Newbie questions

Hey everybody.
I am thinking of buying either a suburban or yukon xl 2003 or 2004 4 wheel drive. I have a couple of questions.
1. what can I expect for real world m.p.g.? I assume around 14 doing 75% city driving. Is that a good estimate?
2. Can you take out the back seat for more hauling area, and if so is it hard to do?
3. What would you recomend? Does one model stand out over another? I am looking for a bigger vehicle, I don't currently tow anything, but I do want the option of a small atv/snowmobile trailer. nothing big like a 5th wheel or anything like that.
4. Are the second row captains chairs worth getting if we will have two to three kids in car seats?
I currently drive a 2001 Isuzu rodeo. It's alright, but when we load up the kids and diaper bags and toys etc. it gets pretty cramped especially when going on long trips.
We thought about a tahoe but figured if they get about the same gas mileage why not just go for the bigger one?
Thank you very much. Please let me know if I should be aware of anything else. I appreciate your wisdom and advice.

Jeapordy

1.Gas mileage will be just a little down from a Tahoe due to the increased weight and size. I'd guess more closer to 12-13 mpg city.
2.The rear seat is removable and isn't hard to do.
3.There isn't significant differences between the burban and yukon XL, either in 03 or 04.
4.Captains chairs make ingress and egress much easier for the 3rd row.
Hope this is useful.

Notes on '04 Denali XL

jeapordy said:

Hey everybody.
I am thinking of buying either a suburban or yukon xl 2003 or 2004 4 wheel drive. I have a couple of questions.
1. what can I expect for real world m.p.g.? I assume around 14 doing 75% city driving. Is that a good estimate?
2. Can you take out the back seat for more hauling area, and if so is it hard to do?
3. What would you recomend? Does one model stand out over another? I am looking for a bigger vehicle, I don't currently tow anything, but I do want the option of a small atv/snowmobile trailer. nothing big like a 5th wheel or anything like that.
4. Are the second row captains chairs worth getting if we will have two to three kids in car seats?
I currently drive a 2001 Isuzu rodeo. It's alright, but when we load up the kids and diaper bags and toys etc. it gets pretty cramped especially when going on long trips.
We thought about a tahoe but figured if they get about the same gas mileage why not just go for the bigger one?
Thank you very much. Please let me know if I should be aware of anything else. I appreciate your wisdom and advice.

Jeapordy

Click to expand...

1) Yep, in my AWD '04 XL Denali, I got about 14 mixed (mostly city) if I took it easy. Of course, you'll do better on the highway, and worse when you tow...
2) It's a bit of a pain, but not "hard" per se. Wouldn't want the wife to do it by herself -- might hurt her back or something.
3) Well, Denali has all the amenities, but you said 4WD, and Denali is AWD, so I'm not sure it's "on your list". Do you plan on off-roading or live in a rural area with crappy roads, or in "the burbs"? Maybe you don't need real 4WD, I dunno.
4) If you think you're gonna have 3 car seats, find one with the second row 60/40 split bench. That's what we had, it worked out great. Could fold the rear seat flat when we needed to, on those crazy shopping trips where we only had a few extra passengers.

Without the third row, there is TONS of space. Removing the third row wasn't an option for us as we require the passenger space. The cargo space with it in is still great; but if that's your priority, honestly, you'll do at least as well with an efficient minivan with a second row bench and fold-flat rear seat. BUT, you'll lose lots of "style points" with a minivan. :ack: I know, I'm driving our old one as an almost daily commuter... :lol: I like to steal the new truck a few times a week to make up those points tho...

And, welcome!

Thanks for the replies.
We live in Utah and occasionally will get a foot or so of snow so 4wd/awd is definetly prefered, plus I love being in the mountains and hunting/wildlife watching at my parents remote cabin, so need the ground clearance. I would be alright with a mini van if I could find one with awd, decent towing power and ground clearance, or if I had a truck just for me, but don't quite have the funds for three vehicles right now and my wife loves her car and I love that her car is paid off. We have a family reunion in Montana this year and were thinking we could sleep in the back with the third seat removed. I tried sleeping in the back of a minivan once, it was not comfortable, and that was just me, not me and my wife and two kids.

Is the 5.3 liter worth getting for gas mileage over the 5.7 or 6.0, or is the difference negligable (sp?) enough that it won't make a difference?
Thank you for your replies.
Thank you very much for the welcome Getwired. It's nice to be here.
Thanks , Jeapordy

I can't directly answer the fuel economy difference questions. However, with an AWD Denali with all the amenities for those long trips, a nice beefy Vortec 6000 will pull you through the rural areas very comfortably. With a second row bench, you can probably seat everyone, leave the third row at home, and fold up the second row so you could sleep in the back if you wanted to. When you get into the larger vehicles, fuel economy pretty much goes bye-bye, but you should still expect 16-ish on the highway and 12+ in the city. I'm a Denali fan, can you tell? You can expect to pay $20K-25K for an 03-04 XL Denali depending on mileage and condition. If you plan any serious off-roading however, you should probably look to an SLT with 4x4 (with the locking differential).

I'm seriously considering getting an 02-05 Denali (non-XL) for myself to lose the minivan-factor... I don't think Santa will be able to stuff that in the stocking this year tho.

I am too thinking of getting a Tahoe/Yukon after a short trial with a Dodge Ram. Haven't had any complaints so far with it but after an outing one day with the family, it became quite clear a Quad Cab just won't cut it! I have owned several GM vehicles in the past and have been saying lately the next vehicle would definitely be a GM! Today I sat in a Yukon Denali XL. What a mistake! Now I want one so bad, it's driving my wife crazy! But being practical I know a new Denali is not feasible so I will look at other trim levels. My question is what year did GM come out with the 5.3 with the Active Fuel Management System? My Dodge has the MDS and it works well on the hwy(20 mpg avg!) For those that have it, how do you like it? Any complaints yet? I have some time to research the vehicle so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully one day I can post my ride instead of being a wannabe!