What car to buy for mountain living?

I am going to me moving to a ski town in the west this winter, and need to buy a car. I have been living in cities the past few years and haven't owned a car. I'm looking for something with AWD, bigger than a car, but not a full size SUV, which puts me squarely in the crossover market. I'm looking at stuff like the Subaru Forester/Outback and Jeep Renegade/Compass, but I'm reading mixed reviews online about whether these would be good options at higher elevations due to their lack of power.

I don't care too much about the performance of the car, but I don't want something that will have a hard time passing cars on 2 lane roads, and getting up to speed on highways. Are there any Subaru owners that can comment on how the 2.5 engine performs at altitude? Or is it worth going for the Forrester 2.0XT or Outback 3.6? Any other recommendations? Thanks.

Get a used Honda Pilot. V6. Plenty of cargo space. Good clearance for snow. Honda reliability.

2.5 is fine in and around Tahoe at least.

I'm a big fan of the Canyonero myself.

My wife has a RAV4 that has been super reliable, and goes through a foot of snow without hesitation. And we live on a steep hill, it's been solid. Or just buy a truck.

2.5 is fine on the Subaru for most people. If you (want) a car that is super peppy at altitude it isn't going to be your car. My 2.5 has hauled a family of 4 around with box's and full gear for 15 years plus. Never had an issue keeping up with traffic on the hills. YMMV. You can get a Forester with the 6 speed manual still...hard to find but they are out there and probably a bit better at altitude than the cvt.

I've got 2 Foresters. A 2010 w/ a 5 speed and a 2015 with CVT. The CVT does pretty good in the mountains.

My Impreza is usually in front by the time I get to Kirkwood. Even with a 2.2.
Get a Subaru.

80 series Land Cruiser or nothing.

Red one.

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Originally Posted by irul&ublo

I've got 2 Foresters.

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why doesnt that surprise me at all

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...0001_large.jpg

If you're not a lesbian and you don't want people to throw rocks and ostracize you, you're gonna need a F-350 dually with a 5.9 Cummins diesel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X23go8sTMfM

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Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper

If you're not a lesbian and you don't want people to throw rocks and ostracize you, you're gonna need a F-350 dually with a 5.9 Cummins diesel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X23go8sTMfM

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As long as it has the smoke stacks.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d5d9477427.jpg


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^agreed. 2008 f350 dually chipped and straight piped. I may not be that great but i look decidedly not lesbian.

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Fuck all that. Thirded on Canyonero

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Fourth on Canyonero.

If you're truly a cum icon, there is no other choice.

I live at 7,500 feet above sea level, own a Subaru Outback with a manual transmission, very reliable vehicle, no complaints.

^^^ yep.

Couple of relevant questions.

New or used? What kind of a budget?

Will you be moving in it with all your shit? Or re-locating and shopping for a vehicle and roughly where?

Subarus in Montana really hold their value and can be pricey. Example: I have owned a 93 and 94 and a 95 Legacy hatchback. I paid over 1000 for two of them and sold them both for what I paid after driving them for a couple of years. My 95 was 1700 and now has 240K (got it at 170K) on it and I believe I could sell it for 1500. All 3 were strictly transportation cars, drive to the hill, drive from the hill. I have a PU Truck for my work. PUs kind of suck in snowy/icy conditions.

Another popular choice I have been considering is either a Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey. With decent tires a Fwd does pretty well and they are available in Awd. Roomy and economical.

Remember, Lambos love snow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aps0UBdLnzE

The difference between the 2.5 vs 3.6 in pep is very noticeable. But cost and mpg are the trade-offs. Depends on how badly you want to get around the knuckleheads...once you learn to not be one of said knuckleheads.

cumicon is a hella funny name

It's the Comicon of San Fernando Valley.

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Originally Posted by cumicon

*I am going to me moving to a ski town in the west this winter* Yay!
//...care too much...performance...passing cars...getting up to speed...performs at altitude?..//

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Dude. Chill tf out.
UR moving to a ski town.
Don't fret.

Now, if you love to ride close on the ass of other drivers, and be a *road hog* in general?
Then yeah, you'll need somethug biggern a Forester.

...and by west do you mean actual west, or somewhere in the middle of the us map west?

As a former owner of several subarus (2.2, 2.5, and 2.0 l) my recently purchased VW Alltrack 6 spd manual has been a fucking godsend. Most of my driving is 6-8000 ft. The fat torque band makes passing easy.

The Crosstrek was better suited for highly eroded USFS road wheelin but the Alltrack would meet most people's needs.

35 mpg out of the first couple of tanks, but that was mellow 70 mph hiway driving.

At 6000ft up to 8900ft in a Forester I have no trouble climbing at 80MPH or accelerating to freeway speed on a short uphill ramp. It won't slam you back in your seat but it's powerful enough. If you must have more power the premium has the 2.0L turbo. Suby's (most models) are I believe the only crossovers that have 9in ground clearance. In the mountains that matters a lot more than power.

My Sub GL wagon served me well.
But I was continually pushing it beyond it's design capabilities.
My 4 Runner has never let me down.
Tom Tuttle asked the pertinent questions.

Yeah he specified car, but let's go with 80 series Landcruiser here. They're way underpriced these days.

Need I point out that the average speed in a mountain resort town is 5MPH, if you're lucky? You ain't goin' nowhere in a hurry.

Maybe 5mph over the speed limit average.
40mph in a 25 and another that is dead stop in the middle of traffic trying to figure out where their hotel is. The math isn't equal but you get the point. jme

Mazda CX5.

Obvious answer is so obvious: twinturbodiesalwagonwith6speedmanualwithaboxontop.


Edit: get this

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...eaef9ad204.jpg

Hard to argue with a Subi, but I'm still a Toyota guy. I'm on my 4th one, all but this one I bought used and drove them to at least 200,000 miles with minimal issues. Saved up and threw down for a 2017 TRD OR. Stoked on it so far.

Sweet^! Enjoy.

Thanks for the help everyone. Looks like I will be fine in a Subaru 2.5.

Now you just need good snow tires, and learn to (a) drive on ice, and (b)get over berms without high centering.

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Originally Posted by cumicon

Thanks for the help everyone. Looks like I will be fine in a Subaru 2.5.

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What year? Beware the head gasket on pre-2010 cars...

another vote for Subaru. On my fourth (two were smashed due to no fault of mine). Had an Outback since the first year they came out in 1994.

I'm assuming Element with NoS has been vetted?