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Ask Uncle Spinout: Lexus GX470 drinks premium. What's big, luxo, big and runs on regular?
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Dear Uncle Spinout,
I currently drive a Lexus GX470. The lease will be up in 6 months. Even though it burns premium gas, my wife and I dread turning it in, and we will not buy it at the end of the lease as the buyout cost versus the actual value is no where in the same hemisphere.
Due to an auto accident in 2007, my wife and I want to lease a vehicle at least the same size, if not indeed bigger! Living in Eastern PA and frequenting NJ ("death race 2000") often, size is huge! Our caveats are safety ratings and the ability to burn regular gas.
In talking to many people, I believe that there are many people who do not look forward to dumping their larger SUV, even if it means paying more for fuel.
Scott
You’re my kind of Scot, Scott. You don’t care how much your friends drink, just as long as they don’t drink your good stuff. Here’s a tip. Let the first glass or two be the expensive hooch, then switch over to the Bud Light of whatever they’re drinking. They’ll never know the difference.
Unfortunately, that won’t work with internal combustion engines. As a result, you’ve scratched all of the European and Asian alternatives from your guest list. They all demand high test.
You don’t say so, but I’m guessing you want to party in the same neighborhood as you did with the Lexus. That cuts your choice down to two, the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator. Both have that Yugo crushing weight you crave, but the Escalade has—wait for it—a hybrid version. Using GM’s Two-Mode hybrid system, the 6.0-liter V-8-equipped 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid is EPA rated at 20/21 mpg city/highway. In our test, we didn’t score those numbers but in an earlier test of an ’08 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid we did match the EPA estimates. Still, you’re going to get better gas mileage than with a regular ‘Slade. And it runs on regular unleaded.(We’d suggest you consider the Chrysler Aspen Hybrid, but they only went into production in October and the plant they’re built in closes December 31: Instant orphan).
Which brings us to the bling factor. Can someone who has spent the last two years in a Lexus drive a Cadillac? Durn tootin’, yes. The Escalade was one of the first models to benefit from GM’s quality renaissance, and we think they got it right.
So how can you go wrong? The Escalade is priced just about the same as the Lexus GX470, it’s on par for all the luxury stuff, it runs on regular, it’s a hybrid, and it has a five star crash rating by NHTSA, plus ABS, stability control, side-curtain airbags. And run the flag up the flagpole, it’s American made. Hold the bailout, congressmen. Scott just bought a Cadillac.
Uncle Spinout
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