SUV Off-Road Filed under kewl accessories to CI

The Postman said:
And a turn around at Ford:
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Looking forward to the 2027 RAMS without etorque. Etorque doesn’t have an alternator. It utilizes a Motor Generator Unit that charges a 48volt battery located behind the rear seats in the Cab. The 48volt battery regulates charging to the 12 volt battery in the engine compartment. I have been one of those stranded with this crazy setup. Luckily the etorque system falls under the 8 year 80 thousand emission warranty.
 
One more - I tend to be conservative now, especially on towing in the dirt, on forest service roads etc...and I hate to buy the first years model on Anything...

And I want something thats made in enough numbers, shared across years or other models, and popular enough its fixable in shops all over...US and Canada if I were going boondocking, to AK...and thats the weakness of my VW Alltrack (actually a Golf Sportwagen/Golf/GTI in terms of shared parts MK7 platform...its not easy to find good independent german car shops or VW dealerships in some areas...)

Add in another system "hybrid" and its another complexity to consider- is it reliable and fixable?

So here is something thats useful on how hybrid works, how long, in Toyotas.

 
JohnC said:
Agree.

The hybrid Rav uses a naturally aspirated 2.5L engine. No turbos. They also use both direct injection and port injection which keeps the valves from collecting the carbon build up common with direct injection engines. It's a very proven power plant with great reliability.

Now if they could just design something that doesn't look so spartan and aged for the interior.
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Now that I did not know. I know the engine itself uses the adkinson cycle rather than the standard 4 stroke -- whihc is part of the reason it makes so efficient. At the cost of complexity but to be honest, I haven't hearof any complains.

GDI is a bad deal -- the build op on the valves is horrible. Friend of mine is a master tech, and he loves them...they make him a lot of money.

The Postman said:
More on Fords and Jeeps

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INITIAL quality. Honstly, thats a fine metric. What about long term. Sewing machine engines with turbos and spinning at thousands of RPM's higher than a V6/V8 pulling a trailer is a whole other question. We'll see.

The mid 2010's ecoboost was probably their best swing and a good mix between efficiency and economy. Except for the fact its a GDI which gunks up...I loved driving it, though it had less than 50k miles. I don't know what they are like at 225k.

I am not a automotive tech -- I do some of my own repairs, at least I'll take a swing at them. The ariculating joint between my elbow and wrist hasn't been installed yet - many thing are just too hard to do without a lift. I know enough to ask hard questions and work with a trusted mechanic.
Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Ram — CDJR — has been passed around since 1998. Daimler, then Cerberus Capital, then Fiat, now Stellantis. Each new owner arriving with fresh ideas about what American truck buyers want. The problem is, they keep being European ideas.

I worked with a guy named Georg. Smart IT guy, proud European, and always thought Americans are doing things wrong. When he visited Indianapolis, he wanted to see Chicago. I told him it was just up the road. He drove it. There and back in a weekend.

Later I showed him my South Dakota photos — big blue skies, rolling open land, and a Wall Drug sign every 10 miles or so. Each pictures indistinguisahble from the rest. Wide open sky, only a gas station over hundred miles or so. Georg started to realize the euro way isn't always the best way.

When European ownership settled into CDJR, European design philosophy came with it. Small turbocharged engines work great in Frankfurt. They're miserable for the guy in rural Oklahoma towing a trailer. a $3,000 turbo failure four years, the mightly last them 8 since they don't have to drive as far. Georg figured out that Stellantis hasn't.
 
Sweeney said:
Now that I did not know. I know the engine itself uses the adkinson cycle rather than the standard 4 stroke -- whihc is part of the reason it makes so efficient. At the cost of complexity but to be honest, I haven't hearof any complains.

GDI is a bad deal -- the build op on the valves is horrible. Friend of mine is a master tech, and he loves them...they make him a lot of money.
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The engine used in the 5th gen hybrid system of the Rav4 and Camry (the A25A-FXS) is exactly the same engine Toyota has been using for the last 8-9 years in both of those vehicles. It's track record is very solid. And the 5th gen hybrid system, while new to the Rav4 for 2026 was installed in the 2025 Camry last year and was first introduced in the Prius in 2023. So it also has a track record of reliability before ever going into the Rav.

Unfortunately, GDI is quite common on many cars today. It definitely can be an issue if you keep your car long enough. For those who get a new one before the warranty runs out, not so much. But I tend to keep mine a lot longer, so it matters to me.
 
I"m curious what the eyeline will be like --- this seems to be roughly in line with the older mid 0's ford Rangers. Which is nice --- bigger isn't alwasy better --- but the 0' rangers eyeline is low and there ins't a lot of leg room for us 6footer plus crowd....

I can get behind a modest prices vehicel though....bout time.
 
