NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/rec/autos/32819

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-28 | 1.6 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Robert Golder)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Need Advice: Purchasing 4WD SUV
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 26 Jan 93 20:37:01 GMT
Sender: [e-mail]
Distribution: usa
Organization: Marine Biological Laboratory
Lines: 19

Until quite recently, I owned a 1989 Toyota 4Runner: 2-door, 4-cyl., manual
locking hubs, standard transmission.  I was quite satisfied with most aspects
of the vehicle's performance.  Unfortunately, I had an opportunity to test the
vehicle's crashworthiness.  I'm pleased to report that my wife and I got
through the experience without a scratch.  However, the 4Runner is totalled.

I would like to replace the 4Runner with a similar new or recent vehicle.
Comments from owners of late-model SUV's would be particularly welcome.
I must have a standard shift.  I don't trust electronic 4WD mechanisms, but am I
out of date to be so prejudiced?  I am likely to be operating in wet, muddy or icy
situations, if this makes a difference.  I tend to put a lot of miles on a vehicle,
mostly local and highway driving, plus long trips during which the vehicle is
loaded with 4 occupants, outdoor gear and a canoe on top.  The hardest offroad use
will likely be carefully picking one's way down a steep, damp, boulder-strewn trail,
or through a flooded trail in a bog, to get to a remote fishing spot (there is also
the matter of getting out, too, so reliability is an important factor).  Thank you
in advance for your help.

Bob