Tow Vehicle/Daily driver advice

Hey guys, I wanted you opinions on a good driver. I currently have an IS350 and a Sierra Denali. I would really like to go down to one vehicle but I have some guidelines of course and finding it to be hard to narrow it down. I drive the car about 24,000 a year as salesman so comfort, mileage etc is a factor. I drive the truck about 10k a year mostly for winter days and pulling the approx. 3500 lb. boat to the ski site about 35 minutes away. So combining the two what do you guys think? I drove a new Grand Cherokee but(sorry Dodge guys) it just felt to Dodgey for me. I am thinking maybe a newer Avalanche but I just dont know.

What kind of gas mileage do you get in your IS350?

25 or so

So I guess you would trade that 24k miles at 25mpg for 18-20mpg. About 400 gallons more a year although you can probably put regular in the Avy and do you put premium in the Lex?

24000/25=960*4.00(I am guessing $4/gal for premium)=$3840
24000/18(not sure if 18mpg is realistic or not but you must do a fair amoutn of highway driving)=1333*$3.75(guestimate)=$5000

So you may spend around a grand to 1500 more in fuel a year but you only have to deal with one vehicle. Not sure the maintance really matters as either way you are putting 34k total on the vehicles. I would assume you would save 500-1000/year in insurance by only having one vehicle?

I've done the two car thing for a while....08 tahoe and an 06 civic. gas has to be really expensive to make it cost effective..as brett illustrated.

what are you trying to accomplish by consolidating to one?

why not just sell the lexus and drive the denali full time?

The only way I see that it can make sense is if you find a commuter like a diesel passat or jetta or some other car that gets around 40mpg. That and if you downgraded the truck to something older but still nice.

well both are financed at about 600 each if that makes it all seem even dumber I have done it so long

Get rid of them both and get an ecoboost FX4, Lariat, platinum, etc... Seems to be the popular thing to do right now.

Originally Posted by polarbill

Get rid of them both and get an ecoboost FX4, Lariat, platinum, etc... Seems to be the popular thing to do right now.

Popular doesn't mean it is the best choice, especially as DD for long distances.

Avalanche rides very well, better than most trucks of similar size. Would be a good choice. Might be good with just selling the Lexus and using the Denali as the DD as well.

especially as DD for long distances.

If you spend anytime driving the new F150 you'd see how great they are to drive. Ride quality is excellent and with the new EPAS there is nothing easier to steer. I've had a few guys that own German luxury and Lexus' tell me their Platinums are just as quiet inside as their sedans. Nothing beats the Ecoboost for fuel economy either.

Originally Posted by hatepain

If you spend anytime driving the new F150 you'd see how great they are to drive. Ride quality is excellent and with the new EPAS there is nothing easier to steer. I've had a few guys that own German luxury and Lexus' tell me their Platinums are just as quiet inside as their sedans. Nothing beats the Ecoboost for fuel economy either.

I spend every day in an 06 F-150 and f'ing HATE IT. I wouldn't even chance a newer one with how much I hate my company F-150.

What trim level do you have?

There's a pretty big difference in an 06 to 2011 at any trim level but if you're running around in an XL work package and saying don't buy a Lariat, Platinum, Limited, (which seems to be up the OP's alley) its not a fair comparison. That said every truck/car is not for everybody.

If you can find one grab yourself a VW Toaureg V10TDI... will to like a dream and fits in parking spots in the city.. and you still get 18-20mpg's when not towing)

Audi has a diesel option in their q7.

ive been through at least 5 or 6 vehicles in the past 5 years, cars, trucks, whatever. i finally am settled in with my chevy colorado. its a small, very light duty trucks, but it fits my needs perfectly. im still capable of towing the boat when need be, and more importantly i have an open bed which fits all my wakeboard gear, or an atv/bike, or basically whatever else. its a very small truck but im able to fit everything i need to in it. i bought a cargo rack which slides into the hitch receiver thinking that i may need some extra storage space but i have never once had to use it.
i knew i needed a truck, but with gas prices being so unpredictable i wanted something that would allow the best milage possible. i average 22 MPG in the colorado, mixed highway and city, with the bed mostly full. getting 22+ mpg and still being able to tow the boat makes it a great versatile little truck, im keeping it. i found a great balance of truck vs. mpg with this one.
im not saying its the cover-all solution for wakeboarders but it fits my needs just right. so the chevy colorado or gmc canyon may be worth a look for you as well. good luck!

