I drive a Jeep Wrangler. It is perfect for me because I can drive to the off road mountain communities. I love its ruggedness. It is looking a little beat up these days due to my bad judgement when moving in tight spots. But am headed out of the country next week and I gave instruction to make it look like new again ( so I can start over with bumps and dents and scratches.)
- Thread starter VroomDO
- Start date
The perfect car for the Dominican Republic? What would it be for you?
Anything Toyota will be good. My Toyota is a 2008 5 sp. manual with a 4 cylinder non turbo diesel. Same as a Lexus GX470 with a less un-needed options:
Of course, you can't go wrong with one of these Blazers:
I'm not going to say anything about my Cherokee because it's being a bad boy at the moment.
A mid size SUV, not a gas guzzler as gas is not cheap here. But one that does not get destroyed by pot holes (although the roads in general are better now). Something with a little ground clearance if you want to get to quieter beaches which normally mean going down uneven dirt roads. I have been here 21 years and have always said that I would never buy a brand new car here....but that changed this year when I bought a 2024 MG One, and have not regretted that purchase at all. If you buy a new car, make sure you get them to give you a good warranty. I have 6 years providing I take it to Santiago for the check ups according to the warranty card. That doesn't bother me as my eldest daughter is at university in Santiago so it is a good excuse to go and see her...not that I need an excuse to see her! My car was U$37,000 brand new but they gave me a 5K discount, and I really love the car. I don't care that MG is Chinese and no longer British. The quality of the car is pretty awesome being Chinese!
I had a Wrangler I bought new in 1990, and sold it 20 years later for more than I paid for it new. I'm guessing yours is an automatic?
I have a 2020 Subaru Forester, it has 8.5 inches of ground clearance and I haven't found a road I can't go on, though if is really rough I take my 2007 Santa Fe Limited, more powerful engine and thicker sheet metal.
Loved my 86 Chevy Blazer K5 with 8.2 L engine and Raptor transmission, but these times are over, now love my FJ Cruise as well. Old but never broke down on me till now, it’s a 2007.
I love the Toyota Rush for the DR. This is the RAV 4 non hybrid version to be more detailed. Great gas milage, enough power to get up the road to Constanza, and will go everywhere that does not need an actual 4x4.
I think it depends on what you like to do. I don't go off-road so I prefer a large sedan for the ride. The ride on normal roads is much better than in a SUV. Less roll on curvy roads, too. Here, I would stick to a Toyota or Honda. I have a Camry.
Gigantic speed bumps are the only reason I don't have a sedan here in the DR. I drove a Mercedes 300 for years and absolutely loved it, especially for long trips (across Canada and the USA 4 times)
Santa Fe limited is probably what the OP should go with. A friend has an old Tucson I would never ride in, until one day I did. I don't think he's ever had a problem with it.
Hyundai is not to be ignored.
If you wanna spend the money, and Toyota SUV will serve you well.
I see lots of them here in Jarabacoa ,https://www.supercarros.com/suzuki-jimny/1459965/
I thoroughly recommend them. The main dealer in the DR are British Motors in Santo Domingo and they gave me a great deal. And for gas I am getting about 53km to the gallon and it is not even a hybrid!