New Jeep Renegade
 

Might be getting a rural property and if I do, we'll almost certainly swap out the xD for the upcoming Jeep Renegade. I love the design. It's a small crossover with a variety of drivetrain options. We'll probably just go for AWD so my wife doesn't have to even think about that, just drive.





http://www.jeep.com/en/2015/renegade/

Get a used JK.

Too large and relatively poor mpg. She doesn't need a real 4x4. The Renegade has nice design and will probably get well north of 30mpg (supposedly).

New diesel GCs get over 30. Boom! ... Boom!

They're great, but literally 2x the cost or more than the Renegade will be. It's going to be Compass range, just under $20k starting.

After my Protege gives up the ghost, I'll probably go in for a plug in hybrid SUV if we move out there.

I think the Renegade would be great wife car. It will do everything she wants from a car.

Samurai

I was thinking of one as the "ranch" ATV actually.

Samari is a pretty capable little truck since they are so light. A lot guys swap in Toyota axles under them with 31 inch tires and they can go anywhere.

Interesting. I know you can pick up ones in decent to good condition for just a few grand. Considering that even for me a new Grizzly would be the same range, it's something to consider.

I wouldn't put my wife in one for commuting for safety reasons though. It's just not going to do well in an accident compared to any modern vehicle. Plus they're just not so nice in a modern driver sense. But as an ATV on steroids, awesome!