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Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jan Alaska
These vehicles are all great but they have such limited cargo space once that 3rd row is in place. It stands to reason that if you need to transport a bunch of people you will also be needing to transport a bunch of their crap too. Having just about enough room for a handbag behind the 3rd row just doesn't work.
Edit: just checked out the mpg on the Chevy Traverse 17-24 ... the Suburban will get 15 - 23 not much difference.
We had plenty of room for five adults on a week long trip.
The mpg is close, but the out the door cost is not.
How often do you plan to use the 3rd row and by what size individual will it be used? That will dictate the best vehicle for you.
We love our 2005 Expedition. It's built like a tank, trouble free, precise steering, flexible on the go fold into floor seating. Our 3rd row is kept in the 40% side up, 60% side down mode and it works great for our 3 children and their stuff. Gives them enough separation for peaceful rides and can carry 8 in relative comfort. The 3rd row in the vehicle is amazing in terms of comfort, legroom and leg height.
We drove a 2013 Suburban on a recent vacation as we were thinking about moving to a larger vehicle. The ride was smooth and quiet as if I was floating down the road. This was a problem for me as I kept feeling like I didnt have complete control of the vehicle while driving, that I would easily drift into another lane and not notice. Other than that the Suburban was great, 19MPG on highway for a huge 4x4 SUV was 2-3MPG better than I ever got in the Expedition.
Am toying with upgrading to a 2007-10 Expedition EL for the additional cargo room, but am not happy with the prices out there. My main complaint with the 2007+ Expy is that it doesnt get handsfree bluetooth phone until the 2010 year. That is a pain for me. My 2005 has it via the Pioneer head unit I installed, but it should have been standard long before 2010.
OP, have you thought of a minivan? You might be able to find a recent generation Caravan/Town and Country/Routan for your price range. They have plenty of space in all 3 rows.
We had plenty of room for five adults on a week long trip.
The mpg is close, but the out the door cost is not.
Dont want to get too far OT here but a regular vehicle would seat five adults, you wouldn't need the extra seats at all.
Also just checked craigslist for my area, earliest Chevrolet Traverse is 2008 and none available however 2009 for sale for $19,999.
2008 Suburban LTZ, $15,900
I think what it boils down to is how many people the OP is wanting to transport and what his preferences would be. If only transporting more than 5 people occasionally then a mid size SUV is obviously the way to go.
Third row seating in an SUV is not practical in my opinion. May be good for small kids but for adults forget about it. We had a Durango way back and the contortions needed to get back in there were not pleasant.
Third row seating in an SUV is not practical in my opinion. May be good for small kids but for adults forget about it. We had a Durango way back and the contortions needed to get back in there were not pleasant.
A Durango is at best a midsize and too small for 3rd row. Full size SUV's are easy enough to get into. Really, if the question is "how do I get 8 adult people in a vehicle and not feel like a clown car" then the answer is Suburban/Yukon or Expedition/Excursion. Not all automotive questions are so easily answered as this one.
A Durango is at best a midsize and too small for 3rd row. Full size SUV's are easy enough to get into. Really, if the question is "how do I get 8 adult people in a vehicle and not feel like a clown car" then the answer is Suburban/Yukon or Expedition/Excursion. Not all automotive questions are so easily answered as this one.
Nothing beats a sliding door for ease of entry to the back but then you have to call it a van.
Our 2007 Dodge Durango Limited 4x4 5.7 (HEMI) has been terrific. Has 110k miles, only had to replace a ball joint for $200 last year.
Try to get a 2008, gets a much better navigation system with backup camera. Ours has all of the bells: heated front/rear seats, power liftgate, remote start, power seat w/ memory, sunroof, rear dvd, dual auto climate, navigation, and great at towing. Gas mileage sucks with the HEMI. Get the 4.7 (2008+) if you want over 300HP and better MPG and flex fuel capabilities.
I'd sell you ours for $8K
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