Great Family SUV

Our family has been in the market for a family oriented reasonably priced SUV with a low range 4-wheel drive option that will spend most of its off road activities in a New England soft sands dune setting. One major requirement was the SUV we purchased had to have a third seat, so this eliminated a lot of models. We just finished a one-week test drive rental of the new 2001 Mitsubishi Montero XLS model (Enterprise Rent-A Car has them in their fleet). We have also done the same with the Ford Expedition Limited and Dodge Durango SLT. Overall, we found this SUV to be best suited to fit our families needs.

We found the industry reviews so far are accurate about its handling and power. However, the recommendation for premium fuel on the fuel door is confusing since a minimum 87 octane rating in recommended in the manual. We got 20 miles per gallon on a mix of around town and highway driving in 2-wheel drive and 15 miles per gallon in four wheel drive, including some off road use. The SUV had been driven 3000 miles prior to my rental.

The rear seat folding into the floor is a great feature. It is also removable with a little work, which leaves a great storage well for trips when you know you won't be using it. Even though they have lowered the entry height, I would still recommend ordering the running boards if you have children, even though I not a fan of their perforated metal styling. Unfortunately, like all of its competitors, in order to get all the bells and whistles (premium sound, info center, 5-speed transmission, all wheel drive option etc.) you have to get leather. I hear the argument that packaging options saves on costs. However, it would be nice to see the car industry realize that leather, dogs, beach use, hot summer sun, cold winter days and kids don't mix well. The industry should return to the days when you could delete the leather option on the high-end models, so we are not faced with having to find seat covers that are attractive and convenient to use.

My wife found it the most enjoyable of the SUV's we have considered. She agreed that it has a nice mix of good handling, manageable size, improved styling and convenient features. These features include two storage compartments on the front dashboard and an adjustable center armrest with two additional storage compartments.

Overall, our search for an SUV has ended. Due to its popularity, the next challenge was to find one at a dealer in the color we want without facing the words "automatic dealer mark-up". We were successful and even got a reasonable discount off of sticker, without any hidden add ons.