Best Crossover/SUV for Floods in Manila

[theblob]

Is the Ground Clearance a good reference? Why do crossovers have the same GC as sedans (170mm)?

Looking at i20 Cross, Tucson, HRV, XV, CX5 and Ecosport.

Top priority is the height, second is the price.

[Egan101]

^^^ What's your working budget? Not sure but I guess the Forester offers the best ground clearance with proven AWD capability among the compact and small crossovers. They even had a local event recently to highlight the offroad capability of the Forester.

[theblob]

P1M to P1.3M

Won't be needing it for off-road. City driving lang mostly.

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P1M to P1.3M

Won't be needing it for off-road. City driving lang mostly.

[mda]

Ground clearance is just the length between the ground to the lowest point on the car body.

Instead of looking at ground clearance, you should be looking at the maximum wading depth / flood fording depth.

That said, the best flood forders in your immediate budget are those that are pickup trucks/pickup-based.

Hilux
Fortuner
Strada
Montero
Ranger
Everest
Navarra
Dmax
MUX
Colorado
Trailblazer
etc etc

[theblob]

Wala bang Crossover na may mataas na wading depth? Or aling Crossover yun may pinakamataas na wading depth?

[Egan101]

P1M to P1.3M

Won't be needing it for off-road. City driving lang mostly.

For that amount of money and for city driving purposes, maybe I will get myself a Mazda3 2.0R or a Subaru XV. The Forester or CX5 are also good choices but they are priced more than 1.3M already.

If I want something to beat the flooded areas, I might go with a new Ford Ranger 2.2L XLT.

[theblob]

Definitely won't be buying a sedan. I don't live in a flood prone area but I need a car that can survive sudden increase in flood water.

I drive an Altis now and I want a car at least twice or thrice its wading depth.

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Definitely won't be buying a sedan. I don't live in a flood prone area but I need a car that can survive sudden increase in flood water.

I drive an Altis now and I want a car at least twice or thrice its wading depth.

[snail]

Among your choices, I believe the XV has the highest ground clearance at 225mm. HRV is at 185mm if I'm not mistaken..

[Egan101]

Definitely won't be buying a sedan. I don't live in a flood prone area but I need a car that can survive sudden increase in flood water.

I drive an Altis now and I want a car at least twice or thrice its wading depth.

I guess your best options will be those vehicles mda has suggested. If you want a crossover, the Subaru XV and Forester have proven offroad performance and could take on light flooded areas.

[Challenger75]

Ground clearance is sometimes misleading since some vehicles have okay to good clearance but air intake is set low in the engine bay. Better measure the height of the air intake instead or someone mentioned, published flood-wading depth.

[Monseratto]

Thirteen cars that can pass through floods

1. Land Rover Range Rover

Ground Clearance: 302 mm

Wading Depth: 900 mm

Segment: Luxury Full-size SUV

Base Price: P9 million and above

2. Toyota FJ Cruiser

Ground Clearance: 245 mm

Wading Depth: 762 mm

Segment: Compact SUV (2+2-door)

Base Price: P1.798 million (4.0L V6)

3. Ford Ranger

Ground Clearance: 223 mm

Wading Depth: 800 mm

Segment: Mid-size Pickup

Base Price: P699,000 (4×2 Chassis Cab)

4. Toyota Fortuner

Ground Clearance: 220 mm

Wading Depth: 700 mm

Segment: Mid-size SUV

Base Price: P1.282 million (4×2 G 2.7 Gas A/T)

5. Subaru Forester

Ground Clearance: 220 mm

Wading Depth: 500 mm

Segment: Compact Crossover SUV

Base Price: 1,868 million (2L)

6. Toyota Land Cruiser Prado

Ground Clearance: 220 mm

Wading Depth: 600 mm

Segment: Mid-size SUV

Base Price: P2.972 million (4.0L V6)

7. Mitsubishi Montero Sport

Ground Clearance: 215 mm

Wading Depth: 500 mm

Segment: Full-size SUV

Base Price: P1.208 million (GLX 2.5D 2WD MT (Non-VGT)

8. Ford Everest

Ground Clearance: 210 mm

Wading Depth: 750 mm

Segment: Mid-size SUV

Base Price: P1.29 million (4X2 XLT MT)

9. Chevrolet Colorado

Ground Clearance: 210 mm

Wading Depth: 800 mm

Segment: Compact Pickup

Base Price: P1,148,888 (2.5L 4×2 Manual transmission LT)

10. Mitsubishi Strada

Ground Clearance: 205 mm

Wading Depth: 550 mm

Segment: Compact Pickup

Base Price: P880,000 (2.5 GL 4×2 M/T)

