Best Hunting Car
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i have a truck. a Ford F-250 and a chevy yukon the wife drives
thinking of getting a car to drive back and forth to work 15 mile commute - but i drive home for lunch every day... thats 60 miles a day.... and lots of days i hunt after work or go the feed store, or run errands....
i looked at getting a small truck but about the best MPG you can get out of a truck is 18 mpg. not worth the cost of buying an extra truck when mine gets 14MPG. i am now thinking of getting a car,
Criteria would be 1. great MPG 2. room - perhaps a hatch back or something like a subaru outback 3. would need to be able to tackle county roads - rough roads with pot holes. 4. i would possibly use this car for road trips / hunting trips as well.
any input ?
I would go with the Subaru.
I'd just take my lunch everyday.
:-)
Tags, insurance, maintenance, etc.........with another vehicle, especially a car for what you want it for........don't think I'd go that route.
X3 on the Subaru. We have a Forester that's been the best value in a vehicle that we've ever owned.
I have a 05 Santa Fe. It's perfect for what you're looking for. V6, excellent gas mileage, it's even strong enough to tow my 19 ft bayliner boat. Change the oil regularly and that's the only maintenance you'll need to do. They are also very affordable. I bought mine for 5k w/85k miles. My F-150 was falling apart and after having just spent 33k on a new terrain for my wife it was what I could afford. I absolutely love it! We even take it off road on in the state forests in wi and through the farm fields.
Subarus all come with a cult membership and Obama stickers.
LOL! Well they DAMN sure forgot ours!!!!
We've got an Outback. 28.5 MPG on the freeway @ 75 mpg. Very comfortable to drive and handles well.
What a cultist you are Kyle!
bigeasygator's Link
Subaru is a HUGE supporter of the ASPCA and as the ASPCA says "The ASPCA is opposed to hunting animals for sport, even if the animals killed in this way are subsequently consumed. The ASPCA does recognize that wildlife management may be necessary in situations where animal and human interests collide, but urges that management strategies be nonlethal wherever possible and never include avoidable suffering or distress."
I can never bring myself to support Subaru for that reason.
Well, it looks like plan B is the choice, Old, Dynamic 88 wagon. Or Ford Country Squire
I bought an 04 Dodge truck and pretty much parked it and drove an 02 Dodge Neon until it had over 200,000 miles on it. My daily commute is about 25 miles each way. I replaced the Neon just over a year ago with a '14 Subaru XV Crosstrek. I chose the Crosstrek because it is built on their slightly heavier frame and has a little bit more clearance. If you put the back seat down there enough cargo space to haul compost or feed or whatever.
If you keep your truck, then just get a cheapie car like a Chevy Cruz or Ford Fiesta or something, or even a KIA or Hyundai, which are surprisingly reliable and inexpensive and have decent warranties. For under $15,000 you can drive a new car, or find one that's a couple years old coming off rental lease for even less.
Not sure if you're considering something used, but my buddy has an older Suzuki Sidekick that is an incredible vehicle for hunting. It's almost like a glorified ATV given the places it can get into. We elk hunt out of it all the time and it continues to amaze me. It can go places my 4x4 F150 can't.
All joking aside, If you can find an old VW bug, put oversized tires on the back, you can remove the back seat and make a flat platform to put gear, It will go anywhere.
Bugs are surprisingly capable but not something I want to depend on commuting to work in or for road trips. I delivered pizza in one as a kid.
There's a saying: "If you aren't a mechanic when you buy a bug, you will be by the time you sell it."
You can make them surprisingly bullet proof with a minimal amount of expertise.
+1 jtv, another bonus for my Santa Fe. It handles great even in heavy snow.
Smart fortwo: best hunting rig out there. Upgrade to a Prius if you are looking to get really fancy.
I got a 2010 rav4 sport, added a home made hitch hauler, and get an average mpg of 26.
When I was in graduate school, I had an F-250 with the 5.8L gas motor that got about 12 mpg with a stiff tailwind. I bought a Pontiac Vibe (I don't believe these are still made) from a rental return dealer. I paid $12,500 with 10,000 miles on it and 4 years later I sold it with around 90,000 miles to my little brother for $9,000, they drove it for a few years and his wife totaled it in a snow storm; the insurance co paid them $9,500. I got a lot of funny looks driving to the duck marsh and down some rough roads with 3 labs and a big bag of decoys strapped to the roof, but it worked and is the best I've ever come out on buying cars. Losing $3,500 for 4 years and about 80,000 miles is the best I've ever done. Get a hatchback for sure (I don't even know why people buy cars with trunks). I usually got between 27-33mpg depending on conditions and I believe this is was a Toyota matrix that Pontiac just re-branded and it cost a bit less.
If you get snow, Subaru. I think I've owned 4 of them so far.