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(Enlarge photo)
They are big, they are expensive, they are luxurious and some of them even like to go off-road. Read on to find out which one was the best.
(Photo by Scott Jacobs)
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Road Test: Comparison Test
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2003 Large Luxury SUV Comparison Test
Think Tall, Walk Tall, Drive Tall
By
Erin Riches, Senior Content Editor , Edmunds.com
Date posted: 04-15-2003
It was almost three years ago when we published our first luxury SUV comparison test. At that time, we were still coming to grips with the fact that more and more well-to-do buyers were passing up svelte premium-branded sedans in favor of lumbering sport-utility vehicles that handled poorly and threw back gasoline with all the reluctance of frat boys hovering around a beer keg. "Soon," our author mused, "we'll all wake up and the whole SUV craze will subside."
But that hasn't happened, yet. Instead, those wanting a luxury SUV now have even more choices. Do you want a docile car-based crossover like the Acura MDX or BMW X5; an off-road-capable midsize SUV like the '03 Land Rover Range Rover or Lexus GX 470; or a large luxury liner like the Lincoln Navigator or Cadillac Escalade? Of course, we'll continue to report on these hot sellers, but we've had to branch out our tests to keep up. The luxury crossovers got their own comparison test last year, and we plan to let midsizers (based on total interior volume) like the Range Rover and GX 470 square off in a separate test later this year.
For this comparison test, we were only interested in the giants, the full-size luxury SUVs with base prices over $45,000 and city gas mileage estimates under 15 mpg. While they can make good family vehicles, these SUVs are not generally regarded as practical transportation given the high price of admission. Accordingly, our field included our returning champion, the LX 470; the Cadillac Escalade, which was totally redesigned for 2002; the Lincoln Navigator, totally redesigned for 2003; and two newcomers, the Hummer H2 and Mercedes-Benz G500.
With vehicles this amenable to rough terrain in our test, we knew we had to squeeze in some serious off-roading, despite our feeling that few SUV owners are interested in doing that. So we set out for Hungry Valley, a large off-highway vehicle park on the edge of the Los Padres National Forest. There, with the tutelage of three Land Rover driving instructors, we scaled rutted passes and steep descents and acquired a sense of each vehicle's capability (or lack thereof) in this setting.
The rest of the week was spent on our usual comparison test regimen — on-road driving with a mix of suburban streets, high-speed freeways and the occasional twisty back road thrown in for good measure; a thorough inside-and-out examination of each vehicle's accommodations; and instrumented performance testing (acceleration, braking and handling).
As we penned our commentary, we knew that each vehicle had to be a comfortable, luxurious and, for the most part, easy-to-drive on-road companion first and foremost. But given the hefty prices these vehicles command and the heavy off-road mechanicals most of them drag around, we felt they should give the buyer something more than a truck-looking substitute for a luxury sedan: If we could find a vehicle that provided a livable compromise of on- and off-road capability, so much the better.
Will you agree with our findings? Read on and get ready to write us a letter. If you want to know more about how we come up with our results, check out our Scoring Explanation first.
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