From a Grand Cherokee To A.....

[jeep-N-montero]

.
OP specifically said '15 city.' According to Edmunds, at least, the new Armada is still at the bottom of the list in terms of MPG: 13/17 for the 4wd version (while the V8 Tahoe/Yukon and Ecoboost V6 Expedition both do better.)
.
As I said above, any heavy vehicle is going to be an absolute pig in stop and go traffic. It comes down to the physics of moving a 5000lb+ vehicle with a gas engine. The only way to get better MPG is to go to a significantly smaller gas engine, which would cost in terms of performance, or require some kind of hybrid drivetrain to augment the small gasser.

Hmm, I seem to recall a full size GM hybrid SUV, a quick google search pulls up a 2013 Yukon with 20/23mpg ratings.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Hmm, I seem to recall a full size GM hybrid SUV, a quick google search pulls up a 2013 Yukon with 20/23mpg ratings.

.
Yup, a hybrid drivetrain is the only way you're going to get good MPG readings out of a big vehicle like that without sacrificing power. But of course, then you have to deal with a 2nd hybrid drivetrain as a potential failure point, and someplace to carry the batteries which likely cuts into the cargo capacity of the vehicle. TANSTAAFL, as Heinlein used to say.

 

[Screwfly]

I had an 06 Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 in it, and just sold it due to needing more space and towing while getting better than 13 MPG during my commute daily.
I went to a 17 F 150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost. More power, more interior space and more hauling capability.
I also already ordered 2.5 in of lift, new UCAs, 34" tires and a bed cover. Overall, the mods are cheaper to do, easier to do and I have room for all the kids in the back now!
Granted I won't see the MPGs promised with the lift and tires, but it's got power for days in the mountains.
I went back and forth for a while, but I'm glad I got what I did.

 

[trd]

I had an 06 Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 in it, and just sold it due to needing more space and towing while getting better than 13 MPG during my commute daily.
I went to a 17 F 150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost. More power, more interior space and more hauling capability.
I also already ordered 2.5 in of lift, new UCAs, 34" tires and a bed cover. Overall, the mods are cheaper to do, easier to do and I have room for all the kids in the back now!
Granted I won't see the MPGs promised with the lift and tires, but it's got power for days in the mountains.
I went back and forth for a while, but I'm glad I got what I did.

Interesting. Thanks for the insight.

 

[rayra]

I have no useful advice for somebody buying a new 4x4 every year or two. You've spent / lost more on depreciation in 2yrs than I've spent on vehicles in 2 decades. Why would you even care about the fuel economy, at that bleed rate?
If you want vehicle range, just buy a bigger custom tank or bolt on some fuel cans like any other spendthrift 'Overlander'.


You aren't going to find a large range offroad-capable vehicle without it being a large vehicle. Being a large vehicle, you aren't likely to obtain your City MPG goals. You're essentially after mutually exclusive goals. Your big range vehicle isn't going to off-road like a Jeep. If you are looking for a family-hauling 'bugout' vehicle you need to go large and you either need to keep it close to home - in other words, NOT your daily commuter in the city - or you need to accept the lower MPG in the city such that your butt is in the vehicle all the time 'ready to go'. Which is what I've done, with my k1500 Suburban in L.A. What my wife does with her k1500 Tahoe, in L.A. She barely achieves 15mpg with a 60mi almost all highway round trip commute. I get a worse mix of driving and am lucky to average 13-14, too much city driving. We live on the edge of L.A., were both negatively impacted by the '94 Northridge quake. Prepping and 'bugout' became a focus after that. And why I hatched my fiendishly clever plan to have two of these GMT800 pigs. Capacity, range, 4wd, wide parts compatibility. Same-sized tires on both. Essentially the same drivetrains. inexpensive parts and easy repairs and widespread parts availability.

You're slinging the lingo but slow your roll and take a closer examination of your goals and how you approach them. Changing vehicles as often as some folks change their shoes doesn't seem like a wise or economic course of action. Especially if one of your (unstated) goals is Prepping. You're throwing away ~$10k in depreciation costs every year. Think of the things you could do without a ~$600/mo car payment.
But again, if that $600 is a pittance to you, then like I said, I've got no advice for you.

