Smaller cars for chasing/spotting

[Joshua Nall]

It’s not needed, but back when I had a 2wd, I limited myself. I was a lot more careful. I remember down in LA on a hurricane chase I pulled onto a decent looking dirt road to turn around and could not back out onto the paved road. I ended up having to drive down that dirt road forever before I finally decided to do just do a 16 point turn in the middle of the road. With 4wd it would have been no problem. On another trip, after I bought a f250 with 4wd I was turning around and one of my tires dropped off in a hole. Had no clue it was there. I’m afraid I would have been there a while if it were not for 4wd. So it’s not really that it’s needed, you just don’t have to be as careful, I like to always pull well off the road... and you can get out of unforeseen situations which will occasionally pop up.
I have also owned a little 4wd Toyota 4 cylinder single cab for playing around in since about 1996, but it get about 15 mpg it is extremely cramped for traveling. The big truck is for my lawn care business. My ultimate chase vehicle would be a four wheel drive 4 door compact Toyota pickup truck with a diesel engine. I’ve heard they get over 40 mpg, but I haven’t seriously looked into if they are legal to drive here or if you can even get one here from overseas. I know they never made or sold them here. If you could just go buy one here used I’d be in one now and sell the Toyota I have now. I hunt and camp also, use 4wd a lot.

 

[hduran]

I chase with a 2002 Honda Civic LX. It's my daily driver and efficient chase vehicle. I get close to 30 mpg consistently (12 gallon tank). It has Kumho AST low-pro, all-season tires (all-season on road at least). It's lowered on the front and back, 2.25" and 2", respectively. I have taken dirt roads no problem and have not managed to get stuck. I know my limits and know what terrain my car can and can not take. With that said, due to the rapidly changing road conditions during any storm, I am not always able to get up close and personal when a tornado strikes, but I am as close to the action as many others considering I'm usually surrounded by capable SUV's and the like during these situations. So ultimately, if my car can do it...you should be able to make anything work.

I would say that the biggest difference with me has been the trip either to my target location or the drive home. I figure that most of the miles I put on my vehicle have been from driving to and from a target location so I have made it a point to address this since it's 100% controllable. I try my best to put the cruise control on 60-65 mph. There's no reason to rush if only to reach my target just to wait a few hours for initiation. Once I spring into action, however, and I'm in full chase mode, all best are off.

 

[Drew.Gardonia]

I know trucks and SUVs are popular for chasing, because of 4WD and AWD capability. For those who are cost conscious, though, a compact or subcompact car has appeal, especially with gas prices going up. Who all uses small cars and have they worked well for you?

I have a Honda Fit now. I'm thinking of trading in on a Chevy Sonic for a little more oomph.

chased in my 2.4 vtec dohc 5 spd 03 honda accord last year and it did quite well. 33 mpg and enough get up and go to move pretty quickly when needs be. very peppy for a 4 cylinder and will flat out fly.

interior cabin space is enormous. plenty of legroom in the front and back. lots of storage in the sides of the doors, glovebox, center console storage, which has an ac outlet and it holds my cobra amp so i can plug stuff in. rear seat folds down to access the trunk which is cavernous and can easily hold enough gear for 3 people on an extended length chase. 4 might get a little crowded but still workable. very comfortable on long drives extremely road worthy and reliable, a/c blows cold, heat and defrost are perfect. overall a good vehicle, easy to get in and out of quickly and has an anti lockout feature if the keys are in the engine and car is running the doors cant be locked.

post note, with a 17.1 gallon tank, she is a tad expensive to fill up, almost $55, BUT at 33 mpg she has a fuel range of over 500+ miles. i got 550.1 miles to a tank on my way to Kansas City last spring before i had to gas up. made it from murfreesboro, tn to higginsville, mo before stopping.

 

[Chris Sokol]

This weekend I get to initiate a new chase vehicle. Just bought an 08 Subaru Forester. I agree about AWD opening up your options a bit, if for no other reason than to keep clear of the masses. The big plus is that the gas mileage is amazingly better than the mini van was.

Chris

 

[Hank Schyma]

I used to chase 4-wheel drive vehicles but moved to a smaller gas efficient car. My 4-runner (17mpg) took the mud well, but was like a sail blowing all over the road. My new camry gets 33 mpg and hugs the paved road in high wind and rain well at high speeds... i figure the high speed chasing on paved roads has a higher percent of danger than the dangers of getting stuck... Go with the smaller car.

 

[Shane Adams]

Although I currently drive a mid-size sedan, traditionally I've always owned smaller/economically-sound vehicles. I don't have the need to just keep driving towards a tornado trying to get right next to it, so I seldom have to go off road or "cross country" driving. Even if I do need to take a dirt or gravel road, I'll take it. I've never seen where the advantages of a 4X4 vehicle outweigh the cost, but I'm in the more minority demographic of chasers who are always financially strapped. It's hard to calibrate the reasoning behind smaller cars VS SUVS and such because everyone's money situation is different. But I will say that, even if money was no option, I would never own a big 4X4 type vehicle. Just not my style.