Normally when making a decision I can work through the details of it pretty quickly and come to a conclusion. The past week though I've been struggling with the joy of searching for a new vehicle. If you've bought something recently please share your experiences. I'm torn and don't see a conclusion on the horizon.
For those that don't know I currently drive a Jeep Liberty 2002 Limited 4WD. I bought it new in 2001 in June. The Jeep has served its purpose very well and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a smaller SUV that is tough and rugged. The Jeep took me to and from work from Ann Arbor to Livonia during white out blizzards when I lived in Michigan. It pulled my boat to local fishing holes and pulled many a stuck driver from a ditch or snow bank during the ice storm a few years ago. It also pulled a 5,000 lb payload all the way from Michigan to Mississippi several times and never batted an eye. After I got to Mississippi a few days after Katrina it pulled up tree stumps, remove hurricane debris from the roads and hauled food and other supplies to residents in need. All in all I have been very happy with the Jeep Liberty. It has been one tough rugged truck that has been extremely versatile. It also has lots of nice travel options when you want to take a long trip as we frequently did (leather, heated seats, etc).
It is time to trade though and I'm torn about what to purchase. Should I think about rising gas prices and get a small car like a Subaru WRX STI? Then the question is how will I tow my boat, haul my lawn mower, camper etc? Of course I could just keep my Jeep and get a small car. Yes, that is another road. But then do I want to have to pay two insurances and up keep up two cars, I mean three counting the wife's?
I think I've come to the conclusion that I need a larger SUV than my Liberty. The reason being that when we travel with our dogs and our luggage there is only room for about 2 people in the Liberty. We will probably be having kids soon and honestly there would be no room for them along with all the baby goo that goes along with them (diapers, bottles, etc) if I stay with the same size truck as the Liberty.
I could trade my Liberty in for a larger mid-size SUV like a Jeep Commander or a Chrysler Aspen. I test drove these yesterday and I really liked the Aspen. Very sharp looking, lots of features, very classy on the inside and lots of room with the third row seating. The Commander was nice on the inside as well but the third row is relatively useless unless you have 3-7 year olds who can sit back there. It really isn't much bigger than my Liberty. With my trade in value and the incentives right now on these trucks ($4500 on the commander for example) I could get away with a REALLY nice truck loaded with a fairly small payment. The problem is gas with these though. They only get about 20 miles to the gallon. As I think about it though that is all my current truck gets and since I don't drive that much it hasn't been a problem just for the record. I don't even look at gas prices honestly. I pull up where it is convenient and I pump. It is what it is.
The other option is I could get a nice over the road SUV (Mirano, Mazda CX-9) but honestly I think I'd kill the thing. These are really cars and aren't made to get off the pavement and aren't powerful enough to pull heavy loads. Not that I'm rough on a vehicle but they just aren't made to do what all I need to do as I outlined above.
I guess these are my options. 1. Keep the Liberty and get a car that I could zoom around town in and use the Liberty to tow my boat, camper etc. 2. Trade the Liberty in on a larger SUV. 3. Buy some cross over hybrid SUV and hope it holds up. If you have time, throw your $.02 in the ring. I'm torn.
posted @ Wednesday, May 23, 2007 8:38 AM