 

[ChevyPit]

Rayra, that is really good advise.
Like I said: we all have different needs, priorities, appreciations on what a vehicle should do, and of course Budget.
Here is my example of expenses of our suburbans and yukon: We (my wife included), drive each vehicle about 800 miles/month, total of 2400 miles/month. We spend about $1000/month in these 3 vehicles together, that includes: gas, maintainance/repairs, depreciation, insurance. They are paid for, so no monthly payment.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I have no useful advice for somebody buying a new 4x4 every year or two. You've spent / lost more on depreciation in 2yrs than I've spent on vehicles in 2 decades. Why would you even care about the fuel economy, at that bleed rate?
If you want vehicle range, just buy a bigger custom tank or bolt on some fuel cans like any other spendthrift 'Overlander'.


You aren't going to find a large range offroad-capable vehicle without it being a large vehicle. Being a large vehicle, you aren't likely to obtain your City MPG goals. You're essentially after mutually exclusive goals. Your big range vehicle isn't going to off-road like a Jeep. If you are looking for a family-hauling 'bugout' vehicle you need to go large and you either need to keep it close to home - in other words, NOT your daily commuter in the city - or you need to accept the lower MPG in the city such that your butt is in the vehicle all the time 'ready to go'. Which is what I've done, with my k1500 Suburban in L.A. What my wife does with her k1500 Tahoe, in L.A. She barely achieves 15mpg with a 60mi almost all highway round trip commute. I get a worse mix of driving and am lucky to average 13-14, too much city driving. We live on the edge of L.A., were both negatively impacted by the '94 Northridge quake. Prepping and 'bugout' became a focus after that. And why I hatched my fiendishly clever plan to have two of these GMT800 pigs. Capacity, range, 4wd, wide parts compatibility. Same-sized tires on both. Essentially the same drivetrains. inexpensive parts and easy repairs and widespread parts availability.

You're slinging the lingo but slow your roll and take a closer examination of your goals and how you approach them. Changing vehicles as often as some folks change their shoes doesn't seem like a wise or economic course of action. Especially if one of your (unstated) goals is Prepping. You're throwing away ~$10k in depreciation costs every year. Think of the things you could do without a ~$600/mo car payment.
But again, if that $600 is a pittance to you, then like I said, I've got no advice for you.

I like this response, 100% agree. My daily commuter has roll-up windows but does have A/C and gets 30mpg, less than a 30 minute commute so I really don't care about more creature comforts. But our GMC on the other hand has all of the creature comforts and usually stays hooked up to our boat that cost more than the truck and our 2 other vehicles combined, because we like to be comfortable and safe when we play. Best thing about it is it's all paid for. I will never understand modern wants and the debt incurred to attain it, much better to invest and retire young. Kind of got off topic but you sent my mind in that direction.

 

[p nut]

I like this response, 100% agree. My daily commuter has roll-up windows but does have A/C and gets 30mpg, less than a 30 minute commute so I really don't care about more creature comforts. But our GMC on the other hand has all of the creature comforts and usually stays hooked up to our boat that cost more than the truck and our 2 other vehicles combined, because we like to be comfortable and safe when we play. Best thing about it is it's all paid for. I will never understand modern wants and the debt incurred to attain it, much better to invest and retire young. Kind of got off topic but you sent my mind in that direction.

Not everything modern is a bad thing, though. Safety, for one, was a major reason I went new. Vehicle safety has come a LONG way in the last several years. But I don't go changing vehicles every other year, either. If I'm being honest, I'm probably at a 6-year rotation. But only because the cars I bought in the past have been (well) used. The last truck I bought is mt first brand new vehicle I've ever bought. Blame that on crazy low gas prices at that time. I'm expecting this truck to last 15+ years (I only drive maybe 12k a year. 12 mile round trip to work!)
-
Retire young is another subjective endeavor My accounting prof retired at 31. Hit it big with some real estate transaction. He determined he was able to retire but lived modestly. Decent house in a good, mid-class neighborhood, and drove a 10-yr old Camry. But after a year of playing golf every day, doing some traveling.... he had enough. He worked for a firm for a few years and eventually started teaching. Firsttime he applied, they said all teaching positions were filed. When he said he does not want pay, an opening magically appeared. I used to dream of early retirement, but I like my job now and will probably work well past normal retirement age (probably in a different field, something exciting like.in venture cap).

 

[Kabob1865]

I feel like I went through this a few months ago and settled on a used GC Overland V8. LOL.

I'm not sure the new SUV you are looking for exists in North America. As others have said, I think Suburban/Tahoe/Expedition may be the most realistic option. Z71 edition Tahoe/burb may be capable enough for what you plan to get into. A friend of mine claims to get 23 on the highway in his Yukon XL. I looked at these, but they were too large for us. I have a Ram 2500 with a retractable bed cover and trailer for when we need to go big.

Or get a diesel or ecoboost crew cab pickup with a camper shell or bedcover.

