the short; should I sell my CRV and get a sidekick? how is the rear seat room and cargo area? towing?

the long; about half a year ago I started looking for a small suv in the under $3k range.  Ive mostly driven beater cars and 2wd trucks, but finally wanted to get something in 4wd / awd that would have the space and capability i need.

Some requirements;
*manual transmission was a must
*ability to seat 3 to 4 6'+ adults comfortably was pretty important (I go on long road / camping trips with friends somewhat regularly, all are pretty tall guys, im 6'1")
*some amount of towing capacity, prefferably in the 3000# range but i would settle for 1500#, towing a popup camper or utility trailer.
*reasonable offroad capability, mostly to get unstuck, travel some rutted dirt roads, and get to work in a snowstorm before the plows get to me (I live in rural minnesota)
*versitile and spacious cargo area, prefferably with strong anchor points. i carry allot of stuff around everywhere, tools, emergency supplies, gear for camping, and i need the space to put it and strong tie downs so it dosent fly forward and kill me / my passangers in an accedent.
*reliable, simple and easy to work on, i do all my own maintanance and i dont mind tackling larger problems, but prefer things to be put together in a way that makes sense, if you know what i mean.
*around 25mpg, i commute 40 miles to work and lower mpg would kill me.

I pretty much narrowed it down to a crv, rav4, or sidekick. I dont want to deal with subarus because of the low ground clearance and reliability issues, i thought about a cherokee but the fuel economy made it a no go.

I was keeping my eye out for any one of them and a fairly rust free an 01 crv came up for sale for a really good price and i jumped on it. I admit, I like it allot and it fits all the requirements quite well.

except, well the 4wd system and mabey the ease of maintanance. I knew this would be the weak point from my reserch. it does work for what i need, dont get me wrong, it surpassed my expectations in the snow. but, I cant help but think about a locking transfer case, low range, solid axles etc.....also, i did a timing belt change and a bunch of other maintanance when i first got it, and its a pretty cramped engine compartment. it was doable without too much trouble, but not ideal. for example, to change 2 of the 3 drive belts you have to remove the other belts, unbolt the ps pump, and unbolt an engine mount. They also put the alternator right under the brake master cylinder, so if you spill any fluid you could fry your alternator

also im not 100% sure on reliability, people say they are reliable when maintaned, but that means adjusting the valves every 20k or you might burn an exhaust valve, changing the rear diff / transfer case fluid often with honda propriatery fluid (4wd system is an automatic hydrolic clutch intigrated with the rear diff) . It might have been driven rough or by someone inexperienced, but at 175k 5th gear syncro is starting to get worn out.

so, should i stick with what ive got, or would i be happier with a sidekick? assuming i can find one....

Sidekicks are great little cars, but they are far from your requirements.  Stock they are rated at 80.5 hp, so with four 6'+ men and the gear for them they will be loaded down.  They are rated to pull 500 lbs., so are on 1/3 of your lower towing numbers.  They only have a solid axle in back, and the front ifs is aluminum, good on roads but doesn't hold up to thrashing on rocks and off road.
The newer Grand Vitara's and XL7's can be found with the 2.7L V6 and 185+ hp.  They are larger vehicles than the Sidekick, so will carry more of your gear (I do not know their towing capacity), but they are also heavier.  They also have IFS in front, but one with a 2.7L will have a steel front diff that will hold up MUCH better than the aluminum one in the Kickers.  They have a real transfer case with selectable high, low, and neutral gear ranges, and can be found with manual transmissions (but automatics are more prevalent). 

Let me start by saying this - if an 01 CRV meets your requirements, then you're settling for a lot less than you're stating, and a Sidekick, will more than meet those requirements.

Coming from a different angle, if we look at the requirements as stated, then, as BRD HNTR has pointed out, the Sidekick will be both underpowered, and undersized (as will CRVs & RAV4s of all generations), you'll need either an XL-7 or a third gen Grand Vitara to meet the requirements for space, you won't get a three thousand pound towing capacity, not in anything Suzuki builds (and certainly not in a CRV or RAV4)

Yes - I am a Suzuki fan - but, I'm also quite familiar with the CRVs & RAV4s and from the time you mention transfer case and low range, you can eliminate everything in the compact/mid sized SUV market that wasn't built by Suzuki.

thanks for the responses, its kind of what i figured. it does seem that suzuki is the only player in the compact suv game with a transfer case / low range. I took a look at the grand vitaras, but the reliability record really put me off. about half of the reviews i saw had conplaints about reliability, so I guess that was off the list for that reason..

the crv is a gen 1.5, so its got 147hp, and actually can tow 3k just fine, ive done it. the trailer hitch that came on it is rated for 3,500, and the australian specs for the crv (same car as the us version) have it towing 3k. the us version is officially rated for 1500, but its capable of twice that. I figure im fine legallynif my hitch says 3500. it has enough space for me, can carry 3 guys and 3 packs easily, although its a bit squatted, 3 guys 3 packs and a loaded trailer i probably wouldnt try. seats 4 comfortably but not enough room for gear. I have my normal emergency gear and tools in a large heavy duty tote in the back, and theres 4 decent tiedowns i have it strapped to with some 10,000# ratchet straps. with this setup im able to have the rear seats back, and can buckle the seatbelts across them, im pretty confidant the bin will not come forward with this setup in an accedent, which has always been a concern.

