Driving an 04 Mazda Tribute AWD with the 6cyl engine, but it's getting long in the tooth and despite my best efforts, I doubt it'll make it through winter without major repairs and that is money I am now thinking could be better spent on a newer vehicle. I want another AWD, I don't need heavy-duty off-road capabilities, but there is snow where I live and I'm past the age of shoveling my car out every day, so I need a decent clearance underneath. I would like to spend less than 16k if possible but 20k is a hard limit.

Been looking at a 2nd gen Escape but hard to find in good shape, so also looking at more modern ones but they seem to have a lot of problems with the small ecoboost engines post 2012 so not sure about that. Also been looking into post-2016 Kia Sportage, Rav4 is also on the list but it's a bit tight for me (I'm 6'4"), Mazda CX-5 is a possibility but not sure about the soccer mom style... Looked into Jeep Cherokee (maybe Trailhawk) post 2016 but even by staying away from earlier models, it seems Jeeps are always all full of problems (why can't they build them right?), and last but not least, I also considered the Ford Explorer but those also seem to be full of problems.

I'm not a mechanic and I don't have the space to do any sort of work myself, so that means every job will be done by a garage. Having said all that, what would be your recommendations for a second-hand replacement that won't break the bank to buy and won't kill me with $2000-$3000 repairs all the time. My present Tribute had 4 years when I bought it and it now has 21, so that gives you an idea of how long I keep my vehicles.

Regards,

Franco