Best car to chase in?

[Kevin Rimcoski]

Ya the early 2000 models N/A subies weren't the best. Head gaskrt failure was quite common and having two of them can make the repairs pretty steep

But I'll still have to say go turbo...boost is seriously addicting. I don't know if I can ever have a N/A car again. There's a nice g37 6 speed manual on our lot at work, has great low end...but something about hearing a turbo spooling and thay rush of power is unbeatable

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[Marc R. O'Leary]

My Forester is a turbo...I certainly do appreciate the power. Being able to scoot out of certain situations in a hurry is nice, but every time I run the revs up and get going, I can watch the gas gauge sink. So while 22ish mpg ain't bad on the highway, it could be better....what's the trade off...more power, or more chases.

Granted a minivan won't get better mpg, but there's where comfort (and shooting from "indoors") comes into play.

Every vehicle has its pros and cons. I adore my Forester for its capabilities. Saddened by its fuel economy. With a bad back, bummed I may have to switch to an automatic vehicle with better ergonomics.

But as a general rule, I'll always recommend a subaru, whether it be for chasing or for a daily driver. We've had 4, and they've just gotten better every time.

 

[Drew Terril]

My Forester is a turbo...I certainly do appreciate the power. Being able to scoot out of certain situations in a hurry is nice, but every time I run the revs up and get going, I can watch the gas gauge sink. So while 22ish mpg ain't bad on the highway, it could be better....what's the trade off...more power, or more chases.

That's how I always felt about the supercharged 3800s I had with the power. V8 power (240hp/280tq stock, easily nodded higher) and over 30mpg highway. I could squeeze in upper teens to 20 city if i stayed out of the gas. Once you replace the intake gaskets, nearly bulletproof. Transmission needs a little more care, but few FWD transmissions don't at those power levels.

Helps too that the cars you find them in (the entire W-body platform pretty much as well as the Bonneville) are roomy and the Monte Carlos and Bonnevilles especially ride very smooth. Can't shoot a camera from inside like a minivan but I've never liked driving them. Figure if I'm going to hit those Illinois/Indiana setups, probably better going for fuel mileage. Although the Altimas and Maximas are high on that list too, albeit mid to upper 20s instead of low 30s mpg.

 

[Marc R. O'Leary]

We need nuclear powered cars....never have to stop except for restroom breaks and beef jerkey. LOL

 

[Kevin Rimcoski]

My Forester is a turbo...I certainly do appreciate the power. Being able to scoot out of certain situations in a hurry is nice, but every time I run the revs up and get going, I can watch the gas gauge sink. So while 22ish mpg ain't bad on the highway, it could be better....what's the trade off...more power, or more chases.

Granted a minivan won't get better mpg, but there's where comfort (and shooting from "indoors") comes into play.

Every vehicle has its pros and cons. I adore my Forester for its capabilities. Saddened by its fuel economy. With a bad back, bummed I may have to switch to an automatic vehicle with better ergonomics.

But as a general rule, I'll always recommend a subaru, whether it be for chasing or for a daily driver. We've had 4, and they've just gotten better every time.

The new generation wrx comes auto now as well

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[Marc R. O'Leary]

I've vowed to never have another car payment. Cash or nothing going forward. So no new gen cars for me 'til my bank account is busting at the seams.

 

[Drew Terril]

We need nuclear powered cars....never have to stop except for restroom breaks and beef jerkey. LOL

That wouldn't do me much good. I stop more for coffee and to stretch than I do anything else on the road LOL. Even in the truck, a full tank is about twice as far as I can make it before my knee and back start screaming at me.

 

[Stan Rose]

Best chase vehicle: a rental car, of course, with full coverage!

 

[Charles Ryan Mauk]

I just bought an XTerra with a 4.0 and I am VERY happy. I used to chase in my Taurus, being that it was already kind of my "I don't give a damn what happens to it" car, things like moderate hail Coors didn't really consider me too much… But the four-wheel-drive is proving to be a game changer. No longer do those minimum maintenance roads deter me from cutting across to a better road, or a vantage point before Unattainable


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[Rachel Donoghue]

Hey guys! I am also looking for advice for an ideal chasing vehicle. I have been wanting to get a 2000 diesel (either 6.0 or 7.3L engine) Ford Excursion. My dad currently owns one and it is a wonderful SUV with lots of room. (It is a 8 passenger vehicle.) I have been wanting to use it as a chasing vehicle, my question is, would it be a prime vehicle to chase in? Here is what it looks like, Image is from google, but I will replace the image with our Excursion later today. My phone is currently on the charger.

My other choice for a chasing vehicle would be a 2001 diesel Dodge ram 2500. Image is from google, since we no longer have our Dodge ram.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NealRasmussen]

I'm sort of biased on the Subaru. Most any of them. The new Impreza gets 38mpg highway, while having full time AWD.

See, I've been driving in the great plains for 37 years. You need AWD or 4x4 just so you don't have to park with two wheels on the pavement.

