Shopping for a new SUV, info and opinions please.

[krawler]

Its getting close to buying a new SUV, my chev blazer is getting to small for the family and its time for a 4 door.

 

I dont like the trend of many manufacturers going to a cross over vehicle. That being said my choices are limited. I travel to the cottage every weekend throughout the year, need a suv for my finacee, 2 dogs and loads of gear. I often trailer my 16'lund Alaskan back and forth from toronto to the cottage and always pulling road trips for skiing or fishing. On occasion i like doing some minor off-roading as well.

 

Ideally something more fuel efficient than my current blazer would be nice. Options as of now are 2012 Nissan Xterra, Toyota 4runner and even considering and F150 but only the V6 model. I am willing to buy used if i can find a good deal.

 

If you have any experience with the above mentioned suv's please post your likes or dislikes and fuel mileage info. My budget is around the $40,000 mark.

 

thanks for your help.

i hope this post may help others in their search for an suv as well, i assume some people may be in the same situation as i am.

 

If anyone is interested in a fully loaded 03 Chevy Blazer ZR2 150,000km, please let me know.

Edited December 16, 2011 by krawler

[DRIFTER_016]

Can't go wrong with any of the Japanese vehicles. IMHO

I really like my Honda Pilot. Tons of room and it pulls my 18' Fisher and popup camper fine.

It even gets pretty decent mileage.

 

 

[davew3]

For the price check out the 2012 Dodge Ram quad cabs. Lots of room and a good price for a brand new vehcile.

 

Regards

[Skipper D]

O' Krawler buy a krawler ..... lol ..... 4x4 -O IIII O- TJ , there the best in my eyes , i believe we have eight of them now , i buy then from folks to get thier good gas milage who say they are selling then to get some thing better on gas , crazy hu . We've been a jeep family since 2004 , and find them to be great little machines that stand up .

Edited December 16, 2011 by Skipper " D "

[Old Man]

If I was buying right now, it would be a Mitsubishi Endeavor.

[krawler]

I must add that im 6'4" and over 250lbs. my blazer was snug. I sat in a wrangler and found little room for my knees and the dash was very close to my body with the seats back all the way. i felt almost claustrophobic(sp). Have not sat in a grand cherokee yet but fear there may not be enough room for me, the family and being a hoarder, all of my crap.

 

thanks

[Skipper D]

One of the things we ran into was the all wheel drives is it means no two wheel drive if you want it , every one knows when your in two wheel drive you burn less gas then you do when your in four wheel or the all wheel drive , We walked away from a new Commander last winter for that reason and it blew the sales man away , he know i was right , but each to hhis own i guess .

[BillM]

I'd buy a previous gen Tahoe/Suburban (short wheelbase if the fullsize is too big)... The 350 and 4L80E is a bulletproof drive train. More room then anything else mentioned in this thread, real 4x4 and get's 20mpg... Also parts are dirty cheap, you ALWAYS need more room then you think

Edited December 16, 2011 by BillM

[torco]

I'd buy a previous gen Tahoe/Suburban (short wheelbase if the fullsize is too big)... The 350 and 4L80E is a bulletproof drive train. More room then anything else mentioned in this thread, 4x4 and get's 20mpg... Also parts are dirty cheap, you ALWAYS need more room then you think

 

Depending on the size of these dogs sounds like you need something in large SUV size range.

[Skipper D]

I should go on to say the dealer did call us back later to tell us that they found a commander that offered both vetures 4x4 or 2 wheel on demand , buy then it was to late , we had already bought another jeep kj that the wife wanted .

The commander is an all a round great vehicle and a good choice for a big family if it comes with 2 and 4 on the fly .

Edited December 16, 2011 by Skipper " D "

[DRIFTER_016]

I must add that im 6'4" and over 250lbs. my blazer was snug. I sat in a wrangler and found little room for my knees and the dash was very close to my body with the seats back all the way. i felt almost claustrophobic(sp). Have not sat in a grand cherokee yet but fear there may not be enough room for me, the family and being a hoarder, all of my crap.

 

thanks

 

 

My buddy is 6'7" 350#'s and he drives one of them caddy suv things like whut da gangstas drive.

He has ridden as a passenger in my Pilot and did not look wholey unconfortable even with the seat forward due to there being 3 more peeps in the back seat (all dressed in wading gear I might add).

 

The Mitsubihi's are nice but I find them a little lacking in overall quality of components.

The guy that works for me had an '08 Outlander and I found that it was hollow sounding when closing the doors (like they really should have dynamatted them to make it more solid sounding). The Endevour may be different and they do have an excellent warranty.

[bigbuck]

New F150 with the EcoBoost engine will do all you ask of it and more. The fuel economy will be on par or a bit better than your current truck with more usefulness. And besides, its a real truck.

[DRIFTER_016]

New F150 with the EcoBoost engine will do all you ask of it and more. The fuel economy will be on par or a bit better than your current truck with more usefulness. And besides, its a real truck.

 

 

The only problem with it is it's excruciatingly painful on long trips as the seats are about as comfortable as old wooden bleachers.

