poor handling the srt8 is NOT.
in fact, it goes around a track quite nicely, you'd be surprised.

 

yet, not as nicely as a much lighter sportwagon that costs less and gets better gas mileage.

 

The Jeep SRT8 isn't supposed to really make sense. It's a Jeep that sacrifieced some off-road ability so that it could be faster than the Porsche SUV! Every ten years or so Jeep come out with a model that can lay claim to being "the fastest SUV produced". Back in 97 it was the Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited, back in the 80s I'm pretty sure the older Cherokees with I-6 engines had amongst the best power to wieght ratios of SUVs. Of course back then people really didn't care if a truck could outrun a sports car., that all started when GM made the Typhoons/Syclones and Ford made the first Lighting.

 

not sure what car you're refering to, but currently, there aren't many if any sportWAGONS that can hang with the srt8 jeep around any track...not at $40K, be specific if you can, i completelly agree that the srt8 is not an econocar, it is heavy but it handles something fierce around a road course, i've seen it hang with Vipers, Evo's among other cars around a road course without much trouble at all. Tons of torque a well balanced chassis and a good awd system lets these things carry their weight with ease.

 

this video shows a jeep competing in the 2006 one lap of america...incidently, the first black neon srt4 at the very beginning of the vid happens to be my old car which took 8th in 2006.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...58&q=jeep+srt8

but check out the way the jeep powers through the turn at almost full throttle in the rain, they are well balanced very neutral and can be driven at the edge of its capabilities by even a novice. I think they're great suv's for the money, of course, if performance and comfort is your priority.

 

the car I just sold would eat it for lunch. well, notsomuch, but it would be a close match at least (and better on gas mileage).

 

But thats 1,000,000 times uglier than the SRT8. I'd deal with the slightly worse handling.

 

What does any of this got to do with the OPs question?

Who cares about Fast SUVs? :impatient

 

Huh? checks location. TX. Ok, makes sense.

 

I live about 45 mins outside of Boston, and have my whole life. I'm moving to Dallas, but am not a Texan..far from it. (It says currently in NH, not TX) Plus, I'm assuming you havent been to DFW recently based on that comment.

And I still think Subaru wagons are NASTY looking, lol. It's not that it's ugly, its just that it has the same basic design as the Legacy wagon from like 10+ years ago. Subaru designs, too me, are ridiculously dated and bland.

 

I was making a joke about Texans and trucks. Oh well.

I'll agree with you about most Subaru wagons, but the latest gen Legacy is a different story (most people didn't know it was a Subaru to be honest). Not an discussion for this thread though.

 

Haha, it's an improvement, still too conservative for me though. Then again i'm only 20, so if I DID like it I'd be even more worried. And I got the joke, I was just giving you a hard time. It's all good.

 

if you think for a moment that a wagon legacy can even be in the same ballpark as an srt8 jeep, well...let let's just say that you're really in the dark, lol.

that tank of a jeep would run door to door against a new sti on a road course...against a legacy wagon(even a turbo) it would be a total joke dude.

 

The OP is looking for a mid-sized SUV for his wife, what does this have to do with it? A bit OT?

 

Get a different wife!

But, seriously, get whatever Toyobishi or Hondota that seems to make her happy and be done with it. NOT a question to agonize over. Just avoid 'Murrican showrooms, don't get suckered by any German 'Sports Activity Vehicles' and be done with it.

 

the Subaru Outback XT is considered a mid-sized SUV and is a quite capable and fast vehicle. sorry for bringing up my personal experience with it's better handling cousin.


I sent you a PM to enlighten you so as to not derail this thread.

 

basically a wagon with sti wheels/brakes?
you're claiming the wagon has an identical sti motor/transaxle? Same hp output out of the factory?
hard to believe...i would have read about it somewhere if it was.
i'm sure the turbo 2.5 in the wagon is anemic compared to the sti's setup...sure, it can be made to push 400 whp (with about 20K into it) which would mean + 30% at the flywheel...520 crank hp? but we're not comparing apples to apples here, srt8 can be had with the Hennessy turbo package for $7500 more and we're in different leagues once again.

i was saying stock srt8 for $39,900 is a good buy and fast too...
i wasn't trying to start a pissing match about how much your 400whp wagon can beat a stock srt8 by (i would love to see these dyno graphs of yours since i've only seen a couple 400whp sti's in my life and they had extensive modifications that cost tens of thousands and made the cars hardly streetable)

 

why do you insist on derailing this thread? PM is fine.

A stock SRT8 costs a bit more than $39900, if you can find a dealer who will only charge MSRP.

 

Well, the OP created this thread LONG ago, and got plenty of suggestions already. I think we've already beat the cheap suv convo to death.

 

there's one in every color here in West Palm Beach...sticker, $39,995 all day long.

My appologies to those who needed to read only about the latest SUV's available...

 

Like I said, this thread was dead long ago. How long can you talk about cheap suvs?

 

We've had our Acura RDX since the end of Oct ('06) and have been really happy with it.

 

I like 'em. I wish they offered it with a manual though.

 

yah, that car should come with a MT Type-S version too.

 

HONDA Ridgeline - she will love it! Drives like dream - easy to get around, very functional in desing. Test drive!