best vehicle for young professional/shooter

[Steve RA]

The main recommendation I'd make is to buy new and sell/trade right before the warranty runs out. Repair prices are totally out of sight nowdays. Also, pick something with a long warranty period, that way you'll get a little better return on your investment.

[djeffers]

I will have to say I am biased as we have had four Forresters, a legacy, and now an impreza. For that price range I would say take a hard look at the new Subaru Crosstrek. It has a little higher ground clearance and gets an advertised 30 mpg highway & AWD!

I rode in someone else's FJ at the Ozarks 3-gun and I was impressed with how smooth it was off road, but other than that .... Never road in it on the highway, that and they are discontinued.

Anyhow, my heart still belongs to the full size trucks.....I just can't justify it with as many miles as I put on my vehicles.

[giarc01]

Audi is the best all wheel drive system. due to the torsen diff, the other systems, albeit giving 100% transfer, are usually doing after it's too late. The audi has "pre-sense" from the front wheels, and terrain sensors that can guage the slip "before" it happens and transfer the power accordingly with the help of ABS and ESP. Subaru is Second, as it is just the torsen diff. Acura is just a modified haldex viscous coupling with some fancy marketing attached. Subaru's are more reliable than honda. Honda/ Acura just have more money to play with advertising. Honda isn't what it used to be.

All AWD systems use very similar sensors: WSS, VSS, Yaw, Steering angle, steering speed, ABS, gear selector, and a few others. They all transfer data at the same speed. About the only difference is how the program is written. You should look up who created the AWD system and data processing for Audi. I bet you would be surprised. Does Bosch ring a bell? Guess who makes parts for all AWD systems? Maybe Bosch? My first degree was in Automotive Technology; I am an ASE master technician and diagnostician and have been for about 10 years. My next degree was in Mechanical Engineering. I won't tell you where I work but I assume by reading my suggestions you can figure it out. I love cars almost as much as shooting. I have worked on almost everything you can imagine and drove many many different cars and tested cars for an R&D group. I promise you that Hondas are as high a quality as you will find for the money and they are better than ever. That is why C&D rated the Accord the number one midsize sedan, the CRV as the number one midsize SUV and Honda has the number one minivan. Honda also has every 2013 vehicle passing the new IIHS crash test and getting the highest award possible. Subaru's are fine if you don't mind doing head gaskets often and Audi's are the most expensive cars I have ever fixed once you get the parts shipped in from out of the country. Subaru and Audi make fine vehicles but for the money, reliability and technology, Honda is my choice.

[Xcaliber]

I would go with the Chevy Equinox. It's the biggest of the compact CUVs, well made, reliable, gets fantastic gas mileage for it's size, and it's nearly indestructable in a crash. It's like a smaller version of the Traverse. I bought an LT1 AWD 4 cylinder last year for around 27k brand new. You can get the base FWD model for about 22k.

Yes, GM got a bailout, but unlike Wall Street, they actually make a product and put food on the tables of hundreds of thousands of hard working American families. I just didn't see giving my money to a foreign company in times like these when our own industries need the business. It just seemed a little unamerican.

I will likely trade it in in a few years for a Cadillac ATS, which is a simply awesome car the equal of anything made in Europe. As a former GMer, I am proud of how the comapny turned itself around. Yes, they used to make some crappy cars, but what they turn out today is mostly world class.

My second choice would be the Ford Escape...

[giarc01]

http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/How_American_is_Your_Car/

I would go with the Chevy Equinox. It's the biggest of the compact CUVs, well made, reliable, gets fantastic gas mileage for it's size, and it's nearly indestructable in a crash. It's like a smaller version of the Traverse. I bought an LT1 AWD 4 cylinder last year for around 27k brand new. You can get the base FWD model for about 22k.

Yes, GM got a bailout, but unlike Wall Street, they actually make a product and put food on the tables of hundreds of thousands of hard working American families. I just didn't see giving my money to a foreign company in times like these when our own industries need the business. It just seemed a little unamerican.

I will likely trade it in in a few years for a Cadillac ATS, which is a simply awesome car the equal of anything made in Europe. As a former GMer, I am proud of how the comapny turned itself around. Yes, they used to make some crappy cars, but what they turn out today is mostly world class.

My second choice would be the Ford Escape...

A big misconception is how american the big three are. Honda employs over 12,000 people in ohio and that does not include the people working at the suppliers. Toyota employs just as many in kentucky and ohio. Keep that in mind when you talk about american families needing money.

[giarc01]

http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/How_American_is_Your_Car/

I would go with the Chevy Equinox. It's the biggest of the compact CUVs, well made, reliable, gets fantastic gas mileage for it's size, and it's nearly indestructable in a crash. It's like a smaller version of the Traverse. I bought an LT1 AWD 4 cylinder last year for around 27k brand new. You can get the base FWD model for about 22k.

Yes, GM got a bailout, but unlike Wall Street, they actually make a product and put food on the tables of hundreds of thousands of hard working American families. I just didn't see giving my money to a foreign company in times like these when our own industries need the business. It just seemed a little unamerican.

I will likely trade it in in a few years for a Cadillac ATS, which is a simply awesome car the equal of anything made in Europe. As a former GMer, I am proud of how the comapny turned itself around. Yes, they used to make some crappy cars, but what they turn out today is mostly world class.

My second choice would be the Ford Escape...

A big misconception is how american the big three are. Honda employs over 12,000 people in ohio and that does not include the people working at the suppliers. Toyota employs just as many in kentucky and ohio. Keep that in mind when you talk about american families needing money.