Or keep the GC as a daily and build a diesel frankenburb or Defender 110 dedicated overlander toy.

 

[rayra]

"A friend of mine claims to get 23 on the highway in his Yukon XL." lol how are his fishing stories?

btw, it's easy enough to poll his vehicle computer and find out what the real value is.

Maybe we need a survey of the 'suburban mafia'. I highly doubt anyone here can claim better than 19mpg and that's doing maybe 60-65mph, max, @ 1600rpm. 18yrs of continuous Tahoe / Sub ownership, 5.7 and 5.3 engines and we only ever broke 16mpg on a road trip to Albuquerque. We drive too fast. 70-75 in L.A. freeways outside of rush hour.

 

[Kabob1865]

"A friend of mine claims to get 23 on the highway in his Yukon XL." lol how are his fishing stories?

btw, it's easy enough to poll his vehicle computer and find out what the real value is.

Maybe we need a survey of the 'suburban mafia'. I highly doubt anyone here can claim better than 19mpg and that's doing maybe 60-65mph, max, @ 1600rpm. 18yrs of continuous Tahoe / Sub ownership, 5.7 and 5.3 engines and we only ever broke 16mpg on a road trip to Albuquerque. We drive too fast. 70-75 in L.A. freeways outside of rush hour.

This isn't a GMT800 dinosaur loaded down with overland gear. This is a 2017 Yukon XL 4x4 with highway tires hauling 2 car seats, running 100% gasoline in flat Oklahoma/North Texas where you can drive for hours at 70 mph without stopping or slowing down. It's an ideal fuel economy situation. I've seen his trip computer. The best 50 mile trip was allegedly 26.5. That has to be downhill with a tailwind. EPA rating is 23 mpg on the highway, while not always accurate, that isn't an arbitrary number. I asked another friend with the same model and he averages 21 on ethanol blended fuel in South Texas. Both of these guys have owned 80s suburbans and GMT800 z71 Tahoes and were shocked by the fuel economy they get in the new trucks. If they added all-terrain tires I doubt they crack 20. I don't think they could do that in California or busier cities.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I've busted 18 mpg twice in my '04 Burb. All highway, lots of hills driving through CO. And this is hand calculated (although I've found the trip computer on the 'Burb is pretty accurate overall .)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DT75FLH]

I had an 06 Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 in it, and just sold it due to needing more space and towing while getting better than 13 MPG during my commute daily.
I went to a 17 F 150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost. More power, more interior space and more hauling capability.
I also already ordered 2.5 in of lift, new UCAs, 34" tires and a bed cover. Overall, the mods are cheaper to do, easier to do and I have room for all the kids in the back now!
Granted I won't see the MPGs promised with the lift and tires, but it's got power for days in the mountains.
I went back and forth for a while, but I'm glad I got what I did.

Preety close to my setup....and at hwy speeds of 75 to I'm only at 15 to 17mpg. ...avg 16


On a fwy trip through the Eisenhower tunnel at 65 to 70 up and over 11k mtn I got 17.5 on that leg...

 

[DT75FLH]

I've busted 18 mpg twice in my '04 Burb. All highway, lots of hills driving through CO. And this is hand calculated (although I've found the trip computer on the 'Burb is pretty accurate overall .)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My sister owns a 05 4x4 stock suburban....I drove with them on a 300 mile trio in Indiana on back roads.60 mph....and she could get 20mpg out of it....out on hwy it dropped to 16 17 range

 

[jeep-N-montero]

This isn't a GMT800 dinosaur loaded down with overland gear. This is a 2017 Yukon XL 4x4 with highway tires hauling 2 car seats, running 100% gasoline in flat Oklahoma/North Texas where you can drive for hours at 70 mph without stopping or slowing down. It's an ideal fuel economy situation. I've seen his trip computer. The best 50 mile trip was allegedly 26.5. That has to be downhill with a tailwind. EPA rating is 23 mpg on the highway, while not always accurate, that isn't an arbitrary number. I asked another friend with the same model and he averages 21 on ethanol blended fuel in South Texas. Both of these guys have owned 80s suburbans and GMT800 z71 Tahoes and were shocked by the fuel economy they get in the new trucks. If they added all-terrain tires I doubt they crack 20. I don't think they could do that in California or busier cities.

It's mostly in the newer transmission gearing, our 03 2500 XL with intake and programmer for premium fuel can attain 17mpg with the cruise set at 72 on flat ground, but the newer 6 and 8 speed transmissions can easily get 20+ mpg due to finding the sweet spot much easier at lower rpm.