Full Size SUV Recommendations

Russo · Dec 16, 2019

OP, you're probably the only person who doesn't want the captains chairs in the second row... as a step father of four (3 boys living with us) and in the process of adopting my ten year old nephew, the second row bench would absolutely be destroyed after 6 months of them going into the third row seat..

We have a 15 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited, can tow 5k lbs, awd, and loaded with over 100k on it. we don't plan on getting rid of it until the kids are grown and out the house. it may not be a "full size" suv, but it gets the job done at 20+ mpg.

Personally i'd look at a 2018+, the 3.3 v6 is a good motor.

coposrv · Dec 16, 2019

Deleted.

Blackoyote · Dec 16, 2019

I bought a 2009 Yukon Denali XL Saturday over some newer Expeditions/Sequoias and such because of the great luck I had with my 2005 Suburban...as others have said, there's a reason why the Burb/Hoe/Yukon vehicles absolutely dominate in that class.

Like any other vehicle, look for a low amount of owners and maintenance history and you'll likely be in good shape.

DiB14-SAFD · Dec 16, 2019

Russo said:
OP, you're probably the only person who doesn't want the captains chairs in the second row... as a step father of four (3 boys living with us) and in the process of adopting my ten year old nephew, the second row bench would absolutely be destroyed after 6 months of them going into the third row seat..

We have a 15 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited, can tow 5k lbs, awd, and loaded with over 100k on it. we don't plan on getting rid of it until the kids are grown and out the house. it may not be a "full size" suv, but it gets the job done at 20+ mpg.

Personally i'd look at a 2018+, the 3.3 v6 is a good motor.

My son is only 2 and still in the rear facing car seat. As someone who sees accidents on a daily basis I would like to have the bench seat to keep the car seat in the middle. If he was older I would being going for the captains chairs.

Blackoyote said:
I bought a 2009 Yukon Denali XL Saturday over some newer Expeditions/Sequoias and such because of the great luck I had with my 2005 Suburban...as others have said, there's a reason why the Burb/Hoe/Yukon vehicles absolutely dominate in that class.

Like any other vehicle, look for a low amount of owners and maintenance history and you'll likely be in good shape.

I went and checked out a couple Tahoe’s, Yukon’s, and Suburbans today and was fairly pleased with the amount of room and features. I hate how the buttons always seem to be rubbed off though. How is the base 5.3l? The 6.2 would be nice but everyone that I see with the 6.2 doesn’t have the bench seat.

mc01svt · Dec 16, 2019

DiB14-SAFD said:
My son is only 2 and still in the rear facing car seat. As someone who sees accidents on a daily basis I would like to have the bench seat to keep the car seat in the middle. If he was older I would being going for the captains chairs.

if you have another child and you have the bench seat it would render the 3rd row useless since the bench has to fold down and slide forward. With the captains chairs you can have car seats in each and people can still have access to the 3rd row.

my kids are 1 and 3 and i had the exact same concern until i saw how aggravating it would be to fold the bench down with car seats.

DiB14-SAFD said:
I went and checked out a couple Tahoe’s, Yukon’s, and Suburbans today and was fairly pleased with the amount of room and features. I hate how the buttons always seem to be rubbed off though. How is the base 5.3l? The 6.2 would be nice but everyone that I see with the 6.2 doesn’t have the bench seat.

You'll need to check on the GM forums but i believe the bench seat and captains chairs are interchangeable. I have seen second row bench in a 6.2L trim level but its a super row configuration.

Grabber · Dec 16, 2019

Want something close to a full size?

Used 2011+ Durango R/T

Seats 7 comfortable, V8, AWD, decent gas mileage, can tow over 7,000LBS with tow package, and has good features as well.

Just a thought.

DiB14-SAFD · Dec 16, 2019

mc01svt said:
if you have another child and you have the bench seat it would render the 3rd row useless since the bench has to fold down and slide forward. With the captains chairs you can have car seats in each and people can still have access to the 3rd row.

my kids are 1 and 3 and i had the exact same concern until i saw how aggravating it would be to fold the bench down with car seats.

You'll need to check on the GM forums but i believe the bench seat and captains chairs are interchangeable. I have seen second row bench in a 6.2L trim level but its a super row configuration.

Only going with the one kid, actually plan on getting snipped early next year to be sure.

Grabber said:
Want something close to a full size?

Used 2011+ Durango R/T

Seats 7 comfortable, V8, AWD, decent gas mileage, can tow over 7,000LBS with tow package, and has good features as well.

Just a thought.

I have looked at the Durango’s a bit but I am a little wary of the 5.7.

gimmie11s · Dec 16, 2019

We have a 2002 Suburban 2500 with the 6.0 that has 199,xxx miles. She'll crack 200k next month without a doubt.

