I finally got my "dream car" for backpacking trips. It's a 4 door 2000 Chevy Tracker that was made by Suzuki here in the US (it's the same as a Suzuki Vitara).

Mine has an inline 4 cylinder 2.0 liter 130 hp engine that's pretty easy to work on and has a reputation for being reliable. It gets between 20-25 mpg (city/hwy) so that's not great, but it's not bad for a 4x4. It's got a 3 speed auto transmission with overdrive and auto lock hubs and power rack and pinion steering. It's not as tough as the Suzuki Samurai I used to have, but it's still a pretty good 4wheeler and will keep up on the trails with most stock SUVs and do better than quite a few. They're well respected by hard core off roaders and it's a lot more comfortable than the Samurai I had and will go places my Ford Ranger would never get to.

These cost between $18-20k new, but 16 years later I got mine for $2600. It's got 230k miles on it but the body and interior are clean and the engine is freshly rebuilt. I even got a 6 month warranty from the mechanic I bought it from so that's not too bad. I expect I'll drive it for the next ten years or more if I don't do something stupid again.

These are great for backpacking because they're dependable, and will go almost anywhere. The back seats fold down to make a flat deck that has enough room to sleep two if you had to, and more than plenty of room for all your gear and supplies.

So I'm pretty excited. The past couple years I've been pretty limited on where I could go because that Ford Ranger I had would get stuck on flat dry ground. I'm going to take it on some trails for the first time tomorrow and do a little day hiking. It will be ready to change the break in oil after that and then I should be ready to start going places again.