Small cars for mileage, or 4x4s for, well, having a 4x4 while caching?

[+drew82]

Hey everyone, I recently purchased a 93 mercury tracer from a struggling friend of the family for a pretty reasonable price... My intent was to clean it up and drive this car for caching and other things that i havent had the luxury of doing with gas the way it is, and my 5.9 liter dodge ram the way it is on that gas:) The car has a 1.9 liter engine and seems to get very good milage, thus saving alot of money for me at the pump.. So my question is ,, WHAT DO YOU DRIVE WHILE CACHING AND WHY???

[+89SC]

I really wanted a 4 wheel drive since I like to cache in the woods but not with gas prices like they are. I'm sticking with my rusty, beat up Festiva. It gets 35-40 mpg and can go places it really shouldn't. Here it is after climbing a mountain on gas well roads:

 

[+RedSky Aussies]

We drive a Honda Odessey mini-van. Why? It has enough room for 2 dog crates side by side in the back, plus either 4 people or 2 people and a lot of stuff. We replaced a Saturn sedan with this because I needed a vehicle that I could use to dog shows and one that wasn't so low to the ground.

 

I'd love to have a 4x4 for caching but that would be the only need for 4wd.

[+NOV8TR]

If my avatar shows up correctly, you will see my GPS mounted to my dual sport motorcycle. It also gets mounted in my F-150 4X4, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, when I'm not on foot looking for cache spots.

[+XopherN71]

4x4 Suburban

[+ThirstyMick]

my boyfriend needs a car, hes looking at the suzuki sx4 crossover its a compact w/ good mileage but has 4 wheel drive. im sure the clearance will prohibit serious off roading but i've messed up my scion xA on dirt roads while caching. We need something we feel somewhat confident in and he has a looong commute to work.

[+PrincessBTigress]

Currently we drive mt 93 Dodge Grand Caravan. Why? Because its the only thing we have! LOL

Hopefully our 91 Honda Prelude will be back in working order soon then that we cover most of our outings, including caching.

 

Now if I had the money I'd love to have a Toyota FJ Cruiser, that thing kicks ars at being able to go anywhere!

[+MountainRacer]

With an alternating dual-stroke propulsion system (which I find works best), I get an output of between a quarter and one-half horsepower and a top speed of around 10mph. The upside is fuel economy; half a pizza and a quart of Gatorade will keep me moving for an entire afternoon.

Wait, did you mean some other way of getting to caches?

[+Juicepig]

2005 Suzuki Swift+ (not availiable in USA) - Amazing car for mileage, and it has made it to many a place that the 4x4's cannot.

 

I was asked at work this summer - How did you get that hole in your side door? - to which I replied "Beaver dams are pointy sometimes"

 

[+DaFunkyFrogs]

Suburban 4x4 (17 mpg) for the tough stuff and Hyundai Accent (35-40 mpg) for the light work.

[+briansnat]

2003 Honda CRV

[+Freth]

Gas mileage wasn't a consideration and I wasn't thinking of caching at the time, but I drive a Volkswagen GTI. It gets 25-30 mpg highway if you drive it right. If I were on a tight budget I'd probably go for something small that gets great gas mileage. I hear the VW diesel engines get 50-60 mpg or more.

[Uberquandary]

Our 99 Outback gets 28-32 mpg, can go most places an SUV can, and kicks hard in the snow. It's no Jeep when it comes to offroading but it can get us about as far as we want to go, most of the time.

 

Last summer we sacrificed a fog light and a sway rod taking it up roads we shouldn't have, but the cost of replacing those was less than the cost of gas would have been for driving a Jeep all summer.

[+Team Cotati]

'97 Ford Ranger pick 'em up truck.

2006 Toyota Camry.

1998 Buick Cachemobile w/ satellite recieving port.

 

Of course we only drive one of these at a time but we are working diligently to overcome that limitation.

 

Sometimes, when on vacations or long weekends, we'll use a rental car. In those instances, whatever sits on the lot works quite well.

Edited March 30, 2008 by Team Cotati

[+keehotee]

Small cars for milage, or 4x4s for, well, having a 4x4 while caching?

Both!

2000 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 2.5 litre V6 - selective hi and lo 4x4 and gets over 30 mpg on the road...

