8 seater used SUV

[aynstayn]

Hi Guys, excellent forum!

I have just (well, 3 months now) moved to Dubai and have always been a big fan of Toyota, so was intially planning to buy a Landcruiser. However, since Ive been here, I have had a Durango, and must say with my family size (4 of us, inluding an infact who seems to want his own row of seats to sleep on!)) and the very frequent guests we keep having, my wife and I have both decided that we need such a car.

Can see from this forum though that the general discussion has been about 7 setars and not 8 setaers (2+3+3). I presume the difference is that the third row for a 7 seater is the two foldable seats? This counts the Landcruiser out since the two foldable seats at the back, IMHO are wasted.

Since deciding on the third row, we have then seen that the options we have are the american cars ie GMC Yukon, FORD Exporler, Dodge Durago or the Nissan Armada. Are there any other I should know about ?

Also, the Durago is quite a guzzler, i presume the rest in this catagort are the same? IS there any which has a better economy than the others..the one eyed man in the kingdom of the blind so to speak ??

FInally, we had narrowed it to the Armada since it was the only Japanese car with this kind of 8 seating arrangement, my budget for this is usd 70 - 80k, would i be able to get a 2006 onwards model for that price range ?

Appreciate any assistance!

[fayz]

I'm pretty much in the same position as you, I currently drive an X5 and love it but my wife is pregnant again and we're finding it too small, even the new 7 seater version is a bit too tight in the back.

I've pretty much settled on the Armada/QX56 for us.

If you're big on Toyota's I have seen the occasional Sequoia here but i don't think the dealers sell them, I'm actually anti-Toyata but do have to admidt one of my friends has a Sequoia back home and she loves it, the interior is massive as well.

[T.N.T]

Go for the Armada, its a no-brainer.
And for that budget, you can get a brand-new model easily! (From the dealership is costs around 43k $)

[aynstayn]

oops, i meant 70-80k dhs, am stil not used to the currency yet!

[T.N.T]

70-80k for a used Armada? I don't think you'll be able to find one in that price range.

[aynstayn]

well, guess back to the drawing board then. which of these other SUVs in this catagory of vehicles can be obtained at such a price range?
fayz, the QX56 is indeed the best in this type of cars, but not many used ones lying around and new is out of my budget. Also, not many sequiolas around, tried to look around for those also when we first took the decision to go for a larger car

[T.N.T]

GMC Yukon, Ford Explorer and Dodge Durango can be found.

[root]

But it will be still hard to find a 2006+ model in the 70-80k range.

[aynstayn]

tks for the opinions.went searching today and saw an armada 2006 at 23000 mileage going for 86k, more than what i would have liked, but its never a perfect world. must say am a little disappointed, interiors were a little too plasticy, and the last seat row is raised, which also hadnt expected. are there different models of armada?? also saw a 2005 ford explorer which was much better interior wise (looked more roomy) going for 72k. both cars felt equal in terms of driving, so now not quite sure which way to go! is there any other considerations that could help me swing in favour of one over the other eg maintenance?

[aynstayn]

regrets. meant ford expedition and not explorer

[T.N.T]

Armada is always better than the Expedition, but if you don't want to spend that much, get the Expedition.

[root]

Armada's as big as you'll get a SUV here with Japanese vehicles.
We dont get the Toyota Sequoia here.

The 2 reasons for not going with ford are:
- poor resale
- quality issues..you'll start seeing electrical issues and breaking parts as early as in 2-3 year old fords