What is the "Ideal" Chase Vehicle

[Brandon Sullivan]

Wow guys. thanks soo much. getting lots if good ideas.. There is a jeep liberty for private sale here in town at a good price. I think it was repo'd. But low miles, 4WD and rated at 22 highway..

I like the point everyone is makiing. I will have to drive it around to school and town alot, so I need to remember that, when thinking of a vehicle.

Again, thanks for the ideas. And keep em coming if you have em.

 

[Jerry Prsha]

I do know from experience what not to get for a chase vehicle and that is a soft top Jeep Wrangler. It is a nightmare on the highway. I got about 12-14 miles to the gallon, the top flaps like a tent in a hurricane, and if you have a head wind you won't break 70mph without the car shaking violently. It was OK to drive around town, but it was very close to being the worst vehicle ever for long road trips and storm chasing. It leaked water along the perimiter of the door. When I would drive it in the rain a belt in my engine would slip, causing the car to sputter every 10 seconds. The air conditioner quit working after a few years and with the black soft top it was like an easy bake oven in there. I would sweat profusely towards the end of chase season. The sound of the top flapping in the wind was so loud that you couldn't even hear the weather radio when it went off. When chasing I was always scared that I would get struck by lightning and be shrink wrapped by the soft top like a human burrito. The one good thing about it was that I never had to worry about getting stuck. I had big mudding tires on it, so I could get out of pretty much anything.

I beg to differ...

I drive an 1998 Wrangler with a Hard Top and it works great. Yes, the gas mileage isn't great because of the nearly vertical front windshield but it's slightly lifted with 32" MT tires and I get 18-19 mph doing 70mph.

The thing is, I have a lexan windshield which won't crack from hail. Although it's not luxurious, it's made to survive and if it gets a little beaten up, I'm not going to be as upset as if I owned a brand new SUV. Except for a radiator, I've not replaced anything on it and I'm now at 160,000 miles. (I use it for my work vehicle as well.)

No water leaks, no air conditioning issues and except for it being a bit more bouncy than on-road SUVs, It's going to make it driving over debris. Whereas another SUV would get it's shock mounts sheared off.

I can't tell you how many times we've had to pull Hummer H2s and XTerras out of off-road situations because they rally weren't made for off-pavement driving.

I trust it with my life.

 

[Mark Farnik]

My ideal vehicle for both everyday and chase use is the Subaru Outback.
Here is my reasoning:

PROS:
22 mpg city -30 mpg highway on regular unleaded
Bulletproof reliability (I have several friends who have Subies with 200k or better on the original motor and tranny, having only done routine maintenance on them!)
Roomier than most small SUV's and as roomy as some mid-size SUV's
All wheel drive - did I mention all wheel drive?
8.3 inches of ground clearance (comparable to that of an Explorer or Durango)
Enough room in the cargo hold with the rear seats folded to ferry around all my photography equipment when working and blow up a twin size air mattress to create cheapskate motel accomodations when chasing

CONS:
Seats not terribly comfortable on long trips
Slightly anonymous styling (particularly on the 1996-99 models; the 2000-04 models are fairly classy and the 2005-present models are quite stylish - but to be honest in regards to styling I don't really care as long as it doesn't look like a Pontiac Azz-tek)
4 cylinder boxer engine in 1996-04 models barely adequate for passing/merging maneuvers (installing a K&N air filter fixes this problem)

To me, the Subaru Outback is the perfect vehicle for both my everyday and chase use. It has almost as much cargo capacity as a midsize SUV or a minivan with the fuel economy of a midsize sedan. And did I mention all wheel drive? Granted, it doesn't have a low range, so it would be useless in deep muck situations, but it gets you through typical mud, snow and ice situations with greater ease and security than a FWD car. Also, the AWD gives you better handling on dry roads than either FWD or RWD. And Subies are renowned for their reliability; with proper care and routine maintenance, they can last 250k to 400k miles!
Having finally resolved the dealer related fiasco with my old Mercedes 300TE 4MATIC, I am currently looking for an Outback and hope to purchase one within the next month or so.