I need advice from some of you "long term" SUV owners.
As much as I'm into Sports Cars, I'm at least that much "not" into SUVs. Actually, I pay absolutely no attention to them at all. If any of the Car magazines I subscribe to do a road test on them, I never even glance at the articles. With that being said, I was asked (by my best friend) to go to the Cleveland Car Show tomorrow to help him give his niece the best advice on which one to buy.
Price must not be a factor since she said something about wanting a "Landrover", but in good conscious I can't recommend one of those to anybody. I just don't think they have as dependable of a reputation as many of the higher priced Japanese models out there. But then I could be wrong.
Any comments from those of you who have some experience with any of them would be appreciated.

 

My favorite is the Volvo XC90. I have a Nissan Armada. I love it but it's a big SUV.

Other nice SUV's that are dependable are the Nissan/Infiniti models

Some of the American SUVs are very nice as well.

 

parents have an 2003 expedition eddie bauer it is alright very comfy but kinda BLAH, we use to own a toyota land cruiser and it was built much better and i really enjoyed that car. I like the infiniti qx56 and the infiniti fx35. Good japanese vehicles, also look at the toyota highlander if you want to stick with toyota.

 

FP, I was just about to recommend the Armada.

Brand new, they fetch a steep price IMO... but in the current climate, dealers are very willing to negotiate.

As for power, it's one of the quickest BIG SUV's on the market (unless you start talking specialty sports versions, like Cayennes, etc). They run low 15's all day at our test facility, LOL.

9,500 lb towing capacity, excellent reliability, and great nav interface.

As FP mentioned, they are HUGE. And they tend to be a bit thirsty, but if she has the money for a 'Rover...

 

The BEST SUV is a Chevy AVALANCHE !!!!
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/02...-top-pick.html

It's more then just your everyday SUV..

 

Thanks guys. I don't know what kind of driving she plans on doing with it. Probably the most "Off Road" experience she will have to encounter will be negotiating Cleveland streets in the winter, and its "chuck holes" in the summer. I don't think she plans on towing anything.
Thanks for the info.

 

I've got a 2005 Toyota 4Runner 4WD. Been great so far.
Goes like a tank in the snow, gets ~20MPG (V6, mixed driving), rides fairly smooth, quiet, etc.

 

Not so much an SUV, but take a look at the new Toyota Venza. Really nice vehicle.

 

Heck if she's got that kinda guidous.......HUMMER !!! After all if it's good enough for the US Military

 

I have a Nissan Pathfinder with over 100k and a Honda Ridgeline with 40k and have never had any problem with either of them. The Honda has a trunk under the bed and the back seats fold up. I was amazed that my wife hasn't been able to fill it up with stuff yet!

 

beleve it or not the Saturn has the best vehicles on the road today by Americans(I know it's GM)
Saturn VUE SUV 5 passenger, 4 door
http://suvs.about.com/od/saturn/Saturn.htm
jim

 

I had an H3 and it was great...never missed a beat...never had one single issue with it and can be found at a great discount now.

 

In between giving back the Jag and getting the Crossfire - I ended with my son's Jeep Liberty.
We leased it while he was in college -he picked it out - thought it was "cool" And to quote him "well if you and mom wanted to get me a car that I wouldn't speed in - you've done it! at anything over 70 this thing scares me to death"
I could agree with him more - the Liberty wasn't cheap and was scary at speeds, not comfortable at all. That' the only info I can pass on, we have never had a true SUV Mercury Colony Park with studded snow tires into Audi AWD wagons - don't think these count!

 

After 3 suburbans and a denali we went for the new Chevy Traverse in Dec. 3rd row seating, second row adj. seating, good power for 6 cyl. 280 hp and a six speed auto. Very comfortable, it likes to cruse at 90 mph. Give it a look, you might like it.

 

Just think how cool his niece would look driving one of these babies...

 

I've been very happy with my Cadillac SRX. If your looking for something with more room and comfort, my wife loves her Cadillac Escalade. Just a word of caution on the Escalade, it loves gas, gets about 12.5 miles per gallon.

 

I have always loved the Hummer H1 since 1993 and liked SUVs before they started conquering suburbia and got a bad rap. I also love the Mercedes G55 and Range Rover Sport Super Charged and I'm not even a rap artist!

But when it comes to recommending something for a friend or family member, I would only recommend something Japanese. Specifically the Honda/Acura or Toyota/Lexus families because you can't go wrong reliability, safety, or resale value wise.

 

I purchased a new Dodge Nitro 4X4 for my winter ride. Electric Blue, 3.7 L V6. It was more of a value decision. They were deeply discounted. I got a new loaded Nitro with chrome wheels and a six speed manual tranny for $13,900 with a lifetime powertrain warranty. Averages 20 MPG. I love the Sat. radio with aux in for my IPOD. I need to get this for the Xfire somehow. So far the Nitro has been great to drive on winter roads. The 4X4 is electricly actuated on the fly, otherwise it is 2WD rear. The Nitro replaced my old Jeep Cherokee.

 

H2, Yukon, Armada, screaming deals on all them right now

 

I currently own 2 crossfires and a Hummer H3. I like the H3 but wish I was driving a Jeep SRT-8. However the Jeep has worse gas milage than the SRT-10 Viper!