MotorWeek | Retro Review: '97 Sport Ute Comparo

motorWeek is made possible by Rock auto and tire rack your host for motor week John Davis valo and welcome again to motor week we're glad to have you with us well as you can see from where I'm standing the automotive landscape is literally awash in sport utility vehicles indeed the growth of sports Utes over the last 15 years from rugged off-road couriers to everyday family transportation has been astounding so much so that everyone wants to get into the act why this year we even saw a Mercedes Benz into the fray and longtime full-size SUV purveyor dodge as we entered the market with the mid-sized Durango now both of these new designs are very impressive four-wheel drive Ford or wagons and they just beg to be compared to the more established sport you'd lead errs why that sounds like fun we rounded up a familiar gang of mid-sized mid-price 4x4 family sport utility vehicles but most with a twist or two to keep the newcomers on their toes leading the charges the sport youth sales leader the Ford Explorer next the Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited now with a 5.9 liter v8 Altima Bill's Bravada represents a made over GM trio that includes the Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Jimmy the first of our newcomers is the brawny Dodge Durango followed by this year's most talked-about SUV the Alabama made Mercedes Benz ml350 Mercedes is most often compared to the Land Rover Discovery so when you put these six family Packers side-by-side how do they measure up well our Ford Explorer XLT is like Old Faithful you know exactly what to expect its boxy upright styling is traditional SUV the interior is a little plain but very practical with the most used controls neatly located in a center panel there's lots of comfortable people space front and back a maximum of 80 1.6 cubic feet of cargo space and a towing capacity of 6700 pounds makes it among the most versatile Explorer uses rugged truck body-on-frame construction pride is smooth if a little tipsy a limited model adds air Springs our XLT didn't have them but it did have the least ground clearance of the group six point seven inches still this fast revving 4 litre overhead cam v6 delivers 205 horsepower and 250 pound feet of torque for capable off-roading the available full-time on-demand high-low range control track four-wheel drive system always put power to the wheels that needed it most or to the 5 liter v8 and you're limited to an all-wheel-drive system without low range v6 acceleration and the five-speed automatic shifts for both effortless 0 to 60 and only seven point nine seconds economy is poor however at twelve point two miles per gallon Ford Explorers cover a wide range of prices with our XLT pegged at thirty one thousand eight hundred sixty dollars from its distinctive seven bar grille to it's quick and responsive steering the G Grand Cherokee where's its pioneering heritage ever better with age 498 more power enters the bloodline with the addition of a push rod 5.9 liter v8 ratings are 245 horsepower and 345 pound-feet of torque the most pulling power in its class oddly Grand Cherokees towing limit of 6700 pounds is with the smaller 5.2 liter v8 but the purpose of the 5.9 is not for towing but for going 0 to 60 is a class best 7.4 seconds mileage is better than most - with 14.9 curve you hot rod in style to the Limited's overstuffed leather seats and woody accents set the tone backseat room is more cramped than we'd like as his luggage space due to the inside mounted spare tire still there is room for seventy nine point three cubic feet of stuff jeeps unitized frame provides a very stiff platform off-road performance is excellent thanks to a high 8.3 inches of ground clearance and all the time quadra-trac four-wheel drive system highway ride is car smooth but the signature Jeep body sway can get a little tiring Grand Cherokee prices also cover a wide range 4x4 started about $28,000 while our limited 5.9 had a sticker of thirty eight thousand nine hundred dollars GM took the edges off all its midsize sport Utes this year and made them appear more attractive and contemporary while retaining a purposeful shape although one look at the interior of the oldsmobile bravada and you know its purpose is more one of luxury than lugging the Bravada is among the smallest in its class but overall interior room is surprisingly good we love the fluid way the rear seats fold flat cargo space is 74 point 1 cubic feet with towing capacity limited to 5,000 pounds bravada and it's can have only one engine a gutsy 4.3 liter v6 here with 190 horsepower and 250 pound feet of torque acceleration is adequate 0 to 60 takes nine point two seconds while noisy under hard throttle bravado speaks well on mileage 16.8 for our test while blazer and Jimmy have traditional part-time four-wheel drive Bravada has a fully automatic smart track all-wheel drive system and baxlo