WE LOVE this truck and i truly dont plan to ever get rid of it.

It is on the original EVERYTHING as far as major parts (engine, trans, axle, etc).

Ive had to replace the AC compressor (185k miles) and I also did a rear main seal in my front yard on her about 10k miles ago.

I took these pics 2 weeks ago.

Paid $4k for it about 5 years ago and it’s probably worth $7500 right now lol.

Great trucks

Grabber · Dec 16, 2019

DiB14-SAFD said:
Only going with the one kid, actually plan on getting snipped early next year to be sure.

I have looked at the Durango’s a bit but I am a little wary of the 5.7.

Why are you wary of the 5.7?

They are pretty solid and a lot of guys are over 100K with the 5.7.

DiB14-SAFD · Dec 16, 2019

Grabber said:
Why are you wary of the 5.7?

They are pretty solid and a lot of guys are over 100K with the 5.7.

Had an 06 Ram with the 5.7 and it was good until about 90k and then started running into issues. My buddy is a mechanic and says he is always working on them as well. I know Dodge has come a long way in the last few years but if you put a Durango with 150k in front of me alongside a sequoia with 150k, I will take the sequoia.

Grabber · Dec 17, 2019

DiB14-SAFD said:
Had an 06 Ram with the 5.7 and it was good until about 90k and then started running into issues. My buddy is a mechanic and says he is always working on them as well. I know Dodge has come a long way in the last few years but if you put a Durango with 150k in front of me alongside a sequoia with 150k, I will take the sequoia.

Fair points, but, the new 5.7's are rock solid.

You can pick up a used 2011+ R/T with under 75K miles for your asking price I'm sure.

brigs · Dec 17, 2019

We recently went through this decision - ended up with a Sequoia and a Highlander, and I'm happy with them. The 7.3 Excursion is awesome, but they're still pricey for the mileage I wanted.

My family always had Land Cruisers and Suburbans growing up, with very few issues. The last Land Cruiser we sold with over 200K miles and the Suburban with 301K. Given the inherent age and mileage that will come with the price range you're looking at, and considering reliability, I would say either a Sequoia/Land Cruiser or Suburban/Tahoe. Be careful about Nissan/Infinity at your price because they're going to be old and have miles, neither of which seem to treat them well.

venmos1 · Dec 17, 2019

Grabber said:
Fair points, but, the new 5.7's are rock solid.

You can pick up a used 2011+ R/T with under 75K miles for your asking price I'm sure.

Rock solid? spend some time on ram forums. Cam / lifter issues popping up on a weekly basis. And im a ram guy. i have a 2014 5.7. I love my truck but can admit its short comings. Had hemi tick when i bought it, switched to redline 5w30 oil and tick went away. been good since. Many opinions out there, but many feel that the 5w20 dealer required oil is too thin. Warm idle is what really hurts those engines. Hemis are very finicky engines. They need high moly oil and a high quality synthetic media filter. After owning rams for the last 7 years and learning what i have learned, i would be very very leary buying a used 5.7 hemi with high mileage. The only way i would is if i a) had the cash to rebuild the engine when she went (better cam, etc...doing do does not guarrantee taking care of the wonderful tick that some 5.7 and 6.4s can get), or b) purchased from an original owner with great maintenance records. anyway...enough about the 5.7s.....

I agree with those above about the second row captains. I absolutely love this set up and would never entertain the idea of a bench. So if you bought one with the captains you would have no problems getting someone to swap with you. I have 2 car seats in mine...i have no safety concerns. If you want more space, IIRC, the suburban / yukon xl are only 19" longer. everything else the same. As far as engines....i love the 6.2L. the power is so smooth and stock sounds so good. I would be more concerned with the afm than which engine it has. From what i recall, there was an update / upgrade in 2011 i think for the afm components. Either way, if it has afm its kinda hit or miss for having issues....like the hemi cam/lifters. dont really know until it happens. So again, maintenance is key. Proper oil changes and low idle times if possible. Or buy the nicest cleanest you can afford and roll the dice.

Grabber · Dec 17, 2019

venmos1 said:
Rock solid? spend some time on ram forums. Cam / lifter issues popping up on a weekly basis. And im a ram guy. i have a 2014 5.7. I love my truck but can admit its short comings. Had hemi tick when i bought it, switched to redline 5w30 oil and tick went away. been good since. Many opinions out there, but many feel that the 5w20 dealer required oil is too thin. Warm idle is what really hurts those engines. Hemis are very finicky engines. They need high moly oil and a high quality synthetic media filter. After owning rams for the last 7 years and learning what i have learned, i would be very very leary buying a used 5.7 hemi with high mileage. The only way i would is if i a) had the cash to rebuild the engine when she went (better cam, etc...doing do does not guarrantee taking care of the wonderful tick that some 5.7 and 6.4s can get), or b) purchased from an original owner with great maintenance records. anyway...enough about the 5.7s.....