The Postman said:
Fords e-trucklet:
www.motortrend.com

What Features Will Ford Put in a $30,000 Fathom EV Truck? We Found Some Clues

We dug through Ford’s Fathom images, media materials, and public releases to uncover confirmed features and clues about what its $30,000 electric truck could offer.
www.motortrend.com www.motortrend.com
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I saw some info on this a few weeks ago, but no pictures yet then....looks pretty nice. What I learned then though was that in order to keep the price down, the battery is on the smaller side. If I remember correctly, it was about a 53KWH LiFePo4, and the range was in the 200+ mile range.
 
dustinp said:
I saw some info on this a few weeks ago, but no pictures yet then....looks pretty nice. What I learned then though was that in order to keep the price down, the battery is on the smaller side. If I remember correctly, it was about a 53KWH LiFePo4, and the range was in the 200+ mile range.
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Definatley not a tow vehicle. But at that price point, it becomes a great grocery getter or commuter vehicle depending how are the commute is. Yah, this is the point where I would consider the dark side.
 
Sweeney said:
Definatley not a tow vehicle. But at that price point, it becomes a great grocery getter or commuter vehicle depending how are the commute is. Yah, this is the point where I would consider the dark side.
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My guess is, just like the return of the Maverick, you will never see them sell for the PR hyped price.

But, to meet the needs you described, a plug in might do the job just fine while still providing the benefit of an ICE for when using on longer trips. The new Rav4 plug in is rated between 48-52 miles on a charge depending upon trim level. And, they aren't selling like hot cakes so you might be able to get a good deal on one.
 
The Postman said:
Here is another candidate as pretty capable TV to haul CampInn to dispersed camping on BLM and USFS roads...(scroll thru to see the picture on a 15% grade towing a teardrop like trailer


Not true 4WD but darn close and affordable, lots of room to haul stuff and serve as daily driver not camping.

Couple folk here have Honda's - hows it been going for ya?
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The Pilot and maybe more especially the Passport and Passport Trailsport are really nice. And while Honda does make a nice, reliable regular V6, the mileage is still pretty brutal. Looks like they are finally leaning into hybrids, but gonna be next year at the earliest. Toyota has them there for now. I have a 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness. Good power, good towing, terrible mpg. 26 highway not towing (semi-OK) but lucky to get 20 if just running errands in town. I don't need a 44-mpg super efficient hybrid. But would love to live that 30-35 life. :)
 
Kilometer 31 said:
The Pilot and maybe more especially the Passport and Passport Trailsport are really nice. And while Honda does make a nice, reliable regular V6, the mileage is still pretty brutal. Looks like they are finally leaning into hybrids, but gonna be next year at the earliest. Toyota has them there for now. I have a 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness. Good power, good towing, terrible mpg. 26 highway not towing (semi-OK) but lucky to get 20 if just running errands in town. I don't need a 44-mpg super efficient hybrid. But would love to live that 30-35 life. :)
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My 2017 golf alltrack aWD was VWs attempt to poach some subooboo buyers: more room, similar ground clearance, AWD with metal gears vs CVT...true eurosport all independent suspension capable of the Autobahn speeds and no kidding rally on frazen lakes winter--many first responders filled fleets,
It won UK Caravan of Year towing in category 3 yrs running...

Just never caught on USA despite some good marketing...VW dinged its brand due Dieselgate, Covid killed dealers...7 tr model run on low numbers means parts go NLA and when junk yards run out, as about now...you have a garage queen...if you dont want to break if for good...

Beats Subies over the passes and long sweepers down into Jackson Hole on melting ice an snow, bare concrete...

A little too close to max GVWR if you add RTT on top, imho etc.
Golf AWD is not 4wd, good enough to softroad in gravel and lighly rutted BLM and USFS roads...but not a Jeep or 4runner, to get to the last 10% of possible places to tow a CI, boondocking far from crowds...on OnX cross country roads. Plenty to do and see in the 90%, inc the Dalton to Deadhorse...judos to @dirty6 and who else recently?
 
The Postman said:
My 2017 golf alltrack aWD was VWs attempt to poach some subooboo buyers: more room, similar ground clearance, AWD with metal gears vs CVT...true eurosport all independent suspension capable of the Autobahn speeds and no kidding rally on frazen lakes winter--many first responders filled fleets,
It won UK Caravan of Year towing in category 3 yrs running...

Just never caught on USA despite some good marketing...VW dinged its brand due Dieselgate, Covid killed dealers...7 tr model run on low numbers means parts go NLA and when junk yards run out, as about now...you have a garage queen...if you dont want to break if for good...

Beats Subies over the passes and long sweepers down into Jackson Hole on melting ice an snow, bare concrete...

A little too close to max GVWR if you add RTT on top, imho etc.
Golf AWD is not 4wd, good enough to softroad in gravel and lighly rutted BLM and USFS roads...but not a Jeep or 4runner, to get to the last 10% of possible places to tow a CI, boondocking far from crowds...on OnX cross country roads. Plenty to do and see in the 90%, inc the Dalton to Deadhorse...judos to @dirty6 and who else recently?
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You don’t need true 4WD for the Dalton (but admittedly, we didn’t do all of it). We towed on the Dalton in our AWD Pathfinder just fine.
 

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