But I don't drive a Bronco, or Jeep, or giant Tundra because I like the handling of the Subaru. 95% of the time you'll just be... driving. Interstate and, OMG, Oklahoma state highways. If you spend any amount of time out here, you'll realize that people can't drive very well. We go 5-10mph over the limit, most always. We enjoy cutting a corner, across the lane you shouldn't go into, because it's like a NASCAR apex turn. We do this to such an extent that often the left turn lane signal is triggered, when it was only the corner cutter. In Norman we've rewarded this anarchy. I've seen two intersections where the left turn lane stop bar has been moved back 2 car lengths, to allow folks to cut through that lane! Amazing. The stop bar before the crosswalk is mistaken for the 'signal detection stripe', and of course you have to drive over that to trigger the signal, right?

Several times in my driving for sparks, or tornadoes, most always quite leisurely, I've had near wrecks that my Subaru Outback saved me. Excellent braking, even with only 2 discs and a couple drums. Nimble, as turning around the trouble is helpful.

And I do a ton of boot-leg turns. This is a 2 point turn really. You're stopped on the sholder, see that there's a tornado there, or baseballs, or downed lines, etc so u-turn. You go into Reverse and turn the wheel so that the passenger front wheel is just on the safe part. Really bad to turn too sharply or this wheel falls off into the bar ditch. Then tighten up the turn going backwards as this wheel stays almost in danger. You'll whip around fast, putting rear passenger wheel almost in the other ditch. Turn the wheel right full and you should be able to be now going the opposite direction. You only "back up" down a road if you need to keep the tornado in the dashcam sight, and didn't think to have a rear facing one too. Orrrr, you need to add some 'flare' to a tornado. You know, jazz it up a bit...

I do have to say I'm getting tired of having to navigate around huge Ford F550's with TV station shrink wrap. They seem to need to clog roads by parking sideways ON the road in order the dashcam feed get to the TV station. Or web. They fly past my nimble Outback that's going 5mph over the limit, at 20mph over the limit.

I chased just fine in a 1999 Saturn Coupe. FWD. Horrible on mud. Even a little rain. But was a fine tornado interceptor. Extremely good handling, almost as good as a subaru. Got 30-35mpg highway. AND it had an Air Conditioner! But I shot storms from a distance including May3rd , 1999, as I didn't feel the need to get my icon in under the meso with the other icons on the map. I did get radar over 4800 baud tethered cell phone connection though. Never got a hail break until its 8th yr.

But for safety, and now so that you don't have to park ON the highway, definitely get AWD or 4x4. BTW, 4x4=16.

 

[Drew Terril]

Rachel, my Titan is about as big of a vehicle as I would like to chase with personally. Had it not been for helping on the farm and needing the towing capacity, I would have gone with the smaller Frontier or an Xterra or Pathfinder. That said, the Titan handles much better than I expected for it being as big of a vehicle as it is, and it shows the off road prowess that Nissan 4x4s have been known for since the early days of the Hardbody and Pathfinder.

I will never buy a Dodge truck (or any other Chrysler product for that matter) that has an automatic transmission. Too many transmission issues. I would also never buy a Ford with anything newer than a 7.3 diesel. My cousin works for a performance diesel shop and hates the newer Ford diesels. He runs into a lot of issues with them.

 

[KMcCallister]

I'll add two things. First, give some consideration to the range of the vehicle. Smaller vehicles tend to have smaller fuel tanks and the usable part of fuel * mpg may be quite a bit less than you get with a larger vehicle and fuel tank. For example, my 4Runner gets about 100 miles more per tank than I got in my old RAV4 even though it had better gas mileage.

There is a lot of deliberately caused confusion in the Crossover "SUV" world about All Wheel Drive and 4-wheel drive. The marketing people and car sales people try to use the terms interchangeably on vehicles when it suits their needs. They are not the same thing and the differences may be quite relevant to some storm chasers. I encourage anybody making these kinds of decisions become familiar with the differences before making buying decisions.

 

[Jason Boggs]

I can't tell anyone what type of car to get, but I can recommend a couple of brand names that I like. I've driven Nissans for about 28 years, and I've only been stranded once. I currently drive a 1999 Toyota Camry as my work car. I put 480 miles on it every 4 days. This car has 197,000 miles on it, and it runs perfectly. My chase vehicle is a 2008 Xterra with 110,00 miles. Have not had one single issue with it. I've always said it, and I'll say it again..... Your vehicle is your MOST IMPORTANT tool while out chasing. If you're stranded on the side of the road during a chase, your 3000 dollar video camera and your 2000 dollar DSLR become useless.

So, in my opinion, you CANNOT go wrong with a Nissan or Toyota.

 

[JMacneill]

You'd definitely want something AWD or 4WD, balancing with good mileage. As said previously, a non turbo Subaru would be ideal. A Rav4 or Jeep Liberty/Cherokee would be good as well. If you want a crew chasing with you, a AWD minivan is the best. Plenty of room, good mileage, and will tackle the elements and most dirt roads well. Or, essentially any Toyota that fits your needs, since they almost never need expensive repairs and last forever.