T Nation

SUVs

Off Topic
#1

Well, I woke up at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday (yes, just before Thanksgiving) to see my Ford Explorer on fire. They think the guy who did some ac work for me may have pinched a hot wire resulting in an electrical fire. Bottom Line - the thing is totaled.

Anyway, I am in the market for a new SUV. I need a V8 with decent towing capacity. Anybody have any experience with the Tahoe/Yukon or the Expedition. Also, a couple people have been talking to me about the Toyota Sequoia, but I don’t know much about it.

Either way, thanks in advance for any thoughts.

#2

My vote goes to the Durango. If you can swing it, get the Shelby aftermarket. The only aftermarket Durango that remains a 4WD. Any way, the Expedition has the third seat, but you can’t get an adult inot it (without decapitation). The Durango has a full-height third seat that folds down flat. How about the Excursion? Or the Suburban?

#3

My dad has had a Tahoe for about three years. He loves it. He’s went through the SUV’s too, including about 4 explorers ever since they were introduced. In fact, he claims it’s been the best of them all. It’s a 99 or 00 I beleive, just after the front ends changed. I can vouch for them also. It has tons of room, not too big, fast, and a good ride. Much more affordable than the sequoia too.

#4

I have a 2000 Yukon XL. I find that style of vehicle very handy for me and my family and can hardly imagine how we got along with a smaller SUV before.

However, I’m not really happy with the Yukon. It’s constantly having some sort of little problem, nothing major, just little annoying things that seem to occur monthly. For example, the back windows will just stop rolling down. This has happened twice. Then the horn will stop honking. Then the daytime running lights will go out every week (I’ve stopped replacing them in fact it became so annoying.) Then the seatbelt will stop rolling up and the little plastic part that attaches to the seat will come loose. Similar things have happened with my friend who bought a standard Yukon the same time I got my XL.

It has 60,000 miles on it and my warranty is up. I don’t think I’ll keep it for more than 20,000 more miles. Too bad, because it’s handy, comfortable and looks pretty good (at least my chromed out black one does.) It’s just shoddy when it comes to the details.

Not sure what I’ll get when we replace it. Thought of a Hummer H2 but they’re pretty small on the inside believe it or not (and are pretty much Yukons underneath with massive face lifts). The third row seat only seats one person and the big spare tire takes up a lot of your cargo room. The Escalade is nice as is the Z71 Chevy. A larger Escalade is coming out soon as well, making it as big as the XL. I prefer Japanese cars over American but there aren’t any big SUVs offered besides the Sequoia - and I just think it’s ugly. Right now I’m not sure what to get, but I think I’m done with Yukons.

If you don’t need the cargo space when all three seats are being used, then the new Expeditions look good, especially the Eddie Bauer model. The Navigator is another option, just a bit small for my needs. Good luck!

#5

Thanks for the input guys. I was pretty happy with my Explorer and didn’t plan on being back in the market for a couple of years, but every now and then you get a curve ball. I don’t really like the Durango too much and I agree with Shugs about the Sequoia – doesn’t really do much for me. I tested the Tahoe and the Expedition this weekend. Both were comparable, but I have heard some negatives about the Expedition (I also heard that they are going to discontinue it in a year or two, but I don’t know if that’s true). Anyway, thanks again for all the input.

#6

Love my '99 Suburban LT.

#7

Thanks again for the input. I just want to tell anyone reading this that the Internet is an incredible thing. I used the Internet to send out requests for quotes on both new Explorers and Tahoes. Simply going back and forth with email, I have had offers at dealer invoice (about 85% of MSRP) or below and that is before any rebates. It sure does save a lot of time and frustration associated with actually going in and negotiating. If/when I actually buy something, I will try to remember to let everyone know how easy/difficult the process actually was (i.e., do they do the bait and switch when you get to the dealer).