»
Discussion
»
pipTalk Lounge
»
What's the best SUV?
| pipTalk Lounge |
|
What's the best SUV? |
|
|
Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
What is the best mid-size SUV on the market? Does anyone own one? Can you recommend one? |
||
| © Copyright 2003 Poet deVine - All Rights Reserved | |||
|
Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
Miata! |
||
|
Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
SUV does not stand for Sweet Undersized Vehicle....I don't think...LOL |
||
|
Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191Cape Cod Massachusetts USA |
You mean the one that comes equipped with standard bungee cords to hold your luggage in place on the back because you have to put the top down because it won't fit inside??...   |
||
|
Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
Nan, never judge a man by the size of his car.  |
||
|
Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191Cape Cod Massachusetts USA |
 ... Nope - Wouldn't ever make that mistake... |
||
Alexia
since 2001-06-07
Posts 164Sweet And Sassy |
Um Lincoln Navigators are awesome and really nice My mom just bought a 2003 one two weeks ago! ITS SWEET! It's loaded ... dvd players,SunRoof, automatic slide steps and when your sliding steps come out lights come on at night so you can see .. The middle seats recline and there is a back back seat. The seats have heaters on them. It's awesome I love!!!! It has a awesome system in it too. =) So I would recommend the Lincoln Navigators .. even the Mercury Moutaineer's they are really nice too. (We have both) Alexia Cheater's - There not worth your time and most of all not your tears. |
||
|
JP Senior Member
since 1999-05-25
Posts 1343Loomis, CA |
It's not the size of the car that counts, it's how long you can drive it....  Yesterday is ash, tomorrow is smoke; only today does the fire burn. |
||
|
Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
I just bought a Jeep Wrangler. Replaced an old GMC Jimmy SUV. I like m'Jeep. A LOT. Ron - a Miata is not an SUV. SUV's run OVER other cars, not UNDER them! |
||
Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
I'm going to take the environmentalist approach and say... the best SUV is no SUV at all?  |
||
|
Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
But if your heart is set on an SUV, what's the best one? Honda CRV is leading the polls at work..followed by Isuzu Rodeo. |
||
|
Janet Marie Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554 |
My son bought a Chevy Trailblazer...it has an amazing ride...like gliding on glass, some SUV's ride like a truck, this handles like a Cadillac. Its loaded with options and most importantly  has a stereo that rivals concert halls. The Navigators are also very nice...but on both these youre looking at sticker prices of near to over $30,000.Jeep Cherokees are very popular around here. I have friends who had Isuzu's and they spent a lot of time in the shop. My husband drives a GMC Jimmy and its been very dependable and has a solid ride. I'm assuming where you live, youre not needing it for the 4-wheel drive for snow *I saw a report on the Today show, and they said Consumer Reports recently did a huge study on them and ranked them for repairs, gas milege, options, collision results and rollovers, as well as price tags, so maybe you can find that issue on line or at the library. Some smaller midsize foreign models dont have the engine size to back up the SUV expectations or price tag. Its really worth the effort to do your homework on this as the market is being flooded with SUV clones due to the popularity. Good luck!!  |
||
|
Opeth Senior Member
since 2001-12-13
Posts 1543The Ravines |
I hate SUVs, but...if you want to find the best mid-sized SUV on the market, there is one magazine that tells it like it is, without any endorsements or money for the prodcuts reviewed ~ Consumer's Report. |
||
|
Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Head straight for Consumer's Report...or do not pass go, and do not collect $200... I wouldn't have an SUV to date...they are not safe, from what I have read... I won't have a PT Cruiser, either...  |
||
|
Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
This is from a man who, just last Fall, bought a cargo van with a 350 V8, so you should probably take it with a big grain of salt. Now might not be the best time in history to buy a gas-guzzler. It's a little disconcerting to hear your vehicle giggle every time the prices go up again. |
||
|
Opeth Senior Member
since 2001-12-13
Posts 1543The Ravines |
Living in Jacksonville, FL, where we do not have snow, nor do we have any hills, and where in the norm, much traveling is needed to get to places one wants to go, and with gas prices rising, I just shake my head as I see so many SUVs on the road here. Why? What is the purpose of owning these behomoths? I have asked many owners, and here is a sample of the type of replies I get... 1. I need the room for taking kids places: (soccor, baseball, etc). 2. I feel safer. Every day when traveling to work, there are so many SUVs on the road here, yet just about every single one of them is occupied by only one person. Here are the real reasons why people own SUVs in this area of the country... 1. The feeling of being superior to one's neighbor. Human nature of "looking down" on your neighbor in order to feel superior is alive and well. 2. Keeping up with the Jones'. 3. Status symbol. 4. And for the men who drive the really big ones ~ To hide their inadequate feelings. |
||
|
Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
LOL at Opeth. I'm not sure all those things apply since the question was asked for a woman where I work. |
||
|
serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
laughing, I was waiting for Opeth to show up, and I'm proud of you "O"--I truly thought your answer to the question "What the best SUV?" would be-- "A DEAD SUV."  |
||
|
Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
