It’s a little like the invasion of the body snatchers—all these SUVs rolling, rolling, rolling relentlessly forward. Just how many ways are there to build trucks for “active lifestyles”? As the following three instances suggest, SUV designers must be an especially febrile lot, boasting more than their fair share of attention deficit disorder.
Jeep Wrangler Sport 4WD
Jeep’s mighty Wrangler is the granddaddy of all sport/utility vehicles. Whooda thunk the wartime GP (general purpose) vehicle bustin’ past Ernie Pyle’s foxhole would ever have evolved into the chichi roustabout for today’s prep-school BMOCs and their cheerleader girlfriends?
The Wrangler variant of the WWII Jeep turns 14 in 2003—that’s just short of the target age of the kids who most adore (and can afford to ignore) the Wrangler’s back-to-basics peculiarities. My $23,935 tester was a four-wheel-drive “Sport” model, with optional hardtop ($795), locking differential ($285) and auto transmission ($825). It’s tempting, from my middle-age perspective, to dismiss the Wrangler’s overall list of accomplishments as nasty, brutish and short. But I do recall being young once—and having some very high old times in a Jeep CJ5 (a Wrangler predecessor). Credit the glowing embers of nostalgia, then, for warming my cockles with regard to this feisty little runabout.
For starters, there’s an improved interior that actually pretends to be versatile. The Wrangler Sport features roll-down windows and full doors—imagine that!—yet it’s a bit distracting to have the front doors right up against your outboard hip and shoulder in the front seats. The real innovation’s in back: There’s a new rear bench for two shorties that folds-and-tumbles out of the way to make room for up to 46 cubes of cargo.
Chrysler’s 4.0-liter “Power Tech” inline-six makes 190 hp, and ride is choppy—in a spunky kind of way, of course. It’s odd, though, that steering is so very nimble—almost too quick. I liked the new 4-speed automatic much better than the three-speed it replaces; and the four-wheel disc brakes are long overdue. Oh, to be young again, however, clattering along in a Wrangler to very remote places, where life is an eternal afternoon off and the only responsibility is diversion. If only this timeless classic of a Jeep could take me there....
Toyota 4Runner SR5 V8 2WD
Toyota’s stalwart 4Runner is up to Gen4 and counting. What was originally (in 1984) a boxed-over Japanese pickup truck is now one of the grand dames of the SUV set. Please notice that I say “dame” and not “sire,” because there’s more than a little bit of of the blue-hair treatment in this 4Runner’s latest makeover.
Big news in ’03 is the availability of a V8. I’m still not sure what happened back at the drawing board: For $30,761, as-tested, my V8 SR5 model boasted 235 hp. But an alternative V6 engine, to become available later, is rated 245 hp and will likely cost less. Yes, the V8 makes 37 more ft.-lbs. of torque for easier towing up to 5,000 lbs., but it’s hard to rationalize this in light of the V8’s premium fuel consumption rate of 16 mpg/city and 20 mpg/highway.
Toyota extolls the 4Runner’s reputation as a rugged off-roader, but my tester was rear-wheel-drive only. What I noticed most on the highway was a plush ride that was agreeable enough but a bit out of character for a rugged trail truck. If anything, suspension damping was a bit soft, creating less feedback and, as a result, more vagueness in handling. A new five-speed transmission is quite smooth and nicely matched to V8 torque. The interior, moreover, is posh and upscale. Maximum cargo space is 75 cu. ft., which is about 10 fewer than comparable rivals.
My chief curiosity about the 4Runner, however, is “What’s the point anymore?” It’s almost too swish to be a knuckle-busting off-roader, but not as swank in the suburbs as Toyota’s impressive new Highlander. Perhaps there’s a lot that might be said for retiring gracefully after 19 years of loyal service.
Cadillac Escalade EXT AWD
Grace is a concept that used to be synonymous with certain aspects of luxury—but no longer, it seems. Cadillac may be General Motors’ luxury vehicle division, but there’s absolutely nothing graceful about the brash Escalade EXT hybrid SUV. Instead there’s in-your-face styling, smash-mouth horsepower and an illogical Rube Goldberg system for toting cargo that could only have come from a designer with nothing better to do that day.
Let’s put it this way: If you’re going to spend $53,799 for a “luxury truck” [sic], what on earth could possibly compel you to remove the rear window and rear wall of the cab so that a primordial stew of leaves, mulch, rain and bird poop might circulate freely all over and around your plush pile carpeting, leather seats and “zebrano” wood accents? I can see absolutely no utilitarian purpose to the high-gloss Escalade EXT whatsoever, except for parting silly rich guys from their money. Sure, I’ll acknowledge Caddy’s claim of “most horsepower in an SUV.” Make that 345 hp, from a 6.0-liter V8 that sucks premium fuel at a rate of 12 mpg/city and 16 mpg/highway.
Keep in mind, too, that there are almost three tons of dead weight here; that the EXT is almost impossible to park; and that there’s enough gauche gold trim to destabilize the international precious metals exchange. I’ll say this much, though: The XM Satellite radio option ($325) is fantastic. Sometimes it’s better to be heard, not seen; or so I’m told.
