I want to poll the Hide mind for some recommendations on a used vehicle. My step-daughter is likely moving out here to Wyoming to take a new job, and she will need something more reliable in the snow and ice than her current Prius. She has two small kids and coming from North Carolina, she is obviously not experienced yet in snow driving, so more wheels turning with good tires will be necessary. I'll teach her the nuances, but she'll still need all the help she can get.
Max budget is around $3k and has to be a 4-door for the kids, so that throws out most Jeep models right off the bat. I don't mind wrenching on something and would give it a front to rear tune-up and testing before handing it over to her for the winter, what I'm looking for is what models/engines/transmissions in the older vehicles are the go-to for durability. Anything I can later turn into a decent off-road vehicle is a big plus. No rush as it's still a few months off of the first snow in the lower elevations.
My first thought is to find a used 2nd gen 5.0L AWD Explorer, I'm admittedly a fan of them and they're easy to wrench on, and they're a dime a dozen with mostly soccer mom work loads in their histories. They're easy to convert to true 4WD, have a solid drive train, and I know how to fix the typical issues seen with them already. But, I'm all open to alternatives some of you may have had over the years, and that's why I'm here asking.
So, what out there would you put your daughter in if you were in the same situation? Any suggestions welcomed.
Max budget is around $3k and has to be a 4-door for the kids, so that throws out most Jeep models right off the bat. I don't mind wrenching on something and would give it a front to rear tune-up and testing before handing it over to her for the winter, what I'm looking for is what models/engines/transmissions in the older vehicles are the go-to for durability. Anything I can later turn into a decent off-road vehicle is a big plus. No rush as it's still a few months off of the first snow in the lower elevations.
My first thought is to find a used 2nd gen 5.0L AWD Explorer, I'm admittedly a fan of them and they're easy to wrench on, and they're a dime a dozen with mostly soccer mom work loads in their histories. They're easy to convert to true 4WD, have a solid drive train, and I know how to fix the typical issues seen with them already. But, I'm all open to alternatives some of you may have had over the years, and that's why I'm here asking.
So, what out there would you put your daughter in if you were in the same situation? Any suggestions welcomed.