There are some small SUV's that get upwards of 25mpg.... I'd say any of those would be fine -- but -- other than that -- Opeth is right. Buying a big gas guzzler would be downright unpatriotic in these times... This from another man who has a big extended cargo van -- (with a 4.3 V6 18mpg -- probably more if I ever get around to fixing the drippy Throttle Body Injector) -- but -- the thing is -- the vehicle needs to be sized to it's utility -- mine is a business vehicle that's necessary -- some areas need an SUV -- but -- an Escalade or a Navigator are totally unnecessary. The auto companies started pushing them because the CAFE standards (fuel economy) for TRUCKS was less than cars -- but the classification of an SUV as a Truck is about to go away... emission standards are also different... that's why big V8 cars like the Crown Vic are made in Canada -- the emission standards for an IMPORT are less than for a domestic vehicle... You just have to love lobbyists. |
||
|
Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
18 MPG, LR? I'm doing good if I can get 13, and that's mostly open roads, without a load. (And before anyone asks, no, I don't drive the van at the same speeds I drive the Miata.) Sadly, I don't even have the excuse of needing a gas-guzzler for business. Granted, part of the reason for the van was hauling. I did a lot of landscaping last year, plan to do more this year, and picking up 50 bags of mulch in the Miata sucks. But the primary reason I bought the van was for Winter driving. The Miata doesn't just get stuck in snow, it gets LOST in snow. So I got the biggest thing I could find. Right. So I get a vehicle with rear-wheel drive. With most of the weight in front? I've gotten it stuck twice so far, and this wasn't even a heavy-snow year. Worse, the curb weight (no load, no driver) comes in at 4,752 pounds (2,154 Kg). Do you have any idea what happens when you get that much weight moving on a slippery road? Step on the brake and the van just laughs at you. Turn the steering wheel and the front tires just slide in the direction they were previously rolling. Newton said that any object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state, and I'm now convinced he drove a big van in Michigan.  You know, now that I think about it, Sharon, the van is really nothing more than an SUV on steroids. Think your friend would be interested? I'll even deliver it to her door. Next year, I buy a hummer. |
||
|
Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
If you just want something to haul stuff in find an Aerostar and pull the seats out of it. I have one that I paid a dollar for with a 3.0 motor in it. It gets 24 mpg. Rear wheel drive.. sure.. but if front wheel drive was so hot Mercedes would have it... so would Indy cars... Anyhow... the Aerostar handles super fine in snow -- better than any of my other vehicles or a 4 wheel drive... it was built on a Ranger frame so it is a truck... but the front ends were from Mustangs -- so it handles like a car. [This message has been edited by Local Rebel (03-08-2003 10:50 PM).] |
||
|
Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
Ron a Hummer is a Jeep on steroids!!! |
||
|
Jamie Member Elite
since 2000-06-26
Posts 3168Blue Heaven |
The best SUV is the one you can borrow from a friend when you need it. I own a Bronco very powerful 351v8-- 12mpg city--14 hwy My sister owns an Expedition--not as powerful but just almost as bad on fuel consumption Our secreatary owns an Explorer- Weak engine and only gets 14 city and 18 hwy The department operates both a Suburban and an Excursion-- suburban gets about 12 mpg --the excursion is a pos ( piece of crap) that handles like a boat on whitecaps and gets 7 mpg A good friend has a dodge laredo-- what a hunk of junk--been in the shop more than the driveway and gets 10 mpg I had use of a Jeep Grand Cherokee while my bronco was in the body shop-- handled well -had an almost car like ride and got nearly 18 mpg around town. I'm thinking of getting a car. A mitsubishi spyder is at the top of the current list. JThere is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar. |
||
|
defenestrate Junior Member
since 2003-01-10
Posts 46nc, us |
define midsize. i drive a jeep cherokee, and it's the best thing i've ever driven. it's not too big, has some storage space, is tough as nails, seats 5 (though a grand cherokee would seat them a little more comfortably, but i've never had any complaints), will NOT get stuck in the snow (though this does not make it necessarily STOP better in the snow!), and i've driven it through flooded roads that would stop most consumer vehicles. milage isn't that great (16-20mpg typically, getting down to around 14 if i'm jamming on it all the time and up to maybe 23mpg on a long highway drive), but it has plenty of get up and go, and the turning radius is excellent. also, it has less body roll than almost any other trucklike vehicle i've ever driven. it would take work to make this thing roll over. it has been extremely reliable (thanks to the good old amc-designed 4.0l engine and aisen warner 340h tranny, as well as a dual-solid axle suspension that can put up with some abuse) and i plan to hang onto it (or another like it) for as long as feasible. downsides-chrysler service can be iffy, factory rotors are not good, fit and finish can be iffy, ride is rough with stock suspension/tires, there are certain caveats with certain years that should be checked out before buying. in december, an ice storm came through nc and knocked down a lot of trees. the top 30 or 40 feet of a tree about twice that height fell directly on my cherokee, then falling on a car next to it, a large american sedan. damage report: my roof got dinged, a raingutter got almost knocked off, and the roof rack got beat up. the sedan next to it had the roof completely bashed in. one of my neighbors who came out to check out the damage said "wow, you could take that thing to war!), and i think he's right. |
||
|
Cpat Hair
since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793 |
Well... an old International ScoutII or an 800A are both pretty tough vehicles.. take a beating and keep on running..only problem is the last time they made them was in 1980.. but I have two... |
||
|
Spice Senior Member
since 2001-04-13
Posts 1266Resting in my cardboard box. |
Gas hog or not....I LOVE SUV's.... I just feel safer in them. I like the Rodeo's as well. Honda's, on the other hand, are known for their reliability. Sooooo any Honda would be a good choice. I'm also partial to the X-terra's. My boyfriend has had one for a few years now...never had a problem with it. Share Jesa, Stroke Jesa, Pet Jesa, Love Jesa. |
||
|
|
⇧ top of page ⇧ |
|
| All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format. | ||