Originally Posted by lfwake12

ive been through at least 5 or 6 vehicles in the past 5 years, cars, trucks, whatever. i finally am settled in with my chevy colorado. its a small, very light duty trucks, but it fits my needs perfectly. im still capable of towing the boat when need be, and more importantly i have an open bed which fits all my wakeboard gear, or an atv/bike, or basically whatever else. its a very small truck but im able to fit everything i need to in it. i bought a cargo rack which slides into the hitch receiver thinking that i may need some extra storage space but i have never once had to use it.
i knew i needed a truck, but with gas prices being so unpredictable i wanted something that would allow the best milage possible. i average 22 MPG in the colorado, mixed highway and city, with the bed mostly full. getting 22+ mpg and still being able to tow the boat makes it a great versatile little truck, im keeping it. i found a great balance of truck vs. mpg with this one.
im not saying its the cover-all solution for wakeboarders but it fits my needs just right. so the chevy colorado or gmc canyon may be worth a look for you as well. good luck!

ps- my pops owns an avalanche as a tow vehicle and it is just an AWESOME truck. really super nice truck all around. but i will say that he keeps it parked unless towing and he usually asks me to borrow my truck for just about everything else. just sayin...

I currently have an IS350 and a Sierra Denali.

We have similar drive-ways... I use my IS250awd (so it works just fine in the winter too) for my commuter (I've put on like 22k since Feb of this year) and the truck (GMC Serria), which sits 90% of the time.... Odds are the car and the truck will be gone in the next few weeks but I'm just 100% scrapping the truck. I haul our boat 2 times a year, to the lake in spring and from the lake in fall (boat launch is about 1/10 miles away. So that might not work for you (unless you can get a boat slip ?!).... but for those 2 times a year I can certainly borrow a friends/family/neighbor's truck and get it done.

Not sure if something like this could apply to your situation (depends again on a boat slip) but after crunching numbers and looking at things fairly carefully I just do not need the truck.

Do the driveway's look similar? IS2 and GMC truck

My Avalanche is the only vehicle I have ever regretted getting rid of. If you can get an 09 or newer you will get the 6 speed transmission which helps a ton with mpg and towing. It is Chevy Truck month about every other month so you can probably get a new one for 0% for 60 months either this month or next.

You should really look at the NEW F150. I have an 11' ecoboost 4x4 crewcab 6 /12' bed. Tows my boat great and gets 19-20 on the highway back and forth to work. I have about the second heaviest option with 3.73 gears. My truck should probably be about the worst on mpg of all the options. They ride great, quiet in the cab, I have an XLT and it rides and is as quiet as my old Audi. I can only imagine that a king ranch platinum etc. would be even better.

Just get rid of the lexus and drive the denali.

That'd make the most sense financially.

Gas is cheap, burn it up. Don't get fixated on the cost per MPG unless you are comparing something that gets 40+ mpg.

Trade your car and truck in on a Yukon Denali. I got a new one a few months ago and it drives like a car as a daily driver but still has tons of power to pull the boat. I had a Tahoe before that it it's a definite upgrade over the Tahoe.

I went from a tahoe to an escalade. Definate upgrade but the denali/escalde share the same motor now ( I think); the 6.2. Gas mileage is horrible, lol. I avg about 11-12 mpg as a daily driver ( not much freeway driving).

Originally Posted by acurtis_ttu

I went from a tahoe to an escalade. Definate upgrade but the denali/escalde share the same motor now ( I think); the 6.2. Gas mileage is horrible, lol. I avg about 11-12 mpg as a daily driver ( not much freeway driving).

Your escalade must be a little bit older one? If that is a current one they have completely missed the boat. If a really luxerious F150(king ranch or Platty) can have the same or better payload/towing capabilities and get nearly 20 mpg they need to have the escalade/tahoe/suburban getting high teens if they want to stay competetive.

