Who is driving a Suburban?

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Considered an Excursion with the 7.3L PSD?


I dont buy used if I can avoid it.


That sucks, as it was the "king" of SUV's, being based on the Super Duty.

It had:
146.4 cubic feet of maximum cargo space
48.0 cubic feet of space behind the third row seat
payload capacity of up to 1,906 pounds - 1,750 pounds with the 4x4 drivetrain option.
Plus 11,000lb towing capacity in diesel and V10 trim.

One of my favourite SUV's.


The thing is, I dont need THAT much capacity.

Frankly, if there ever was a 4.5L (or smaller) diesel suburban, that would be ideal.

Im not hauling trailers, and if I ever did, it wouldnt be anything heavier than an old nissan pathfinder could haul with ease.

The key is to have the rows of seats and cargo space. IMO the suburban space is more useful, as a minival volume is much more "stacked", so everything has to be piled up on everything else.

 

[rationull]

We like ours. It's a 1999 3/4 ton with the 454, and I think a 4.10 final drive for towing. We bought it 4 or 5 years ago to tow our 2 horse trailer. Had originally intended to get a pickup but the Suburbans were a little better deal at the time. I'm glad we did.

It tows fine, although it could use some more power on steep grades, even though it's got the 454 (more than 4 speeds would help). We've used the passenger and cargo capacity on several occasions. Very nice that it has a ton of cargo room even behind the third row of seats. On one occasion we had it loaded up with 8 people, 2 dogs, and a bunch of beach BBQ gear -- any other vehicle (besides an Excursion) would've required that we take multiple vehicles.

Great vehicle. Wouldn't want to daily drive it though -- it drives like a truck and gets about 11 mpg

 

[NateDN10]

Take a look at Fuelly for real-world MPG.
Sienna: 21mpg average
1/2 ton Suburban: 15mpg average
3/4 ton Suburban: 13mpg average

So a Sienna is probably going to be 6-8 mpg better in real-world usage.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: NateDN10
Take a look at Fuelly for real-world MPG.
Sienna: 21mpg average
1/2 ton Suburban: 15mpg average
3/4 ton Suburban: 13mpg average

So a Sienna is probably going to be 6-8 mpg better in real-world usage.


While Id generally agree, there is so much to that, so the best normalization is the standard EPA drive cycle. People lugging trailers with suburbans are a different use than people lugging kids in a sienna.

 

[cchase]

Agree that fuelly, while not "useless", is difficult to use to determine fuel economy. It doesn't do a good job of separating city from highway and usage types. It has an option for separating city and highway but it is difficult to use and open to interpretation. I uploaded 18 years of fuel economy information for my truck into fuelly and it never asked me to split highway/city (and I couldn't have done so accurately if it had). For my car, I just split it 50/50 even though I don't drive 50/50. I don't feel qualified to accurately determine what "city" and what "highway" is in the first place, especially when a tank of fuel may cover both use types. Fuelly also fails to easily account for different engines, transmissions, and drive configurations. For example, most Suburbans I've seen are 4WD.

I think there's no argument that a Sienna would offer better real-world economy than a Suburban but I am also not sure it would be 15 mpg for someone who drives gently most of the time (as I gather you do, JHZR2).

 

[jd03NJ]

I have an '02 suburban with about 113k miles on it, 1500 LT 4wd 5.3L, and we use it mainly as a family car. Before this we had a 97 suburban, 2500 6.6 turbo diesel. Both vehicles always averaged 15mpg, no matter what, unless towing. I have never gotten better than 16 mpg, ever. I would think 2wd would get slightly better mileage, but not much. We also have a minivan, and a camry. The camry is absolutely the most practical family car, we all like it. The minivan is really the best solution for multiple kids & shopping, etc.

But everyone loves the suburban, and it's a great road trip vehicle since you sit up high. But it is thirsty, and don't forget the V8 factor--if you have the power, you will use it , and pay for it at the pump. You can't compare the minivan with the suburban-they are two different categories. I can tell you that while it's been reliable, they do need more maintenance than any other car, particularly if you have 4wd-figure about $300/yr extra to change fluids on front/rear diffs plus transfer case. Ours has the auto-ride, which requires very expensive replacement shocks (I think about $400 each) and tires will cost much more than a minivan.
I am 6"4" and i like the suburban because i can fit into it better than the camry, but ironically, the passenger seats have less legroom than a minivan. When we have a lot of cargo to move, we typically use the minivan because it is taller from floor to ceiling, and the seats come out-not so easy with the suburban.
We have always LOVED our suburbans, but make no mistake about it, it is not as practical as a minivan and much more expensive in every category.

-Joe

 

[RoGuE]

We have a 2002 2wd 1500 with the 5.3. It has about 129k miles on it, and the the only major repairs it had was a new torque converter around 55k (covered under warranty) and new driveshaft U-joints last year. It still has original front brakes. The waterpump is leaking and it usesa quart of oil every 1000 miles. Other than that it's been great.

Gets between 15-16 mpg all city. On a road trip to Florida in the middle of summer, filled to the roof with luggage in theback, and 5 people, after sitting in completely stopped traffic for an hour, it got 23mpg. 21 mpg is typical for highway.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Seating for 8/9, tons of cargo space, not that great of economy, but it meets a need...

Who is driving one regularly?

Pros/cons?

I'm only talking the BIG ones, not the Tahoe/expedition size with less/no cargo room with third row up.

How is a 2wd in the snow?


You know I am around these things every day beings I work at the plant that makes them. They are great vehicles and today's models are pretty nice and even base models are considered "loaded" by yester year standards. 2WD is actually not too bad in snow given the traction control, ground clearance and weight advantages. I still prefer a 4WD truck, but the 2WD won't hurt you much with on road driving. The last one I had as a company vehicle was a 2012 Yukon XL Denali, so that one has the 403hp 6.2V8 and all the goodies and I got an average of 15.4 with roughly 70% city/stop n go/highway traffic mix. The last Suburban I had was a 5.3V8 and I think it gave me almost 17 in the same conditions. Mind you, these are all brand new not broken in trucks and I rarely get much more than 7-8,000 miles before I get another one. The Escalade Hybrid I am driving now is giving me 22.2 under the same driving conditions.

 

[bmwjohn]

Well I drive a 2006 and 2007 3/4 ton Suburban 4x4 every day on gravel roads with 22 hrs a day running or idling. 71k and 155k. I really hate the size and they always break, however the repair shops do a poor job and it is a fleet vehicle - 3 different drivers every day. I wish we could find a tire that lasts more than 60 days - Goodyear Silent Armor Kevlar on fleet account, either wear out or get punctured and destroyed.Its an unfair test but it really isn't that big inside. We rented a KIA sportage and I liked it much better. A little harder for a fat guy to get in, but once in a great driving position and better and more enjoyable to drive.And, no surprise, faster, easier to park, and much better gas mileage.