Some questions and suggestions based on a long experience with off-highway travel for professional purposes:
Are you going to be driving on snow-covered or muddy roads? If so, then you need something with higher road clearance such as a compact 4WD pickup or 2WD pickup with chains -- some of the smaller pickups get fairly good mileage (approaching 20 mpg) especially the 2WDs, and the most reliable brands are Toyota and Nissan. King cabs give you some cab cargo or passenger space. Canopies give you lots of protected cargo space. Resale value is usually quite good. Is your off-highway driving mostly on dry gravel or dirt roads with occasional steep, sandy or rocky stretches? Then a small SUV such as the Subaru Forester is a good choice -- fair ground clearance, all wheel drive when needed, and some cargo space. The Honda SUV is good but does not have very much ground clearance -- more of an improved road vehicle. These all get around 25 mpg if driven conservatively. Interestingly, the older models of these vehicles (up to around 2001) get better mileage than the newer ones, but these are very hard to find. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist Tigard, OR
