A Different SUV for my Dad
My dad just returned his Toyota 4Runner and is on the lookout to charter something else. He already expressed that the previous SUV was not very kind on his back and that it had way too much power for this part of the world… Now he's on the lookout for a 4 cylinder or a small 6, and it must be Offroader given that he enjoys kayaking, etc… and this is the only spacious vehicle in the house, I borrowed his car a number of times to transport possessions all over the place because I drive a Honda Accord and my wife a Scion Xa.
Anyhow, the money; it's without doubt under US $28k taking into account taxes and fees.
He did like the Mazda CX7, but it's way too underpowered, the Turbo variant has exceptional power and drives well, but for the price he thinks he could do better.
He received a wonderful deal at Volkswagen for a Jetta SportWagen 2.5L 5 cylinders… but he has a reliability concern as our Audi A6 and VW Cabrio were constantly breaking down. I recommended that with a 24-month contract he shouldn't have any difficulties (in contrast to driving the Jeep Wrangler like he did for over 5 years).
Then there is the recent Subaru Outback, a very good car, one could smell excellence all over if you choose to explore this car… Dad even said that he might have bought the car by now if not for the overtly obnoxious salesperson… I feel inculing taxes it gets to $32k or so, however he does seem to enjoy the car a lot.
He used the Toyota FJ Cruiser (4 cylinders) and opined that it drove quite badly… I didn't get to test out that one, however he seems to be confident that his next vehicle won't be a Toyota.
Any propositions? k to k or about there? The Volkswagen Tiguan feels like a piece of crap and consequently I asked him not to bother going through that, besdies the Murano is too costly.