James C. Reeves said:
SUV's are largely overkill for 99% of the time they're in use. But, to each
his own, as they say!
If you're really going to go off road, then it is worth considering. They
also have size and cargo advantages.
I haven't looked at the latest ones out there. The last time I looked was
in 1998. I checked out a variety of them, ranging from a Durango to a
Lincoln Navigator, which was new at the time. I don't think there were many
upscale SUVs at the time, except for the Range Rover.
They fell short of what I was looking for. Most of them did not have
everything I wanted. The Lincoln came close, but I decided to sit in the
back seat to check things out. When I found my head touching the roof, I
decided that if I'm going to get something big, it should not feel cramped.
I really did not need the ground clearance, but I wanted something that
would not need tire chains when driving through the Sierras. I also needed
something with at least seven seats, and cargo space. I ended up with an AWD
minivan. A top end minivan drives much more like a good passenger car than
like a truck. I didn't find any SUVs that didn't feel like trucks, but I
didn't look at all of them. No vehicle that's big and seats many people and
holds a lot of cargo will drive like a sports car or high end sedan, but I
did end up with something with enough power that it's not a problem, a
generally comfortable ride, and all the features I needed. The only problem
with it is that my wife keeps leaving it with me and she takes my Q45. But
it could be worse.
