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URBAN PICKS
IS GETTING BETTER IN FULL-SIZE SUV MARKET
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By Paul A. Eisenstein
meant a vinvl-covered bench seat and a static-filled AM radio.
igger certainly seems to be better - or so one might sus
The
models on our list all offer the type of touches once found
pect from the booming sales of full-size, sport-utility ve
only on top-of-the-hne luxury cars: from air conditioning, of
hides such as the Lincoln Navigator and lovota Land
course, to studio-quality sound systems. Leather trim, it not
Cruiser. And the good news is that automakers are responding
standard issue, is a common option, as are CD changers and
with a growing list of choices.
power seats that do just about everything but give you a mas­
It wasn’t too long ago that full-size SL \ buyers had only a
sage.
handful of options, primarily products like the Range Rover,
O f course, the price tags reflect this. You can squeak into a
Land Cruiser and the granddaddy of the segment, the Sub­
fairly plain-vanilla Suburban tor as little as $22,239, but the
urban, which is sold through both Chevrolet and CMC. deal­
massive AMC Hummer will set you back $61,358.1 he ma­
ers. Suddenly, all sorts of new nameplates are entering the
jority of these vehicles start in the mid-$20,000 range and
full-size segment. The Ford Expedition and Lincoln Naviga­
run up to the mid-$30,000s. But they typically offer a wide
tor are two of the most recent - and successful - examples.
range of option packages that can tack thousands more onto
Add to the list the newly-updated Lexus LX4 0 and the C M C
the bottom line before you drive off the dealers lot. So, shop
Yukon Denali.
carefullv or you could easily exceed your budget.
O ne thing hard to miss is that the vehicles on this list are
Is it worth it?
not only big in overall length, they re also big on creature
comfort and other features. Forget the days when
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