Id say FJ Cruiser. The blind spots you get use to and its not hard to drive at all. Heres our FJ

 

Ive got an FJ also and yes the blind spots suck but they are very bearable. The edge doesn't do anything for me in my opinion and I would take Toyotas famed reliability over a Ford product any day. Not to mention lifted they look great and turn heads. For mileage go with the automatic so you can go to 2wd or 4wd whereas the manual is 4wd only. They are extremely capable off-road vehicles but you see way to many friggin soccer moms driving them.

 

I've read FJ cruisers have frame cracking issues and windshield issues, but I don't know how big of a deal it really is. My cuz got a 4 runner over a FJ Cruiser cause of the visibility. Heres a link though
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forum...body-rips.html


In my opinion the edge looks odd, but they have a sport edition that looks cool with the smoke tail and headlights


Sorry for the big pic

 

I don't like either, but I'd go with the Edge. The FJ is one of the ugliest things out there.

 

Okay, to address the entire forum...

Would either vehicle have the suspension to support the tongue weight of my trailer without squatting or becoming really squishy?

It's off-road capabilities aren't what I'm interested in. It having basic 4WD is enough of a prerequisite for what I'll be doing with it.

I was afraid of that. I'm sure the navigation system alone comes in a package with 203939048408 different things that jacks up the price.

I honestly don't know how many times I have to say it, but I'm not interested in anything else. I'm not trying to be a dick, but I've said this as politely as possible at least a half dozen times.

I may go that route. If I get a MKX, I'm sure the only way I could afford it would to go used. I'm pretty sure when I test drive both (FJ, Edge/MKX), my decision will be easy.

No thanks. If 12 miles/gallon in an over sized land yacht is your thing, great. But it's not for me. Especially not for a daily driver.

Demos scare me. Aren't they typically rode hard and put away wet by stoned, 20 year old car salesman?

Did you read my first post? At all? The reliability hype doesn't impress me and won't be the selling point of a FJ Cruiser.

Seriously? I'd be interested in seeing if this is pretty common or not. I find it funny that a couple posts before you I read this line:
And I'm not really feeling that sport edition Edge.

 

Why don't you buy a piece of crap truck for balloon stuff and something that actually gets really good mileage for a daily? I mean, how long and how often are you really in the balloon tow rig really? Basing the purchase of your daily driver on something you do every once in a while is dumb in my opinion.

 

Really? I liked it a lot. The wheels remind me of the ones off a new Civic Si, though. LOL
That's not his only reason for buying the new vehicle. He wants something nice to drive everyday anyways. It's dual purpose.


And Brock, newer pickups don't get nearly the bad gas mileage that people make 'em out to get. My dad gets 20 mpg in his 4wd Sierra. If you like them I wouldn't rule them out on gas prices alone.

 

I definitely think you should give the Toyota Yaris a chance. I think it more than suits none of your needs.

 

Actually, the only addition is the glass roof. I'd recommend going on Ford.com and pricing one out. If you got the base model you might be able to just squeeze in over $30K, but I priced the Limited with the same options as you and got it for just over $32K or so from both AAFES and BEach Fords Internet pricing

 

I'd use www.cars.com to get quotes from dealers. If you stretch your search a couple hundred miles you can save thousands of dollars. The DC/MD area is always wheeling and dealing. One of our friends just saved $4k, by taking a two hour drive north.