im going to need to get something eventually

[hansj3]

So, I've got three vehicles. A 97 jeep wrangler 2.5, an 01 silvarado z71 and a 12 soul...

I took a new job and have come to the conclusion that st Paul sucks at plowing side streets.
On a related note I would love to "thin the heard" so to speak
I need to keep a truck as its my home improvement/ tow/ do all vehicle... its also the spare
Size is a premium in the city so a small footprint is preferred
4wd/awd is not required, but almost. Its too slick to get into my driveway sometimes and there are snow berms from plows
My DD also has to be a manual. If it isn't the car isn't worth owning to me. Unless it does work beyond transportation (truck)

So that leaves me with slim pickings:
A 03-04 tj or LJ with the 4.0.
An 01 xj
A legacy, impreza, forester, Saab 9-2
Some sort of Audi? Although that doesn't appeal to me
???

Anything I missed? I like the idea of a wrx... ive had subaru in the past. I like the idea of a newer wrangler, my current one is gutless on road however. Id sell the soul, but it seems that something pops up with the other two and sometimes both of them
I'm also not agents selling all three , and driving a truck but its incredibly hard to find a 4x4, manual, regular cab. And the only truck I can find like that are Tacoma's that don't lose value

 

[Quattro Pete]

Does the Soul not handle winters well enough, even with proper winter tires?

I like the Subaru Legacy/Outback idea.

 

[Kuato]

Toyota Tacoma might replace all three....bought new it prices out at $26k.

I also like the early 2000s Wrangler with the 4.0.

 

[aualtima3.5]

A manual and awd/4x4?

I wouldn't even consider a Jeep. They are horrible for daily duty. You're asking for advice; my opinion is no for this. Loud. Bad Ride. Lousy economy. Suspension requires alot of upkeep to prevent 'wobble.'

Suggestions: Would you consider dedicated snows on a fwd car? Opens up your options a bit. If not, you're looking at some mostly sporty sedans: S60R, Audi SXs, Porsche... on top of your short list above.

 

[Rolla07]

Have you run the soul with dedicated snows? I run a FWD with Nokians and never have any issues here..otherwise replace the soul with an impreza and put snow tires on it for the ultimate winter vehicle.

 

[supton]

I'd think snow tires on any of them would do the trick. Jeep and truck have ground clearance but are probably more of a handful than a gain--but I'd put snows onto one of them, in case you just have to go someplace when there's a foot of snow on the ground. Snows on the Soul should be good enough for minor snows I'd think, and for any accidental black ice.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

You should strongly consider the Tracker/Vitara. The Wrangler done right. Small, manual, 4WD, good off-road, and MUCH better at daily driving than any Wrangler or XJ.

 

[hansj3]

The soul is kias equivalent of a Camry. bland, and boring, and vanilla as it gets. A car for people who hate to drive. I'm not in it for style, I bought it because I fit in it
I've grown to dislike it enough that id rather drive my automatic truck.
It does fine in regular snow, but the plow mounds can rip a bumper to shreads if hit with enough speed to continue through and if slow enough to save the bumper the odds of getting stuck climb fast
Subarus have enough to clear usually jeeps have metal bumpers so a non issue.
I don't even care about the nvh in the jeep. If I get a newer jeep it will have full doors and a hard top.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Why not drive the Wrangler?

 

[hansj3]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Why not drive the Wrangler?


I do, as its my only 4wd vehicle right now, but its 19 years old, has no interior, no abs, no ac, no cruise, a soft top instead of a hard top, soft doors instead of full doors... and the 2.5l AMC motor makes a great torque band but HP is limited at highway speeds. Plus I could own a 6 cyl and gain a couple of mpg

I could sell it and cover half of the cost towards a 4.0 equipped late run tj that would have all of that and a 6 speed manual... or I could get a stock Rex wagon and power slide like a god on snow.
Or I could get a 4x Tacoma and sell all three and be really in debt
But I can't imagine in the last 12 years there isn't a manual awd or 4x vehicle that I could buy, I'd like to expand the search to at least 5 good options to get a good opinion of what I want

 

[hattaresguy]

The problem is manuals are fast becoming an anachronism.

But pretty much any A4 or X drive BMW will fit the bill. Both of those sold in fairly decent numbers with sticks.

I vote for the one new truck, I'm not a fan of having a fleet of old vehicles.

 

[dishdude]

Why not sell the Wrangler and Soul, put the proceeds towards a newer Wrangler that's equipped for your needs?

 

[Studebaker]

2003 was a good year for the Wrangler. I have a 2003 Wrangler Sport, 4.0.
Passed 200K last week, original clutch and soft top. 20 mpg. Burns no oil. Great, fun vehicle.

 

[IndyIan]

There were manual AWD CRV's up to 06. They have almost 4wd, good for street duty.
There's always the Nissan Frontier/Xterra as well, they still have manuals up to 2015.
A 99-04 Tracker/Vitara is kind of a unique machine with rwd/4wd. The 4 cyl is a bit of a dog but they also had a little V6. You need to get 0 or some negative camber on the front end to keep it from being blown around more that it has too. I liked hooning around in rwd in light snow.
Up to 06 or so, the KIA Sorrento was a rwd/4wd with a manual available too.
I really liked the 99-04 Pathfinder with the manual as well, other than the short gearing, like 3k at 62mph... Bad for interstate runs.