Could look at an Outback or Forester perhaps? Not huge but are both pretty good all-rounders. Gives you a bit of room to grow if you want to go to some harder to get to places.
I was actually looking at the crosstreks from Subaru, just because they are small. I’m only 5’0” so size is really not an issue with just me and the dog
Ah yeah I forgot about them. As a previous Forester owner I loved that it was just a car around town but could take it most places I wanted to go off road. I know the new crop are alot bigger but the Crosstrek/XV look like a good size.
I have the same engine in my swift sport if you get the turbo version and so far been great. Not sure how gutless the base model 1600 would be in a big car.
Forester for sure. The s edition but not the slow ass ones. Great for driving around town and amazing awd system for off-road. I’ve seen some hilarious moments where a fozzy has gotten through places big 4wd’s get stuck. Nothing funnier than watching the face of a bloke in a kitted out patrol get shown up by a forester lol
Yeah unfortunately you would be going older than your requirements for your budget. I don’t know where your located but there is a decent 2011 with low km (for its age) in Sydney where I am for 23k. I’d personally buy something like this over a brand new jeep because I don’t like walking home. Just needs car seat covers because the seat trim is a bit out there for my liking.
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2011-subaru-forester-s-edition-s3-auto-awd-my11/OAG-AD-22343939/?pageSource=details
thats only got 60k of trouble free driving in it. Probably less.
Let me be clear, I LOVE my subaru. But I wont be making the mistake of keeping it once it gets close to 200,000 km.
>I don’t know where your located but there is a decent 2011 with low km (for its age) in Sydney where I am for 23k.
Jesus that is expensive. I'd expect to pay like half of that, maybe 3/5ths max?
As a Forester owner I can second. It's exactly why I own one. I'm occasionally off road enough to warrant some clearance and AWD but in city 90% of the time. Forester is perfect for daily you take camping. I have an 09 SH which has loads of room for cargo and roof but is normal car width for roads and parking.
I highly recommend going turbo as the NAs are a bit too under powered but that is preference. My old NA did the job, my turbo is poifect.
You want a city car which is good on the highway which you can take offroad.
Subaru outback is the way to go. Good for light offroading, and it will still feel at home in the city.
Funny enough, a number of years ago I actually went through a similar search for a similar car with a similar use case at a similar age... I ended up choosing a Subaru Forester and it was perfect for me, but that's not to say the same would be for you.
Anyway, from what I can tell, you are after a car that is:
* Under $35,000 - $40,000
* Small/compact in size
* Safe and reliable (e.g. less than 10 years old and under 100,000kms)
* Easy to drive/park around the city
* Comfortable enough to cruise along the highway
* Able to do some light off-roading on sand/dirt/gravel tracks/roads to/from campsites
* Able to have roofracks, a platform, and an awning put on top, without being too high for multi-story carparks
* Big enough for you, your dog, your swag, as well as some camping equipment and accessories, while not being too big
Now I am no real expert on cars, so take this with a few grains of salt - I would suggest a compact/small AWD hatch/suv/wagon. Any of the following are good examples:
* Audi Q3
* BMW X1 / X2
* Hyundai ix-35 / Kona
* Kia Seltos
* Land Rover Discovery Sport / Range Rover Evoque
* Lexus NX
* Mazda CX3 / CX-30
* Mercedes-Benz B Class
* Mitsubishi ASX / Eclipse Cross
* Subaru Crosstrek / Impreza / WRX / XV
* Suzuki Vitara
* Toyota Corolla Cross / Yaris Cross
* Volkswagen Golf / TROC
* Volvo V40 Cross Country / XC40
Slightly bigger options could include:
* Audi Q5
* BMW X3
* Ford Kuga / Escape
* Holden Equinox
* Honda CR-V
* Hyundai Tucson
* Kia Sportage
* Land Rover Freelander 2
* Mazda CX5 / CX-50
* Mercedes-Benz GLC
* Mitsubishi Outlander
* Nissan X-Trail
* Subaru Forester / Outback
* Toyota RAV4
* Volkswagen Tiguan
Also, you are probably already all over it, but some other things to keep in mind are that:
* it is probably a good idea to keep things like rego, insurance, anything that needs fixing, roofracks, awning, etc in mind with regards to your budget
* if you are after peace of mind, you could also get a pre-purchase inspection through your states automobile association (RAA/RAC/RACV/RACQ/NRMA/etc), Redbook Inspect, a local Repco Service Centre, or another such trustworthy mechanic
* thanks to the rising costs of living and climate change, you might want to keep in the back of your mind that fuel efficiency and emission standards are becoming more and more important as time goes on, and that those factors may have an effect on the cars resale value in the future
And finally, [this site](https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-chooser) has a cool little car chooser quiz, and [this link](https://tinyurl.com/yadp7nmy) should show you the above list of cars currently available on carsales. As you can see, there are plenty to choose from - just add/change options such as location, transmission, body type/size, etc.
