The hunt for Offroad Capability

A long time ago, for a couple years in the early 90s, I owned a Jeep Wrangler and went off roading quite often. I was a newbie, and many of the trails I was on were very simple. I was not a true “Wheeler”, but I did try to keep informed in the local crowd and try to learn the rules and expectations. To this day, I am still very noviced and not fully informed; however I would like to start getting back into enjoying the off beaten path.

Sometime near the end of 2017, I started catching the bug to find another Jeep Wrangler that I missed having so long ago. There were many great memories, and many other fails that I can still recollect of my time owning the Jeep. The community is awesome and there is that something special in the “It’s A Jeep Thing!” So, the research was begun.

I learned an important lesson long ago, but only recently can use the advice; in order to purchase anything, make sure you have the cash available to do so. Which means, I plan to have enough in my account to pay cash for my next vehicle but go ahead and try to qualify for a 0% interest loan. This is a whole separate discussion on financing, but the point of this is that I am taking my time to find what I want and not rush into this purchase. I have a good running car today, so to take another lesson I learned in Freemasonry is that we should “Circumscribe our desires”. Which means, don’t make a rash decision based upon our emotions.

While looking into the Jeep options, I started to realize that other Jeep products would fit my requirements for off road adventures. The Wrangler is very expensive, and it’s true power is in it’s extreme off road abilities. But, how often would I need this capability? Do I have the knowledge to tackle the harder trails? Do I really “need” a Wrangler? The Compass and the Renegade were starting to look like great choices.

I spent a good month watching videos, checking prices and researching how well the Compass and Renegade perform in various off road conditions. I was also looking into a vehicle that could also tow a single motorcycle on a light weight trailer. So whatever I find, it will need at least a Class II hitch and about 1500 lbs towing capacity. Both the Compass and Renegade have that capability. So, overall the Jeep brand was looking good. However, the cost for the version I thought I would get was getting closer to the $30k mark.

Then one day, I happened upon a video of the Subaru Crosstrek performing some off road maneuvers.

Wait a minute, you are telling me that a Crosstrek can climb a steep dirt hill and crawl over various obstructions in its path in a stock setup? I love Subaru! My fiance had a Legacy Outback that we took camping often and recently she just traded up to a newer Forester. The AWD has been very useful for us in the snow, and getting up my friends dirt driveway in Minnesota (actually, we were in his Outback because my Buick LeSabre was stuck at the bottom of his driveway)

For the last month, I have watch countless YouTube videos and read reviews. If I choose the Crosstrek, it must at least be the 2018 version. There were a few upgrades and quality improvements in 2018. The CVT transmission with XMODE is looking very promising to handle any type of terrain that I plan on visiting. I don’t plan to be “Wheeling” like I would in a Wrangler, but the cargo space and off road capability of the Crosstrek looks to be all that I am looking for.

So as of today, I am just shy of meeting the 1/3 mark of the cost of a new 2018 Crosstrek. At the current rate of savings that puts me at about 38 months away from full cash purchase. Ouch, that is a long time to wait. But the reality is, if I want to do this the right way then I need to wait that time frame. I have been sneaking in a little extra each month, and if I am able to continue this rate I would now only have to wait 21 months. I guess I have time to continue the research. Which also means that in the next year I can also keep up with the Used Sales department and watch for a one year used 2018 Crosstrek with under 10k miles. Another option is to watch the sales incentives come closer to the 2018 holiday season. As long as I can keep putting money into the account at the same rate and find a 0% interest loan then I can use that account to make my monthly payments (ahead of schedule)

A final option, and not sure if it would be a smart choice. I could set up a GoFundMe or Patreon account and see if anyone would want to donate to my new vehicle.