Manual Transmission AWD SUVs?

TL;DR: What are your suggestions for an AWD/4x4 SUV with a manual transmission? Discuss the pros and cons of each model.

Well my Outlander isn't doing it for me lately (mostly shifter feel, lack of power, and I don't trust the transmission since it's on it's 3rd) and I'm considering an upgrade sometime in the future. I refuse to drive anything with an automatic transmission. These are pretty rare these days. I ended up with the Mitsubishi Outlander last time because I've had reliability problems with European vehicles and Subaru ****** me off so I was avoiding them. North American companies usually aren't on my radar but I might consider something interesting. Thought about just chipping the Outlander but the gains would probably be next to none and that doesn't resolve any of the other issues I have with it.

Even better if I can find something that has a tongue weight rating high enough to put one of those hitch bike carriers on it.

I even looked at some way old turbo diesels like Land Cruisers and a Nissan Patrol but the Patrol was too rough (no interior, body all patched up) and Land Cruisers are over priced for what they are and what I really need.

Here's my list so far:

2003-2006 Mitsubishi Outlander (what I have now). I think only Quebec got manuals. Don't seem to be the most reliable (mine's on it's 3rd transmission). 2.4L engine is lacking and shifter/clutch feel is not good despite an upgrade to the front and rear engine mounts and an upgrade to Motul 300 gear oil.

Subaru Forester. 2.5L engine isn't much of an upgrade, only older turbo models available with manual. Subaru Canada treated me terrible when I had an 09 WRX.

Honda CRV. Slow.

Honda Element. Slow. GF thinks this is one of the ugliest cars on the road. Removable back seat supposedly makes it so you can stuff a bike or even two in the back.

Nissan X-Terra Pro-4X. Leaf springs on the back may mean worse handling? 4.0L engine (I think) would be an upgrade.

Nissan X-Trial. Not really an upgrade.

Jeep Wrangler. Terrible fuel economy.

Jeep Renegade. As far as I know this is FWD until the front wheels slip and then the electronic center diff enables the rear wheels, not my favourite AWD system. Read some bad reviews.

Hummer H3. It's huge. Gets terrible fuel economy. Not very good reliability ratings as far as I'm aware. Hummer stigma.

Porsche Cayenne. Very expensive. Probably not great reliability. Probably expensive to fix. I'm making assumptions though. Gets good reviews.

BMW X5. Poor reliability ratings. Probably expensive to fix. Expensive unless going for a very high mileage older model.


Please don't make this a debate about whether I really need AWD or not. I've driven FWD, RWD, AWD, and 4x4. AWD is my preference for our winters with 4x4 in 2nd.

I came here to post Cayenne. I wouldn't buy anything else with a manual because they all suck...?

Man up! I'd say Porsche is pretty favourable in the reliability department against other luxury brands.. but yeah.

I was gonna say VW Tiguan, but you cannot have AWD and 6 speed manual, so this one is out I guess. You have a tough hill to climb, literally ... LOL

mxs said:

I was gonna say VW Tiguan, but you cannot have AWD and 6 speed manual, so this one is out I guess. You have a tough hill to climb, literally ... LOL

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Yeah I had the Tiguan suggested by someone that runs a car website until he realized you can't get the AWD and manual combo.

Xterra would be my choice given the criteria but, not sure if they eliminated the manual transmission and when they stopped producing for Canada?


They are a pig in fuel as well. It's not a small vehicle.

Can't speak to their reliability. Just have a friend that owns one and always liked it. Just doesn't suit my family needs.

Second would be Toyota FJ Cruiser.

Again, not sure if they still produce it and how long they had a manual transmission.

Looks cool. But that third door design is kind of dumb. Also have to have the front door open to access the rear.

Again, a real pig on fuel.

When you get into 4X4 and used, there is just so much the thing can need. Especially with the drive train.



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unL33T said:

Yeah I had the Tiguan suggested by someone that runs a car website until he realized you can't get the AWD and manual combo.

