[nate438]

My wife and I love our Toyota's for sure but are faced with a decision this weekend. We came accross a as close to perfect 2003 GMC Yukon Denalli and a same condition 2002 Sequoia. Pricing asside, almost the same, has anyone had bad luck or give me reasons to stay away from an 2002 Sequoia? Or reasons why the GMC is better?

I really wanted a 2005 Sequoia for extra bump in HP, a bit pricey right now, I have heard that previous to that the Sequoia's seemed under powered. Is that what you guys are seeing that have the 2002-2004 models? With 4 kids and all our lugage didn't want to be bogged down on the interstate.

Also does the 2002 have the air ride suspension in the back? I was under the impression that just the 03 on up did? An major differences between the 02 and 03 models?

Sorry for so many questions, I just know this is the best place them!

 

[John Mo]

I can't help you much with the older Sequoias. We have a 2008 Seqouia and had a 1996 GMC Suburban before. I'm not sure about the older Sequoias but one of the major positives of our 2008 is the third row seating. In all model years of the GMs, the third row is a knees in the chest seating position. That was an issue with our '02 Sienna too because our bigger kids sit in the third row (car seats are a real pain in the third row).

If you're looking at a Tahoe/Yukon, the cargo space is probably similar. Going from our Suburban/Yukon XL to the Sequoia, we lost a lot of space behind the rear seat. We have 4 kids too and we could stuff the old Suburban to the gills. The kids are a little older now, so we're not hauling travel cribs and all the baby stuff any more, but the 6 of us barely fit into the Sequoia for a weekend trip. On that point, I really miss the Suburban -- open the doors and pitch it in, no stuffing required.

The only other thing where the GMs are superior is the gas tank. It stung a little to fill the 41-gallon tank, but I preferred stopping less often for fuel. The Sequoia's tank is around 28 or 29 gallons, but you'll find a few posts in this forum complaining about how early the low-fuel light comes on. Most of us can't put much more than 22 gallons in it at a fill. I don't think the older Sequoias had bigger tanks or did that much better on mileage either.

I was a Chevy guy before I was a Toyota guy. I've been pretty happy with both. Drive them and pick the one that seems to be in better condition or a better value. I suspect in either case that you'll get tired of it long before you wear it out. Our Suburban had 160k miles on it and ran great.