question about Chevy MAXX

[d0sitmatr]

ok, so Im finally realizing that my ranger is simply not family material. and while I love my truck, its time I became a little more responsible.

so I was looking around and someone has an 06 Chevy MAXX LT they would like to trade for a truck.
doing some basic research shows that EPA is rated on this model (3.4L v6) at 20/28 (city/hwy) does anyone have any experience with real world performance ?

my other choice is a 98 toyo 4runner with the 2.7L 4 cyl, which EPA is basically the same as the MAXX, again, does anyone have any real world numbers ?

there is also 1 more option that might be a consideration (if still available)
an older gentleman owns both a 2k Buick Century ltd and an 02 escort zx2 5spd that he is looking to trade for a ranger. while Id be more tempted just for the '2 for 1' part of the deal, Im not very fond of buicks, and the zx2 is just a tad too small for my liking of driving my son around in.

anyways, thoughts/opinions ?

[SentraSE-R]

You should be able to beat EPA in any vehicle, just by keeping your speeds to 5 mpg over the speed limits. I don't have any long-term experience driving any of the vehicles you mentioned, but I like the Buick and Escort swap. The final generation Escort was really a Mazda, and was far more reliable and refined than the '02 Focus. Ford didn't fix the early Focuses until the '03 model year. The '02 Escort would make a serious hypermiling machine.

[gone-ot]

...FWIW our 1999 Malibu 3.1L V6 with 4-speed automatic transmission was "old-EPA" rated at 20/29 mpg, but we consistently got 29-32 mpg on the highway and about 25-27 mpg around town.

...unfortunately, I don't know how well the 3.1L and 3.4L engines "scale" to each other.

[cfg83]

d0sitmatr -

I agree with Old Tele man. When we rented a Maxx years ago it got around 30 MPG highway (can't remember which V6). That car is on my short list of used family-size cargo-haulers because keeping it alive from a parts POV has to be easy. When I went on autotrader I thought they were rare, but autotrader classifies the Maxx as a *hatchback*.

CarloSW2

[d0sitmatr]

thanks for all the replies.
Ive been going back and forth about it all day, I contacted the person with 2 vehicles looking for a truck but he hasnt returned my call yet. guess I will wait until tomorrow to see if he does, then go from there.

the person with the MAXX returned my call, and while I really do like the MAXX, it has a rebuilt title, not sure how I feel about that. even though he says everything works perfectly, not sure if its worth it or not for me as I trust my truck to be able to drive to Nor Cal and back with no problem at all.

[SentraSE-R]

Salvage title should drop the value a couple of thousand dollars. Might still be worth considering if the damage was repaired properly, and limited structurally. You'll have to talk to the seller & inspect the repair yourself, or have a body and frame shop evaluate it.

[d0sitmatr]

I go by the rule of thumb that a salvage/rebuilt title cuts the value of the vehicle by half

and I agree, I wouldnt go through with it until Ive had someone inspect the vehicle, just not worth it at this time.
I think though, Im leaning more towards the 4 cyl 4runner. more room and from looking at it, better options for increasing mileage.
1. they sit so damn high I could almost drop it at least 6 inches and still have more than enough clearance.
2. putting a belly pan on it would be easy and Im betting quite effective.
3. I could put a kammbak on it and better its cutoff.

Im thinking if its true to its EPA of 28mpg hwy, those 3 things alone would get me over the 30mpg mark then I could go from there.

BTW, just read your sig, and wanted to thank you for the boycott on BP.

[PS]
re-read the post by the person selling/trading 2 cars for 1 truck, and he only speaks spanish, so Im going to have my brother in law give him a call this evening

[gone-ot]

...we, too, have boycotted Exxon (now Exxon-Mobil) since the Valdez-incident and, now, BP, too.

[d0sitmatr]

Im not so adamant about Exxon/Mobil as in my opinion, I think they did a much better job at containing the spill. also, the ship capt was not an actual employee, but a contractor, so I cant completely place the blame on them.

the BP spill however, is an entirely different story.

[SentraSE-R]

Where did you get the idea Hazelwood was not an Exxon employee, but a contractor? Not that it makes any difference, since the third mate was in charge of the wheelhouse, with an able seaman steering the ship.

Exxon failed to repair the ship's RAYCAS radar for more than a year, and failed to give the third mate and the able seaman their required 6 hours off duty time before beginning their 12 hour watches.

Thirty years after the Exxon Valdez spill, when 79% of the world's oil tankers use double-hull designs, Exxon remains the largest user of single-hull tankers. That's not the sign of a responsible corporation.

But my biggest issue with Exxon is how it nickeled and dimed the monetary awards to the 38,000 Alaskan claimants whose livelihoods were destroyed by Exxon's negligence. They were awarded $283 million in compensatory damages, and $5 billion in punitive damages. Exxon fought the decision for 29 years until it won a reduction to $507.5 million dollars in punitive damages, a mere 1.1% of its net profit that year. That's just one of the reasons I've boycotted Exxon since 1989. I remember what Valdez Harbor was like before the spill.