 

[+okie-crosswinds]

I use a Jeep 4x4 because that's what I have, but am considering going horseback because of the price of gas and I'm already feeding her!! ((joking))

[+hukilaulau]

Jeep Patriot 4x4. Enough offroad capibility to do mud, sand and water. Better milage than other Jeep models.

if I didn't have to drive 70 miles one way to work, I'd have a Rubicon...

[+NYPaddleCacher]

If my avatar shows up correctly, you will see my GPS mounted to my dual sport motorcycle. It also gets mounted in my F-150 4X4, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, when I'm not on foot looking for cache spots.

 

I was thinking that a dual-sport motorcycle would make a good geocaching vehicle. I used to own a Honda 350XL and have been riding motorcycles off road since I was 10 years old. However, because we have a very long winter here (we just got 5" of snow a few days ago), it's been hard to justify buying another motorcycle.

 

I currently drive a Toyota Highlander (4 cylinder) so it's a decent compromise between mileage and seasonal road access.

 

Before that I had a Pontiac Vibe (4x4). It got better gas mileage but I never got a chance to see how it would do on rougher roads. Two months after I bought it we were going out to buy a Christmas tree and I was going down a gradually steeping road that had some fresh snow on it. As I came around a corner there was a car blocking my lane and I barely tapped the brakes and it started sliding and didn't stop until I hit a telephone pole broadside. We recently got a bill to pay for the pole so I'm thinking of putting a nano on it since I (we'll actually my insurance co.) paid for it.

[+sbell111]

I cache in a Jeep Grand Cherokee (or a rental car). The Jeep is also my daily driver. My wife's daily vehicle is a Chevy TrailBlazer. My sunny day car is a Cadillac Allante. My wife is waiting (impatiently) for delivery of a Smart fortwo cabrio that will be her sunny day car. We also own a '65 T-Bird and a '67 Camaro convertible.

Edited March 30, 2008 by sbell111

[+Miragee]

I drive a 2003 Toyota Matrix that can get more than 30 mpg.

 

If there is an Event, like the "We Be Jeepin'" Event we had last Saturday, I have to beg a ride from someone who does have a 4WD vehicle.

 

 

[+RazorKQ]

This is what we like to use

Edited March 30, 2008 by RazorKQ

[+J-Way]

I drive a 2WD Chevy Silverado because that's what I had before starting caching. My next vehicle WILL be 4WD, and it'll probably be a truck because of my wife's need for hauling stuff (loads of topsoil and mulch for gardening, furniture, etc.). But it's probably going to be a mid-size truck because of the mileage issue.

[+jbar]

2005 Hyundi "Civic" ..... I mean Accent. Don't mess with the Hyundi or you get the horns...

[Mag Magician]

1990 Plymouth Grand Voyageur for the mileage. It gets about 32 MPG. When the going gets tough, we use the 1992 Dodge Dakota V-8, 4X4. It gets about 22 mpg.

 

Heck, older is better, right?

Edited March 31, 2008 by Team Magic

[+The Pathman]

A Subaru Outback with a pair of mountain bikes in the back. And when We can't get there with them, than we still have hiking boots and packs

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

Two vehicles, both Saturns, both have anti-lock brakes and Traction Control (but not 4WD), performs great in the snow:

 

2003 LW200 wagon, excellent gas mileage for its size, average about 25-27mpg, with cruise control can get up to 35 mpg on highway trips

 

2005 Relay "minivan-SUV crossover". Gets 25-29 mpg on the highway (the latter figure with cruise control) but crappy gas mileage in city/stop-and-go driving. They claim almost 20mpg in these conditions but get more like 14 or 15

[+Mule Ears]

I drive a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon because I travel rugged roads to remote places in Arizona and New Mexico. If I were just hitting lamppost micros, I could have kept my Audi TT. (Loved that car, but it had 4 inches of ground clearance...)

 

[+nekom]

I've got one of each. The family car is a 2000 Isuzu Rodeo, 4WD and not so good on gas. My `don't laugh, it's paid off' car is a 1996 dodge neon which is every bit as good getting me to the parking location of 95% of the caches out there.

[+oldsoldier]

2006 Wrangler. Of course, gas prices kill me, as this is also my DD. So, I tend to limit my cache areas, stick to a few in a general area each time I go out. But, I love my jeep, and am not willing to give it up yet!