2009 escalade.
While I wished it got better, I dont' think the average buyer ,of an overpriced SUV, lets MPG be a deal breaker?

Originally Posted by acurtis_ttu

2009 escalade.
While I wished it got better, I dont' think the average buyer ,of an overpriced SUV, lets MPG be a deal breaker?

True. Part of it a few years ago was that you jsut couldn't have a big luxury SUV that could tow that got decent fuel mileage. Manufacturers seem to be doiong a lot better in the last couple of years getting up close to 20 mpg's.

Rovers, even the 2012s are only 14-17 highway. I average 14.7 and thats 75% highway driving but I do have oversize tires as well. Most i ever got on stocks was 19mpg on a full highway trip. When i tow im down to 8.9mpg.

According to fueleconomy.gov for 2012:

- Escalade AWD and Escalade EXT is 18 highway / 13 city
- Tahoe Hybrid and Escalade Hybrid is 23 highway / 20 city
- 4WD Avalanche, 4WD Tahoe, 4WD Suburban are 21 highway / 15 city

Ford F150 4WD:
5.0L: 19 highway / 14 city
6.2L: 16 highway / 12 city
Ecoboost: 21 highway / 15 city
Raptor: 16 highway / 11 city

Just picked up a new 2011 F 150 Super Crew Ecoboost Lariat 4X4, has everything a lux car has with good MPG and a big rig tow vehicle would do and more, the wife even likes it, no just corrected...she loves it !!!

I have a 2007 Avalanche. It has coil rear springs so it does not have issues with the normal truck bounce as you will have with almost every "real" truck with leaf springs in the back. While the Fords are getting great reviews, I doubt they ride as nice as my Av with coils. It is currently my daily driver as my nanny has taken over my commuter. With the 5.3L 4speed I am getting right at 16mpg average with mostly highway and commuting in traffic. It's the LTZ loaded up with all the bells and whistles. If I could get one with a Ford eco-boost motor I would, the 5.3L is not too bad but it's a tad slow. I have had it for 8 months and put 11k miles on it.

Originally Posted by mikeski

I have a 2007 Avalanche. It has coil rear springs so it does not have issues with the normal truck bounce as you will have with almost every "real" truck with leaf springs in the back. While the Fords are getting great reviews, I doubt they ride as nice as my Av with coils. It is currently my daily driver as my nanny has taken over my commuter. With the 5.3L 4speed I am getting right at 16mpg average with mostly highway and commuting in traffic. It's the LTZ loaded up with all the bells and whistles. If I could get one with a Ford eco-boost motor I would, the 5.3L is not too bad but it's a tad slow. I have had it for 8 months and put 11k miles on it.

If you felt the 5.3L was slow, why didn't you just get a 6.0 Avalanche? Or throw a supercharger on the 5.3L, as they are boost friendly.

No questions here, get a Yukon Denali. Lots of power for towing boat and rear air ride suspension that always keeps you level when towing.
Plus the vehicle is beautiful inside and out, has lots of room for kids, is made right here in America and the chicks will dig it. And really, when it comes to mileage, one or two or 5 mpg doesn't amount to a ton of money by the end of the year.

Plus on your deathbed youll regret that you were not rolling like a boss when u were young only to save 250 bucks.

I have owned 97 Tahoe, 00 tahoe,02 tahoe,03 avalanche 05 Yukon denali, 07 Tahoe, 09 tahoe. While extremely bias to me there is just no better truck than the,Tahoe/ Yukon as daily driver occassional tow vehicle. Out of all those I did love the way the avy rode, drove and towed. My denali was a pig in the city. Drove like a tank with the full time 4wd. Killed mpgs. My 07-09 avg 16-18 all day long city/hwy driving. My denali was 11-12. While towing hands down the denali pulled the best the trade off on the mpg's not towing was deal breaker. I used to ache 35k a yr on my trucks hence turning them over so often. Stay away from 07/08 tahoes Their 4 spd trannys are god awful towing. Was avg 9mpg at best. I almost switched brands due to it til I was able to get the 6 speed in 09. While the 4 spd gave me smother shift in the city it was terrible towing

