Going to buy an SUV. Which one??

[JR2]

Okay I have to buy a new SUV for my wife as we are having a baby in July and a Jeep Wrangler is not the best baby/family transporter. Any way we are having trouble finding the SUV of our dreams and I wonder what others out there in TDR land have. My wife likes GMC YukonXL's and I like diesel pickups



what does your wife drive for an SUV and give your opnion.



Here are some of the SUV's we have looked at.



GMC Yukon, Denali and XL

Surban

Caddy Esclade and SXR (too much $$$)

Dodge Durango 04 - I like it, wife hates it

We are going to look at the toyota sequoia and all the ford stuff soon.



Any one have strong opnions or experience I need to factor into my buying decision.

 

[mazdarotary]

I am not a big Jeep fan but I hear they will be offering a diesel powered Liberty soon. I am not sure when but if it it is true maybe one of them would suit both of your likes. Her with the SUV and you with the diesel.



I prefer small cars so my choice would be a Subaru Forrester but it seems to me you want a large SUV.



Chris

92 D250 LE CC

74 Mazda Rotary truck

83 Mazda RX-7

 

[JConley]

My wife drives a Powerstroke Excursion. It gets around 18 MPG. You wont find a gas powered SUV that does this good. Trust me. . If you get an Excursion, you will love the room. We had a Durango before this, and it just didnt have enough room for 2 kids and all the gear we haul around.

 

[RustyJC]

My wife has a 2000 Durango SLT+ that she really likes, but she's probably going to an Acura MDX when she trades.



Rusty

 

[Ncostello]

Me and my sister grew up in the back seat of a Datsun B210, a Toyota Celica (5speed emblem on the trunk lid so as to signify great fuel economy in the late 70's!!), and finally a Plymouth Horizon. After the Horizon dad got a S-10 Blazer and mom got a Buick Somerset. But we were too good to be caught riding with our parents at that point so I dont remember much about them . We turned out OK too!



I like big trucks and personally would go with a Suburban or Excursion myself... but I really want an H1. Maybe the compact cars of my child hood impacted me mentally somehow.



If a big SUV is what your after I'd go with a Tahoe or a Expedition. Their size is perfect. The Expeditions now are more suited for female drivers. The pedals are adjustable, The steering wheel is closer to the dash and the power folding seat is nice.



Perhaps also consider the GMC Envoy. The LT is quite large yet its a midsize SUV. Plus its got an inline 6!!

 

[JohnE]

Why not just an AWD mommie van? No they are not an "SUV" but they get my clan around just fine and the highway mileage rivals my RAM.

 

[ndurbin]

My parents have an 00 Durango and an 02 Liberty. Out of the two the Liberty is nicer and rides better.

 

[Jeff Clark]

My wife drives a 02 Suburban and loves it. If you want something diesel powered, buy a used Excursion with the 7. 3. I had a 7. 3 in my 01 F250 and never had a problem with it.

 

[Bertram65]

If it's not too small a Mercedes ML350, you can get them for around $37K lightly optioned. You cannot beat them for safety, both in an accident and with the ESP in preventing an accident. Plus the service and warrantee are top notch.

 

[BigCarl64]

My vote is on the Toyota Sequoia.

 

[wlowe]

My only suggestion is to get one that has a frame under it. Many of the new smaller SUV's are now unibody construction like most of the auto's on the road. Many are nice looking rigs but in my opinion vehicles with frames are much stronger and safer. My personal preference would either be the Tahoe, Suburban or Excursion, in that order.

 

[JR2]

Why not just an AWD mommie van?

If I buy one of those I would have to drive it... and the wife would be driving my truck. The wife will NOT have a minivan.

 

[JR2]

Got turned down on my offer of $32K on a 2003 Excursion Limited 7. 3 diesel with 40K miles, he was asking $35K.



Have to keep looking

 

[KBennett]

Nissan Pathfinder with the 3. 5 liter V6. Very smooth and quiet.

 

[Rams-n-Hogs]

My wife drives a 2003 Explorer with a 4. 6 V8. Gets about 20 on the road and has plenty of power, and room. Seems to be a pretty good vehicle, so far. Have about 10000 miles on it, with no problems.



Jim

 

[KBlanchard]

My wife drives a 2004 GMC Yukon. She just loves it. Her last vechicle was a 97 Nissan Maxima, but when our second child came along, we needed more room. The best option, if you have kids, is a DVD player. We took our 10 year old and 5 of her friends on a birthday party. They watched Lizzie and we never heard a peep from them. I think if Dodge offered a DVD as an option, my wife would insist on it. Maybe we'll get it after my truck comes in.

 

[Duluth Diesel]

Wait for the VW Toureg V10 diesel to come out. I just read more about it this morning, and I think it said 310 horse and 554 torque. Those numbers are close, just best I can recall. I know the horse is over 300 and the torque is over 550, and its a DIESEL!!!! If I had money pouring out of my rear, I'd let my wife roll in that.

 

[wlowe]

The VW Toureg is one of the newer SUV's that are unibody construction. Not even close to being worth what they want for it. I talked to a VW salesman and he said that a Toureg with the Diesel option would be $60,000. What a joke!

 

[RustyJC]

A body-on-frame SUV is fine if a predominant part of its use is going to be serious off-road stuff, or if it is going to be used for heavy hauling or towing.



On the other hand, the unibody cross-over SUV's offer better fuel mileage, handling, braking, NVH characteristics, etc. if the primary purpose of the SUV is on-road driving in all weather conditions.



Different horses for different courses.



Rusty

 

[Duluth Diesel]

Well, as far as good but fair priced SUVs with real frames, how about the Nissan Xterra? My dad has a 2000 and had been real happy with his. The newer ones are supercharged, too! Based on the Nissan Frontier pickup.