Chase vehicle options

[Cory Schuller]

Hi everyone, I know this has been talked about before but I thought I may bring it up again. I looking to replace my current ride (1994 s10 Blazer) and I'm curious what people recommend for a chase vehicle. My preference would be some type of SUV with 4x4 or at least a minimum of front wheel drive. I considered a Subaru Outback or an Ford Escape. With the price of gas now and in the future I would like to invest in something small. Now on the other hand for safety purposes would it be wise to go larger like a Suburban, Tahoe, Expedition. I know mileage would limit my travel area but safety would be better. I'm open to all suggestions so just let me know what and how your ride worked out.

Cory

 

[Scott Weberpal]

A Subaru Outback, IMO, would be the ideal chase vehicle. It has an almost perfect combination of fuel efficiency, power, and AWD. The ground clearance is as good as any small SUV, and their motors are known for being virtually bulletproof when properly maintained. I just bought a used Subaru (Impreza Wagon) and love it.

I can't speak for other small SUV's, but the quality, efficiency, and performance of Subaru's goes virtually unmatched for small AWD vehicles.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I think that small 'wagons' are ideal for chasing because they combine the fuel efficiency and stability of a car with some of the space of a van or SUV. The Outback is a a good choice. I have a Ford Freestyle (now sold as a Taurus X) and have been happy with it.

Maybe a bit off-topic, but a little pearl of wisom gleaned from experience if this will be your primary vehicle: unless you chase everything year-round, it's better to choose a car that fits your everyday life rather than one that works best for chasing. You can make do with chasing in most any vehicle.

I used to chase year-round and travel extensively, which is why I chose my car. If I had to do it today, I think I'd choose something else (smaller) like a Focus. The extra space is dead weight the rest of the year when I don't travel for chase trips.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

I'll echo Scott's observations about mileage, power, and efficiency. Not so sure that an AWD/4WD is absolutely necessary. Unless you get into 6" water or mud. That would mean you are on a dirt road - or are attempting to core punch a HP Supercell/flash flood. Maybe that is important to you. That is something you must decide. But ground clearance is important; I wouldn't dream of storm chasing in a vehicle that has been slammed to minimum ground clearance. No Way. LOL. Clearance is important.

I use a mini-SUV; a Honda CR-V. 30-32 mpg and well engineered - no complaints so far after 15k miles of chasing/normal driving this year. Looking backwards, I'm not so sure that the Honda Fit wouldn't be better - it cost considerably less too. The CR-V is good for 1-3 people; the Fit is a little taxed for two - when one considers the equipment requirements of space/practicality.

I roll solo, and use a minimalist approach of necessary equipment. Laptop, GPS, flashlight, camera bag, two tripods (regular & window mount), few clothes, personal necessities, xternal cell antenna, and decent sunglasses. Keeping the weight down also helps save a few bucks in gas in a couple of long trips. I think Scott's concept of keeping it efficient and cost-effective is right.

I use two cell phones; one for tethering to my laptop - and a disposable phone for dialing 911 to warn. But I'm an eSpotter, my requirements may be less than typical for chasers or you.

 

[Linda Kitchen]

A few years ago, we rented a Hyundai Santa Fe for storm chasing. I loved it so much I bought one when I came home. Mine is front wheel drive and so far there has been no situation that she hasn't been able to get out of. She gets about 27 miles per gallon on the highway. The price is very good and so is the warranty. I think the Santa Fe is the perfect size as well. All in all, I've been very happy with the Santa Fe.

 

[Cory Schuller]

Thanks for all the replies, I glad to see the idea of the large vehicles is gone on the way side. Now I just need to decide which smaller SUV or car to consider. Where I live(SW Nebraska), I do have to travel on some pretty yucky roads. I will call them roads because I'm not sure where the gravel went???? So I'm going to be really leaning towards a 4x4 or AWD.

Thanks again
Cory

 

[scott r currens]

I use a mini-SUV; a Honda CR-V. 30-32 mpg and well engineered - no complaints so far after 15k miles of chasing/normal driving this year. Looking backwards, I'm not so sure that the Honda Fit wouldn't be better - it cost considerably less too. The CR-V is good for 1-3 people; the Fit is a little taxed for two - when one considers the equipment requirements of space/practicality.

You must have a 2WD and drive very conservatively to get that kind of MPG out of a CR-V. The best HW MPG I've gotten out on my wife's 2002 AWD CR-V is 24. In mixed driving it gets 20-22.

I will be getting a new(er) vehicle next March. At the top of the list is ever popular Subaru Outback. It is funny that so many people are mentioning it because I only know one chaser that chases in an Outback.

Cory, I wouldn't worry about the safety of a car vs. a big SUV. The safety benefits of a large SUV are almost all psychological. Fatality rates are higher in SUV's than in all types of cars except sports cars. Worse yet SUV’s and pickups are the kings of rollover fatalities. With all the long trips and distractions chasers are faced with, edging off the road and the potential for rollovers accidents likely make large SUVs the most dangerous vehicle you can driver.

http://gladwell.com/2004/2004_01_12_a_suv.html

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

Scott:

My Honda is a FWD as you suspected..
Right again; the mileage I referred to is the highway mileage.
The Hoda Fit would have cost me 15k instead of 20k - and gotten 35 mpg/fwy for the FWD version.