For the truck get a Ford with a 7.3, or even a 6.9 would be good if it's turbo. I'd recommend a 1 ton from 80-200x whenever they stopped putting the 7.3 in trucks. Still don't expect much in the way of highway MPG compared to an econobox. I'd say get a 7.3 one ton for towing and winter/snow driving and either keep the econobox for your high mileage sales work, or get something else economical or sporty to suit your tastes. Or stick with what you got. You'll end up spending a LOT more in gas to have a capable tow vehicle to drive every day vs. your current vehicles, unless fuel costs are covered by work or otherwise aren't a consideration.

didn't think of this before, but my dad had a Buick Enclave and that towed pretty well for a V-6 and he says he averages about 22 mpg daily. Hasn't been mentioned but towing payload is 4500lbs (not sure if you're 3500 is boat or boat/trailer).... either way they look nice and have a nice ride.

Sell both, buy a 3/4 ton diesel and be done with it. I get 23+ mpg out of a lifted HD2500 and it does everything I could ask.

Originally Posted by brett33

Sell both, buy a 3/4 ton diesel and be done with it. I get 23+ mpg out of a lifted HD2500 and it does everything I could ask.

Can that possibly be right? That is really good MPG's even with stock wheels and tires isnt' it? I thought the duramax got closer to 17 or 18 on the highway?

Originally Posted by polarbill

Can that possibly be right? That is really good MPG's even with stock wheels and tires isnt' it? I thought the duramax got closer to 17 or 18 on the highway?

Sure is possible. Stock that's about what they'll do, but add a few mods and a economy tune and you're in the 20+ range. I did 426 miles on an 18gal tank this weekend.

So you just want a new vehicle? Or are you looking for something different?
Why not just drive the Denali exclusively and dump the Lexus?
You're not really moving up the food chain from a Denali p/u to an Avi and you're not starting over with payments.

Nitrousbird, RE the F150: I'm not a Ford fan and I've had about every model yr of F150 and several F250's since the mid 90's and while they haven't been spectacular in any particular situation (and kinda gutless), the '96-up Triton motor trucks have been for the most part reliable. Only 1 and a half lemons out of 15 or so trucks and these were company work trucks so they got used pretty hard.
That said, I just got an '11 F150 5.0 this year and it's a whole new truck compared to the last 2 generations. If it holds together for the long haul, it's the best half ton drivetrain out there right now IMO................and I don't like Fords!

This summer I switched from an 04 Avalance Z71 to a 2011 Silverado Crew Cab LTZ with the 6.2 Liter engine (403hp / 417 lbft of torque)...both were my tow vehicle and my daily driver. I can tell you that the ride between the two is pretty similar. The Silverado tows much much much better. Granted I have the big engine in the Silverado (along with the 6 speed tranny), so it's not really a fair comparison in that department. I get about 16/17 mpg with a combo of City/Hwy driving. The cabin space in a Silverado actually seems to be just a tad bit more roomy than the Avalanche. For what it's worth, both are great vehicles and I'd have no problem owning either, but if I had my choice I'd definitely choose the Silverado.

I did a lot of test drives towing the boat (SAN 230...about about 7000 lbs when you factor in boat/trailer/gas tank/equipment weight) with both the 5.3 and the 6.2 liter. I decided that it was worth the sacrifice of 2 mpg to get the bigger engine. I'm super glad I did....not only does it tow amazing, it's a lot of fun to just put the hammer down and fly

Going to look at an ecoboost today, the red one with the blacked out hood put me over the top. I also am going to look at a Durango R/T I think they look pretty nice too

Congrats on your new Ecoboost!

I drove the ecoboost-Loved it! I am going to order a race red FULLY loaded FX4 crew with the new appearance package, have the hood treatment done like the other gents, bed cover, tint and maybe a leveling kit.

Originally Posted by duckguy

I drove the ecoboost-Loved it! I am going to order a race red FULLY loaded FX4 crew with the new appearance package, have the hood treatment done like the other gents, bed cover, tint and maybe a leveling kit.

Is the appearance package with the black 20's and the black hckey stick looking strip down the side? That will look sick for sure.

Yes, I may take the stripe off, but I really like the wheels and the red stitching on the seat etc.