Time has come for me to purchase an SUV. I want something that looks good around town and can pull my car to the track occasionally when needed. Im leaning towards a 2000-2003 ;GMC denali, toyota sequoia, or landcruiser. Any pros and cons are welcomed.
i'm located in korea but will be back in florida next wednesday. i think the longer vehicles are a bit too much for me. I do like the tahoe and the yukon and haven't totally ruled them out. i like the toyota vehicles too. i think they get a better gas mileage but may suffer in the area of towing strength.
Hmmm...tough choice I guess. I work for a Toyota dealer, so I will tell you what I know. The rear sags alot under heavy towing, and I have heard it is a little underpowered. I really don't think Toyota has it right yet. The Big Three have some serious towing power, and have been doing it for years. Toyota builds a more practicle vehicle, and has excellent build quality. I prob would stay away from a Land Cruiser...VERY expensive to buy and service. However the thing is a tank, and will go across a desert with no problem! The Sequoia has roughly the same engine for 10-15 grand less. Oh ya, small world, I was born in Seoul, Korea in 1973. 121st evacuation hospital...would like to go back some day to see it, as I left when I was 2 months old.
Denali I have owned two Denalis and love them there very comfortable and classy. I tow my sea doos, offshore boat and snowmobiles and there awesome tow vehicles.I traded 2000 in for a 2002 Cadillac DTS and i traded the 2002 in for a 2005 Cadillac Escalade which is totally awesome a step up from the Denali. Keep the Escalade in mind when your looking but buy from a Cadillac dealer if you buy an Escalade and have it certified the only maintainace out of pocket is oil changes & tire rotations. The down side to all the vehicles is gas mileage but you dont buy them for the gas mileage anyway.Go drive all three.
2003 Toyota Landcruiser ($42-45K)KBB 230-hp @ 4,800 rpm 4.7L V8 (might have to run premium only) 5 speed auto w/OD 320 lbs.-ft. @ 3,600 rpm 230-hp @ 4,800 rpm Max trailer weight: 6,500 See more HERE. 2003 Toyota Sequoia ($28-32K)KBB 320 lbs.-ft. @ 3,600 rpm 230-hp @ 4,800 rpm Max trailer weight 6,200 Its based off the tundra platform and came out in 2001. For more go HERE. Both of the Toyota's seem alot more pricey but they hold there value in the long run a ton better than GMC, Ford, Dodge or Chevy. 2003 GMC Yukon($26-35K)KBB (Denali is $49K) City:12 -14mpg Highway:1517mpg 275-hp, 4.8-liter V-8 285-hp, 5.3-liter V-8 285-hp, 5.3-liter V-8 (flexible) 320-hp, 6.0-liter V-8 Max trailer weight:8,000 320-hp @ 5,000 rpm 365 lbs.-ft. @ 4,000 rpm To see more go HERE.
tahoe IF YOU LIKE THE 12" SHORTER WHL BASE TAKE THE TAHOE - 280 FROM THE 5.3-6.0 IS 300, NEVER SEE MUCH DIFF TOWING TO ME- IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS I DRONE A DENALI XL-IT IS NICER THAN OUR TAHOE'S IN A FEW REGARDS-1-MOTOR, AND 2=THEY USE THE SEATING SURF AND CARPET FROM THE ESCALADE, AND HENCE THE PRICE. ALL OF THE VEHICLES YOU MENTION CAN CERTAINLY DO WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO, HOWEVER, HAVING BEEN EMPLOYED BY GM DEALERS FOR 16 YEARS NOW, I HAVE THE LUXURY OF HAVING BEEN EXPOSED TO MANY, MANY VEHICLES. THERE ARE ALOT OF GOOD, QUALITY VEHICLES OUT THERE TODAY, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO TRUCKS, STRUCTURALLY THE BIG 3 HAVE IT LICKED - ESP GM. :Smarty:
We have a 170,000 mile 96 Yukon and with a set of load control bars and the swaybar and even the wife can tow at 75mph with no problems. Here she is cruising ahead of me on the way back from Oklahoma.
It seems that most people on this board don't think to highly of Fords, but if you want lots of room, excellent fuel economy and enough torque to pull tree stumps consider an Excursion with a Power Stroke diesel. A diesel Excursion will out pull the Taho, Escalade, Sequoia, Denali and Land Cruiser combined and still give you great fuel economy. My last two vehicles have been Expeditions which pulled my cars and trailer satifactorily with the 5.4 V-8 with excellent service, but my next vehicle will be a Ford F-250 or F-350 diesel. IMHO, for the money, there is nothing better on the road when it comes to towing.
A 04 Sububran is nice also. My brother has one of those, good power good accelration. I think he gets between 14-16mpg on the highway. Overall for a chevy its nice.
I have a friend that has one and he is one of 3 that I know of that hate the fords for towing. In their own words " They can suck dents into the gas tank as it goes down the road" (refering to the bad mileage) I seem to get with a trailor on the Yukon about 10-12 mpg @ 75-80 mph unless you get into a head wind and then it drops.
Denali, hands down. Toyotas are nice but just don't quite have the guts yet. Check out the towing rates and acceleration.
Not trying to stir the pot, but what about the new Nissan Armada. That thing is huge and has some serious horsepower.
i did drive the armada and it just sounds powerful, plus they boast of being able to tow over 9000lbs- i guess i can throw that in the pot if the price is right. Anybody else drive the armada?
Seqouia! Just bought an '05, which took a hp boost to 282/325 tq this year, along with a new 5-speed automatic. Plenty of guts now! Outstanding vehicle, and averaging about 16 mpg. Here's why I picked it over the GM's: 1. Safety: Has side and curtain airbags, not available in GM's. 2. Resale. 3. Reliability. 4. Overall quality. All the GM's are good, but test a new Sequoia, you'll be impressed. Good luck, Steve.
Lots of things to think about here and everyone has their own likes and needs. Being that you are in FLA, your needs are way different than mine in PA. We have some BIG A$$ hills around here to deal with that won't be a problem for you in FLA so where I may want more than a 5.3, it would be more than enough for you. I always prefet to tow with a 3/4 ton vehicle and I like a longer wheel base like a Suburban or pick-up but I also tow more than just an open trailer and a car. The longer wheel base will help keep it from swaying and with the way some of the new vehicles are loaded up, they weigh enough that once you fill the 1/2 ton with people and gear, you don't have much GVW left for tongue weight. If using a Yukon or similar short vehicle, I would use weight distribution bars and a sway control device. Sounds like for you occational towin needs, this would work just fine! Not trying to raise any feathers here but I would watch the imports for a while. I know that Nissan is having some rear end failures with the Titan and I'm sure they'll get it right, but this is a new market for them and they have a learning curve to go through. They were all over the TV boasting big HP numbers and an awesome tow rating, but it seems they don't have it all ironed out yet! One thing I like about towing with an overkill vehicle is that it is safer should I have a brake problem on the trailer or when someone pulls out in front of me. What ever you buy, make sure YOU do the homework on it before you buy to make sure it can LEGALLY tow what you want it to. Don't ever trust a sales person to tell you that what they have won't tow what you want it to cause it's not going to happen! I had quite a few trying to talk me into a 6.0 because that is what they had on the lot even though I told them my trailer had a GVW of 14,000lbs. Not many selling these things have much product knowledge and the ones that do, don't seem to feel much guilt in selling someone something that won't work!! I can honestly say that it was harder for me to find someone that I wanted to buy from, than to find my truck. Ken Ken
