What's the most fun/weird/interesting/cool but still practical to own AWD/4WD vehicle?

I heard the Ranger is coming back. I’m not sure what form it’s going to take though. Probably a competitor to the Canyon, which is a nice vehicle, but too expensive and fancy for a basic pickup.

yeah, the Ranger and the Bronco are coming back. 2019 Ranger, 2020 Bronco i think

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That’s a breath of fresh (smoggy) air in the midst of a push for hybrids and electric cars.

so the ranger never went away internationally, i guess. just in NA. this is video of the new Ranger. I think the one we’ll get in NA is supposed to have different headlights and grill, but will probably be very similar to this https://youtu.be/QQPoGqtUoLI

I actually saw a couple Rangers in Kiel Germany when I was there in 2013. Almost the size of F150’s.

:[

That makes me sad.

They look[ed] nice enough though:

Definitely not a bad look. Not a huge fan of the long-cab models though.

Eh, I got ‘stuck’ with a Silverado crew cab when I really wanted the extended, but it’s useful enough.

My dream truck is a late 90’s Tacoma extended cab with a 3" lift anyway so I’m enough of a weirdo that my opinion can be discounted fairly readily :wink:

This is the current Euro Ranger AFAIK:

I still have a soft spot in my heart for this ugly bastard. If I can’t get my hands on a ranger, I’m definitely getting one of these.

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It’s a direct competitor to the Colorado/Canyon.
Totally not related to it’s development at all, nope. <_<

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What they’re doing with the bronco is saddening.

THIS

is what a Bronco ought to be. By the end of the bronco’s life it was basically just an F150, and now look what they’re turning it into, a freakin luxury car.

Why’s that?

The new minis aren’t really that special. 3cyl turbocharged engines have been popular in Japan for a long time. Not to mention that they look butt-ugly to me.

Also, there’s silly quality of life problems with it. Outlined below:

  • middle seat headrest obstructs the rear view
  • low-beams turn off when you hit your high-beams
  • unintuitive interface (although, this is a German thing I think. My Benz is the same way)

Not to mention that they’re pushing too much power out of the engine, sacrificing reliability and causing lots of mechanical problems. I know of a few cases of head gasket failure before 50k miles.


If you like a car, don’t let me talk you out of it. I’m just putting my opinion out there because I think I’m that valuable to the world. (I’m not)

I like the look but then again I like cars that are weird. One of the reasons I’m looking at minis other than they are fun to drive and in my price range for used is because they’re so different from other cars on the road around here.

Yeah that’s my issue with them as well. The interface I can get past, the rear seats I can get past (probably will just have them folded down anyway), but the reliability just isn’t there. I can do the repairs, and some really low mileage ones (like under 10k) are available near me for less than half of what they go for new but do I want to take that risk? More research is required there I suppose.

Just curious if anyone knows any fairly small 4wd, not awd, suvs/trucks still in production for the US other than Jeeps. Or are we doomed to large luxury vehicles if we want 4wd instead of awd?

What does a used cooper sell for? I can’t imagine they hold their value very well.

Saw a 2015 cooper with nice options and a little over 8k miles for ~$12k

2015 countryman S with nice options and 40-50k miles for ~$16.5k

haha wow.

Talk about a cheap car.

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Not to invalidate the rest of your comment, because even though I wouldn’t give two damns about those complaint I can totally understand how you would, but their compression ratio is only 11:1. High, but not crazy. The beefiest engine also only puts out like 134hp. Certainly not crazy.

Any reliability issues there are a design/durability flaw. The Ford Focus RS is having head-gasket issues as well because they put the wrong spec part on a tooooooon of that car (like 2 years worth).

Again, totally valid that you don’t like the car, but I think your reliability criticism is misattributed.

My other ride is a Fiat 500 Abarth. Weird? Yes. Good? Very yes. Fun? The most yes. Most smiles per mile per dollar of any car I’ve ever had. Got mine as a 2013 with only 28k miles for less than $9k. Anyway, if you stumble upon the Abarth (as it is a Mini competitor) feel free to hit me up. It’s perhaps the best sounding 4 cylinder engine of all time. Also, the reliability on the multiair engine is quite good!

My friend, I am afraid we are doomed in this regard. The need (regulatory requirement, much of it is) for control units to drive everything has forced OEMs to go all-AWD in a lot of ways unless a super strong, proven niche holds out. You must look to the past for your destiny, and all the great options that exist, many discussed even in this thread.

Like I said above, bought my Fiat 500 Abarth, 2013, less than 30k miles for under $9k. Love this car. It would be perhaps the worst new-buy of all time because of depreciation, but I think it’s one of the best used buys of all time.

Minis fall into the same category. You would have to be outside of your mind to get one new for $25k-$30k+, but for between $8k and $10k (and under warranty lol) why not embrace the fun with a big old grin on your face knowing you basically stole it!

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