Feedback on Suv's

Updated on May 27, 2010
A.V. asks from Bothell, WA
9 answers

Hi momma's!
My hubby and I are researching a new/used family car. I have it narrowed down to 3 choices.....a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, GMC Yukon Hybrid and a Toyota Sequoia. I'm wanting to know from anyone out there who currently or have in the past driven any of these models, and what you thought of them? Comfort, reliability, safety features, towing ability, etc. I currently drive a Toyota and love it, it's just now too small for our family. It's been VERY reliable, and I do trust the company very much. It's just the Sequoia I like does not come in a Hybrid. ;-(
I like the Hybrid and Onstar features of the Chevy and GMC. The gas milage isn't super wonderful, but for a large, heavy truck, it's better then what's out there in standard models (non-hybrid). The Onstar thing sounds great to me in the event of an accident, I like they can chime in and call for help if I'm knocked out, get some help for me and my babies. But it also seems "Big Brother-ish" and sort of creepy, so I'm torn on that.
I just read some consumer reports tonight about the Chevy and GMC's that were not so great. I'm used to having a VERY reliable car in my Toyota, and do not want to be taking my truck into the shop alll the time !
We do need a large truck for both work and play. We will be hauling trailers and going camping and MANY, many roadtrips, so the gas mileage is a big factor.
Thanks for any input, please let me know good and bad that you experienced with any of the above models. Ford is out for me, I had a bad one many years ago and will NEVER buy another. I like Dodge too, but not any of their SUV's. Thanks again, ladies!!!

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D.W.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Sorry to say done the american cars, they were always in the garage with some fault and these were cars bought from new. We own a Nissan Pathfinder and Nissan Quest, like toyota build quality is great. I don't know if you have looked at them at all. They also do the Armada which is bigger, I don't know if you have looked at them at all. I have driven the Sequoia and liked it, but we decided to go with the Pathfinder I felt I had more feed back through the steering wheel and it has higher ground clearance as we like to go off road in it. We haul a trailer loaded with an ATV in it or full to take to the dump! I hope this helps.

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D.C.

answers from Portland on

I had a older model GMC Yukon. I was wonderful. It was my first SUV. I still get to see it from time to time as it is still in the family. I believe it has well over 200,000 miles on it and it still going strong. I have owned a Toyota 4-runner and loved it as well, but had to sell it because I was preggers with twins and we also had a teenager, so needed something with more seating. But loved toyota too. I have had a GMC Crew Cab truck with On-Star, and my suburban has it also. I have to say in the truck dialing a number at times was a big tedious, but it is much better in my suburban. I have only had a few issues with it. Once I needed to take into the dealership for some software updates, and second something just weird happened. But I have to say, that the On-Star staff was always very helpful and they always credited me with extra minutes for my problems. I use it way more then I use to since all the new laws with cell phone hands free laws. We have also used the directions feature. I was wonderful. We were on our way to go to the coast to go sand railing. We always have a joke, that if we forget something at home there is always a Fred Meyers. We we were about 3 1/2hrs from home and about an hour from our destination when we realized we had forgotten our riding gear. Helmets, gloves, goggles. We can't ride safely without them. We used On-Star and they directed us to two different places. One was a dealership, which would work for atv stuff, but other other was right on the money. We picked up 5 helmets, two sets of gloves, and 3 sets of goggles. So equipment and $280 later we were back on the road. lol. The funny things was is that part of On-star is a bit extra and my husband told me to cancel it save a little bit of money. Well, I didn't listen to him and thank goodness. I don't think I would ever have a vehicle that would not have it. As far as the big brother watching. If your not doing any wrong then why would you even worry about it. I used to tease my husband that if he started coming home late then I would have to contact on-star and locate him. hehe. Plus, now I am not quite sure on this, but if the truck is turned off then they can't locate it, but not sure. Oh yea, I have used on-star to find my husband before. We laugh about it now because he just stopped by a friends house. One night he said we was going to be about 1/2 late. No problem. 1/2 hr became 1 hr and then two. I tried calling our business, his cell, the truck phone. Nothing. I was getting a sick feeling in my stomach like something was wrong. My truck phone would connect for some reason, so I called on-star and ask them to double check the connection to make sure everything was ok. When they asked permission to make a phone call to my truck to double check things, guessed who answered...my hubby. I was so mad, but happy nothing was wrong. And of course, my hubby thought I was crazy. We laugh about it now, but when you have that feeling in your stomach, there is no stopping you. As for a Hybrid, not sure about those and you might check if they can pull the same weight for a trailer as a regular vehicle. Sorry for my novel... can you tell my kids are still in bed. lol Have a good day!

