Best < $6,500 Freeway & 4x4

socaldad

I am looking for a vehicle that is off road 4x4 capable and can also get me around town for work with quite a bit of freeway driving. My research has pointed me at the Nissan Xterra as there seems to be quite a few available in my price range. Seems they are pretty reliable but pretty tough on mileage. My budget has put me in a really tight bind unfortunately and am not too sure of all my choices or if this is even a good choice. Any help or suggestions out there would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

stever

I dunno, sounds like you have pretty well researched what you want and need.

The real saving grace is that gas prices are cheap right. No guarantee about next year though. And any 4WD capable SUV is going to have mpg issues.

As you've likely noticed, used car prices have gone up and your budget will limit your options a bit, meaning you may have to consider an SUV with more miles on it that you'd prefer. In those situations it helps to ask for the maintenance records and it's often cheap insurance to pay $100 for a pre-purchase inspection.

You might find a deal on a Jeep Grand Cherokee or 4Runner. The consensus on the Jeep seems to be that it's reliability is less than average. The FJ Cruiser is officially an orphan but I don't know if that's depressed prices any.