SUV's.. How do you feel?

[Black97]

Like them. We are at our third one and will get another one once the warranty runs out a couple of years from now.

It's our daily driver year in and out.

[MarkFL]

I've had Suburbans for years, they fit my needs perfectly.

what I don't need are the SS and the Z06.

[Steel2686]

I've always owned "mid-sized" SUV's. The biggest SUV we ever owned was an '02 Explorer. Big mistake, but that's a whole other thread.

Other than that, we had a '96 Blazer, a '00 Bravada, and I still have my ,91 Bravada.

Nothing too big. Perfect for what I've needed them for. I didn't see the point in going with a Tahoe or Suburban. Not for me anyway. It just would have been unused space and a whole lot of gas.

[Craig 94 TA GT]

Don't care for them, but if someone wants to buy it, I don't have a problem. I'm still single and at the stage of "faster is better"...so right now, I have no use for an SUV. I bet that'll change a bit later in life.

[tclelland]

My wife has a '04 Isuzu Ascender (aka GMC Envoy) and we love it. Not too bad on gas, AWD when the roads are bad, 4WD in the snow. Pulls our camper... tows my friends boat....great for haulin lumber, garden supplies, kids....About to hit 30k miles and runnin good. 275hp V6 is a plus

+1 for luv um

[Gary94Formula]

My wife has a '04 Isuzu Ascender (aka GMC Envoy) and we love it. Not too bad on gas, AWD when the roads are bad, 4WD in the snow. Pulls our camper... tows my friends boat....great for haulin lumber, garden supplies, kids....About to hit 30k miles and runnin good. 275hp V6 is a plus

+1 for luv um

If it's an Envoy clone it should have a 4.2 inline six...

[tclelland]

If it's an Envoy clone it should have a 4.2 inline six...

Yep, it does. In 2004 it was rated at 275hp. Today I believe it is higher, 290+/-?

[Gary94Formula]

I think your correct on the HP ratings... My 06 Envoy is rated at 291 HP.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

What bugs me is the ones with the huge steel brush guards on them, which would help them stay almost untouched while completely demolishing another car in a collision. If I ever get hit by one of those things, I will end up owning that driver's house when I'm done suing them.

Aside from that, I think those huge vehicles make Americans look selfish, wasteful, and extravagant to the rest of the world. My comment only applies to the huge amount of these vehicles that are daily drivers carrying one person to work or the grocery store, not the minority of them that are being used for camping trips, towing a boat, carrying a bunch of passengers, or otherwise being used for it's designed purpose.

And, yeah, women can't drive or park them.

[MunsonGTA]

my dad has an 01 explorer sport. it runs great, drives great, goes through snow great. it gets good gas mileage, and can haul most anything. i threw my 350 block in it and drove it all the way to canton (about a 50 minute drive) with absolutely no problems. didn't even change the way it sat when i put the block in

as long as you don't get a large SUV like a tahoe or denali, you're fine with gas mileage.

my gf and I have a 93 explorer also, and my aunt has an 06 explorer. a v6 suv is basically no different then a v6 car.

[MunsonGTA]

What bugs me is the ones with the huge steel brush guards on them, which would help them stay almost untouched while completely demolishing another car in a collision. If I ever get hit by one of those things, I will end up owning that driver's house when I'm done suing them.

Aside from that, I think those huge vehicles make Americans look selfish, wasteful, and extravagant to the rest of the world. My comment only applies to the huge amount of these vehicles that are daily drivers carrying one person to work or the grocery store, not the minority of them that are being used for camping trips, towing a boat, carrying a bunch of passengers, or otherwise being used for it's designed purpose.

And, yeah, women can't drive or park them.

how do you intend to sue somebody for having a fully legal part on their car? that would be like me saying, if you hit me i'm going to sue you for having a metal bumper on your car instead of a plastic one, you did more damage to my car because it was metal. i don't know where you live, but here in ohio people have brush guards for 2 reasons. 1 being snow, if you end up going off the road, it'll save you from damage or injury if you happen to plow into a tree. the other being deer, ever hit a deer with one of your vehicles? a vehicle with a brush guard is going to sustain alot less damage if that happens.

[ConElite]

i don't know where you live, but here in ohio people have brush guards for 2 reasons. 1 being snow, if you end up going off the road, it'll save you from damage or injury if you happen to plow into a tree. the other being deer, ever hit a deer with one of your vehicles? a vehicle with a brush guard is going to sustain alot less damage if that happens.

That makes sense but like In So. Cal. everyone has those damn thing all lifted I would say about 75% of people that have all that stuff never take in dirty for that matter. So thats why I think its stupid. The chances of you hitting a deer or driving through snow is extremely low. In other places yes maybe they do help.

[Injuneer]

A V6 SUV is a lot different than a V6 auto, because the SUV weighs a lot more. There are no SUV's, other than the expensive Hybrids, that get mileage close to an equivalent V6 sedan, because of the huge weight penalty. I find it hard to believe an Explorer can get better than 20 MPG under the best conditions. I've had 2 different F-150 4WD's as my company cars and they both got less than 15MPG. What's so different between an F-150 and the huge Explorer? In Consumer Report testing the Explorer XLT V6 got 15mpg, the Explorer Sport Track XLT V6 got 14mpg, and the F150 XLT V8 got 14mpg. Where's the "good gas mileage"?

I've seen brush guards increase damage to the vehicle they are installed on. Instead of the bumper retracting under the grill in a frontal crash, the brush guard wipes out the grill, front fenders and hood. In effect, the brush guard defeats the purpose of the crash resistant bumper, and will probably increase damage to both cars in a rear ender. I suspect a good lawyer could make a case for the aftermarket part increasing the damage to the vehicle it hit. I'd say that 90% of the cars with brush guards here on the east coast have never been taken off the pavement, and the guards are for appearance and ego enhancement. I'd like a little clarification on what a brush guard does for snow.

I have no problems with SUV's when used for their intended purpose. Somehow, a Ford Excursion or a Hummer S2 occupied solely by a 95# female driver does not seem consistant with the intent of the vehicle. My wife has been driving an SUV since 1990, first a Suzuki Sidekick I4 and then a Jeep Grand Cherokee I-6.... reasonably small vehicles that were seldom occupied by more than one person. But both of them would only get 20mpg on a VERY good day. The Suzuki was purchased because she needed to "ford" the flooded streets in Houston frequently as part of her health care services work. The extra ground clearance was a big help.

I think SUV owners are often delusional.

[FroSSty]

I've seen brush guards increase damage to the vehicle they are installed on.

Exactly!!! Most of the time the flimsy brackets that hold the "guard" on bend and let then smash the hood, grille and fenders...Have you ever seen how those things are put together? As cheap as possible, let me tell ya. I have installed quite a few.

[MunsonGTA]

Exactly!!! Most of the time the flimsy brackets that hold the "guard" on bend and let then smash the hood, grille and fenders...Have you ever seen how those things are put together? As cheap as possible, let me tell ya. I have installed quite a few.

maybe you shouldn't install them with "flimsy" brackets. we have one on our explorer, the previous owner put it on. it's both welded and bolted through the front metal area where the swaybar bushings connect.