re: Comparing new 3rd Row SUVs: Jeep Grand Cherokee L vs. Kia Telluride vs. Chevy Traverse

Look for a lightly used 21 or 22 GX. It’s the old drivetrain, will run forever and has a 3rd row. The only downside is mileage but it’s a tank that won’t leave your wife on the side of the road. Also, prices are in the low $40’s if you look around enough.

The area outside DFW area the vehicles so.much cheaper than SWLA and BR areas when inwould do a search.

I looked at one and it with LC airport direct flight to DFW it was under 300 and dealership was going to pick me up and id just drive home.

Like an 8k savings off the top.

It's nuts these days not to search within a 500 mile radius.

I really liked the jeep grand cherokee 4xe we had. I dont think it was a 3rd row but it was a really well made and thought out. much better than the volvo xc90 we have now.

We have a 2024 Pathfinder Platinum. We like it a lot. It is very luxurious inside and the most comfortable seats compared to everything else in it's class that we tested. It's a great vehicle to travel in with a very comfortable ride. It's a nice looking vehicle inside and out. We haven't had any issues with it since we bought it a year and a half ago. It has a V6 engine with no turbo so it should be more reliable than a 4 cylinder+ turbo. It has a 6000 lb towing capacity and pulls my boat and a 12' utility trailer very easily. It has a 4 x 4 with plenty of drive and terrain modes. It's also a little shorter than most 3 row SUVs so it fits in our garage better.

Some things I don't like about it. It doesn't have a locking gas cap but that's not really a big issue for us. Also it is a little sluggish climbing steep long hills starting from a slow speed if you drive in ECO or Normal mode. The timing to shift to the correct gear is a little off on climbing long steep hills, but that can be remedied some by putting it into Sport mode. The view over the hood when driving is a little restricted for my wife who is used to driving a smaller lower SUV with more front visibility, and it is less nimble than smaller more lightweight vehicles.

Overall a great vehicle as long as you don't require a high performance drive .

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The current Pathfinders do not use a CVT transmission.

Read that they run a ZT ? Transmission???
German, have been around for many years, used in BMW’s

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ZF They have a lot is US presence, including a large production facility in Grey Court, SC. They are known for solid transmissions and build the PDK for the Porsche 911 line.

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but did have to have the transmission fluid changed/flushed within the last month because it has started surging/jerking. Apparently there is a GM technical service bulletin

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I’ve seen some of these Mechanic videos talk about this. Seriously, get rid of the car as soon as possible.

I mean, if ever there was a red fricking flag...

We have a 2024 telli and my wife loves it. We got the loaded out one so it's got all the bells and whistles.

Back row is kinda small but we usually have it put down so there is more room for storage in the back

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ZF They have a lot is US presence, including a large production facility in Grey Court, SC. They are known for solid transmissions and build the PDK for the Porsche 911 line.

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The Grand Cherokees also use a ZF 8-speed. Great transmissions.

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Anyone who buys any of those three cars deserves to be stuck on the side of the road several times during their ownership. Just do any fricking minimal amount of research and you’ll find that those vehicles are almost always mentioned by name as three of the worst cars that have ever been fricking made.

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Kia Teulluride is known as one of the worst cars that's ever been made?

For 3-row SUVs, it's ranked

#1 by US News, with its cousin the Palisade #2

#1 by Car and Driver, with the Palisade #3

#1 (3-way tie) by KBB

#2 by Motor Trend, with Palisade #1

Now you could argue that it's slightly overrated and not the best, but that's a huge step up from one of the "worst cars that have ever been fricking made"

And it's not a new SUV without somewhat long-term data.

Yes, Kia/Hyundai have lemon engines every now and again. If you don't have the 2011-2019 Hyundai Santa Fe, Sonata Hybrid, Tucson, Elantra and Veloster vehicles and Kia Forte, Optima Hybrid, Sorento, Soul and Sportage, you're probably in the clear and are dealing with typical variance of modern engines.

Note: even Toyota is facing that, these days. They just had a massive recall due to making shitty engines. As engine tech develops and they rely on more complicated turbo-based power, you're going to increase the variance of defects.

The Lambda II 3.8 V6 in the Telluride/Palisade has stood the test of time, at this point. It's been out almost 7 years now .

You get a lot for your money with a Kia.