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The Forester is now smaller than the Outback. Used to be the opposite. My oldest daughter graduates from Whitworth in 3 (!!!) months and is buying a Forester. Such a sensible girl...
Oh yeah..have I bragged that she already has a real job lined up...in what she majored in?
She does.
Congrats! You have alot to be proud of. What is she majoring in?
Do you have one? We were pleased with how much larger the 2010 Outback is than in previous years. My husband is 6'2" and feels ery comfortable in ours.
Yeah, I bought mine last year, I used to have a 2005 and the 2010 is much larger inside and has more clearance. I have to admit I like the body style of the 05 through 09 a little more than the new models.
Congrats! You have alot to be proud of. What is she majoring in?
She has a double major: Accounting and Marketing. She will be working as an accountant for a large public accounting firm.
Not bad considering she comes from a Mom who doesn't believe in reularly balancing her checkbook.
So now it's "maybe" to the Outback, and no to the Caravan! I really appreciate all your input. And Toyman, of course you came up with the ultimate Perfect Idaho Vehicle...for very special trips! But you may succeed in putting us on motorcycles yet...when I was a kid I had a moped, and at 20 miles an hour I tore up and down the dirt roads in our local woods. That was a lot of fun! No helmets in those days, either.
Misty, congrats on your daughter! Didn't she grow up awfully fast?
I like Hondas, and we've looked at their Pilot, but I have no idea if it is "Idaho-worthy"!
We used to have an '05 Pilot.. I would not bring that on anything too severe! It simply isn't made for anything like that. It's just another family car that needs to stay on pavement.
We have a '03, I believe it is, Ford Excursion and its FABULOUS for off roading! We've gone on horribly muddy and snowy roads on the side of a mountain while it was raining and it got through it. We also took it on a two week road trip down to Baja and we did a bunch of off roading there too! It's the most comfortable car we've ever driven in and has SO much space in it! Very comfortably seats 8 (you could easily put one extra person on each row, though). The only thing is that it has horrible MPG, so you probably wouldn't be interested. But nowadays we just use our Baja Bus!
I don't know if you'd be interested in somethin like this.. I can tell you, though, that we have heads turn every time we're out in it! One time we even saw a lady taking a picture of it! We got it for $17k off of eBay from a guy just North of San Diego that buys old Ford vans like this one and builds em up like this for a hobby. It's a '97 Astro w/ a V10 engine and gets 20mpg. All the welding work is completely custom on it.. done down in Mexico. It's pretty hard to imagine, but the whole top of the van can be pushed up, and mats are rolled out from the side (of the inside) that make beds. The tires are the best money can buy, too.. paid $5k for em.
I would look at something that has full-time 4wd. My wife drives an Acura MDX that is like a billy goat in the mountain snow. My Chevy Diesel 4x4 fishtails in the stuff that the MDX cruises through.
Don't like subaru because they support anti-hunting groups such as ASPCA. But as a car, they seem great.
I don't know about Idaho, but I've taken my Toyota 4Runner stock offroad in the White Mountains, the Adirondacks, and northern Maine with no problems. Like a freight train in the snow, and the V6 still gets 22-23 mpg. Excellent reliability too- most people on the 4Runner forums regularly get 250k out of these engines and trannies. I haven't had any issues, they are roomy but easy to park and have a nice quiet ride. I can't think of anything better for the winter or bad roads.
Anybody drive a Kia Borrego? 7 passenger, truck frame. V-6 or V-8 versions on the 2009 4WD. Might be an affordable option to consider for up to moderate conditions.
Started the actual on-the-ground vehicle hunt yesterday! There was a used car tent sale in town, and I looked at an Explorer, a Cherokee, and a Pathfinder which really surprised me--very comfortable. And we're adding the 4Runner to our list, but I'm keeping all your suggestions in mind in case we get a great offer. Any pros and cons about Pathfinders? Durangos?
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I really appreciate all your input. And Toyman, of course you came up with the ultimate Perfect Idaho Vehicle...for very special trips! But you may succeed in putting us on motorcycles yet...when I was a kid I had a moped, and at 20 miles an hour I tore up and down the dirt roads in our local woods. That was a lot of fun! No helmets in those days, either. 
