Time for a new SUV.

For tax purposes it must be over 6,000 GVWR. It will get relatively low use (~8,000 yr), don't really need more than five seats, does need to tow a motorcycle trailer comfortably at altitude. If it could tow a lighter race car trailer, that might be a plus in the future. Price is important, as I'd rather spend more $ on sports cars and motorcycles


Share your thoughts, experiences or miscellanious ramblings on these 6K+ GVW'ers:

'04 Ford Expedition, 5.4L
'04 Dodge Durango, both 5.7L Hemi & 4.7L
'04 Toyota Sequoia 4.7L
'04 VW Touareg 3.2L & 4.2L
04 BMW X5 3.0
'04 Volvo XC90 2.5T & 2.9T

For those that are going to suggest the MDX and Pilot, note that they are under the GVW threshold

 

Out of your list, I'd choose the Expedition. But you didn't include what I'd buy: Yukon XL or Suburban, with your choice of chassis, engine and options. If I had to buy a Ford I'd get a PSD Excursion while they still make them. Everything else is just toys, the MDX and Pilot aren't even trucks.

 

Ford Expeditions, suck ass, especially blue ones. A week ago, one rubbed my S2000's front bumper. I wish people would pay more attention, especially when navigating such a huge piece of shit! Just venting, I feel better now.

 

Just looked at the pricing of the Excursion... Actually less than I though. Straight invoice less $2K rebate on a lightly equiped Excursion powerstroke would be about $39K.

Still about $9K more than a similarly equiped 5.4L Expedition, but less additional dollars than I would have guessed.

 

x5 if you do not have to tow
sequoia if you do, great reliable cars, I drove one for a few months, very nice

 

also consider the cost to own the car...... not the initial buy in! resale, gas, maint etc
MAtt

 

I have to agree on the Powerstroke Excursion. You could pull a house with it and not lose power at high altitude, while getting about 20 mpg. They drive well and are fairly comfortable on the road. the Downside is that they are just so damned big.

Any reason you left out the GM products? The Burb is a great driving SUV and if you get the 2500 version you can get Quadrasteer for another $1995 and the monster would be as easy to park as the S2000. I've got the Quadrasteer 1500 extended cab truck and I've piled 54,000 miles on it in just over a year and a half. My beater car is a 3 door Focus and the truck has a tighter turning radius.

I like the VW Touareg 4.2 but it seems too small for much towing even if it is rated for it. I do not like the Durango at all because of the gas mileage issue. They are known for being thirsty.

Are conventional trucks out of the question? The new F150 crew cab with a hard bed cover is quite nice and will seat 5 in comfort. F150's seem to have better than average resale also.

 

pfb, again, not on the list - maybe you don't like GM products? - Tahoe. We have a 2001 with the 5.3, hauls our boat well, and I used it to haul a big chipper back from Oregon (5000+#). Trouble free, super on road trips for comfort, great stereo, plenty of room. Going from home to Denver in the worst of weather, it handles exceptionally.

 

CG - quadrasteer on 2500's?! Can I get that in a 2500HD sierra? I looked when it was new, and was told it was only available on the 1500.

 

It is available on the 2500 Sierra but not the 2500HD. There's not that much difference between the two but in the 2500 non-HD you can't get the Duramax and Allison. Same thing on the slightly lower priced Silverado's. My wife and I both want the Duramax w/ Allison crew cab. We even brought one home overnight for an extended test drive but after trying to park it between cars at the mall we decided we couldn't give up the Q'steer. It is so good I can't see why it's not available on every full size vehicle. We love it. We could get a 2500 crew with Q'steer but if we trade we want the diesel.