 

[Mark Farnik]

Hey Cory,
I would highly recommend going with a Subaru Outback or Forester. My current daily driver/chase vehicle is a 1998 Subaru Forester S. It gets about 24 to 26 mpg on the highway, which is pretty decent considering that it's a 3100 pound awd Suv with a 4 speed auto! It gets about 310 to 375 miles on a tank, has 8.5" of ground clearance and is extremely spacious for it's compact size - I'm 6'1", and I can fold down the backseats and sleep in the back with the hatch shut and my knees only slightly bent
I've had mine since February of this year, and have put almost 19,000 trouble free miles on it. It's a great little car
If you do decide to purchase a Subaru, I would suggest finding one with a 5 speed manual for slightly better fuel economy and better access to the engine's powerband. If you must buy one with an auto, swap out the stock air filter for a K&N asap - it makes all the difference in the acceleration and passing power.

It won't be as easy to find a Subaru around the Imperial area - I'd start by checking with the major dealerships in North Platte and Ogalalla to see if they have any in their inventory. If they don't, you'll probably either have to come to Denver or go to Kearney or Grand Island to find one.
There are dozens upon dozens of them for sale here around Denver, so it'd be worth your time to drive down here and check a few of them out.

P.S. It would be in your best interest to sell your Blazer private party in Imperial - you'll probably move it fairly quickly, and you'll get a heck of a lot more money for it than you would on trading it in at any dealership.

 

[Cory Schuller]

Mark, I do agree with you on selling the blazer privately. I'm hoping one of my other team members would be interested in it.

I've been looking around the internet and at the area dealers and it sure looks like I'm going to have to look west (Denver) to find one. The one issue I see is most of the used ones have above 100,000 miles. Is this a concern??? I don't want to spend a fortune but once again I don't want to go to cheap- been there and done that. This vehicle probably will not be my daily driver since I have 2 other much newer vehicles to choose from. I just can't use them as a chaser since I don't want to get them all beat up. One positive thing is I have a few months to make the transition.
Thanks
Cory

 

[Mark Farnik]

Cory,

The thing about Subaru's is that they are pretty much bulletproof as long as they have been well maintained. The 2.5 liter Boxer 4 cylinder is renowned for lasting 200k to 300k miles. I know several friends who have late '90's Subaru's that they bought brand new, and now have well over 200k miles on the original motor and transmission with nothing but regular maintenance for the entire time they've owned the car. Pretty much the only two ways to kill a Subaru is to either fail to keep up on the maintenance or destroy it in a wreck

You can find a 1996-2000 Outback or a 1998-2002 Forester in good shape with 90-150k miles for $4000 to $8000, depending on the vintage, miles and how well equipped they are.

If you can possibly help it, I would strongly recommend buying one from a private party to avoid the ridiculous dealer markups - Subaru's are VERY popular cars in Colorado, and as such it's not unusual for dealerships to charge more than the blue book value for them, particularly in the winter months when they are in extremely high demand.

If you can find one with partial or complete service records, all the better.

There is a Subaru specialty shop in north Denver that I have had work on my Forester recently, and the guys there are excellent at what they do and extremely helpful and knowledgeable.
If and when you decide to come down and test drive a Subaru down here, I can give you their number and you could call them, make an appointment on the day you come down for a test drive, and they will perform a very quick and inexpensive basic inspection on the Subaru you're considering purchasing, just to make sure you're not buying a car with hidden defects.

 

[Cory Schuller]

Mark, I will keep you in mind if I happen to make a trip to Denver in the near future. Appreciate your input on this. What are your thoughts on Craigslist to look for a vehicle?

Cory

 

[Robert Rohloff]

Subaru Forester

Up until I bought my Honda Ridgeline I was driving a 2005 Subaru Forester Turbo. It was great. The all wheel drive, good ground clearance and it was great on wet or snow and ice days. That vehicle saved me in May 07 when I took a hit from a tornado. I was blown about 10 feet off the right side of the road into a ditch. That Subi never missed a beat and came right back up. Only issue for chasing was I had to upgrade to a Optima yellow top battery because of all the electronic gear I was running


Cory there are quite a few Subies on Carmax.com and they sell nice units.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

While the first thought that is going to pop into your head is going to be grocery getter, I have used rented Toyota Sienna's on several chases. It is probably the best all around chase vehicle I have used, it combines space, mpg, ease of quick in and outs, the sliding door works great for throwing in cameras and tripods and to top it off they go through about anything. Personally I couldn't see myself buying and using a van full time so I just bought a new 08 Mercury Millan, and while I have yet to use this car on a super long distance chase, I have used similar rental models on chases and was always happy. My Millan is roomy, huge trunk/backseat, excellent vision in all directions, setup perfect for mounts, blue tooth/hands free radio and cell phone use. I might be sacrificing a little in the way of clearance, but I'm willing to forfeit that for the 30+ mpg... With gas in mind I would say the Sienna is top on my list, though hard to go wrong with a Fusion/Millan type car as well

 

[Jeff Richardson]

Maybe a bit off-topic, but a little pearl of wisom gleaned from experience if this will be your primary vehicle: unless you chase everything year-round, it's better to choose a car that fits your everyday life rather than one that works best for chasing. You can make do with chasing in most any vehicle.

I'd have to agree with Dan on this pearl of wisdom, hence my vehicle of choice for everyday driving and chasing is a Dodge Caravan. Driving my second Caravan now and it's never let me down. Careful and regular maintenance gets me about 24 mpg on the highway, 18 in town. Obviously plenty of room for equipment on a chase, but I travel pretty light. Decent ground clearance and a good smooth ride too. I like the room for those trips and hauls that are unrelated to chasing. Most important things to me are safety, reliability, mpg, and cost of maintenance in that order. There are literally dozens of good vehicles out there that would be great for chasing. Ultimately it just comes down to your own personal needs and preferences.