Another Look

On the road: 2005 Dodge Durango Limited, 2005 Lexus GX470, 2005 Toyota 4Runner

The first big snowstorm of the season reminded many of us why people drive SUVs. When it comes to getting around in a few inches of snow, SUVs do provide a certain comfort level as a result of both their size and their all-wheel-drive capabilities. So this is a good time to take a quick look at three of these people movers. Before we do however, there are a few points SUV drivers should keep in mind.

When the ground around is slippery and the snow is gently falling is no time to be calling if you’re behind the wheel. Many SUVs were not designed to minimize damage to either other cars or pedestrians. If your cell phone call is so important that you have to take it, please be so considerate as to drive into a wall instead of one of our cars. That way, when you head to the afterlife, you won’t need to explain to the gatekeeper why you killed someone else because of distracted driving.

· In general, all-wheel-drive helps you grip the road much better when you’re going in a straight line. It does almost nothing to help you get round that icy corner, and even less to help you stop before you hit that car filled with small children at the stop light. If you’re not bright enough to figure out for yourself why all-wheel-drive is not a reason to speed carelessly in bad weather, please see our enjoying the afterlife suggestion above.

How do I put this one nicely? Listen, you inconsiderate moron, the elderly lady in front of you is scared out of her wits but has to make it to her doctor’s appointment. You may be only nineteen and never had a broken bone or spun out on the highway, but she has. Quit tailgating her. The only place you’ll get any faster doing that is hell.

Our sermon for the day now concluded, let’s move on to the cars.

2005 Dodge Durango Limited

Not to annoy my friends at Jeep, but I still think the Dodge Durango is the best looking 7-seater Chrysler makes. The Durango was also one of the first SUVs designed with the safety of other cars in mind, so that if the Durango meets a small car and both attempt to occupy the same space, at least the smaller car won’t slide beneath the Durango’s bumper and be crushed, a common problem with many SUVs. The small car will just slide into the Durango’s bumper and be crushed. Just kidding, folks. The thing is many safety measures that activate in a collision have their effectiveness nullified if one car slides under the other, so the lower Durango bumpers could mean the person in that small car walks away shaken, but alive.

Another bit of good news about the Durango is that your Dodge dealer will probably deal. The bad news is that this is a result of the effects of gas prices on sales of large SUVs. My two-wheel-drive Durango with the 4.7-liter V-8 Magnum and a 5-speed automatic transmission used 14 miles per gallon in the city, 19 on the highway, according to the EPA. The Durango is also now available with the larger Hemi engine, for those who want to floor it on the way to the station. Base prices range from about $27K for the two-wheel-drive version with the 3.7-liter V6 engine to $36,855 for the all-wheel-drive Limited version. My two-wheel-drive Limited came in at $36,780, including $3,480 in options like a navigation system and rear seat video system. Kelley Blue Book suggests you should pay at least $1,500 under sticker.

The interior is clean and workmanlike, a Dodge trademark. The fanciness of the Chrysler interior is traded in here for neat, efficient styling that does the job without pretense. Handling is better than expected, with a tight turning circle and a smooth ride. The outside is pure Dodge, big and bold.

If you’ve got a large family, the Durango offers comfortable seating for seven with substantial cargo space even with all the seats taken. This is a big SUV, but it’s still smaller than much of its full-size competition.

2005 Lexus GX470

The gas mileage for this Lexus is only slightly better than that of the larger Durango. EPA estimates are 15 city, 19 highway from the 4.7-liter, 270 horsepower 32-valve V8 with full time four-wheel-drive and the 5-speed electronic automatic transmission. Base price on mine was an affordable $45,775, but options including the navigation and upgraded audio system, rear seat entertainment system, sport package, third row seat with rear air conditioner and a rear spoiler helped push the out the door cost to $55,698. Again according to Kelley Blue Book, buyers are actually paying about four grand under MSRP for this vehicle.

What do you get for all this? A Lexus, and that’s a lot. This was a car that I was prepared not to like, but on a long trip into the Berkshires, it won me over. I’m sure if I wanted to take it offroad, it would have done well there too, but all I wanted was a spacious luxury sedan equivalent and this job the Lexus filled admirably.

Handling and performance were both top of the class, and comfort was exceptional. Just about every goodie you could ever want was included. I hesitate to mention the navigation system because there really is nothing I could say about it that hasn’t been said already, but it is such a well-designed voice-activated system that I have to at least mention it. Much the same could be said of almost everything else to do with this car.

The only exception would be the third row seating. There is a limit to how many rows of seats can be jammed in to a vehicle, and this is it. While occasional seating of eight is fine, I really don’t see this as normal usage, not least because you lose all your cargo room.

But even then, given that this is a midsize SUV, the additional flexibility is welcome. There is a reason Lexus ranked number one in the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Customer Retention Study, climbing

3.5 percentage from 2004. This is a great product, built almost without compromise, guaranteed to increase your appreciation of the relentless pursuit of perfection.

2005 Toyota 4Runner 4-Door SR5 4x4

Call it evolution. Call it intelligent design. Call it 20 grand less than the Lexus GX470.

That Lexus, believe it or not, is based on the 4Runner platform, but you’d never know it. The difference is more than price. The Lexus is the princess in her private jet, the Toyota a working man taking care of his family. That doesn’t make either better than the other, but they are aimed at different markets, with the amenities to match.

What’s similar is build quality. Both these vehicles are well put together, but the Toyota is, as expected, much plainer and devoid of many of the electronic geegaws that add to the Lexus. The suspension is tuned differently, so the ride is not as luxury-comfortable as the Lexus, but still well within what one would expect in this price range. That price range, by the way, was $32,156 for mine. That included third row seats (same concerns as with the Lexus apply – no cargo space when they’re being used), curtain and side airbags, roof rack and cross bar and more. All this, along with the $565 destination charge, raised the sticker up from the $29,770 MSRP.

For that base price you do get four-wheel-drive, a 4-liter V6 engine with 5-speed automatic transmission, vehicle stability control and traction control, antilock brakes, auto air conditioning, AM/FM/CD player and much more, so you’re not getting a stripped down unit.

Like the Lexus, the Toyota proved itself competent at just about everything, perhaps the reason that in its fourth generation, it is still one of the top selling SUVs. The 4Runner makes a virtue of its plain style, inviting you to take it offroad or batter it without having to worry how it will look in the country club parking lot. My V6 provided enough power (a V8 is also available) at a cost of 17 mpg city, 21 highway according to the EPA.

If you’re going to spring for the Lexus, be my guest. If that’s out of your price range, know the 2005 Toyota 4Runner stacks up very well in that midsize sport ute market. Whatever you do, drive carefully, and watch out for the other guy.

posted by Andy Mais @ 12:15 PM