Best vehicle for rough roads

Definitely not a Prius. Get a Jeep Liberty. They're cheap to maintain and fairly robust. I owned one for three years and it never developed any squeaks or rattles. Only issue is gas mileage is horrible. I averaged 16 over mixed driving.

 

I think you could get a pretty good pickup truck within your price range, they seem to last on rough roads and may cost less than comparable SUVs. Mileage may be a little lower than you want, '09 Tacoma 4 cylinder EPA is 20/26. Nissan also has a good truck.

 

I drove a Ford Escape Hybrid rental while on vacation in Washington. It costs 30K, so that is above your price range but not out of this world. It handled very well on hilly dirt roads that were little more than a couple of wheel ruts mixed with boulders and deep mud. The rental place asked sarcastically if "I had a good time?" when they saw how covered in grime it was when I returned it. It easily averaged 36mpg with a mix of the above and highway driving.

 

Subarus can handle rough conditions (much safer than a Jeep Wrangler), I got about 24 mpg in mine. If they ever made a hybrid, I'd probably switch back. Low center of gravity but relatively high clearance due to the boxer engine, and the intelligent AWD, excellent reliability and crash scores.

Your other choice that comes to mind is a Ford Escape Hybrid (rated at 34/31 mpg), but it's a little above your price range unless you're willing to get a not-quite-new one.

The Hyundai Tucson seems to meet all your requirements, I'm not familiar with it however.

Keep in mind, I have taken my Prius on the grass, gravel roads, and moderately bumpy roads. Not a lot of rough roads at high speeds however, and rough in general is not its forte'.

 

The Prius is definitely not for you...

 

Prius is definitly not made for rough roads. Get something Diesel.

 

The Prius is not on the list of 2010 vehicles that receive tax credits.

A used Subaru Forester from before the last redesign may be a good choice. (1997 to 2008)
Subaru Forester - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aside from 24 MPG, I liked my Forester, it made a great deal of sense when I lived somewhere that snowed 10 months a year.

 

Honda Pilot.

 

If you have to drive on washboardy gravel roads, the Prius is absolutely not the car. At least my '04 sure wasn't. My FJ isn't bad, much better after I ditched the rear factory shocks for Rancho RS9000 adjustable shocks - I leave them on the softest setting all the time

If you routinely drive on very poor washboardy gravel roads, you want a vehicle with a compliant long travel suspension

 

Also consider ground clearance as well as suspension travel. The Prius has practically none. I agree with others' recommendations to check out the Ford Escape (hybrid best, but--assuming you avoid the V-6 models--non-hybrids are still more economical than most full-on SUVs). You might be able to get a good used one if you have the time to research it and you're not set on a new car. Or check out the typical 'CUV' suspects--CRV, RAV4, etc. And, no matter what they might say, the Lotus Elise is not the car for you .

Good luck on your decision,
~T

 

No Pruis for you but I agree a Subaru would be a great choice. I really liked mine.

 

Since you do seem to be keen on buying a prius and your main concern is your work road you mentioned,
. Basically, there is this one main road to my work place where a lot of construction is going on.
How about buying something used, or just driving what you've got,which you haven't mentioned, until the roads get improved, assuming they will. I drive an 04 prius on gravel roads in KS delivering mail, (that is when the roads are dry, ground clearance is an issue,plus the thin plastic wheel wells won't hold up to a lot of mud--at least 100+ miles a day of it,) these last two years and have done no suspension work on it yet.

Also agree with poster about keeping speeds down on the rough roads, always good advice.

 

Many SUVs and light trucks don't have suspensions built that much
more robustly than the Prius or most other cars these days, really.
You look at the members under there and they don't look/feel
much different, just arranged a little differently for more
ground clearance in the taller vehicles. Stamped pieces and
welded together in box-sections and A-frames and swing arms,
more or less all the same stuff. Maybe slightly bigger
leaf-springs on vehicles to which that applies.
.
I have gone up my share of washboards and gravelly mountain
climbs and have whammed into some holes and frost-heaves that
make me wonder why my Prius has a front end left at all, let
alone still in alignment [which I've never touched except for
a minor right-rear tweak, and otherwise remains completely
unchanged]. But survive it does, and tracks as straight as the
day I got it. I think you'd be surprised what these li'l guys
can handle, as long as they don't get *hit* by something heavy.
.
_H*

 

The less weight you move the less weight to bounce around, Prius has lots of ground clearance, any car is gonna get beat up on rough roads and a Prius is going to get exceptional mileage because you are going slowly, a jeep Rubicon may excel on the Rubicon but on a gravel road it's over kill.
jmho,ymmv

 

Gulp ... weren't Hummers designed for this kind of terrain?

 

Hi mwok86,

They took you on the Brake Pads thing comment. Many Prius go 150K miles without needing brake pads, as the regenerative electrical braking does most of the slowing down. Good deal otherwise. Keep track of the 12 V battery voltage near the end of year 4. You may get a freebie on that.