I just went through this dilemma myself. The family had seriously outgrown
my Ranger Supercab, so it was time for a vehicle with a real back seat, to
be a new daily driver for the spousal unit, so she take on the mall parking
lots in something more intimidating than her Jetta GLX, and be a weekend
tow vehicle. Only requirements were front or 4WD for bad weather, and a
minimum of a 4500 lb towing capacity, and HAD to fit in my relatively short
garage. Noting with front drive will tow anywhere near that much, so 4WD
truck it was.
>1. Astro van: Can get AWD. Questionable reliability. Hard to picture
>myself driving a minivan. Can find used ones at a good price. Make sure
>you get the tow package.
Aside from questionable GM quality, both mechanical and fragile interior
bits, the ergonomics are really pathetic. The power seat controls are on
the inside base of the seat. This was a big annoyance. My wife is 5' 2
1/2" on a tall day. No way I fit behind the wheel after she's been in the
drivers seat. Even with 35" sleeve length arms, I could barely reach the
seat controls. Also, It was impossible to buckle the seat belt one handed.
If those things gave me fits on two test drives, I can't imagine how crazy
I would have been living with it day in and out. Also, it felt kind of
porky and pokey even with the 195 hp Vortec 4.3. And it's a van. Ugh.
>2. Grand Cherokee V8: Sportiest of the bunch. Accelerated and handled
>very well for an SUV. Not enough room inside for me.
Even the new "larger" ones are small. Looked at a Laredo trim level one.
Looked cheap inside. Lots of shiny plastic. Driving position felt very
confining. I found it so unimpressive I didn't even drive it.
>3. Blazer: Good power for a V6. Not enough room inside for me.
Failed the wife's short legs test. Steering wheel way too close for her to
comfortably reach the pedals, so no drive for me.
>4. Durango: Nice size, a bit bigger than an Explorer. Good power for
>towing. Nice features. I like the styling. However, I personally think
>Ford quality is better than Chrysler, and the Durango/Dakota trucks did
very
>poorly in crash tests.
I liked alot, but the Mrs. just couldn't get comfortable with it. (Toes
pointed, steering wheel in the chest problem again). Also, we both have
had previous poor Chrysler product exprerience.
Tahoe: Also looked at this while at the Chevy store. It really didn't
drive that big, but had a real "old truck" feel. The one I tested had an
uplevel suspension with Bilstein shocks, and still felt kind of floaty.
Loved the Vortec 5.7. It was alright, but nothing special, and couldn't
justify the price or the extra foot of width to carry around.
Also for grins and giggles looked at the Rodeo/Passport. Nice revvy 4-cam
V-6, but smallish and looked and felt cheap inside. Drove OK though.
Probably the least expensive of the SUV's, but not by enough to make it
worth it.
>5. Explorer: Can find old V6 Explorers for cheap, but they seem to eat
>transmissions when used for towing. The brakes were also very poor until
>they were upgraded around '95.
>6: Explorer V8: This is what I got. Perfect compromise size for towing,
>commuting, ski trips, etc. The cargo area is 6 feet long with the seats
>folded, so I can sleep back there if I want to. Very nice interior and
>features. V8 comes with tow package including heavy duty cooling, trans
>cooler, 3.78 gear ratio. I tow an ITS RX7 (2500 lbs.) plus 8 extra
>wheels/tires and other spares on a heavy old 2-axle trailer, and it does
>fine. The '98 has an improved rear hatch design and 2nd gen. (depowered)
>airbags. 4-wheel antilock disk brakes are quite good for this type of
>vehicle. Gas mileage is abysmal (EPA estimates are 14/18 and that's about
>what it gets). Unfortunately, the V8 just came out in late '95 and the
>first V8 AWDs came in '96 so you can't find cheap used ones. I broke down
>and bought a new one.
I ended up with a V8 AWD 99 Explorer XLT. Drove the best. Size was a good
compromise. Great build and interior quality. I have had great experience
with 230,000 miles of Ford truck driving and towing. It is rated for 6500
lbs, so it should tow most anything. Picked it up a week ago. If you
hurry, financing is in the free money range (2.9% for 4 years) until 1/14.
Rob Foley
|