5l V8. Petrol. 8 seats (plus huge luggage) all for £40k
Discussion
Just got back from 10 days in the US. Hired a Yukon XL. Stupidly huge SUV but fully loaded with every conceivable toy, 8 large seats plus boot/trunk space to carry 5 full size suitcases.
Have to say, I loved it. Even if its 5.3l, 350bhp V8 didn't exactly make it swift with 3.5 tonnes to lug about, but a huge American toy that offered stupid levels of VFM and capability.
New cost, $50k before discount.
Have to say, I loved it. Even if its 5.3l, 350bhp V8 didn't exactly make it swift with 3.5 tonnes to lug about, but a huge American toy that offered stupid levels of VFM and capability.
New cost, $50k before discount.
hornetrider said:
Beast. Any more pics? What's the interior like?
Interior is actually OK. The last one we hired, 2yrs ago, was very low rent, this one was good. Not up to German standards, but easily up to Japanese standards. We were offered an Infiniti. I opted for the Yukon because we wanted the Yank Tank, and having seen them, the interior was worse than the Yukon (and the exterior even worse!)Didn't really take any more pictures apart from these two when we picked it up.
edit to add... No actual shots of interior, but exactly the same as this:
Edited by Ares on Tuesday 8th November 16:51
trickywoo said:
flatso said:
An LPG conversion would make it attractive in Europe as well
Continental I assume as I wouldn't fancy taking that in a multi-story car park or parking it at a busy supermarket.hondansx said:
All hire cars are great when you're on holiday... back in the real world i bet it's pretty rubbish.
In the States earlier this year my transfers were by a guy in one of the Infinitis. It was cosy but seemed really cheap inside in terms of materials.
This wouldn't be rubbish in whatever the real world is....but it would be too big for UK roads, and UK parking spaces. I'm looking at setting up an office over there. If I do, this will be a strong contender to have as a truck for out there.In the States earlier this year my transfers were by a guy in one of the Infinitis. It was cosy but seemed really cheap inside in terms of materials.
The Infiniti was surprisingly cheap inside, the yanks versions (Suburban & Escalade all share the same interior) have taken a leap forward in the past 2 years. Still not Germanic build quality but a lot better.
Jimmy Recard said:
Ares said:
Still not Germanic build quality but a lot better.
True, I doubt that the people of (what is now southern Norway) built many cars in ancient times.Either way, I'm a massive fan of big American cars. If they were just more usable here....
Pugster said:
Had a Chevy Surburban as a rental earlier this year. We'd booked a Tahoe but the woman on the rental desk gave us a Surburban because there was 5 of us.
Great car. Loads of toys with cameras and sensors everywhere. Air conditioned seats were a bonus for hot weather and electric tailgate was useful. V8 might be old tech but it had cylinder de-activation which helped bump the economy up slightly. Not that it was a concern when it only cost $50 to fill.
Took a lot of stopping once it was rolling though!
Identical car - echo your points too. AirCon seats were even nice in 22 degree Chicago last week!Great car. Loads of toys with cameras and sensors everywhere. Air conditioned seats were a bonus for hot weather and electric tailgate was useful. V8 might be old tech but it had cylinder de-activation which helped bump the economy up slightly. Not that it was a concern when it only cost $50 to fill.
Took a lot of stopping once it was rolling though!
.....but the stopping was alarming until you got used to it!!
Did love the seat vibration on both lane departure and impact warning though, the later worked really well, especially with HUD - definitely a useful feature, if a little sensitive!
mattwhite709 said:
When I do route 66 I want to do it in a Mustang but the mrs wants to do it in one of the big massive motor homes. I know the motor home would be more comfy but it would feel wrong to do it in anything but the Mustang.
When we picked up the Yukon, there were 4 Mustang GT-H sat there....so very tempting Pugster said:
Ares said:
Identical car - echo your points too. AirCon seats were even nice in 22 degree Chicago last week!
.....but the stopping was alarming until you got used to it!!
Did love the seat vibration on both lane departure and impact warning though, the later worked really well, especially with HUD - definitely a useful feature, if a little sensitive!
Indeed, the first time the impact warning went off I wondered what the hell was going on! .....but the stopping was alarming until you got used to it!!
Did love the seat vibration on both lane departure and impact warning though, the later worked really well, especially with HUD - definitely a useful feature, if a little sensitive!
