Alright, so after combing through data and options, I'm driving myself mad. I've been in the market loosely for the past year. I'm currently driving a Ford Focus 2012. Love her, but I'm ready. Recently I discovered this whole overlanding thing, and I'm sold.
I do a LOT of driving between Cali and Colorado. Recently I drove from Colorado, to Texas, and now I'm sitting back in Cali on my way back home to Colorado. This is all for work, so highway mileage is important. Part of the reason I haven't upgraded is because my 32~36mpg mixed is hard to see go away. Of course, I understand adding weight to a vehicle drops that, but I'd rather start higher and drop than start low and cry every time at the pump.
I need something smaller. Unfortunately, I've always driven small cars. While my parents' Expedition is a blast to drive, I need to parallel park, and the idea of parking a beast of a truck is out of the question. I like quick and nimble.
The goal though: off road capability. Everything that goes into that: reliability, GVWR, ground clearance, torque, and all those other things I never cared about before. When I'm between Colorado and Cali, I want to sleep in it, even if I don't be doing too much Overlanding.
I'm really quite sold on an Outback. However, I only find "they're awesome!" and never really anything about their true limitations. I have a manual transmission now, and I'm going to miss it. CVT also makes me nervous, as well as the assistance programs they have in them. There's a lot of computer in there. My Focus was flakey as a manual, so I'm looking for some honest feedback on the quirks with the OB.
I'm also curious about other vehicles similar to that. Toyota I know is a great brand, and I'm open to those, as well as two cents on others. If there's a diesel that fits my needs, I would prefer that.
Price is kind of important. I know I won't be finding a price tag as low as what I paid for my Focus, I also don't want to spend too much above $30K, since I had lots of mods in mind (obviously). I am very open to a used, but then we start getting into which years were the best, and that gets even more overwhelming for me.
So, that's where I'm at. Any input is welcomed, even if I already know it, so give it all to me!
I do a LOT of driving between Cali and Colorado. Recently I drove from Colorado, to Texas, and now I'm sitting back in Cali on my way back home to Colorado. This is all for work, so highway mileage is important. Part of the reason I haven't upgraded is because my 32~36mpg mixed is hard to see go away. Of course, I understand adding weight to a vehicle drops that, but I'd rather start higher and drop than start low and cry every time at the pump.
I need something smaller. Unfortunately, I've always driven small cars. While my parents' Expedition is a blast to drive, I need to parallel park, and the idea of parking a beast of a truck is out of the question. I like quick and nimble.
The goal though: off road capability. Everything that goes into that: reliability, GVWR, ground clearance, torque, and all those other things I never cared about before. When I'm between Colorado and Cali, I want to sleep in it, even if I don't be doing too much Overlanding.
I'm really quite sold on an Outback. However, I only find "they're awesome!" and never really anything about their true limitations. I have a manual transmission now, and I'm going to miss it. CVT also makes me nervous, as well as the assistance programs they have in them. There's a lot of computer in there. My Focus was flakey as a manual, so I'm looking for some honest feedback on the quirks with the OB.
I'm also curious about other vehicles similar to that. Toyota I know is a great brand, and I'm open to those, as well as two cents on others. If there's a diesel that fits my needs, I would prefer that.
Price is kind of important. I know I won't be finding a price tag as low as what I paid for my Focus, I also don't want to spend too much above $30K, since I had lots of mods in mind (obviously). I am very open to a used, but then we start getting into which years were the best, and that gets even more overwhelming for me.
So, that's where I'm at. Any input is welcomed, even if I already know it, so give it all to me!
