GMC Acadia vs yukon/tahoe vs Ford Explorer

[Neil09]

Anyone have any experience with any of these? Looking at used, sub $25k. Really like looks of Explorer, but most don't have second row bucket seats (a must), and most Acadias have them. Kinda read some bad reviews on reliability of Acadia which is a little scary. Main concern is reliability, then fuel economy. Anyone have input on their experiences?

 

[noob]

I've had a 2001 and 2006 tahoe along with a 2010 escalade. These chevy motors are solid. Been using the 5.3 pretty much since 2001, and my 6.2 is no slouch. As far as the acadia and explorer, they will probably get better gas milage and handle better considering they are unibody and basically minivans without sliding doors. I think they are both FWD, with AWD available.

 

[3fifty7]

The older Acadias, pre '12 I think, had a much larger interior and were a solid mid size vehicle. Tahoes are tried and true as well.
In January of this year we bought a '13 Explorer and wonldnt trade it for anything else mentioned. We had an Expedition EL Limited which was mostly trouble free till about 180,000 then we had a couple ignition coils go out.
The Explorer Limited we have now has 4 bucket seats and it's the way to go. It has the 3.5l. Plenty of room for our family of 4 and either a couple of the kids friends or luggage for a weeks vacation. It will be hard to sell my wife another vehicle without the touch pad on door exterior.


Sent via telegraph with the same fingers I use to sip whiskey.

 

[BlueShamu]

We have an '11 Explorer. It has third row rear seat and has been a great vehicle that has great fuel economy. In fact, we are about to trade it in on a new SUV. My wife is looking for a smaller SUV.


Most liberals seem to suffer from the same mental condition....it's called stupidity!

 

[BlueShamu]

Sorry...misread the OP....our Explorer does not have the second row buckets.


Most liberals seem to suffer from the same mental condition....it's called stupidity!

 

[RedStickChick]

I almost got the new Explorer when my SUV got totaled two years ago. Ended up choosing a CRV only because of fuel costs.

I really really like the Explorers and Tahoes. Tahoes can be fratty but they're decent trucks.

 

[GO DAWGS]

I have a 2009 Tahoe pushing 160k with no issue. Had a sensor replaced, and other than routine maintenance that is all. Great vehicles. Gas mileage is decent considering the size, I get around 17 in town and can get up to 21-22 on the hwy.

 

[charlie12]

All I can throw out there is I'm at my friend's shop almost everyday and the replaces WAY more GM motors and transmissions than Ford.

 

[Labeeman]

We had a 09 Acadia and it was one of the worst vehicles we ever had. Problem after problem from the start. The dealership was not very helpful, so as soon as I found something else (Honda Pilot) I got rid of it. It did get 24mpg and it was comfortable, but that was not enough to make me keep it. They are probably better now, but I'll never know because I won't take a chance to find out. Oh, to do simple maintence on the Acadia was all but impossible. When you have to remove the front tire to replace the bulb in a headlight, your engineering department is relegated to dumbass status very quickly in my book. I could go on, but you know where I stand on the Acadia.

 

[Neil09]

This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks, Acadia is now off the list.

 

[DAVE_M]

This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks, Acadia is now off the list.

Yep, it's not a risk worth taking.

A good friend of mine's wife has one and it's been flawless, but at the same time, my coworker told me he had his for 3 months and it was in the shop almost every other week. He sold it soon after. Then when I was looking to buy a new commuter car, I found nothing but complaints about the Acadia's.

Wanting second row buckets limits your search a ton!

 

[Neil09]

I can just picture my kids GLADLY jumping onto second seat to get to back row lol. They would enjoy too much

 

[Whitebread]

Avoid the crossovers. They are not well made and by the time its 10 years old it will be ready for the junk yard. A fullsize suv on the other hand will be able to provide another 5-10 years if taken care of. I would say Tahoe/Yukon or one not on the list Expedition. I have always been a Chevy guy but I love my F150 Ecoboost and my wife's next vehicle will most likely be an Expedition. It seems to me Ford has more bang to offer for your buck.

 

[noob]

Just throwing this out there, but when I was in the market for a Tahoe to replace a car I totalled, I ended up with the Escalade b/c the price to insure the Escalade was half that of the tahoe.

 

[Devilneck]

Explorer all day, and twice on Sunday.

 

[Robbie]

Wow - any idea why?
Thought it went by value.

Just throwing this out there, but when I was in the market for a Tahoe to replace a car I totalled, I ended up with the Escalade b/c the price to insure the Escalade was half that of the tahoe.

 

[DAVE_M]

Avoid the crossovers. They are not well made and by the time its 10 years old it will be ready for the junk yard.

Do you have experience with crossovers? I find the complete opposite of what you're saying to be true.

There are good CUV's and bad CUV's. There are good SUV's and bad SUV's.

I've seen as many vehicles with 300,000+ miles as vehicles that broke down at 60,000 miles.

 

[MyBabyDaddy]

Do you tow anything? Something to consider, the Tahoe will of course tow better than the Explorer.

Yeah, those Acadia's seem to have alot of reliability problems. My wife's good friend traded her's in last year on an Accord because the Acadia couldn't stay out of the repair shop.

From my personal experience with GM , I have this opinion - if you buy a GM product that doesn't have a v8 , you're asking for trouble. V8's and full sized trucks/SUV's are what they do. That's their thing. My wife and I have owned enough GM products to know to stay away from anything else when it comes to GM. Again, this opinion is based on our own (admittedly very limited) personal experience with GM products.

 

[Whitebread]

Do you have experience with crossovers? I find the complete opposite of what you're saying to be true.

There are good CUV's and bad CUV's. There are good SUV's and bad SUV's.

I've seen as many vehicles with 300,000+ miles as vehicles that broke down at 60,000 miles.

Nope but I have seen many that dont belong to me do just that. My wife and I goofed on a Trailblazer though. The thing will probably last for ever but at 8 years old now its one annoying problem after another. Ford and GM just dont make good small trucks, small suv's and crossovers, but thats just my opinion. Ymmv

 

[Whitebread]

Do you tow anything? Something to consider, the Tahoe will of course tow better than the Explorer.

Yeah, those Acadia's seem to have alot of reliability problems. My wife's good friend traded her's in last year on an Accord because the Acadia couldn't stay out of the repair shop.

From my personal experience with GM , I have this opinion - if you buy a GM product that doesn't have a v8 , you're asking for trouble. V8's and full sized trucks/SUV's are what they do. That's their thing. My wife and I have owned enough GM products to know to stay away from anything else when it comes to GM. Again, this opinion is based on our own (admittedly very limited) personal experience with GM products.

Well said I you want a big SUV or truck you cant go wrong with GM or Ford. Its what they do and do best.