L.C.

answers from Washington DC on

Toyota cars last forever. They are very reliable. I would spend a little more to get one. My son is driving a 1990 Camry.
YMMV
LBC

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J.N.

answers from Seattle on

If you get a Yukon get the XL which is longer and gives you the extra space in the cargo area. You will want it later. :)

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K.F.

answers from Dallas on

I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE my HONDA Pilot!
I got one that was at the time almost 2 yrs old, we got a good price on it.
LOVE IT !

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A.D.

answers from Lubbock on

We have a 2006 GMC Yukon and I love it - no its not a hybrid but I still get ok gas mileage on it. We bought it used and it came with a short trial period on the onstar. We hated onstar. You could make phone calls on it and that was a pain to get the number dialed. The worst thing was there directions were not up to date. We wanted to eat at a PF Changes in the Dallas Fort Worth area. They had us turn around from where we were and go back to downtown Fort Worth. We hit traffic from construction - no their fault but still upsetting. By the time we ate and got back to where we turned around it was almost 2 hrs later. The very next exit, the one after we turned around, had a PF Changs. We did not subscribe to Onstar after that. I bought my husband a very nice gps system. I would not buy a car just for the onstar. We love our Yukon. Its roomy and comfortable on long trips - we take 16 hr plus road trips. Good luck!

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L.K.

answers from Kansas City on

Well I've had an old style, 2002 GMC Denali and love it. It has over 112,000 miles and we've never had any problems with it! We don't go camping but have driven the heck out of it, including from Kansas City area to West Virginia a couple years ago. We have a farm so we drive it "off road" on the farm.
Don't know about the hybrid, but have thought about looking into it when this one finally dies.
One word of caution, and it may be a mute point since the hybrid is new enough, but you mention possibly looking at used cars. Because of the onstar technology, my onstar no longer works because my care is just old enough. I did have it, initially, but now the car technology isn't up with the satellite technology. Just something to think about and make sure you have it since you mentioned wanting it as an option.

Good Luck

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M.M.

answers from Eugene on

My hubby and I have a 2002 Toyota Sequoia with 165k miles on it. We actually got it as a hand-me-down from his father when it was 2 years old. His father is a very, very active Sierra Club member and put 100k miles on it in those 2 years. He took it EVERYWHERE - both on and off road. (It is his normal practice to only keep vehicles for 2 years and pass them on to one of his kids.) We have never had any issue it. We always keep up on normal maintenance. We have towed everything from a camp trailer to a flat bed trailer with a car on it. I LOVE my Sequoia. We recently had the opp to trade it for a car and I wouldn't do it. :) I love the room it has and the reliability. I have 2 children in car seats and a 13 year old and there is plenty of room for all. We also have the dog ride around with us in the back. Although I don't directly have any experience owning another make of SUV, I have known enough people who have had multiple problems with other brands. I never hear another Sequoia owner complain about anything. Good luck in your search and I hope you find something that suits your family perfectly!

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E.E.

answers from Portland on

Beat car ever well SUV IA Honda pilot Love money reliable roomy it's nice

Updated

Beat car ever well SUV Is Honda pilot Love money reliable roomy it's nice

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