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Yeah, they don't even offer Touareg with AWD and manual .... of course in Europe it's a different ball game ... yawn.

mmmnaked said:

I came here to post Cayenne. I wouldn't buy anything else with a manual because they all suck...?

Man up! I'd say Porsche is pretty favourable in the reliability department against other luxury brands.. but yeah.

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The Cayenne may be a bit more reliable than say an X5, but it's still a far cry from the Japanese. Especially an older and higher mileage model is going to be pretty expensive to upkeep. Not to mention that a base Cayenne is a damn depressing car to drive.

My vote is the X-Trail or X-Terra, I say both cause I can't remember which one is which. I drove one of them (can't remember which, could be X-Trail as I think it had the centre placed gauges, could be wrong) in '06 for the 2007 CR-V launch and was really surprised by it. It wasn't fast or especially nimble, but it was a lot of fun to drive. Like seriously a lot of fun, made me want to buy one afterwards. It was the auto version too

Small tidbit, at the above test drive, they also had a Ford Escape. By the end of the night, the Escape motor sounded like it would grenade any minute.

If xterra is plumbed like the r51 pathfinder you'll wanna pay special attention to the transmission cooler built into the engine radiator... expensive fix when it leaks coolant into your trans. Cheap fix to remedy beforehand.

2009-2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara with the 6 cylinder.

Jeep Renegade was the first thing that popped into mind - I'm curious to know the bad experiences you've read about, the reviews I've read the writers loved it.

Hummer H3 is the most respectable vehicle GM's Hummer ever made, and they maybe look a little bigger than they actually are.

Your list of potentials is pretty wide ranging, can you narrow down what you're looking for a bit? You mention fuel economy as a concern, how many kilometres do you do in a year? What are you doing that you want an SUV for (hauling dogs, kids, fancy pigeons, etc)

I've rented a Nissian X-Terra a few times.

The V6 engine is really peppy and the transmission was slick. Even though the suspension is dated it still handled reasonably well. It does get a little skittish on really bumpy roads.

The bad is that it not very economical and I believe there will be a new model in 2017/18 that will be based on the Navara that the rest of the world gets.

I needed a cheap truck for towing an enclosed trailer so ended up buying a 2014 Frontier which shares its underpinnings with the X-Terra. Its the most basic model with no frills at all (it even has manual window winders), but is is manual, 4 wheel drive and has around 260Hp which is nice. I'm very happy with it as it does everything I need and has lots of power on demand

Nevermind my post about transmission cooler issues on Nissan.. you're looking at a manual trans duh

Xterra's are great, very reliable, durable vehicles. After 04, the engine was upgraded to the 4.0 litre, with 260ish HP. You aren't going to get the same refinement in the cab as you would in a porsche or bimmer, but still decent. They aren't that big really, in SUV terms, but aren't great on fuel. The tranny cooler issue was fixed after 08 I believe. They're manual is excellent, and 6 speed to boot. A rougher ride, because they're built like a truck not a car ie, body on frame.

Yeah dude

regder said:

The Cayenne may be a bit more reliable than say an X5, but it's still a far cry from the Japanese. Especially an older and higher mileage model is going to be pretty expensive to upkeep. Not to mention that a base Cayenne is a damn depressing car to drive.

My vote is the X-Trail or X-Terra, I say both cause I can't remember which one is which. I drove one of them (can't remember which, could be X-Trail as I think it had the centre placed gauges, could be wrong) in '06 for the 2007 CR-V launch and was really surprised by it. It wasn't fast or especially nimble, but it was a lot of fun to drive. Like seriously a lot of fun, made me want to buy one afterwards. It was the auto version too

Small tidbit, at the above test drive, they also had a Ford Escape. By the end of the night, the Escape motor sounded like it would grenade any minute.