Rubbish auto box I thought though. Far too lazy and stupid compared to a ZF box that you might find in a BMW
Alan_I_W said:
Best thing about the US for me is wafting along in an Expedition El with the family all occupied, Arm out of the window Jay Leno style and Pop2K playing. Amazing practicality. Even with all seats up the boot is much bigger than my wifes Range Rover. Seats down the boot is so much bigger than the Galaxy we had in the 90's. All this for less than the price of a base spec XC90. Drove a clients RR for a day when I was over there, same model we have only with a Jag engine; it felt too small. Over here it feels massive whereas over there it felt like driving a Qashqai. Roll on 2020 when I relocate there 
Echo that - at no point did this comically big truck feel oversized over there. Whereas I saw versions of my own car, and it looked supermini sized.Edited by Alan_I_W on Monday 14th November 12:49
Matt Harper said:
Alan_I_W said:
My average living costs will go down 34% when I move there in 2020.
Hugely dependent on where you move to - I expected the same when I moved to the US - It didn't turn out that way.There are so many checks and balances. The difference for me is that I earn a lot more here than I would doing the same type of work in UK.
Making a dollar/sterling conversion is meaningless because we don't buy with sterling here. A base Yukon is about $55k when all the paperwork's done. So it's not 40k of anything - it's $55k - and that's not really a small amount of money.
If and when you move here, I doubt that you will be spending $55,000 on a car and smugly thinking, "Ha, I've only paid the equivalent of 40,00 pounds" - unless, of course, you are being paid in sterling.
It was just a headline comment as to a lot of car for not a lot of cash (for those sat in the UK). See you didn't take irony or a chilled demeanour when you migrated to the US, but picked up a chunk of Pedantic Yank when you got there*
(*for the avoidance of doubt, that was sarcasm, a tongue in cheek comment. Assuming your lost that whilst on US shores, google it ;-) )
FWIW, my brother moved to the US 5 years ago. He is still paid the salary that was calculated on his UK salary from day one in the US. From day one, he has had markedly more disposable income. Alas he spent $40,000 on a 2.0 VW Tiguan....!
Matt Harper said:
Ares said:
Jeez..... it was a general comparison. the $51,000 I was quoted for a Yukon XL is worth £40,000 at the moment. 10 years ago $51,000 was closer to £25,000.
It was just a headline comment as to a lot of car for not a lot of cash (for those sat in the UK). See you didn't take irony or a chilled demeanour when you migrated to the US, but picked up a chunk of Pedantic Yank when you got there*
(*for the avoidance of doubt, that was sarcasm, a tongue in cheek comment. Assuming your lost that whilst on US shores, google it ;-) )
FWIW, my brother moved to the US 5 years ago. He is still paid the salary that was calculated on his UK salary from day one in the US. From day one, he has had markedly more disposable income. Alas he spent $40,000 on a 2.0 VW Tiguan....!
You can see why it is a meaningless calculation though, right?It was just a headline comment as to a lot of car for not a lot of cash (for those sat in the UK). See you didn't take irony or a chilled demeanour when you migrated to the US, but picked up a chunk of Pedantic Yank when you got there*
(*for the avoidance of doubt, that was sarcasm, a tongue in cheek comment. Assuming your lost that whilst on US shores, google it ;-) )
FWIW, my brother moved to the US 5 years ago. He is still paid the salary that was calculated on his UK salary from day one in the US. From day one, he has had markedly more disposable income. Alas he spent $40,000 on a 2.0 VW Tiguan....!
This has been a bit of a point of irritation for me, I have to admit. The consensus that American cars are cheap, based on what they cost us here, compared to what they might theoretically cost (but NEVER do, in reality) if they were paid for in GBP is spurious.
Now maybe to some people, 50K (in dollars or pounds) is not a lot of money. But I think you'll find most people consider that a fair old chunk of change for a mainstream SUV.
I've lived in the SE USA for considerably longer than your brother. When I moved here I was very pleasantly surprised by how much house I could buy, compared to my previous circumstances in Yorkshire.
However, this is a very difficult place to be if you are skint, or just keeping your head above water.
Property taxes, health insurance, hurricane insurance, car insurance, education, utilities and used cars are all significantly more expensive.
Similar to your brother, I had/have more disposable income, but that's not because my living costs are lower. I've no doubt this can vary significantly, given the size of the country and where you've moved from. So living costs in San Francisco, LA, NYC, Chicago etc are a damn sight higher than in rural Nebraska, or suburban Detroit. But if you moved from Central London, or Tokyo, you might find things pleasantly inexpensive.
In my experience (perhaps not typical, I don't know), I moved from Baildon, in West Yorks, to Orlando FL and my day to day living costs went up, not down.
Agree on the tough place to be if you are skint....but that motivates people moreso to not be, than our arguably too soft, 'hand-out' culture.
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