I'm 21 and currently am driving a Chevy Cavalier that my parents bought me when I was 16. I've been saving up money for a while now, and am thinking about buying a new car, specifically a smaller SUV. I was looking at the Toyota Rav4, but dismissed it after test driving it and finding the interior to seem a bit cheap and just not especially comfortable. A few weeks ago I came close to buying a Honda CRV, but decided to wait because I wasn't 100% on it. I love the interior, but I'm still somewhat iffy on the exterior. The Suzuki Grand Vitara wasn't even a possibility until this weekend. I knew nothing about Suzukis, and had no idea what sort of vehicles they offered. My mom and I were looking at a couple of different vehicles I thought I would just look at (kia sportage and hyundai santa fe...i liked neither), and I saw the Suzuki dealership when I was pulling out of the Kia dealership, and so we decided to pull in and just see what they had.
Well, all that to say, while I was there I completely fell in love with the Grand Vitara. The one that I have as my aviator is the one I am looking at. It is the 2WD, XSport package, with a moonroof. The price is $19,998, and I would also be having the i-pod jack installed, which would be another $120.
This post is just to ask if others compared them to the CRV and how they thought they measured up when they were car shopping, and also to ask what people thought I should keep in mind when I am deciding...problems they have had with the GV, things they especially like about it that are unique to it, or really just anything. I was also wondering what you all thought about the 4WD, and if it would be worth it to get it. The most off-roading I will be doing will be the couple of miles of gravel and dirt road that I have to go on to get to my house. At the moment, I tend to just stay at home when it is snowy, but I am currently working at a job where my hours are extremely flexible and it is literally right up my driveway, so I don't actually have to drive in snowy or icy conditions at all, but soon I may be moving somewhere (right now I'm undecided on locations and such), so the necessity to drive in bad whether may change dramatically in the coming year. So really what I'm asking is the 2WD sufficient to drive in bad whether, or is a 4WD really important?
This is longer than I had planned, so thanks if you read it all. Any advice/comments are welcome. This is my first time to buy a car, and I find the prospect a bit scary!
-katie
Grand Vitara: thinking of buying one
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