The bickering started late in the evening -- over platters of bangers and mash and pitchers of beer -- at West Hollywood's best attempt at an authentic Irish pub. Dublin's, a crowded and noisy joint on Sunset Strip, was the locale Edmund's editors chose for picking the finalists of the annual Edmund's Most Wanted List. We picked Dublin's because we thought the jovial atmosphere would suit the fun we were certain to have talking about cars and drinking beers on the company dime. Indeed, throughout the night we enjoyed many laughs and engaged in the friendly give-and-take that is typical of any committee-made decision. The routine bluffing and ribbing over lame favorites was all in good fun, and we sailed quickly through the list, displaying our maturity and keen sense of purpose as we named vehicle after vehicle to our roster of favorites.

As we neared the home stretch and ordered another pitcher of lager the unthinkable happened; an argument broke out over what deserved the honor of being named Edmund's Most Wanted full-size sport-utility vehicle. As I poured another frothy pint, I almost laughed out loud. I mean, really, we had no difficulty deciding on truly tough choices, like the best sports sedan under $50,000 and best overall sports car. How could a group of car nuts get hung up on naming the best full-size sport-ute?

The bickering escalated into name-calling and tempers began flaring, so I wisely collected all of the spoons and handed them off to a passing waitress. (Anyone who has ever witnessed the dreaded spoon duels of Saskatchewan can understand why I took this precaution.) Suddenly, lightning flashed overhead, a dog cried out in the distance, and all conversation in the room fell to a hush, as Technical Editor Karl Brauer and News Editor John Clor squared off against each other in an odd chest-puffing dance best left to hormone-addled roosters.

"Damn it, Karl, you know the Suburban is the best sport utility in the country," said Clor, light from the neon Rolling Rock sign flickering ominously off of his sweat-flecked brow.

"You've got to be kidding," Brauer shot back in a low growl. "Everyone knows the Land Cruiser is the safari vehicle of choice on five continents."

Clor laughed heartily, "I'd like to see a Land Cruiser haul nine kids to hockey practice."

"Yeah? I'd like to see the Suburban make it a year without a major repair," rejoined Karl.

"The Cruiser is over-priced and under-powered," said Clor sardonically.

"The Suburban is old-tech junk," countered Brauer.

"The Suburban is an American icon," thundered Clor.

"The Land Cruiser is a world-wide legend," screamed Brauer.

By this point, all eyes were fixed on our table. Patrons sitting near us scrambled away like cockroaches, certain that a poorly aimed fistful of mashed potatoes was about to be hurled by one of our surly combatants. Seeing the bouncer at the front door shifting uneasily on his large, stump-like legs, Features Editor Ingrid Palmer valiantly tried to make a truce.

"Come on guys, this isn't such a big deal," she said reasonably. " I'm certain we can agree on something. How about the Ford Expedition?"

"Not the Expedition," howled Editor-in-Chief Christian Wardlaw. "It's the worst of all."

"Range Rover?" I tried, hoping, like Palmer, to defuse the volatile situation.

The collection of now-riled editors shot me derisive looks that said, "You've got to be kidding."

"What about the Hummer?" Senior Editor Greg Anderson asked. "It can go places the others only dream of."

"No!" bellowed the assembled editors.

And so the battle raged, icy glares flew across the table like footballs from John Elway's fingertips. Friends and comrades picked sides like the characters on the TV miniseries, "North and South." After what seemed like hours, we finally decided on the Toyota Land Cruiser as our pick for the Most Wanted List, but the agreement was no more certain than the outcome of the Middle East peace talks. Each of us knew in our heart of hearts that someday there would be a showdown to see which full-size sport-utility vehicle reigns supreme.

Two months later, we were assembled in West Hollywood again; preparing to embark on the sport-ute test that was to decide a question that had nearly torn our editorial board asunder. Each of us had forced the incident at Dublin's to the back of our minds over the intervening months; resuming the cordial, professional relationship that typifies Edmund's interoffice communication. Now, though, with several tons of American and Japanese steel assembled for our test, the old rivalries bubbled to the surface again. Barbed comments were traded about the assumed merits of each vehicle, and it became apparent that we needed to get the show on the road before things devolved into a schoolyard scuffle.

For our test we had acquired a Chevrolet Suburban K2500, Ford Expedition, GMC Denali, Isuzu Trooper, and Toyota Land Cruiser. Some notable vehicles did not appear on our list, due to the criteria that we established to designate what constitutes a full-size sport-utility vehicle. To be eligible for our test, the SUV in question had to have four-wheel drive and a cargo area of at least 90 cubic feet. We used cargo capacity as our defining standard, because it seemed that in order to fulfill the "utility" side of the full-size moniker, the trucks should be capable of hauling more than a garden-variety Ford Explorer or Chevrolet Blazer. As strange as it may seem, a relatively small vehicle like the Isuzu Trooper made it into the test, while scale-tipping vehicles like the AM General Hummer and Land Rover Range Rover did not have the requisite cargo capacity to be considered.

