Tow, tow, tow your boat
5/23/2006 8:32:48 PM by Steve Siler
This quartet of tow trucks will have you looking forward to the ride – both on land and at sea.
I know what some of you are thinking: Does the world really need four more 5,000-pound, seven- or eight-seat, $60,000 sport-utility vehicles? When, ‘till they stop building three-ton, trailer-bound pleasure-craft to tug to the lake with your friends and family it does. Besides, when they’re this good at getting around town — whether or not they’re pulling a trailer — I can’t think of any reason why not. Truth is, large SUVs are in a Golden Days of sorts, offering space and comfort like never before, with vastly improved driving dynamics that are close enough to luxury sedans to appeal to even the most ardent sport sedan owners. But as with most Golden Ages, this is a moment that may not last, considering the uncertain future of fuel prices, emissions controls and so on. So get one while the gettin’s good, we say. And these four are the best.
MERCEDES MARVEL
2007 Mercedes-Benz
GL-Class
Price range: est. $57K-$72K
On sale: June 2006
Tow capacity: 7,500 pounds
Yes, I know that Mercedes-Benz already offers two SUVs: the M-Class and the boxy G-Class. But neither affords their owners that key ingredient that says “luxury” like nothing else: space. Well, Mercedes’ latest, the all-new GL450, does. What? It doesn’t look big? In pictures, you’re right. But get close to it and the GL makes the M-Class look like a RAV-4 by comparison. Still, it’s attractive, with nifty details including an artfully sculpted hood, subtle fairings in the bodysides, articulated fenders and many more details that emerge every time you circle it.
Inside, it’s pure Mercedes-Benz luxury, with an abundance of wood trim, leather upholstery, lovingly stitched dash, seat and door trim and glitzy detailing that just reeks of class. The GL450’s claim to fame, however is its true seven-passenger capacity—seven adults—with its standard third-row seat a good fit for my 5’ 10” frame.
Technology abounds, too, with precision-crafted electroluminescent instruments and a center color screen that manages stereo, navigation, telephone and vehicle systems functions. Not that you need to use it much, since the steering wheel controls pretty much anything you’d want to adjust.
The GL450 stirs to life with a gutsy, 335-hp, 4.6-liter V-8 mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission, a savory combination because of its ability to get the 5,300-lb wagon up to speed (0 to 60: 7.4 seconds).
So Mercedes-Benz has managed to fit this full-sized SUV into its already crowded garage for 2007. And if you’re one of those folks that has wanted to go full-size without going Suburban-sized, it very well could fit in your garage, too.
AWESOME AUDI
2007 Audi Q7
Price range: est. $40K-$70K
On sale: June 2006 (V-8);
September 2006 (V-6)
Tow capacity: 6,600 pounds
As they say: Better late than never.
Indeed, perhaps it’s better to be late in general, as it’s always more fun to walk into a party that’s already started rather than get it started yourself. And so Audi makes an extraordinarily tardy entrance into the SUV party, with its Q7. But boy is it well-dressed.
Based on the stellar VW Touareg/Porsche Cayenne architecture, Audi went
one better by stretching the Q7 long enough to hold a third-row seat.
What’s more, the Q7 is styled elegantly with no frivolity; it’s all business. The interior is flawless. Inspired by the look an overall organization of the gorgeous A6 interior, the Q7 features clear, white-on-black gauges with red needles, as well as a somewhat tricky screen-based interface system called multi-media interface, or MMI. Though it’s easier to use than, say, BMW’s iDrive system or Mercedes’ COMAND screen, it’s not exactly a natural extension of one’s mind.
But our favorite feature has to be the rear-view backup camera with a digitally reprocessed image that looks more like what you’d see out the rear window than what you’d see through your grandmother’s glasses; this makes hooking up a trailer a breeze.
If there ever was a truck that felt, well, German, it’s this one. It’s got all the heft you’d expect of a German truck — more so, actually, at a portly 5,100+ pounds (however, it’s still the lightest of the four trucks here). Both the 280-hp V-6 (available in Sept. 2006) and the 350-hp V-8 (available in June 2006) are excellent; the V-8 only being worth the $10K price premium if you drive like me or if your trailer is actually close to the 6,600-pound max.
So the question reminds whether the Q7 will succeed in keeping the sport-utility party going? Well, if anything can, it’s this one.
NOBLE NAVIGATOR
2007 Lincoln Navigator
Price range: est. $60-$70K
On sale: September 2006 (V-6)
Tow capacity: 9,100 pounds
Remember 1997? That’s when Ford’s “ridiculous” notion of a luxury SUV became a reality. It was then that Lincoln introduced the Navigator to us, and we’ve been hooked on the recipe since. Now we can say with confidence that it is better than ever, and in one important way, better even than any of the other vehicles on this page. More on that in a bit.
So what’s new? Well...hello? Look at that front end — or should we say, look with fear upon that front end. The Navigator easily out-chromes anything else on the road, and perhaps everything else since the famously chrome-dunked 1958 Buick Limited. No coincidence, though, as its egg-crate grille shapes and complex headlamp clusters are meant in a way to recall the great Lincoln Continentals of the ‘60s, when chrome was king.
Like Escalade and QX56, Navigator comes standard with first- and second-row individual bucket seats; a second-row bench seat is a no-cost option. All seats have new stitch patterns for its standard leather upholstery. All of Navigator’s wood trim is genuine.
The Ultimate array is the king of Navigators, and why chintz on a truck like this? Lincoln added a new, longer “L” model for 2007, which is essentially identical to the standard Navigator sans an additional 12 inches of wheelbase and 14.7 inches of addition vehicle length. This creates 25 more cubic feet of cargo space and a slightly larger third-row seat, which is already the biggest in this class. The “L” longer rear door also enhances third-row access, making it a not-so-bad place to banish Billy when he’s not getting along with Susie.
And for those that tow, the big news is that the 2007 Navigator rides on a strengthened frame, and features an enhanced five-link independent rear suspension, allowing for a seriously high towing capacity of 9,100 pounds, making it the most capable vehicle of the lot in this respect. That said, the engine, a 300-hp V-8, may complain when you hit the hills with your sailboat in back. But hey, at least your kids won’t.
GRAND CAD
2007 Cadillac Escalade
Price range: est. $60-$70K
On sale: June 2006 (V-8);
September 2006 (V-6)
Tow capacity: 7,400 pounds
Late last decade, Cadillac bet the farm that the public would accept a bedazzled behemoth called Escalade. But not even in its wildest dreams could it have predicted what a smashing success it would become.
But that was then, and the 2007 Cadillac Escalade is now. The new Cad has a stout new body, the front of which is stuffed with a 403-hp V-8, which together with the new structure help it tow with confidence (although interestingly, its official tow capacity is only 7,400 pounds, way less than its archrival, the Navigator and even less than the smaller, lighter Benz).
It’s super-quiet on the road, which helps the standard Bose 5.1 system present your favorite concert to you in clear, crisp purity. Also slick is the standard seven-passenger seating arrangement, which features four individual bucket seats and a three-across third row.
But given the Escalade’s lasting trendiness, which has outlasted that of the Hummer and the Navigator, we speculate that fewer people buy this truck as a people mover than for its brazen styling. And that, indeed, remains its greatest strength. Still as gaudy as The Queen’s tiara but infinitely cleaner and aerodynamic than before, the all-new 2007 Escalade finally has reached maturity.
All told, Escalade seems poised to stay on top of the full-size luxury SUV throne. And it has the jewels to prove it.