I guess the power and towing capacity was the main thing that leaned me twards the crv. both the sidekick and to a lesser extent the rav4 are more capable offroad, the rav4 atleast has a 4wd lock. I know the crv has better interior space than the rav4, wasnt sure about the sidekick. I was aware that the sidekick was ifs, i was unaware the diff was aluminum although im not supprised. I was thinking itd be possible to do a solid axle mod however, whereas with the fwd based compact suv's its impossible really. the rear alloy diff / transfer case unit on the crv seems pretty weak and exposed, as do the driveshafts etc. Honestly im not looking to do serious wheeling but i would atleast like to be able to lock it in 4wd and a low range would be really nice, id be satsfied having those two even if it was ifs.

Again thanks for the responses, its shed some light on the subject. if you consider it a compact suv, i suppose a jeep cherokee would probably fit the bill better than the 3 of these, except for the fuel economy.

Let me start by addressing the towing - the limitation is not so much what you can move with the vehicle, but what you can properly control and more importantly, stop.  I would also caution you not to assume that the US & Australian versions of the vehicle are the same - most manufacturers "tailor" their vehicles to suit the markets they are being built for (assuming the markets are large enough) - to provide a couple of examples, Australians drive on the left, so the steering wheel is on the right, Americans drive on the right, so the steering wheel is on the left - coming closer to the point - my second gen GV was built for the African market and has the 2.0 litre four cylinder engine making it roughly comparable to the 2.0 litre Vitaras & Trackers sold in the US, but it has larger brakes and lower axle gearing making it better suited to towing than the equivalent US models - mine is also missing all of the emission controls that a US model would have, so I also have more power, but poorer fuel economy.  Australian models of this vehicle are similar to the one I have in terms of brakes & gearing, and whilst they have more of the emission controls, it's still less than those required in the US.

The last thing I want to address here is the tow hitch - hitch manufacturers do make hitches that are rated for more than the vehicle manufacturer rates the vehicle for - vehicle manufacturer limitations take precedence - check with your insurance adjuster.

Moving on to interior space - in order of interior room I think you'll find it's CRV, Sidekick and then the Rav4 - I personally found the Rav4 to be quite cramped.

Reliability - I'm really not certain what the reliability issue you read about is, but, as a long term Suzuki owner/driver - I drove my first Suzuki almost thirty-five years ago, as a family we've owned, eight or nine, and at this point we have three - a V6 first gen (that was never available in the US - think of it as a Sidekick with a V6), a second gen and a third gen - I can't single out any as being more or less reliable than anything else we've owned along the way - which would include numerous Toyotas, a couple of Mitsubishis, a Nissan or two, and half a dozen British marques that no longer exist.

Like most vehicles, proper maintenance is the key to reliability.

If I had to single out any of the vehicles I've owned as unreliable, it would be one of the Mitsubishis that has one of the early GDI engines with a voracious appetite for ignition coils (it has "coil-on-plug" ignition) and also the "coking" issues for which the GDI engines are known.  Interestingly enough, despite the issues I've had with this vehicle, I am quite fond of it, it has Mitsubishi's SuperSelect four wheel drive system, and as compact SUVs go it is a VERY capable vehicle - I'm hoping to do an engine swap for the MPI version of the same engine.

In terms of maintenance & accessibility - I do the bulk of my own work, and I'll take a front engine, rear wheel drive vehicle over a transverse engine one any day of the week - the Rav4 is an absolute pain to work on, the CRV is a little better, in comparison, a Sidekick or GV is a breeze.

thanks for the reply fordem, you are right i should probably be carefull towing a trailer as heavy as the car, even if it can pull it fine.

As far as the reliabiluty of the vitara / grand vitara, i found a fair number of bad reviews on carsurvey.org. many good ones as well, but enough bad ones to be concerning. the sidekick had pretty consistantly good reviews.

i was at the junkyard today and got the chance to check out the interiors and engine compartments of some of the cars i was thinking of, they didnt have a sidekick however. the jeep had terrible headroom! it was hard to believe for a relitively large american made vhicle that it couldnt fit me comfortably. and no rear seat leg room. the rav-4, like you said, was not quite as good as the crv, but it was decent. it lacks the large under floor storage the crv has in the back, and is generally smaller inside. seats arent as nice either and the head rests arent tall enough.

well all in all, i do think i made the right decision with the honda, and think ill stick with it and mabey do a few things to make it a bit more capable.thanks so much for all your feedback.

Be careful with the tow ratings. The 3k rating is most likely WITH trailer brakes, the 1500 is without.

Did some checking. Australian trailers over 750Kg must have brakes. Since Suzuki tow rating is high enough to tow a trailer over that rate, the trailer would have brakes, hence the 3k rating.

suzukis are great.  Sounds like a 99-05 tracker/vitara/xl7 is what you’d like more than the older model.  They are similar, but with more power and refinements.  Yes a little heavier but 3000 lbs for a 5 for 4wd suv is still light as heck!  And has AC!
Spacious easy to manage engine bay with the 4cyl.   They are very reliable, well made, and cheap to work on. 
And..... low range.  Enough said. 
Best part is they are cheaper to buy than the Honda by quite a bit. 
But, I don’t think it’s good for 4 big dudes to go long road trip.  Need at least mid size for that.

what kind of fuel economy could I expect from a 99-04 vitara?

again, the number of negative reviews ive read about it concern me. yes about half or more are saying its reliable, but a number are saying not.

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/suzuki/vitara/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.edmunds.com/amp/suzuki/vitara/

4cyl get 23-25mpg. Not sure about v6.