Personally, I think the idea of a 2WD only SUV is kind of ridiculous. HOWEVER, as an alternative to an extended cab truck or a station wagon, which smallish SUV(s) would folks here recommend...and why?
BTW, by "smallish" I mean smaller than a Tahoe/Suburban, Expedition, or Grand Cherokee. Doesn't have to be brand new, as my budget can stretch that far anyway.
What kind of use will the SUV see?
Is it a commuter?
Seat 2, 5 or 6?
Do you need to tow with it?
What most attracts you to SUV?
Is it the advantage of the higher driver's seat?
Is it the utility of the wagon/hatch?
Do you need to haul large items?
New, Used, Price range?
The Grand Cherokee is far smaller than the others you mentioned.
1st-generation Escape, although it's not much smaller than a JGC.
I am assuming that what you're looking for is a "cute ute" and not something that can actually do anything.
I love my 04 2wd Suburban!! It is a rare bird here in New England.
Why get a utility thats small?
If you won't need it that often, then just rent a truck when you need something of that nature?
Mazda 3 wagon. 
No, seriously. (Any)UV, sport, cute, or crossover should only be bought if you truly need their capabilities. Otherwise, the options in the 5-door category have gotten really good. Other possibilities are the new Ford Focus, Subaru Legacy/Outback wagon and Forester, Audi A4 Avant.
David
cop edition tahoe.. 2wd. all the toys...
^^^^
BARNCA wins
A minivan?
My wife has a 4x2 Trailblazer. She likes sitting up in it and hates minivans. Some day I hope to inherit it, lower it, and make a sports car out of it.
This one is so easy. Go for one of the original unbeatable, super durable utility vehicles ever- the Forerunner or Pathfinder. My pick would be the Toyota. The engine in those (22re I think.) is practically indestructible.
Isuzu Trooper with the front hubs unlocked? :D
v6 4Runner, 2009 or earlier (previous body style) isn't 2WD, but it's not full-time 4WD and ours is in 2WD 99% of the time.
Deadnuts reliable, drives fairly car-like for a body-on-frame SUV, and ....
it's a body-on-frame SUV, not some crossover or unibody.
Also, they're not as big as most people think. Just a tad larger than our neighbor's new RAV4.
irish44j wrote: v6 4Runner, 2009 or earlier (previous body style) isn't 2WD, but it's not full-time 4WD and ours is in 2WD 99% of the time. Deadnuts reliable, drives fairly car-like for a body-on-frame SUV, and .... it's a body-on-frame SUV, not some crossover or unibody. Also, they're not as big as most people think. Just a tad larger than our neighbor's new RAV4.
There is a 2wd 2007 V6 SportEdition in my driveway, but I'm in the south, where it never snows. I think it's longer than the WJ Jeep Grand Cherokee it replaced. I find the front seats a little cramped, as the passenger compartment is overall not particularly tall. I think this is a result of body-on-frame design, good ground clearance, and keeping CG low.
I like it a lot. We drove quite a few before picking this one. I'd only get the V8 if you need the towing capacity. I think the V8 is full-time 4wd. The SportEdition adds some trim stuff, including a hood scoop, plus the X-REAS (say "x-rays") suspension that is supposed to provide improved handling. SportEditions are primarily what we drove, so I can't comment on the claims.
Yes there were 2wd 4runners, look for one from 05 or later, which is when they went to a 5 speed auto in the v6. The v8s were weird IMO, they were available in 2wd, but 4wd was full-time only, so you have a button to lock the center diff for "real" 4x4, and the knob just switches between high and low range.
Also, the timing belt change interval on the v8 was like 5 years or 70k miles, and costs a pretty penny to have done, which is why there are a lot of 5year old v8 4runners on the market.
The x-reas does what it claims, models I drove with it felt much less "truck-like" than without, almost felt like a 4 wheel independent setup the way it rides.
Ya know when I was a kid we called those Station Wagons.
Sorry, I should have given my reasons for this choice of vehicle.
Current DD is a Civic and while I would like to replace it with a newer model, recurring early onset arthritis makes getting in and out of "low" set cars difficult to almost painful. Vehicle will NOT be used for towing, if I was into serious towing I'd go for a truck. I do live in the south so AWD capability isn't hugely important, tho since I drive north 1 or 2 times in the winter....?