Curbside Appeal

Despite rumblings to the contrary, each of us recognized the inherent brawniness that each of the assembled trucks exhibited. Although the differences in size and styling were clearly evident, we were hard-pressed to find an ugly cousin in the bunch. High marks were handed to the modern-looking Ford Expedition, which stood tall and purposeful, decked out in two-tone paint and stylish aluminum wheels. Likewise, no one could find fault with the carved-from-a-cinder-block look of the Chevy Suburban, which conveyed a solid sense of purpose seldom seen outside of military machines. Not everything was perfect, however; some on our staff wished the Trooper had arrived in a different color - the truck's gleaming white flanks gave the Isuzu a washing machine-like appearance that earned the truck the nickname 'Maytag.' A few on our staff found the recently redesigned Toyota Land Cruiser a bit too bulbous in appearance, thinking that the designers may have goofed when messing with the formula that made the previous-generation Cruiser such a dreamboat. Likewise, our staff was undecided about the appearance of the Denali; some of us thought that its jewel-like green paint, integrated running boards, and shaved nose made it look overdone for a segment that is supposed to be about substance, not flash.

Pure Power

The engines in our assembled workhorses ranged in size from a 3.5-liter V6 to a 7.4-liter V8. Despite the wide vagaries in displacement and horsepower, none of the motors could be called an outright slouch.

The optional 7.4-liter Vortec V8 powerplant in our Suburban K2500 was the pure power winner, offering drivers 290 horsepower @ 4000 rpm and 410 foot-pounds of torque @ 3200 rpm. Although the big Chevy's engine posted the most impressive raw numbers, its overhead-valve design did feel somewhat old fashioned at times.

The next brawniest engine could be found under the hood of the Ford Expedition, and was a 5.4-liter Triton V8 with a modern overhead-cam design. The motor makes 260 horsepower @ 4500 rpm and 345 foot-pounds of torque @ 2300 rpm.

The GMC Denali took third-place honors with the 5.7-liter Vortec V8 sitting in its engine bay. The only other overhead-valve engine in the group, this modern derivative of GM's famous small block 350 puts out 255 horsepower @ 4600 rpm and 330 foot-pounds of torque @ 2800 rpm.

The Toyota Land Cruiser comes in at a lowly fourth place in the pure power category, offering drivers a mere 230 horsepower @ 4800 rpm and 320 foot-pounds of torque @ 3600 rpm. The most sophisticated of all of the motors, this silky-smooth 4.0-liter overhead-cam V8 was borrowed from the Lexus LS400, and features Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVTi), the first application of such technology on a truck.

The Isuzu Trooper weighed in with the smallest engine, a 3.5-liter V6 making 215 horsepower @ 5400 rpm and 232 foot-pounds of torque @ 3000 rpm. Despite the penalties associated with having two fewer cylinders than the competition, the Trooper was able to stay in the hunt by offering nearly as much horsepower and torque as several of the larger, heavier trucks.

Of course, pure power can cause pure mayhem on your pocketbook when it comes time to fill any of these gas-guzzling beasts -- none of our trucks was shy about ordering a five-fingered shot of fossil fuel each time we stopped at the pumps. Nevertheless, the overhead-cam engines, despite wide ranges in displacement, turned in consistently better mileage than our trucks equipped with overhead-valve motors; often bettering them by as much as 2-3 mpg over the same terrain. Despite this, not even our fuel-sipping (relative term only) Land Cruiser is likely to get a commendation from the Sierra Club. Its combined 14.6-mpg average over the course of our trip hardly qualifies as fuel efficient. The trip averages for all of the trucks are as follows:

Chevrolet Suburban: 10.6 mpg
Ford Expedition: 14.1 mpg
GMC Denali: 12.7 mpg
Isuzu Trooper: 14.5 mpg
Toyota Land Cruiser: 14.6 mpg

Capacities

There are many reasons that buyers choose full-size sport-utility vehicles, but the most common motivations we hear are that sport-ute shoppers want to increase their ability to haul people and gear. As we mentioned previously, this is why we considered cargo capacity to be the defining criteria of what it takes to be a full-size sport-utility vehicle.

Since there are more capacity measurements in this class of vehicles than you can shake a stick at, you'll notice that we parsed down the list to include only those things that we feel are critical to the full-size SUV shopper: maximum cargo capacity (with seats folded and stowed), maximum payload, maximum towing capacity (when equipped with optional towing package), and maximum seating (when ordered with optional seats). Below you will find a chart outlining how our five entrants measured up.

Chevrolet Suburban:
Cargo capacity: 149.5 cubic feet
Maximum payload: 2914 lbs.
Maximum tow load: 10,000 lbs.
Maximum seating: 9

Ford Expedition:
Cargo capacity: 118 cubic feet
Maximum payload: 1800 lbs.
Maximum tow load: 8,000 lbs.
Maximum seating: 8

GMC Denali:
Cargo capacity: 118.2 cubic feet
Maximum payload: 1423 lbs.
Maximum tow load: 6,500 lbs.
Maximum seating: 5

Isuzu Trooper: Cargo capacity: 90.2 cubic feet
Maximum payload: 980 lbs.
Maximum tow load: 5,000 lbs.
Maximum seating: 5

Toyota Land Cruiser:
Cargo capacity: 97.5 cubic feet
Maximum payload: 1745 lbs.
Maximum tow load: 6,500 lbs.
Maximum seating: 7

The choices are clear for large families or for those who have a yacht that they like to trailer around the country. The biggest of the big American sport-utes (Suburban and Expedition) are the only ones that'll do for Kennedy-sized families that like to tow stuff.