Well, I'll be getting a new car in summer, and I'm considering two, the Jeep Patriot and the Isuzu Ascender, even though the difference in size is huge, Isuzu's webpage shows several offers bringing the price quite close to that of the Patriot (6000 vehicles sold in a year isn't good).
The Jeep seems to be nice for doing simple installs (3/4" holes are not considered) and has a nice engine (2.4L 4cyl). The only thing that I want to check is the space in the trunk and if 4 regular size adults fit comfortably in there. Although I'm not a tree-hugger or an environmentalist who goes to throw rotten eggs at GM for putting an 8.1L gas engine on a consumer vehicle, having a smaller engine would be nice, since I don't want to end up spending like $500 on gas every month.
The Ascender is really nice, it has been my dream car since 2004 or so, and getting one would be nice. What I'm really concerned about is how easy is it to make a non permanent install (under the seats, console, etc), and in that sense it seems to be easier on the Jeep, since the Ascender doesn't seem to have space available on the dash, console, etc. My other concern is the gas mileage, so if someone who drives an Ascender/TrailBlazer/Envoy with the 4.2L engine could help me on that, I would appreciate it. My dad also said something about the Trailblazer not being very good, but I want to check that (I suspect that the idea came from my uncle, who traded his minivan for a 7-pax Trailblazer with the V8 engine and I guess he isn't very happy). As for space I'm not worried, since it seems to be large enough.
Either way, I'd be getting the 4WD version, I don't plan to do serious off-roading, but having 4WD would be nice in case I decide to go somewhere and the road isn't very good, I'd consider ground clearance aswell, since I don't want a 4WD that is lower than the 2008 2WD Tacoma, but neither something that is extremely tall.
The Jeep seems to be nice for doing simple installs (3/4" holes are not considered) and has a nice engine (2.4L 4cyl). The only thing that I want to check is the space in the trunk and if 4 regular size adults fit comfortably in there. Although I'm not a tree-hugger or an environmentalist who goes to throw rotten eggs at GM for putting an 8.1L gas engine on a consumer vehicle, having a smaller engine would be nice, since I don't want to end up spending like $500 on gas every month.
The Ascender is really nice, it has been my dream car since 2004 or so, and getting one would be nice. What I'm really concerned about is how easy is it to make a non permanent install (under the seats, console, etc), and in that sense it seems to be easier on the Jeep, since the Ascender doesn't seem to have space available on the dash, console, etc. My other concern is the gas mileage, so if someone who drives an Ascender/TrailBlazer/Envoy with the 4.2L engine could help me on that, I would appreciate it. My dad also said something about the Trailblazer not being very good, but I want to check that (I suspect that the idea came from my uncle, who traded his minivan for a 7-pax Trailblazer with the V8 engine and I guess he isn't very happy). As for space I'm not worried, since it seems to be large enough.
Either way, I'd be getting the 4WD version, I don't plan to do serious off-roading, but having 4WD would be nice in case I decide to go somewhere and the road isn't very good, I'd consider ground clearance aswell, since I don't want a 4WD that is lower than the 2008 2WD Tacoma, but neither something that is extremely tall.