OUCH... Im a lot more comfy in the 22 hour trip in my Town and Country. Who cares what it looks like from the outside, as long as it feels good on the inside
My dad just bought one. He loves it and it has more h.p. than that Sequoia. And did I mention he paid 5 grand less than the Toyota for MORE stuff, more h.p. and more room in the Armada?
Should say, try to GET at least five or six miles per gallon. Silly me, I must be high on all the bloody air pollution coming from f***ing SUVs.
I prefer the Tahoe personally. Only thing is that they're all over the road here in North Austin. Sequoias are awfully pricey aren't they. They probably run in the mid to high $30s.
Yeah...it looks like you are looking for a $30K-$40K almost full-sized SUV. This is one category in which I would seriously consider an American car. The Yukon and its clone, the Tahoe, are both solid vehicles.
get a car that fits the criteria that you need, then take the difference between that and a car that your family can afford and give it away to charity, to people who dont have that fortune. Everybody wins.
Our Tahoe has been phenomenal (and I was always a Toyota guy). Add the fact that you can get thirteen to fourteen grand off of a 2003, and it would be a no-brainer for me. Hell, you can probably get a 2003 Denali for less than a loaded Sequoia....and that's easily a no-brainer.
It doesn't sound like you will be doing serious offroading or serious towing--so go with a car-based SUV instead of a truck based one. Safer, better milage, better handeling and better ride. I don't think any domestic Co makes a car-based SUV yet. If you want a 3rd row seat even if that last row is small (3rd row best for kids)--Honda Pilot. Acura MDX or the new Volvo SUV are good too, similar to the Pilot (especially the MDX), for another 8K or something. Toyota Highlander (or Pilot) is the best bet if you don't need a 3rd row. The Highlander, you can get cheaper by not going for 4WD I believe. A Forester or a S Korean model (can't remember make/name) also is not bad if the above 2 are out of your price range. The 4Runner is the best riding of the truck based SUVs--but again unless you are taking it on serious off roading or heavy towing the Highlander is probably better for cheaper. BTW the Pilot (same would be true for the Sequea or other Toyotas) would depreciate in 5 years what the domestics will do in 2-3 years. So yeah you get the domestics much cheaper relative to sticker, but their value falls like a rocket compared to Toyota/Honda so in the end it may not make a difference. If you need bigger than a Pilot/Highlander--I guess Sequea or the Tahao/Yukon/Escalade or Suburban/Yukon XL are the best choices. But you pay a an awful lot--fuel milage, handeling, road clumsiness, parking, and reliability (except Sequ) in selecting a true full size truck based SUV over a mid-sized car based SUV or minivan.
