Diesel SUV....what would you buy?

[JBlakeman]

Hey all,



I love my Cummins truck however being a daily driver the miles are getting up there... . and it's not always practical for daily runs and grocery shopping. I'm a oil burner guy so I've been researching diesel SUV's that can supplement the truck. Main things I've been looking at is longevity, reliability, and room.



I've been looking at domestic's for the most part which is confined to 90's GM Suburban, early 2000's Ford Excursion, or the VM / MB Jeep's from a few years ago... .



Well I'm ruling out the GM trucks since they are already on a antiquated chassis and the 6. 5 engine while for the most part are reliable they do have nagging little issues and are quite weak in terms of performance. The 05 - 06 Liberty's are a little small (especially in the back seat) and since I'm 6'3" I feel like I'm looking out the sun visor while driving... . though the VM engine is very well known overseas as being a great powerplant. I've driven both the 7. 3 Excursion (avoiding the 6. 0 models... . ) and the Grand Cherokee CRD. Though one is midsize and the other is a beast... both have strengths and weaknesses... .



The 3. 0 M-B engine in the GC is a techy clean powerplant with great power... . it's roomier than the Liberty though not nearly as "truck like" as the Excursion when it comes to handling... . I just don't know how the reliability of these will be in the long term or the required maintenance intervals. I know it needs "special" engine oil to avoid seal / turbo issues and if anything goes bad (i. e. injectors) what's the labor $$$ going to be to replace... .



The Excursion has loads of room, the 7. 3 being an older motor is still a beast with plenty of power and according to most Ford owners is bulletproof... . The only big downside is most of these trucks already have close to 200K on them and harder to find clean units that haven't been abused... .



Considering I'm keeping the truck what choices have any of you made... . or in the same shoes?



Thanks,



Jon

 

[AEdelheit]

We were looking at diesel SUV's too for a while, the Toureg drives really nice but not cheap to buy or maintain. The GC should have a diesel soon which would be awsome, we love our 12'GC. other then that the options are pretty limited, the Excursion with a 7. 3 would be the next best IMO, as you said the Libertys are too small and twitchy on the highway.

 

[mpaulson]

If you can find a good Excursion that the interior and body are in good shape, and "destroke" it with a 12 valve, then you will have an awsome large SUV. If my wife would drive something that big, I'd have one for my second vehicle. There are lots of kits out there that make this a drop in procedure with wiring harnesses and all.

 

[DAN V]

If you can find a good Excursion that the interior and body are in good shape, and "destroke" it with a 12 valve, then you will have an awsome large SUV. If my wife would drive something that big, I'd have one for my second vehicle. There are lots of kits out there that make this a drop in procedure with wiring harnesses and all.

I second this motion!! I had a 2000 EX and the thing was a beast. However, everytime I went to get groceries in the thing I had to remove the rear seat. The seat weighed at least 75 lbs. This is not easy on the back. Other than the rear seat I had no complaints. I got about 17 mpg every day. Big tank too. Expensive for a fillup.

 

[Road Dog]

Up here in the Great White North we import Japanese Diesels like the Toyota Hilux (aka 4Runner) or Land Cruisers. The only downside is they're right hand drive.
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Companies like Mustang Connection specialize in importing and making sure the vehicles meet North American regulations. Around Whistler there's a lot of Mitsubishi Delica 4x4s too.
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[Wayne M.]

Co- worker just picked up a real clean eddie bauer Excursion 7. 3. Quite a nice truck. In retrospect, the 7. 3 wasn't a bad engine afterall. It's just when things start to go bad... ... ... I'd still consider a 2500 '6. 5 'burban but without barn doors- they leak. My rig at the job is a 2000 K2500/ 6. 5 and is a decent truck. The 3. 0 GC/ benz and CRD liberty scares me 'cause of inevitable parts problems. I kinda like the BMW X diesel, don't know your budget tho. It's tough being an oil burner guy... Now the SCR deal is widely accepted, maybe some of the euro jobs will start coming over. A few years ago there was talk of a Honda CRV diesel. I was salivating over that.

Road Dog- Those are NICE... .

 

[HBarlow]

Would a small hatchback serve your needs? I have wanted a VW Golf TDI for some time. The small VW TDI engine will deliver about 40 mpg, even more sometimes. It's not as large as a SUV and lacks the ground clearance for rough terrain but is is relatively inexpensive to buy and cheap to operate.

 

[icman95]

My wife and I had the same discussion last December. We wanted to put her 12mpg '99 Durango into semi-retirement, but didn't want to buy anything too new with big car payments. Also looking for better mileage. Took a little work to find, but bought an '05 Liberty CRD. Had 99k on it when we bought it and now almost 111k. We love it. It is a bit small, but that's what my wife wanted-smaller than the Durango. Gets 19-20 around town and so far the best hwy was 26, though I think we could probably get closer to 27 given the chance. The 4-banger diesel engine is GREAT! 295 ft/lbs torque. Goes like hell and if you wanted to you could burn the rubber to the rims. Has a great little diesel clatter that is music to most of the ears on this site, though non diesel believers might not understand. As you can see-given an easier trail, it can even keep up with the big guys.



Maybe a six-footer like you could make do with Grand Cherokee instead. Either way, the Jeeps are built like tanks. The Liberty is our 4th and we have no regrets. Good luck.

 

[Wayne M.]

Then again there's always this

Jeep J8

If you have the right connections... It has the 2. 4 VM Lib engine...

 

[AH64ID]

I would love to see a Durango or a Honda Pilot in a diesel. Even the GMC Acadia would work. . Basically anything with a 3rd row!

 

[JBlakeman]

Great replies all... .

I'm trying to stay under $24K which limits getting anything new or at least any foreign diesel which would be pricey. I like sitting up high which keeps SUV's as my only choice. My step brother has a 09 Jetta TDI that is a good little car but I'm not a little car person nor like sitting down low after driving a truck for as long as I have... .

I actually wanted to stay with Dodge and drove the Durango's but like some have said the mileage is disappointing where at best you get 18 - 19 highway light footing it... . though did love that Hemi sound... .

I do like Jeeps and the Grand Cherokee is very well built go anywhere 4x4. The 3. 0 M-B diesel is icing on the cake... I just need assurance that the cramped engine compartment (reminds me some of the 6. 0 PSD engine compartment) is not going to haunt me with issues that are going to cost money once the odometer is north of 100K... .

The Excursion is basically a truck with a SUV body and 3rd seat... . the 7. 3 if taken care of can last a very long time. The only real issue here is age (most are near 200K in miles) and Ford reliability... . will it have the same "big truck" issues like my Ram (ball joints, steering, u-joints, etc. ). As long as the body holds up it certainly could qualify as a Cummins repower once the 7. 3 is at retirement age... .

 

[DBentley]

Here in the northeast i don't think I would buy a SUV (grocery getter) for the family because the short trips would make for poor fuel economy all winter and as we all know diesel engines take forever to warm up when its cold out even with the block heater.
I love my cummins in the summer it never gets hot even towing,traffic,4x4 loaded up on the beach in 95 deg weather. But winters are a no fun in my truck.

 

[jgillott]

I would personally love to find a 7. 3L Excursion. However, they are few and far between in this area. The owners know what they have and don't seem to want to let them go.

 

[rscurtis]

Mazda is supposed to introduce a diesel SUV for the 2013 model year.

 

[JBlakeman]

I won't be buying new... don't want to take the depreciation hit... so it sounds like the Excursion is the way to go... .