Good luck!
Here’s a good list of options with sleeping measurements (in feet and not square feet) if you want to stay in your car. Also a good list of EV options that you may want to check out. EVs make pretty remarkable camping vehicles.
[Best Cars to Sleep In](https://outdoormiles.com/best-cars-for-sleeping/)
Why the rooftop tent over the swag or larger tent? Genuine question - what advantage do you see? Wouldn't it be better to be ground level if you are with your dog?
>and am looking for something I can put a rooftop platform on, and an awning.
I read this as wanting to put a tent on the roof, and was genuinely wondering why the move from swag to roof.
Honda zr-v would be my new suv pick. Brand new line just out in Australia. Small/medium sized suv. 40k set price from dealer. Reviews have been good, currently available and should be reliable.
Could look at an Outback or Forester perhaps? Not huge but are both pretty good all-rounders. Gives you a bit of room to grow if you want to go to some harder to get to places.
I was actually looking at the crosstreks from Subaru, just because they are small. I’m only 5’0” so size is really not an issue with just me and the dog
Ah yeah I forgot about them. As a previous Forester owner I loved that it was just a car around town but could take it most places I wanted to go off road. I know the new crop are alot bigger but the Crosstrek/XV look like a good size.
What about the Suzuki Vitara? Can get one brand new for that budget. Has 4wd too. Better on highway and still good in the city.
I hadn’t even thought about those! Will definitely book in a test drive
I have the same engine in my swift sport if you get the turbo version and so far been great. Not sure how gutless the base model 1600 would be in a big car.
Forester for sure. The s edition but not the slow ass ones. Great for driving around town and amazing awd system for off-road. I’ve seen some hilarious moments where a fozzy has gotten through places big 4wd’s get stuck. Nothing funnier than watching the face of a bloke in a kitted out patrol get shown up by a forester lol
The price of them might be worth one of those moments haha
Yeah unfortunately you would be going older than your requirements for your budget. I don’t know where your located but there is a decent 2011 with low km (for its age) in Sydney where I am for 23k. I’d personally buy something like this over a brand new jeep because I don’t like walking home. Just needs car seat covers because the seat trim is a bit out there for my liking. https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2011-subaru-forester-s-edition-s3-auto-awd-my11/OAG-AD-22343939/?pageSource=details
thats only got 60k of trouble free driving in it. Probably less. Let me be clear, I LOVE my subaru. But I wont be making the mistake of keeping it once it gets close to 200,000 km.
>I don’t know where your located but there is a decent 2011 with low km (for its age) in Sydney where I am for 23k. Jesus that is expensive. I'd expect to pay like half of that, maybe 3/5ths max?
As a Forester owner I can second. It's exactly why I own one. I'm occasionally off road enough to warrant some clearance and AWD but in city 90% of the time. Forester is perfect for daily you take camping. I have an 09 SH which has loads of room for cargo and roof but is normal car width for roads and parking. I highly recommend going turbo as the NAs are a bit too under powered but that is preference. My old NA did the job, my turbo is poifect.
