We are a 5-person military family that packs up kids/pets and travels quite a bit for vacation,sports, hunting, fishing, camping etc. I don't own a boat or RV but do regularly end up towing a trailer/uhaul around the country.
My wife and I both have vehicles (Pathfinder & Traverse) with 3rd row seating but neither provides good cargo space. We make due with luggage bag on the roof and hitch cargo carrier. I'm in the market for something that gives us 3rd row seating, cargo space, and decent gas mileage in the $15-20k range.
The wife wants a Suburban but they seem to be outside our price point. We owned a Toyota Sienna previously and liked it. I'd be happy to get the Sienna as a the family vehicle and keep one of ours to use for hunting/fishing adventures.
A gear head friend of mine suggested looking into the 2000-2002 Ford Excursions. I did a fair amount of internet perusing and it seems the 7.3l diesel is held in high regard. The general consensus seems to be a well-maintained 7.3l Excursion's powertrain can run well into 500k miles (understandably the trim, interior, electronics are a different story). I've also read that with performance intake/exhaust and tuning the 7.3L can get ~20 MPG on the highway if driven conservatively. I was cautioned that even standard maintenance on a diesel is much more expensive than gas vehicles. I'm by no stretch a mechanic but am capable of doing most basic maintenance and can follow a youtube video. I saw the vehicle below (it's 4WD but I don't really need that) and was looking for thoughts and advice on how well a 7.3l Excursion meets my family needs and if my internet education on its performance and longevity is correct. Thanks in advance.
2001 Excursion
.
My wife and I both have vehicles (Pathfinder & Traverse) with 3rd row seating but neither provides good cargo space. We make due with luggage bag on the roof and hitch cargo carrier. I'm in the market for something that gives us 3rd row seating, cargo space, and decent gas mileage in the $15-20k range.
The wife wants a Suburban but they seem to be outside our price point. We owned a Toyota Sienna previously and liked it. I'd be happy to get the Sienna as a the family vehicle and keep one of ours to use for hunting/fishing adventures.
A gear head friend of mine suggested looking into the 2000-2002 Ford Excursions. I did a fair amount of internet perusing and it seems the 7.3l diesel is held in high regard. The general consensus seems to be a well-maintained 7.3l Excursion's powertrain can run well into 500k miles (understandably the trim, interior, electronics are a different story). I've also read that with performance intake/exhaust and tuning the 7.3L can get ~20 MPG on the highway if driven conservatively. I was cautioned that even standard maintenance on a diesel is much more expensive than gas vehicles. I'm by no stretch a mechanic but am capable of doing most basic maintenance and can follow a youtube video. I saw the vehicle below (it's 4WD but I don't really need that) and was looking for thoughts and advice on how well a 7.3l Excursion meets my family needs and if my internet education on its performance and longevity is correct. Thanks in advance.
2001 Excursion
.