[esoxansteel]

If you like 60,000 km warranties buy a Ford F150, my company truck is one, and a V6 its a pig on fuel, its on its 3rd CD player and 3rd fuel pump, and Ford says in the manual that you only have to change the oil every 12,000kms, and you know what that leads to, hence the 60,000km warranties I guess

 

My personal vehicle is a Jeep Grand Cherokee LTD with a 5.7 litre HEMI it gets 27mpg on the hwy and 18 in the city, and has tons of pep, has the MDS as well where it cuts back to 4 cylinders if your not on the pedal hard, my previous vehicle was the same with a 4.0 Litre I-6, that was bullet-proof and has over 450,000 kms and is still going strong

[solopaddler]

and even considering and F150 but only the V6 model.

 

 

F150 is a great choice imo, but you'll get way better gas mileage on the hwy, especially towing with a V8.

 

The V6 in a full sized truck is working too hard and gas mileage suffers.

 

I drove to Nakina twice this year in 2 different full sized F150 crew cab 4X4's.

 

Great vehicles, tons of room, and believe it or not just slightly more expensive to drive up there and back than my 2.4L 4 cylinder Nissan XTrail. I was absolutely amazed.

 

Ford has lots of incentives right now too if you're in the market.

[BillM]

F150 is a great choice imo, but you'll get way better gas mileage on the hwy, especially towing with a V8.

 

The V6 in a full sized truck is working too hard and gas mileage suffers.

 

 

 

Mike, the EcoBoost is a turbo charged V6 making 365hp/420ftlbs. It's pretty much dead on with the V8 motors that Ford offers.

 

Now a normal, naturally aspirated V6, absolutely... I'd pick a V8 over that anyday...

[Fang]

If you're close to an Autopark Krawler, drop by and test drive a few to get a feel for size and comfort. I've bought my last several vehicles from them (gently used). When we bought my wife's SUV (GMC Envoy) we test drove a Toureg, Murano, Cadillac SUV, Ford Edge and a few other I can't recall all in one afternoon.

 

I wanted to drive a Hummer H3 and the Ford 250 but my wife wouldn't let me.

 

I've got a Ford expedition and love it. Been looking at the Honda Pilot as a possible replacement in the next year or so

[bigbuck]

Cherokees are kinda nice too but I've had a bad experience with JEEP and would never go back. Ford is staking a lot on the new motor and I think it will be a good one. I haven't heard anything really bad about them.

[craigdritchie]

I must add that im 6'4" and over 250lbs. my blazer was snug. I sat in a wrangler and found little room for my knees and the dash was very close to my body with the seats back all the way. i felt almost claustrophobic(sp). Have not sat in a grand cherokee yet but fear there may not be enough room for me, the family and being a hoarder, all of my crap.

 

thanks

I think you'll find both the the Xterra and the 4Runner have about the same amount of space as the Blazer. None of them are particularly roomy vehicles compared to a full-size truck.

 

If you're comfortable with a used vehicle, you can find plenty of good deals on lease-return Suburbans and Tahoes. Depreciation on these is huge, so you can save a bundle by going with a two- or three-year old truck. Most of these were only used to go to and from the mall, mainly by people who like to buy the image of being rough and adventurous. They're surprisingly good on gas, and will tow pretty much anything.

 

If you prefer a new vehicle, Ford's current pricing deals are really hard to beat.

Edited December 16, 2011 by Craig_Ritchie

[lew]

I'm just finishing my 2nd year with my 2010 F-150 and so far it's been a fantastic truck. I've got the Supercrew and the space in the back seat is unbelievable, specially with the rear seat folded up and it would be fine for your dogs.

 

It's very comfortable, even the seats that Drifter doesn't seem to like

 

Mines got the 5.4 V-8 and it's more than enough power to haul my 3500 pound boat around. Mileage isn't all the great but I knew that going in and if I was concerned about gas mileage, I woulda bought a Honda Civic.

[solopaddler]

the EcoBoost is a turbo charged V6 making 365hp/420ftlbs. It's pretty much dead on with the V8 motors that Ford offers.

 

 

 

So no difference in gas mileage then between the two?

[Raf]

turbo likely requires premium fuel (i am speculating, most if not all forced induction gas engines require the good stuff) and it's difficult to say just by hp/tq numbers alone.. let's see WHERE in the rpms the turbo 6 makes its power compared to the 8.

Edited December 16, 2011 by Raf

[DRIFTER_016]

turbo likely requires premium fuel (i am speculating, most if not all forced induction gas engines require the good stuff) and it's difficult to say just by hp/tq numbers alone.. let's see WHERE in the rpms the turbo 6 makes its power compared to the 8.

 

 

Regular fuel.

365 hp @ 5,000 rpm.

420 #ft of torque at 2,500 rpm.

Direct injected twin turbo.

 

Mileage is the same as the V8.

 

 

Seats are still uncomfortable.

[lew]

Seats are still uncomfortable.

 

[bushart]

Heard on the radio just today from Kanata Ford in Ottawa

 

Brand new f150 super crew 4x4 fully loaded--$25.900

 

Think it's less than I paid for my 2010