Recommend me an SUV...

2005+ Nissan Xterra? my 2009 cost me $20k with 30k miles 18 months ago; it's 4wd, the 4.0L V-6 makes 265hp and 280ft/lb of torque. It gets ~22-23mpg on the highway and can pull 6000lbs with a load distro hitch (5000lb with just a receiver ball).. and did I mention that with a superchips tune it runs a 14.9-15.0 quarter mile?

I pulled a 4000lb boat and trailer from St. Louis to the Panhandle of FL with it and it didn't even seem to notice it was there. (got 18.5 mpg the whole way)

OH and also, they're pre-wired for brake controllers and trailer wiring, even if they don't have a hitch or plug out back: the factory hitch and plug cost me ~$200 shipped to my door and included the direct plug-in relays and stub harness to the factory terminated plug above the axle.

there is one mod you need to make for utter reliability though: bypass the factory tranny cooler/heater that uses engine coolant to heat and cool the trans cooler. it's known to be leaky, and water/coolant in the tranny != reliability.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

HiTempguy wrote: Diesel grand cherokees are in that range now used. They get killer, killer mpg (30 on the highway!) and can tow well over 5000 pounds. I don't know about reliabilty, but it sounds like the perfect fit :D

Any idea if we got these below you guys?

Used car market says yes. I'm intrigued.

BoxheadTim wrote:

MattGent wrote: $25k is a fair amount of money for a used truck. Toyota Sequoias were fairly expensive new, but I would think that would get you into one. I think a few years or engine combos had some issues, but that should we well documented on the web. They feel like a quality vehicle from the inside.

I've seen them for that sort of money, ideally I'd like one size smaller than a Sequoia as my wife isn't comfortable driving something that big.

My wife drives a 2006 Sequoia. It's been great and she loves(!) it. I'm okay with it. Gas mileage is pretty horrible though, even worse when we have our boat hooked up.

Well, gas mileage wise I'm getting about 12 mpg on the CJ so even a V8 Land Cruiser would most likely be an improvement.

Moar mpg is better, though.

Get a Tahoe. $25k should swing one that's < 5 years old with low miles. Huge towing capability and 20 mpg on the highway if you get one with a 6 speed auto (that's what I got in the rental I had).

In reply to stumpmj:

iirc the 6 speed auto was only available starting in the 2010 y/m, i hated the rentals i had with the 4 speed auto before then, only slightly less so now. if you're looking for 4x4, they also deleted the low range from the 4x4 system at the same time, not sure if its back or not, the 2011 gmc yukon xl i had last trip had a low range, but not sure if that was a GMC only thing or not...

Re: Autolex - the tranny cooler issue has been resolved, and warranties extended to 80k miles. many of the failures happened right after the bumper to bumper warranty expired, and in nissan's convoluted logic, the radiator is not part of the powertrain, and because it causes the transmission to come apart, it wasn't covered by the powertrain warranty.

which superchips tune are you using? i just went from the 87 to the 93 tune this week, and can tell the difference, waiting to see if it improves the mileage.

I'd encourage you to revisit the Outback unless SWMBO can't get over her perception of them as a wagon. The current generation ones are not wagons, definitely SUV's. We just bought a brand new 2011 model for $24k plus ttl. It has gotten us 26+ mpg in mixed driving for the first 1200 miles with the four banger and CVT. The six cylinder version is a little more money but be a better option for towing but is still rated for only 3k so that may make it a non-option for you. We picked ours up in October, and at the time, they had 72 months at 2.9% financing or 36 months at 1.9%.

Armada. Love ours to death!

A GMC Yukon Denali came with a Duramax back around '02 or so.

Strizzo wrote: Re: Autolex - the tranny cooler issue has been resolved, and warranties extended to 80k miles. many of the failures happened right after the bumper to bumper warranty expired, and in nissan's convoluted logic, the radiator is not part of the powertrain, and because it causes the transmission to come apart, it wasn't covered by the powertrain warranty. which superchips tune are you using? i just went from the 87 to the 93 tune this week, and can tell the difference, waiting to see if it improves the mileage.