As far as the Mazda5, used ones are hard to find and expensive, plus I've read online about a "steering design fault" shared by all Mazda3s and Mazda5...at least until about the 2010 redesign.
I came close to buying a Volvo 850 with a manual trans. (tho no turbo) a few months ago, but the A/C was "iffy" and folks on here said it was a pain to fix/expensive due to labor costs.
1998 S Blazer 4dr with a 5.3L swap and a 700r4.Dark red/orange metallic outside with a tan leather Bravada interior including console shifter, Aftermarket Nav stereo with a few hundred watts of audiophile quality sound. Add a set of chromed 18" IROC wheels and a ZQ8/Extreme suspension and you will be living my dream. Bonus points if you use a GMC and use the 18" honeycomb Trans Am wheels.
In reply to integraguy:
Based on your insights I will recommend the car that I thought of when I first read.
The second gen Scion xB.
Damn near the room of a Rav4 with reliable 2.4L Camry engine in automatic or manual.
With the wide doors and good chair/seat height I think you will find entry/exit to be very good.
All this applies to the earlier xB as well. It is smaller, the mpg is a little better but the car is not as well geared for hyw speeds which results in higher rpm and a noisier cabin.
jrw1621 wrote: In reply to integraguy: Based on your insights I will recommend the car that I thought of when I first read. The second gen Scion xB. Damn near the room of a Rav4 with reliable 2.4L Camry engine in automatic or manual. With the wide doors and good chair/seat height I think you will find entry/exit to be very good.
This seems like a good choice.
Nissan Cube? Honda Element?
Honestly, a lot of the new B-spec cars have very high seats, and high rooflines as well - so you don't need to duck as much to get in.
I had a Volvo 850 while my wife had a Nissan Versa.
The Volvo was significantly lower than the Versa.
Wife replaced Versa with Mazda5 which is about the same seat height.
Both have wide doors and good seat height.
I had a Ford Escape as a company car.
It had the highest ride height but the doors seemed small and with the need to 'hike up' to get in the seat, it was overall more difficult for entry/exit than the Versa or Mazda5.
Before the Versa, my wife had a first gen Rav4.
Good height, small doors and really not that good of a hyw car due to noise, gearing and bumpy ride of the short/high wheelbase.
The current generation of Rav4 is very nice.
In 65k miles the Versa was trouble free but an ultra boring car. My wife liked it and she was the one who drove it. I once drove a Cube of a friends at night. The straight windows created some weird reflection of lights and overall, I thought the car was hard to see out of at night. Maybe I could get used to it but for my short exposure to the vehicle, I did not like that part.
Add the Vibe/Martrix to your search as well for attributes almost identical to the big xB. The Vibe/Martrix will get better mpg due to their Corolla 1.8L engine over the Camry 2.4L.
I find the seats in the first gen to have no lower support. I hear but have not tried the second gen seats to be better. I think second gen is 2009.
If a "buy American" image is important to you, the Pontiac Vibe is a great choice.
Suzuki still makes body-on-frame compact SUVs. If that matters, look for Vitara, Grand Vitara, Sidekick, Samurai, LJ series, X-90, or 01-06 XL7. All above were available with manual transmissions. You can also find rebadged Suzukis, of course, as Chevy Trackers or Geo Trackers.
In reply to integraguy:
Without knowing what year your Civic is I'm not sure if this is relevant, but most new small cars are much taller/higher than an older Civic. Before limiting yourself to a cute-ute you really owe it to yourself to check out some of the newer small cars. The seats in my GF's 2010 Civic are very noticeably higher (at least 4-5 inches I would guess) than the seats in my stock-height '94 Sentra for example.
The small SUV segment is definitely a segment where I would suggest looking into crash test ratings over at iihs.org.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTbA0fhBark
aye.. I agree on the new B-segment cars. what they give up in length and width, they gain in height.. giving them a slightly dorky and tippy looking stance.. but they have tall upright seats that might be easier for you to get in and out of.
That said.. Minivans are very easy to get in and out of.. so it sounds like time to get an astro
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