Win one for body on frame American SUVs.

MT SUV comparison

4th. BMW X7
3rd Mercedes GLS
2nd Escalade
1st Navigator

 

I appreciate the patriotism card going on here but Navigator is no where near X7 in pretty much anything. Although they are similarly sized they are different class of vehicles much like RX and X5 are.

 

When the original X5 and M class debuted, they were stacked up against the body on frame Escalades, Navigators, Range Rover and LX...

IMO, the Navigator and Escalade are a class above the X7 and GLE

 

I dont know if I would cross shop the American luxobarges with the X7 and GLS...

Anyway, this is a surprising result because many car reviewers prefer the bmw to the Mercedes. I think it is a real shame that Mercedes put the same interior on the GLS as the GLE.

 

I'm with Jill. Both the Escalade and Navigator are now worlds above what they were several years ago.

 

It sounded to me like it won despite ride quality short comings, so not sure how BOF contributed to it winning the comparison - maybe I'm missing something...

Yes, considerably above their predecessors, but are their current models "better" than the GLS and/or X7? I honestly don't have a clue and I'm sure the answer is somewhere along the lines of "it depends..."

 

Not surprised. America for sure gets one type of vehicle right and that's trucks.

To the naysayers, remember space and overall comfort (heavily including 3rd row) played a big factor here.

 

Yeah...I read that the X7 3rd is cramped

 

And hard to get to, and apparently the seat takes forever to power out of the way to access third row, too.

 

I am a potential buyer this year for the X7 and the third row itself isn’t that bad/cramped. Where they may lose me is the cargo space behind the third row which was disappointing to me. My Durango has more room behind the third row which is somewhat important to me. I’ll have to look at the Navigator and Escalade this spring.

As for the article, it doesn’t surprise me with the comments about the X7 ride and lack of hp. A fairer comparison would have been the 50i with the turbo V8, I personally don’t think the turbo 6 is powerful enough for such a big SUV.

 

not motor trend. They’ve been Detroit homers since their very beginning.

 

Lol or could it just be perhaps that nobody does big trucks better than us? The BOF truck platforms are excellent places to start for vehicles like these.

Suburban has been around since what, 1938?

 

w

The Navigator has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution (never thought I'd say that). Yes a V8 would have been fairer, but the Lincoln is 6 cylinders as well
I might prefer body on frame...they feel better isolated.

 

the big american suvs are built on track bof chassis because it's practical and cheaper for them (mfrs) to do so.
the major downside to the bof platforms being used is the suvs become really tall (to achieve usable interior height on top the truck frame) and just huge overall. The navigator is over 5" taller than the huge X7!!!

Navigator
Wheelbase 122.5
Length 210
Width 79.9
Height 76.4

X7
Wheelbase 122.2 (-0.3")
Length 203.3 (-6.7")
Width 78.7 (-1.2")
Height 71.1 (-5.3")

 

Haven't read the article, but the navigator interior looks something from the 80s. I wonder how many ford ads were placed in that issue.