11. Ford EcoSport

Ground Clearance: 200 mm

Wading Depth: 550 mm

Segment: Mini SUV

Base Price: P775,000 (1.5L Ambiente M/T)

12. Volkswagen Touareg

Ground Clearance: 200 mm

Wading Depth: 580 mm

Segment: Midsize Luxury Crossover SUV

Base Price: P4.29 million (3.0 TDI V6 8AT)

13. Suzuki Grand Vitara

Ground Clearance: 200 mm

Wading Depth: 500mm

Segment: Compact SUV

Base Price: P1.16 million (2.4 L 4×2 M/T)

Conclusion

When you are living in a flooded area or constantly commuting to a location which has a long history of flooding, it is best to buy a car that has excellent flood capabilities. In our list, only the Ford Ranger and Ford Ecosport are under P1 million. Some other accessories you could install in your car to enhance its wading performance and draw out water are snorkels and breathing pipes extension.

[LN106G]

in retrospect, crossovers are not meant for crossing flood as they are meant to "hug" the road in the urban jungle and basically with a low fording depth. If you really want a vehicle for this purpose get a pickup or SUV and lift it at your desired height to increase more its fording ability. Personally, even if I drive a 4x4, I still avoid flooded streets if I can. Why? because fording your vehicle in flood invites many problems like water going inside your tranny, differentials, dirty water finding its way into your brake fluid, dirty water finding its way into your wheel bearings, etc and the list goes on. Even SUV/pickups right from the casa are not immune to flood waters. Prep your suv for fording entails a lot of work like relocating your tranny and differential breathers to a higher location, repacking wheel bearings, "waterproofing" the submersible parts of your vehicle, etc..
Still dare to cross a flooded street?

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in retrospect, crossovers are not meant for crossing flood as they are meant to "hug" the road in the urban jungle and basically with a low fording depth. If you really want a vehicle for this purpose get a pickup or SUV and lift it at your desired height to increase more its fording ability. Personally, even if I drive a 4x4, I still avoid flooded streets if I can. Why? because fording your vehicle in flood invites many problems like water going inside your tranny, differentials, dirty water finding its way into your brake fluid, dirty water finding its way into your wheel bearings, etc and the list goes on. Even SUV/pickups right from the casa are not immune to flood waters. Prep your suv for fording entails a lot of work like relocating your tranny and differential breathers to a higher location, repacking wheel bearings, "waterproofing" the submersible parts of your vehicle, etc..
Still dare to cross a flooded street?

[halowan]

I'd throw in the MUX. Really great. Matipid din for city driving and syempre for long drives. Not the fast lang though

[KenGarcia]

If top priority ang height, get a pickup or SUV. Nakita mo naman siguro kung paano bumaha dito satin. Prepare for the worst case scenario. Mamili ka nalang sa list na binigay ni mda

[theblob]

OK I'll rephrase the question. Which crossover has the highest wading depth?

[Egan101]

OK I'll rephrase the question. Which crossover has the highest wading depth?

Based on the data shared by Monseratto, the Ecosport is the cheapest crossover with a wading capability of 500mm. If you want a vehicle with AWD, then the Subaru Forester can fit within your budget (assuming with discounts). XV can also be an option as its platform has similarities with the Forester.

[theblob]

Based on the data shared by Monseratto, the Ecosport is the cheapest crossover with a wading capability of 500mm. If you want a vehicle with AWD, then the Subaru Forester can fit within your budget (assuming with discounts). XV can also be an option as its platform has similarities with the Forester.

Given all the negative feedback about EcoSport and Ford's after-sales service, would you guys get a cheaper, higher EcoSport or a lower and more expensive (but not as much negative feedback) Tucson?

I still can't find the wading depth of the HRV. With the EcoSport at 500mm, XV at 450mm and Tucson at 400mm, then factoring in after-sales service, I might have to settle for the XV or HRV.

[Egan101]

^^^ HARI Motors (Hyundai Local Dealer) has a lot of horror stories regarding its after-sales service. You can browse here in Tsikot the bad experiences of some members with HARI Motors. KIA's local dealer, Colombia Motors, has a better reputation in terms of after-sales service.

Don't expect much from the HRV in terms of ground clearance as it is about the same or lower than the CRV. The CRV sits lower than most of the compact crossovers.

[jut703]

Hyundai has just as awful aftersales as Ford. In fact, I have no problem with Ford except that they're expensive. And the upside is that some Ford dealers aren't expensive. I used to have my car serviced at Ford BGC and my 10k PMS was almost 11k. In Ford Makati, for my 20k PMS, I only spent 8k. And thats with 9L of FS oil already.

[theblob]

What's the reputation of Subaru?