I agree with those above about the second row captains. I absolutely love this set up and would never entertain the idea of a bench. So if you bought one with the captains you would have no problems getting someone to swap with you. I have 2 car seats in mine...i have no safety concerns. If you want more space, IIRC, the suburban / yukon xl are only 19" longer. everything else the same. As far as engines....i love the 6.2L. the power is so smooth and stock sounds so good. I would be more concerned with the afm than which engine it has. From what i recall, there was an update / upgrade in 2011 i think for the afm components. Either way, if it has afm its kinda hit or miss for having issues....like the hemi cam/lifters. dont really know until it happens. So again, maintenance is key. Proper oil changes and low idle times if possible. Or buy the nicest cleanest you can afford and roll the dice.

I'm on various Dodge forums (Challenger, Durango.net, etc) and I've heard very little to no issues about the current gen 5.7.

My R/T is a 16 with 26K miles. It sees WOT multiple times a day, pretty much every day. Rock solid. No tick, no issue. Even in Chicago heat, the 5W20 is fine. At one point, I ran Amsoil 5W30 for a while, but, $100 oil changes got old after a few years.

Great buddy of mine has a 2013 Charger R/T with the 5.7 and it has well over 100K miles. He beats the ever living **** out of it. The only problems he has had were the front control arms going out. No tick, oil consumption, etc.

It just seems like people are implying that every other 5.7 produced no matter the car/SUV/Truck, they hav issues. That really is not the case.

Besides, a tick in th engine seems normal to me, since I've owned nearly every gen Mustang since 1999+ and all of them had a "tick" at some point, despite the cars running awesome.

Love my second row captains, wouldn't trade them for a bench no matter what.

03SonicBlueGT · Dec 17, 2019

I had a customer who bought a 2016 Rebel with the 5.7 in it. He drove it 190,000 miles until the camshaft lobes were finally wiped out and caused a misfire. It's a known issue with the HEMI's. The lash adjusters seize up and wipe the cam lobes out. Other than that, we have a ton of luck with our HEMI's. No known issues from the '19+ RAM's aside from the clack during startup sometimes, which is a characteristic. Only real downside to the HEMI is 16 spark plugs.

Grabber · Dec 17, 2019

^^^ 190,000 miles is a LOT of miles.

DiB14-SAFD · Dec 17, 2019

Grabber said:
I'm on various Dodge forums (Challenger, Durango.net, etc) and I've heard very little to no issues about the current gen 5.7.

My R/T is a 16 with 26K miles. It sees WOT multiple times a day, pretty much every day. Rock solid. No tick, no issue. Even in Chicago heat, the 5W20 is fine. At one point, I ran Amsoil 5W30 for a while, but, $100 oil changes got old after a few years.

Great buddy of mine has a 2013 Charger R/T with the 5.7 and it has well over 100K miles. He beats the ever living **** out of it. The only problems he has had were the front control arms going out. No tick, oil consumption, etc.

It just seems like people are implying that every other 5.7 produced no matter the car/SUV/Truck, they hav issues. That really is not the case.

Besides, a tick in th engine seems normal to me, since I've owned nearly every gen Mustang since 1999+ and all of them had a "tick" at some point, despite the cars running awesome.

Love my second row captains, wouldn't trade them for a bench no matter what.

Came across a 2014 Durango Citadel with a bench second row. Has 109k miles and is listed for 14k. Gonna go check it out in the morning and see how it feels.

mc01svt · Dec 17, 2019

Grabber said:
^^^ 190,000 miles is a LOT of miles.

190k is alot for a dodge. For a toyota 4.7 or a GM vortec HD 6.0l.. not so much

03SonicBlueGT · Dec 17, 2019

mc01svt said:
190k is alot for a dodge. For a toyota 4.7 or a GM vortec HD 6.0l.. not so much

Is that before or after you replace 60 oil pumps in the Vortec 6.0?

mc01svt · Dec 17, 2019

03SonicBlueGT said:
Is that before or after you replace 60 oil pumps in the Vortec 6.0?

I have no dog in this fight as i own none of the vehicles in question. All i know is the hemi has never been known for longevity.

A quick autotrader search i can see about 20 examples of 6.0 vortec trucks for sale with anywhere from 300-450k miles. Toyota sequoias there are about 15 for sale with the same mileage. The same search for ram 5.7l hemis i only see 4 of them for sale.

That's not to say that they are inherently bad engines. All im saying is if im choosing a high mileage used vehicle to buy, it wouldn't be a dodge 5.7l hemi.

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