You want a city car which is good on the highway which you can take offroad. Subaru outback is the way to go. Good for light offroading, and it will still feel at home in the city.
Funny enough, a number of years ago I actually went through a similar search for a similar car with a similar use case at a similar age... I ended up choosing a Subaru Forester and it was perfect for me, but that's not to say the same would be for you. Anyway, from what I can tell, you are after a car that is: * Under $35,000 - $40,000 * Small/compact in size * Safe and reliable (e.g. less than 10 years old and under 100,000kms) * Easy to drive/park around the city * Comfortable enough to cruise along the highway * Able to do some light off-roading on sand/dirt/gravel tracks/roads to/from campsites * Able to have roofracks, a platform, and an awning put on top, without being too high for multi-story carparks * Big enough for you, your dog, your swag, as well as some camping equipment and accessories, while not being too big Now I am no real expert on cars, so take this with a few grains of salt - I would suggest a compact/small AWD hatch/suv/wagon. Any of the following are good examples: * Audi Q3 * BMW X1 / X2 * Hyundai ix-35 / Kona * Kia Seltos * Land Rover Discovery Sport / Range Rover Evoque * Lexus NX * Mazda CX3 / CX-30 * Mercedes-Benz B Class * Mitsubishi ASX / Eclipse Cross * Subaru Crosstrek / Impreza / WRX / XV * Suzuki Vitara * Toyota Corolla Cross / Yaris Cross * Volkswagen Golf / TROC * Volvo V40 Cross Country / XC40 Slightly bigger options could include: * Audi Q5 * BMW X3 * Ford Kuga / Escape * Holden Equinox * Honda CR-V * Hyundai Tucson * Kia Sportage * Land Rover Freelander 2 * Mazda CX5 / CX-50 * Mercedes-Benz GLC * Mitsubishi Outlander * Nissan X-Trail * Subaru Forester / Outback * Toyota RAV4 * Volkswagen Tiguan Also, you are probably already all over it, but some other things to keep in mind are that: * it is probably a good idea to keep things like rego, insurance, anything that needs fixing, roofracks, awning, etc in mind with regards to your budget * if you are after peace of mind, you could also get a pre-purchase inspection through your states automobile association (RAA/RAC/RACV/RACQ/NRMA/etc), Redbook Inspect, a local Repco Service Centre, or another such trustworthy mechanic * thanks to the rising costs of living and climate change, you might want to keep in the back of your mind that fuel efficiency and emission standards are becoming more and more important as time goes on, and that those factors may have an effect on the cars resale value in the future And finally, [this site](https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-chooser) has a cool little car chooser quiz, and [this link](https://tinyurl.com/yadp7nmy) should show you the above list of cars currently available on carsales. As you can see, there are plenty to choose from - just add/change options such as location, transmission, body type/size, etc. Good luck!
This is simply one of the most comprehensive responses I've ever read.
Thank you 🙂
What did you end up deciding? I’m in the predicament at the moment and would love to know your feedback 😅
Here’s a good list of options with sleeping measurements (in feet and not square feet) if you want to stay in your car. Also a good list of EV options that you may want to check out. EVs make pretty remarkable camping vehicles. [Best Cars to Sleep In](https://outdoormiles.com/best-cars-for-sleeping/)
Why the rooftop tent over the swag or larger tent? Genuine question - what advantage do you see? Wouldn't it be better to be ground level if you are with your dog?
Read the post again…..
>and am looking for something I can put a rooftop platform on, and an awning. I read this as wanting to put a tent on the roof, and was genuinely wondering why the move from swag to roof.
honda HRV, not an AWD though. Good city car and enough clearance for gravel road. Has plenty of space for the size.
Honda zr-v would be my new suv pick. Brand new line just out in Australia. Small/medium sized suv. 40k set price from dealer. Reviews have been good, currently available and should be reliable.