I was referring to all second gen xterras (05+) just to make sure the OP knows about it...

I was using the 87 tune (on an otherwise stock xterra) but I switched to the 93 tune when I put in the volant cai and had some issues with it (detonation near idle and low rpm/high load situations) so I switched back to the 87 tune and run 89 octane in it to cure the pinging... on that note: superchips has been less than helpful in this arena. they basically don't support the tuner if you've got any other mods and are having issues.

SUV? Get something cool.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-Chevy-K5-Blazer-w-Hard-top-and-Soft-top-OBO-/260897202227?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3cbeaf6033

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1990-CHEVY-K5-BLAZER-FULLY-RESTORED-/220886165332?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item336dd76754

Trouble with those is that I could almost keep working on our CJ instead...

Conquest351 wrote: Armada. Love ours to death!

Cousin to the QX56, constant resident of Consumer Report's least reliable list...

damnit I came here to recommend a 4runner but someone beat me to it IN THE VERY FIRST POST!

Wife has been very happy with her '06 Volvo XC90 V8. Stone reliable Yamaha V8, good looks, best seats ever. 18 mpg on premium is a bummer though. Rated for 5,000# towing, haven't towed with here yet though. With a CPO warranty a nicely equipped 3 year old one should be under your price. Don't bother with the 6 cylinder models, same mileage for less power.

$25K is a lot of money, I don't think you can go wrong. I am partial to Jeeps though, so a V8 Grand Cherokee or a used Commander may be the way to go.

My $.02

Well, ideally I don't want to spend that much - the sweet spot would be between $10k and $15k, but we can afford up to $25k.

I wouldn't mind a 2001-2004 Grand Cherokee if it's been well looked after, not sure how I feel about the newer ones though. That would probably be our ideal size (no kids, no dogs so most of the time we don't need a large vehicle).

In reply to pigeon:

I'll have a look for one, thanks. Might be an idea worth exploring, although I have the suspicion they're quite expensive out here. At least we have a dealer for them out here...

My wife has an '04 Liberty (limited, 4x4). She has had it since it was less than a year old with 9k miles. It's been pretty much bulletproof. She gets about 18 city, 25 highway with it.

It's now creeping up on 100k miles, and all that has gone wrong are a couple of interior fitment items that are loose. It is trim whose adhesive is losing holding power.

Personally, I don't find the seating comfortable for me. I can't drive it for long stretches without my back bothering me, and I don't have back problems normally.

$25k would get you an almost new one, with a lot of options.

The wife has a 4runner. Add me to the 4runner votes. We have an 07 SportEdition. $25k should get you a really nice sub 50k mile between 06-08.

Buy my 2011 Greg Norman Special Edition Range Rover. Great SUV, less than 2000 miles on it, fuel milage so far is 17.2 overall., mostly hiway miles. I'm just not a SUV person.

In reply to M2Pilot:

For under $25k I might be interested!

What is an SUV except a jacked up station wagon ?. Ref; "wife hates station wagons".

Y'all seemed to miss that "towing over the Sierras" part. Any car-based SUV will fall flat on it's face going up those grades, and their brakes will turn to smoke coming back down.

Considering the elevation changes you're talking about (~4k ft on the Nevada side, up to what, 8k? across the passes, then back down to sea level on the CA valley end), boost is your friend.

Personally, I wouldn't be looking at anything but a turbo-diesel, as I don't think there's much in the way of unnaturally aspirated gas motors out there in 4x4/AWD SUV-land.

Diesel Excursion would be the best thing going.

Trailblazer/Envoy is pretty darn reliable. With towing, the tranny will die at 120k, but installing an external/supplemental tranny cooler will extend that significantly.

The new Explorers are getting dissed pretty hard, but the last of the old-style ones were nice. 5R55W tranny has the same comments as above.

For towing I might suggest the domestics. The Japanese offerings can be had with manual trannys which is great. The Japanese companies make great reliable pieces, but they don't have a lot of experience with "heavy duty." The Tundras have the same basic transmission guts as a Camry.... and they don't last very long in a Camry, either.

... At least when the 4L65E in a Trailblazer blows up its $1800 to fix instead of $3200.