Jeep Commander - Slower than a Peugot

So, continuing on my quest to bring my loyal readers information they can use, here is my 2nd installment in my series of rental car reviews. This time, the 4 door Jeep Commander, in white.

Initial thought, looks like a refrigerator box. Second thought, looks like a refrigerator box.

Third and Fourth thoughts, "this has ABSOLUTELY no power". I figure they must've taken any left over Peugot engines from France and put them in this vehicle. Now, to be fair, it's a rental car and I'm sure they didn't ask for the biggest engine they make, at least I hope they didn't, because it's lacking in power.

There are some really cool things about the Jeep Commander though. It has seating for 7. The far rear seats fold down really easily. On this particular model, there were rear air controls, a sun roof and these two other windows which were like sky lights in your living room. Weird, but provided for tons of natural light (if you ever watch House Hunters, you get the reference.) It came with Cirius Radio which was awesome.

There were some really uncool things as well. I've mentioned the power, it was lacking. Did I mention the lack of power though? There wasn't much umph in this thing at all. The windshield was too small as well. I equate it to driving around town with your sun visors down all the time, there was that little real estate to look out of. Even though it was lacking in power (did I mention that?), I did take it to the Rocky Mountains to see if it was "Trail Rated", it passed.

At a sticker of $37,000 though, I can't recommend it. If your negotiating skills are sharp, you can get a Tahoe or Expedition for that price. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Question - for all you green thumbs - what do I do to get rid of my dalisgrass, nutgrass, and crabgrass? I'm almost to the point of putting down salt, that should kill it...

My kids are TOTALLY bored this summer, ALREADY. Dillon has been asking me to go to "guy stuff" lately. We've been riding bikes, but he really wants to go play Putt Putt. We might go do that today and have a guys lunch of Subway.

Signed,
Oozing testosterone...

Chevy Suburban - Environmentally Conscious

I told you I'd start reviewing the cars I rent. Here's the first in that installment, the 2007 Chevy Suburban.

First off, it's bigger than the dorm room I used to live in, and maybe even bigger than the first apartment I had. Many of my early automobiles would fit INSIDE this thing. If I still had my motorcycle and I had a Surburban, there would be no need to trailer the bike anywhere, I could just drive the bike into this urban assault vehicle (Stripes reference).

So, I get to Avis to pick up my, err, "car", and I was shocked to see the size of this thing. My first thought was, how am I going to pay for the gas in this thing? Certainly it just barely gets better mileage than a Sherman tank. I was correct. 161 miles cost me nearly $40 to fill back up. With the price of gas, that translated to around 14 miles / gallon, of which almost all was highway. Here's my list of pro's and con's with the vehicle.

Pro - Roomy enough for a family of 40
Con - Now you have to take your neighbors with you everywhere you go

Pro - You can feel free to bully people on the highway, they'll all get out of your way
Con - NOT

Pro - Room enough for the soccer team AND snacks
Con - Try to find a place to park. Not even in the garage...

Pro - Chevy did a nice job upgrading the dash. No more of that cheap looking plastic stuff
Con - I'm sure it costs $8k more for the better plastic

Pro - Heated seats!!!
Con - How do you turn them off???

It was a decent vehicle (even if it had a dvd player and no blue tooth!), and I'm sure it has it's utility, but it's not the vehicle for me. I've got an Expedition I desperately want to downsize, but I can't find good reason to get rid of a car that's paid for and take on a new car note.

I give the Suburban a 3 1/2 out of 5. Great power, size, and nice interior but poor, POOR, mileage and just plain difficulty driving around town. Check out this vehicle if you're a soccer mom, a construction worker who has to carry around a bunch of equipment, or a clown with a large clown family (get it, they always travel around in the little cars and like 40 of them come out)???

Next review, Jeep Commander. Hint, it doesn't get close to a 3 1/2.

Oh, by the way, JAMES LANDRY, of Debcoe Road in Austin, Texas, if you throw another comment like that on my blog, your cell phone and address go up on my site. You've been warned. ;-)