My First Chase Vehicle: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

[Aaron Kennedy]

Well I guess the main factor is the AWD.... hard to find new cars in his price range that have AWD. So what's the reasoning behind wanting this feature (just curious)? It seems like bit of a oxymoron.... you want a car with decent mpg...

From chase experience, I'm on the highway much more than sliding out of control on gravel/mud roads, so I consider mpg a bigger factor. Usually, there are two types of roads in chasing... those you can go on, and those you can't. Either the road is dry, and passable even by my Saturn SL2, or the road is wet/muddy, and I wouldn't trust it with any vehicle.



Aaron

 

[John Erwin]

Well I guess the main factor is the AWD.... hard to find new cars in his price range that have AWD.

Good points Aaron. I think it sounds like Mark is placing the AWD feature above all else on his vehicle selection; something that isn't a necessity on a chase vehicle, and does have a direct impact on gas mileage.

Of the past 5 chase seasons, I've only used the 4WD on my Jeep once. I do however like having the 4WD for non-chase related reasons, mostly the brutal winters here and the occaisonal off-road adventure.

Mark, I would strongly urge you to evaluate how much you need the AWD; not only does it directly affect the price, it will also add significantly to the maintenance costs and is severly limiting your selection criteria. I would also advise you to look at the track record of the vehicles that you're looking at (there's websites and books for this) for problem areas and typical costs for maintenance.

Cheers,