Got the Tacoma (Yay!)... But what for 2nd Vehicle?

So... I guess it's not great that my second post here is in Off Topic... but... whatcha gonna do?

A couple years ago, my sweetie and I moved into a cabin in the North Georgia mountains... which is great. The downside is we came into it with two exactly wrong vehicles. We met online: she was in North Carolina driving a Prius; I was in Georgia driving a Cadillac CTS. Both good cars for what we were doing before, but neither suited to the gnarly dirt road that gets us up to our cabin on top of the ridge.

After we get down off the ridge, I have to drive about 30 highway miles to my job. She has to drive about four miles of smooth paved but up and down road to her job. (I've been driving the Prius to work.)

The Prius was a champ... we used it like a small truck (you'd be amazed at what you can get into that little hatchback), but the ground clearance just killed it. When we recently traded it in for a 4x4 Tacoma, the guys from the shop were all over it. Their comments could all be paraphrased as one of two things: "This is the highest mileage we've ever seen on a Prius", or "Man, you guys beat the hell out of this car!"

The Cadillac is doing fine, but it's not the car we need. And, its MPG is about the same as the Tacoma.

Soon after we moved here, we figured out that we need something like a Tacoma (for our farm and home improvement projects) and a Subaru Outback (for everything else... we take road trips, we like to go camping, we have my two boys on weekends... and the Tacoma is a regular cab).

Got the Tacoma. Yay!

What we need now is a vehicle that can handle the gnarly road, but gets decent gas mileage for my 60-mile round trip to work, four or five days a week.

Right now, the best I can find is a Subaru Outback or Forester (I like the Outback better; the Forester gets slightly -- 1-2 MPG -- better gas mileage.)

So, here's my question for the forum: Is there another vehicle we should be thinking about instead of one of the Subarus? Something that gets better mileage but can handle daily doses of a road that will bottom out a standard sedan or hatchback?

I don't care about gizmos or comfort... so, think outside the box!

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

First, welcome and hello.

Personally I would say which ever Subaru you prefer. They are solid cars and are perfect for what you'd be using it for. They are an extremely safe vehicle along with the awd meant for mountain roads.

 

Subaru or just drive the Tacoma until you decide. That little 4 cyl regular cab has to get around 22 on the highway which is tolerable.

 

I have to drive about 300 miles every week for work depending on where I'm working at and my Tacoma suits all my needs well.

 

maybe look at a mazda cx5 or ford escape? my mom has an escape put that thing through its paces and still runs good. but the Subaru probably would be the best choice for your lifestyle

 

What about a 4Runner?

 

My Mom has the Forester in a manual and it is a blast, we both wish she had the turbo model though. That would be my recommendation, but it seems you don't like the looks?

 

You're not gonna find any vehicle that has both great gas mileage and ground clearance...... Unless you want to put a lift kit on the Prius.

Everything else, Subaru's, Mini SUV's, etc... They're all gonna be comparable in gas mileage. Your hybrid cars are gonna be your best and nothing compares.

If you scroll thru some of the other categories......
http://www.autobytel.com/top-10-cars/best-gas-mileage-cars/coupes/

What's more important to you? Gas mileage and cost savings? Or Drive-ability?

 

We just got a new Outback in May. It is very comfy on the road and we've averaged 32 mpg over 3000 miles. Plus with 8.7 inches of ground clearance and AWD, it goes a lot of places. Tons of room in the back too. I'd say it's pretty ideal for your situation.

 

Just took the Outback over some pretty gnarly West Virginia forest roads over the weekend. It did pretty awesome.

 

I have had two Outbacks--an '04 and an '08, both H6s.

Great vehicles. Reliable, capable, loaded with options, really tough to find anything about them that I can complain about. My '08 had some nice touches like a Momo wood and leather steering wheel (Momo was actually engraved into the leather) and electroluminescent gauges that did a full sweep when you started the car.

They're more of a "driver's car" than anything they compete with. I would not hesitate to buy another one.