Posted by lynch on March 23, 19100 at 21:06:13:
I've had my 2000 Suburban K1500 LT (4x4) for 2 weeks today. The truck has locking diff, and 4.10 gears, and is intended for family moving chores. (I also have a 99 Durango, hello DOCers! :) At 65mph it runs 2000rpms, and gets to 2500-2600 at 85mph
The ride on the Burb is smoother, and handling better than the Durango. With enough gear to last us a week along with my family of 5, the burb has plenty of room and rides great. The durango is *way* more responsive in the acceleration department, and the Durango parks easier, but the Burb has a lot of potential for us.
So far, i've got 1800 miles on the truck. I drove 55-65mpg in the break-in period, and tried to do mostly city or expressway driving, as the manual recommends. At about 600 miles, I took an 800 mile (in 1 day! :) trip from the SF bay area to Phoenix. The Burb did great!!!
I had made this trip in the Durango, and could only get > 15mpg by going 65-70mph. I made most of this trip at 85mph, and got 15.2mpg! In the slower areas, at 70mph, I got 16mpg. Not bad for this big brute!
Quality wise, I've found one defect in the long piece of glass in the rear of the drivers side, and twice on tuesday, when I was outside of the vehicle with it running, I heard a high pitched whine. Turning off AC, shifting gears, and changing engine RPM didnt affect it. If I turned off the truck, and then turned it back on, the noise slowly came back after about 5 seconds. Since then I haven't heard it. (And its not audible at road speeds, nor within the cabin at idle)
I'll be making another 800 mile journey this weekend, and am hoping I can see how high I can get the MPG.. I'm going over 2 days, not 1 :)
Overall, I would recommend this vehicle based on my current experience. I'll tell ya more at 10k miles, where I hope I feel the same! :)
-lynch