rains but with seven and a half inches of ground clearance still is very capable highway ride is smooth although it does get pitchy at times the least expensive 4-door blazer 4x4 goes for about twenty five thousand seven hundred dollars at thirty one thousand three hundred seventy-five dollars are loaded to the hilt bravada comes off looking like the class bargain in our recent road test of the dodge durango we praised this new domestic entry for its big rig styling and for being Detroit's first midsize SUV that can carry a family of eight durango is based on the dakota pick up but from the windshield back clever engineers added a raised roof and lowered floor to maximize interior space the third seat folds into a floor when you need all the eighty eight cubic feet of cargo room towing capacity is groups best at 7,200 pounds dakota engines are also used with up to 5.9 liters available our SLT grade Durango packed the familiar 5.2 liter v8 with 230 horsepower and 300 pound feet of torque good for a zero to sixty dash of eight point seven seconds 4x4 gearing includes a choice of part-time or full-time transfer case which when combined with nubbie tires and a good seven point nine inches of ground clearance gives the body-on-frame Durango of fine off-road performance on-road ride was better than expected but with more annoying creaks and squeaks than we'd like Durango is also thirsty 12 point 2 miles per gallon the same as Explorer but like explorers prices seem pretty reasonable with our well equipped example having a final sticker of 30 $1100 not everyone loves the shape of the mercedes-benz ml 3/4 ms clearly where modern 4x4 wagons are evolving inside the ML has most of the traits and safety you expect in a mercedes-benz including a superbly organized Dash and side impact airbags only plastic quality needs improving but no improvements are needed for interior room dimensions are generous the tri-fold middle seat has unmatched versatility to the group biggest eighty five point four cubic feet of cargo space a two-child third row seat is offered but towing capacity is limited to five thousand pounds you can't get a v8 in the m/l till fall but the current 18 valve overhead cam 3.2 liter v6 is no slouch 215 horsepower and 233 pounds feet of torque delivers a 0 to 60 time of 9.3 seconds economy is our group's best at eighteen point eight miles per gallon we have great confidence in the on-demand full-time 4x4 system they uses electronic traction control to make sure the body-on-frame ml won't get stuck as long as at least one wheel has traction ground clearance is a good eight point four inches all this plus the three pointed star for about thirty four thousand dollars to start or forty thousand one hundred fifteen dollars loaded to the Gil this full frames Land Rover Discovery LSE looks like it just emerged from the jungle with its raised skylights and two powered Sun rooms the all aluminum body panels look dated and the same goes for the inside interior trim is British leather and wood posh but despite its tall stature you feel surprisingly cramped the maximum of sixty nine point eight cubic feet of cargo space is the smallest of our group rear jump seats push capacity to seven and easily fold out-of-the-way trailer towing capacity is 5500 pounds and aluminum four litre pushrod v8 is included its 182 horsepower and 233 pounds beat of torque were only enough for a 0 to 60 time of 10.9 seconds the pokey ascend our group mileage is no great shakes either at 13 even on-road the Land rolls a lot in corners but off-road with an all the time four-wheel drive system and 8.1 inches of ground clearance the discovery is nearly unstoppable Land Rover prices start high but stay competitive our loaded LSE goes into the bush for thirty nine thousand seven hundred fifty dollars or about the same tab as our newcomer winner the Mercedes Benz ml350 hits the target market perfectly and does so with a very competitive price all back by the mercedes benz reputation no wonder the ML 320 is a sellout runners up the two SUVs that are already family favorites the Ford Explorer and the Jeep Grand Cherokee they may be oldies but they still do a great job of bringing home the goodies as for the other newcomer the Dodge Durango it just needs a little quality seasoning before it - we'll get our knob and we didn't cover but some of the choices if there's a mid-sized family SUV in your future it'll be hard to make a decision you'll regret you

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Keywords: Consumer, mud, Track, Durango, EV, Retro Review, Explorer, Fast, Utilities, Fuel Economy, Pickup Trucks, Car, PHEV, Road Test, Jeep, Clean, CUVs, SUV, Review, Speed, Cars, Trucks, CUV, Electric Vehicle, Pickups, PBS, Diesel, Automotive, Gasoline, Land Rover, MotorWeek, Hybrid, Exotic, Fuel, MPG, SUVs

Id: Y1s30eFvwpw

Length: 10min 39sec (639 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 03 2016