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All the reviews I've read say the base Cayenne, while it doesn't compare to the higher trim levels, is great compared to the competition. It has over 300HP doesn't it? The X-Trail is basically Nissan's version of the Outlander/Forester. If I recall it was a 2.4 engine. Doesn't seem like much of an upgrade. X-Terra is truck-like with a 4.0L engine.

TwistedKestrel said:

Jeep Renegade was the first thing that popped into mind - I'm curious to know the bad experiences you've read about, the reviews I've read the writers loved it.

Hummer H3 is the most respectable vehicle GM's Hummer ever made, and they maybe look a little bigger than they actually are.

Your list of potentials is pretty wide ranging, can you narrow down what you're looking for a bit? You mention fuel economy as a concern, how many kilometres do you do in a year? What are you doing that you want an SUV for (hauling dogs, kids, fancy pigeons, etc)

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I don't do huge mileage but, like anyone, I hate paying for fuel. Ideally I'd get a diesel (miss my TDI I had years ago) but that limits the options even further to basically impossible. I'm just taking the thing camping and occasionally hauling furniture and stuff and going on road trips. Basically I need a big vehicle to make up for my tiny 944. I do like to drive hard and fast so that's why you see the more higher end models as most of the others have next to no power especially if you're stuck with base engine to get a manual transmission. Also, everyone prefers luxury, right? But then maintenance and parts costs go way up. One thing that's great about the Outlander is I paid next to nothing for it and it's a bit of a junker so I don't worry about throwing a load of whatever in it. My back seats are covered in mud right now from hauling a bunch of tires around, actually.

kellen said:

Yeah dude

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Is that a Chevy? Do you own one? Is the shifting half decent? I'm scared of GM because all our 1500's and 2500's (both vans and trucks of various configuration) encounter all kinds of problems before that even hit 100k. Heck, the Express Van I maintain has only 40k on it and the exhaust is snapped off already and it's starting to shift bad. Some of these vehicles have had transmissions replaced before they hit 50k.

Does it have to be a SUV?? I only do V6's minimum and that new Tacoma is sexy and has all the specs you're looking for...6MT in a V6 pickup is hard to come by these days.

LoneRonin said:

Does it have to be a SUV?? I only do V6's minimum and that new Tacoma is sexy and has all the specs you're looking for...6MT in a V6 pickup is hard to come by these days.

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Something to consider. I have limited space though and a 4 seater pickup tends to get pretty long. I live in the city and go downtown a lot so the length makes parking a problem. Don't love the handling on most pickups either but I'll keep it in mind.

What about wagons? There arent that many but if you do high mileage, those TDI Wagons could be nice, and you still get more space than the average sedan...

LePhillou said:

What about wagons? There arent that many but if you do high mileage, those TDI Wagons could be nice, and you still get more space than the average sedan...

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Very long. Not tall enough to fit most furniture items. Lower ground clearance means it'll be more likely to get stuck when I inevitably try to parrallel park it in a snow bank. Harder to get stuff out of when I'm camping, too (gf likes that about the Outlander).

That said, you point me to a TDI wagon with AWD and I'd probably be a happy man. The only AWD wagon I can think of is a Subaru.

unL33T said:

All the reviews I've read say the base Cayenne, while it doesn't compare to the higher trim levels, is great compared to the competition. It has over 300HP doesn't it? The X-Trail is basically Nissan's version of the Outlander/Forester. If I recall it was a 2.4 engine. Doesn't seem like much of an upgrade. X-Terra is truck-like with a 4.0L engine.

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Probably was an X-Trail, as I said, super fun car to drive.

I've driven an '06 and '11 Cayenne, the 11 is nice, the 06 wasn't, both were auto. According to google, the 06 makes 250hp and weighs close to 5000lbs, feels as fast as you imagine it to. Interior feels cheap and chintzy, and the car had many many many problems with lowish mileage (I want to say sub 100k km). The '11 is a nice car all around, but you pay for it too, and I'm not sure the Porsche price premium is worth it.