[Cheese]

alright, i got an internship this summer, and if you saw my post in the 'what do you drive' thread, obviously my current car isnt exactly daily driver always runs type of car. if i just left it alone it'd be fine, but with me racing it on the side, it's not the most reliable and there's no telling when/if i'll wreck on track. during school it's fine since i can take the bus everywhere and can fix the car on the side, but that can't really happen if i'm working.

right now i'm leaning more towards SUVs since getting another small car seems pointless when i already have one and it'd be nice to have something to tow my pos around to track events. looking for something under 10k that is reliable. i'd also like it to have some off-road capability since if i'm going to have an suv i dont want to be like everyone else and just drive it on the roads. i'm thinking i'll drive the crx most of the time, but when it's really hot out or it's out of commission i'd take the suv.

after looking at consumer reports, auto trader, and msn auto all day i think i've narrowed things down to a late 90s toyota 4runner sr5, late 90s nissan pathfinder, '00/'01 nissan exterra, and late 90s/early 00s ford explorer. out of those i'm inclined to go with the toyota from what i've read and i kinda like the styling of that more. they all get roughly the same mpg, same towing, exterra is smallest, the rest are basically same size, 4runner appears the be the best off-road and most reliable. explorer is probably my last choice, just not sure i can trust it. 4runner is the most expensive for the year, then pathfinder, xterra, and explorer's are the cheapest.

anyway, i know some of you guys are into the suv thing so what are ya'lls opinion of things? any cars i may be missing in this class at my price range?