pick my colorado car..

Subie's don't have the clearance for even moderate 4 wheeling.  Eventually you'll find yourself saying, "I think I can make that"?

 

I liked my old CJ the best, but the wife didn't like it with little guys in the back.  So now I have a 4runner and an old Cherokee?

Could do an FJ Cruiser.  260hp V6 and manual tranny available in 4x4.  Comes in under your number.

EPA #s are poor.  15/18 in MT, which actually sucks.  I'd guess reliability is better than the Jeep product though.  

Get a used CPO Audi Q7 or Volvo XC-60 and don't pay the 20-30% depreciation when you drive that new car off the lot.

I was going to suggest a good used vehicle.  Gas is really expensive in Aspen, but I just don't put many miles on my vehicles there, so that's not a priority.  Reliability is, because it's a pita to get them worked on.

I went Forester simply because it had a little more ground clearance than the 09 Outback.  The brakes are the only thing I don't really like about it, squawky and a bit whimpy, other than that all good.  If you want something bigger and higher,   I really liked the Trooper we had, but it got a bit unreliable after 12 years and 140K.  Does Isuzu or Acura/Honda still make/market those?

 

That is for sure, especially if you are buying here in CO. Someone told me last summer it is the #1 market for used (and maybe also new) Subies ... no deals out there, unfortunately.

I've had an Outback for 6 months, coming from a Nissan Xterra... I love it but add a thicker rear sway bar to firm up the suspension.  You can do it yourself in less then 45 minutes.  Here is a link:

 

     http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/104-gen-4-2010-present/24867-sway-bar-mod-picture-tutorial.html

 

If you are a IMBA member you can get it for 2% under invoice with no added fees.

I'd HAVE to have forced induction on ANY road going Colorado car. You just loose too much on the way from 5k feet up to 10+k.

 

Do they still make the  Forester XT?

I have had no problems with my 4 door jeep rubicon. The price on them is not nearly as much as everyone says unless you pay for the upgraded packages (ie. mountain edition, rubicon, ect). The new engine also does a great deal to help the vehicle.(the old 3.8 sucks going up even moderate hills at high speed)  

Toyota Rav4 Sport V6.

 

Total sleeper.

 

Slightly touchy throttle tip.  Great in all other regards.

 

This from a near life-long BMW snob!

I think my Jeep Wrangler is pretty awesome as a CO mountain car.  I look at it the other way around:  the lousy gas mileage doesn't add up to that much money given how much you drive it.  And given the 10% of the time you want to be on a fireroad, you don't have to worry as much about the washboards, and you are far less likely to rip the transmission out than you'd be on an Outback.  Plus you can go places around Routt County that you can't go in an Outback.

 

Buy a reasonably priced used Wrangler, IMO.

 

Mike

i drive a v6 rav4 in CO and while it is awesome to drive w/ pick-up, roomy and gets awesome gas mileage, it totally stinks off road on fire roads etc.; not great on snow; it's more of a car than suv.

 

this is a lot like all mountain skis;  you're going to be giving up something.

 

Forester XT. They can hold a ton of stuff, great ground clearance, tons of available modifications. Plus they drive like a car, so you can still thrash one on the way up mountain roads. Check out Primitive Racing for skid plates, diff covers and such. I have a 2001 Forester, and it does everything for me. I've even taken it off-roading a couple times with no issues. It's amazing how capable they are. Tons of fun in the snow with full time AWD. I'll be adding Primitive Racing skid plates and a diff cover to mine, as well as doing headers and exhaust on it this summer. The Outback is also a solid choice, but quite a bit more pricy. Plus, the H6 isn't exactly easy on fuel. Check subaruforester.org to see what guys have done with their Subies. Space doesn't seem like too much of an issue for you, everything you list doing can go on the roof. Besides, it isn't that much smaller than the Outback

You simply need different tires -- assuming you do in fact have the Sport suspension.  Without that it is a pig in all things handling, for sure.  True, the Rav4 will never be a hard-core off road rock crawler, but it absolutely slays gravel roads and fire roads.  Travis Pastrana would be proud!

 

There you go, buy one that's a month old.

 

EDIT: Oh wait! that 30% depreciation is only if you are selling your's or trading it in, not if you are trying to buy one.

Ummm, there is only one choice. Kayaks = river. Colorado = sun. Wrangler = soft top summer / hard top winter.

Find an Unlimited with the factory Dana44 axles and other good stuff. This is the most versatile factory vehicle ever produced, and amazingly in all my travels of the highways, byways, and back roads of Colorado, virtually 100% I have seen have been moving under their own power, often someplace really, really cool.

The good thing about Outbacks is that they usually extract pretty easily, because they get stuck pretty easily. At least as long as somebody else is around to help

It's a 2.5 TURBO....

 

what's not to like about that?

 

Service....???

 

When I put down 25-30k for a new ride, it better not need ANY service!!! (Maintenance I do)