David in LA

2001 or 2002 Audi allroad...should cost you mid 20s to low 30s. Twin turbo and available in auto or 6 speed....chip, exhaust and other mods and you;ll have a nice 400hp snow toy

1AS

Low miles Landcruiser or LX470. If you do the Audi, you'll need the extended warranty well before 100K (If my A6 experience is a guide). The GMC Denali's are great tow vehicles with abysmal gas mileage and hit or miss build quality (I've had 2Suburban's and 1 Denali since '91). I've had 3 Landcruisers (91,94,96) and 1 LX470 (99) and all have been comfortable, reliable, and inexpensive to own. The best value would be a low miles 97 (6cyl) or 98 (8 cyl). AS

LAJ_996

If you need an SUV the Landcruiser is the way to go. However
when I was looking to replace my SUV I was bummed out about the
prices. I decided to go with a F150 supercrew Lariet. This has been a great purchase for me. I am able to move very large items, dirt, mulch etc. All without trashing my interior. Also great towing ability. This was my first American car purchase and I have been pleased. Since they are coming out with a new F150, you can get one for a song and dance. Only down side is gas milage, but most SUV's are not great anyway.
roy

Fozzy

Agree Audi is fun, but given it's only an estate car with a bit more ground clearance, do you want something that actually copes with more than a couple of inches of snow / mud etc and has any genuine off-road ability? In either case the Fords and Toyotas we've got in the UK market also struggle a bit and are pretty much out of the running as well. Either a Range Rover or Discovery is the only real option. Also looks very nice sitting next to the Porsche in the drive. Depends what the use is for.

LSM

If I ultimately get the A6 2.7t sedan for winter, I was thinking of doing just that!

-Lou

20C4S

35K i'll pick toyota. even a RX330 won't be bad!!

BC

Alexander - Could you go into detail on your Audi experience? I heard some horror stories about the Audi Driveline from an experienced mechanic that works on them, MB, and VW.

Trojan Man

Coming from a family that has owned SUVs since the early 90's (we've had at least 12 or so), I would offer the following advice:

Being that you are in a snowy/icy climate, you presumably want an SUV that is a truly off-road capable. This is going to cut out your half-*** SUV's like the RX330 Mercedes ML, and Infiniti FX series. Don't get me wrong - these are great vehicles, but they are not OFF ROAD vehicles.

If you are looking for a new car for sure, then I would say that the best choice is a Land Rover Discovery II (which we have owned). My second choice would be a Jeep Grand Cherokee (which a friend owned). Both are great as transportation and they can also hold their own while in adverse driving conditions, although the Land Rover is by far the better off-road vehicle.

If you would consider used, and I truly hope that you do, you can pick up a 2-3 year old fully loaded Range Rover and still stay under your budget of $35K. The Range Rover has all of the off-road prowess of the Land Rover, and has a very luxurious interior to boot. And if you're concerned about that kind of thing, they make a good impression when pulling up to the valet.

Of course you can go with any of the usual choices: explorer, expedition, yukon, etc...but they are so mundane and I have had reliability issues with the drivetrain on the yukon.

Hope this helps.

MM951

If you dont wanna impressive the valet...Get a Toyota FJ40 or FJ60...The FJ40s are pieces of art and true offroad vehicles..I gotta 85 FJ60

Eyal 951

for the lower price range SUV, go with the Forester turbo, if you are fine with an all wheel drive sedan, the STi is an amazing car for its cost, and for the that price you can get the bi-turbo allroad quattro (audi). I personally would go with the STi, but im not an SUV person.

1AS

Brendan,
My A6 has required replacement of all 4 front control arms when the bushings wore, a slew of electrical components to solve poor running, a new battery when the first quit early (second one seems OK), radio repairs when it stopped receiving a signal. It now has a mysterious fume problem with apparant exhaust gasses entering the passenger compartment in stop-and-go traffic-dealer can't solve it. Also needed a new rim on each of 2 occasions when I hit a not-too-impressive pot hole. I'll take the blame for those. The car has great grip. It doesn't seem to have the longevity of the E class Benz (driven to 160,000 and 200,000 miles), my 91C4 (sold at 100,000) or my BMW 850 CSI (now at 147,000), or the Landcruisers. AS

Rennphile

Do you really need an SUV? $35K buys a lot of decent (and safer IMHO) cars.

I'll never understand America's infatuation with these things...

Fozzy

Always been slightly bemused about the US term 'SUV'. I assume this is used as a cover-all for non-car 4x4s, but what constitutes a 'sports utility' as opposed to a 'utility'? I suppose I wouldn't really consider the Range Rover an SUV, as I own one primarily to be able to get down a snowy / muddy / dusty track (depending on the particular time of year), tow a horse box, cart dogs and 4 passengers around etc. And given that, despite the new BMW influence, the thing handles like a barn, it hardly falls within any definition of 'sports'.

Sure, the closest a lot of Range Rovers will come to going off-road is when they're driven up onto a pavement kerb outside some Gucci shop, but the fact that the current model is infinitely more plush, specced and engineered than previous ones, with an interior that has come straight out of a design students portfolio, doesn't detract from the fact that it is probably the best off-roader you can buy.

To stay vaguely on-topic ( ) I would imagine that the Cayenne is the closest you can possibly get to the concept of the SUV.

LSM

What year is your A6. I have been told by many people to stay away from the 2000 or early A6 as it has a multitude of problems that were ironed out by 2001.

-Lou

Trojan Man

I had a 2001 A6 2.7T and in 19 months and 25,000 miles of ownership, the only warranty work I needed was replacement of a power steering pump that went bad.

I would not hesitate to own another Audi, but they need to firm up the suspension a bit (I almost got into a NASTY accident because I needed to do an emergency lane change and the darn car went wishy washy on me), and perhaps a bit more power