Chevy Suburban as rental?

[aczlan]

I know a lot of people go to great lengths in their heads to justify buying an SUV rather than a minivan, but comfort, convenience, vehicle dynamics and fuel economy ain't part of that list.

I will have to disagree with you on that. When we went from a '02 Caravan to a '05 Yukon XL last year, we were looking for increased reliability, more people room and a vehicle that we could drive till it hit 200k with just normal maintenance. We also got more a more comfortable ride and 4x4 in the deal.
We lost ~4 MPG (went from 19MPG (+/-0.5MPG) to 15.3MPG (overall average since May).
Ours is a 1500 SLT model (leather interior, moonroof, dvd player) which currently has ~120k miles and IMO, it is as comfortable and rides as well as my Volvo.
It was a huge improvement over our 2002 Caravan SE (cloth interior, non-stow and go seats) which had ~130k miles when we sold it and it is significantly more comfortable than my sister inlaws 2006 Grand Caravan Touring (leather stow and go seats, DVD, entertainment system).
Our 2002 Caravan had been babied all its life (my grandparents bought it off lease, then they babied it and we bought it from them), yet it had holes at both ends of both rocker panels you could fit a softball through and the transmission was starting to catch shifting out of 2nd gear.
Because of that experience, the issues my sister in law had with her 2006 and a friends experience with their 2008 Caravan (both of them had significant repair bills for stuff that shouldn't have broken), we decided to go to a SUV. So far, we would not go back.
Yes, we could have gotten a '08ish Grand Caravan with under 80k miles for what we paid for the Yukon, but (based on my sisters experience and our friends experience) we would have been paying a fair chunk of change for repairs down the road.

Aaron Z

 

[timswi]

Explain how a vehicle that weighs a ton more and has more frontal area and the aerodynamics of a brick gets better mpg than an Odyssey, which has a 3.5l V6 with 6 speed trans (two of them overdrive) VVT and cylinder deactivation.

Anyone can go to fuelly.com and see what people are getting for real world numbers.
Honda Odyssey Mileage | Fuelly
Honda Odyssey Mileage | Fuelly

Well whaddaya know - typical Odyssey driver is averaging 4-5 mpg higher than 1500 owners.

I know a lot of people go to great lengths in their heads to justify buying an SUV rather than a minivan, but comfort, convenience, vehicle dynamics and fuel economy ain't part of that list.

I dont recall specifying any brands. Get a grip.

 

[HHR]

I've heard that the 2015 Suburbans are getting 22-25 mpg on the road. The fold-flat 3rd row does eat into the rear cargo space though.

 

[aczlan]

I've heard that the 2015 Suburbans are getting 22-25 mpg on the road. The fold-flat 3rd row does eat into the rear cargo space though.

We see 18-19 on the highway at 70-75MPH with our 2005. When I ran the numbers, dropping from 19MPG to 15MPG will cost us $420ish more per year at $3/gallon. Having a wife who is happy with her car and feels safe in it is well worth that in my book.

Aaron Z

 

[Garandman]

I dont recall specifying any brands. Get a grip.

Dodge Caravan Mileage | Fuelly
Toyota Sienna Mileage | Fuelly
Chevrolet Suburban 1500 Mileage | Fuelly

The three minivans that make up 80-90% of the market are all posting averages of 20 mpg or more for most models, most years. And the average for the 2014 Suburban 1500 is 15.1mpg. For 2012 it's highest at 17.1.

There are many good reasons to buy something like a Suburban (towing capacity, availability of AWD,etc) but fuel economy isn't one of them.

 

[timswi]

Dodge Caravan Mileage | Fuelly
Toyota Sienna Mileage | Fuelly
Chevrolet Suburban 1500 Mileage | Fuelly

The three minivans that make up 80-90% of the market are all posting averages of 20 mpg or more for most models, most years. And the average for the 2014 Suburban 1500 is 15.1mpg. For 2012 it's highest at 17.1.

There are many good reasons to buy something like a Suburban (towing capacity, availability of AWD,etc) but fuel economy isn't one of them.

I don't recall saying it was a fuel sipper. What I know is that many of my co workers have various brands of minivans and some of the mileage isn't any better than 15, sometimes worse...Buying smaller doesn't always yield more efficiency.

In addition, there are some guys with small to mid size foreign pickups that get the same or worse gas mileage than my 2013 AWD 6.2 404HP 1500 Denali.

Just sayin.

 

[Monster5601]

I've heard that the 2015 Suburbans are getting 22-25 mpg on the road. The fold-flat 3rd row does eat into the rear cargo space though.

On a recent business trip I had a 2015 Tahoe LTZ rental to drive from Detroit to Louisville and back. I drove the posted speeds, 65 and 70 MPH, used cruise control when possible, and averaged 23.4 MPG for the trip.

 

[R_Walter]

I've heard that the 2015 Suburbans are getting 22-25 mpg on the road. The fold-flat 3rd row does eat into the rear cargo space though.

Can you site a source?

 

[aczlan]

Can you site a source?

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2015_Chevrolet_Suburban.shtml says 22-23
And the post above yours says:

On a recent business trip I had a 2015 Tahoe LTZ rental to drive from Detroit to Louisville and back. I drove the posted speeds, 65 and 70 MPH, used cruise control when possible, and averaged 23.4 MPG for the trip.

Tahoe is listed as having the same MPG: Gas Mileage of 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe

Aaron Z

 

[davesl708]

Fuel economy aside. Pulling a load of six people and luggage through the mountains is going to require some torque.
I would want the Suburban for that job not a minivan.
My 04 Suburban has pulled an 18ft deck boat through the rocky's many times.