Going to buy an SUV. Which one??

[FATCAT]

Well ...

If the Kenworth Grand Dominator or the Pete Crusader are out of the question ... I would go with the Fords, either the Expedition or the Excursion.



The reason is that these are quite popular, with tons of room that you are looking for. My regular machanic is a Ford fanatic and is always telling me about how well they are build, plus you can get a good amount of money back if you decide to trade after a few years.

 

[Eric Kahn]

I would at least try the VW toureg before panning it, also I think GM is going to be selling diesel suburbans again soon, you might check with your local dealer



now if only dodge would put the really nice MB 2. 7 diesel from the sprinter into the durango and 1500 series trucks.

 

[mcoleman]

I've always had Suburbans. My last 4X4 Burban ( 95 model ) got 13 to 15 mpg combined city and highway and 18 mpg on trips. My Dad buys 2wd Burbans and has gotten around 3 mpg better than mine on average. He pulled off 21+ mpg going to Houston. If I bought anything other than another Burban for an SUV it would be an Excursion with the 7. 3 until Chevy gets the Duramax in the YukonXL.

 

[JR2]

Well guys I am going to have to buy a used vechicle as I just don't want the huge payments so I am limited to about $30K for price. I have found several suburbans and Yukons but they are quite spendy (very popular in AK) and all have gas engines. That really does not bother me, but I can get a used Excursion with the 7. 3 diesel that will get 18 mpg for the same $$ and better options. My wife drove the Excursion the other day and loves it. We are going to Washington state for a little vacation at the end of April and I will be doing some serious shopping down there as they have a bunch more choices than here in AK.

 

[duaneparks]

Originally posted by 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.

I'll second this one. My folks just picked one up this past weekend and it is an awesome vehicle with plenty of power and comfort. Heck, theirs even has 3rd row seating.



It's all wheel drive too.



The M-B dealership we went to (I went with them to test drive it) had a few lease-return vehicles as well. These had full warranty to 100K miles, and were all in "as new" shape. Heck, one of them was an '02 with 24K miles on it. They wanted $27K for it. Not bad for a M-B.



Duane