Some people have already expressed how they feel about their new 18, so ima do the same lol. After about 1 week and 500 miles of ownership, i feel its enough time to write up my thoughts about my new baby.
First thimgs first, we LOOVVEEE are new baby. Its an amazing truck, suv, and vehicle in general. Because im not biased, i will speak on what i like and not rele like about her in regards to my 09 nav.
Comfort:
Probably My favorite thing about the truck is the comfort. The seats are super comfy, everything feels good, and theres so much space in the first and sec rows(haven't ridden in the 3rd row yet). The seats just melt around you, and the leather on the steering wheel is good quality. Theres also very good sightlines since your sitting so high up, but the passenger front corner bumper is super hard to make out(someone mentioned this in a diff thread). The b pillar is also pretty thick, but i dnt turn my head around too often to notice. Overall, better seat comfort than my nav.
Drivetrain:
Smooth, strong, always available. I havent pressed the pedal too hard yet, but she goes with minimal effort. The deep little growl it has is a little bit off putting at times(no v8), but its well muted inside. Im ok with it because the sound doesnt make the performance and i hate the v8 rumble while i cruise. Now i gotta figure how to get to the epa figures. Havent even matched em since i bought it. I figured it needs to be broken in, but a recent highway trip goin 69 and i couldn't break 22mpg(its rated at 24)
Drivability:
The handling, omg!! I said the gms handled better before, but i take that back. My truck handles as good if not better than our 15 mazda 6. The steering feel is still vague, it has less feel than the nav did, but its better weighted and the steering wheel is the perfect size. Body lean is very well checked, it takes a lot to get her to take a misstep, and the steering is very accurate. The turning circle is better than my navs was as well. The ride is firm but smooth. The first thing you notice is that it has a planted feel, it rides glued to the road. No float, no cloud, you are riding on the road. Compared to the navi, smallish bumps and cracks are felt more readily. I do miss the smooth float on the hwy as well, but i do not miss the harsh sensation on cratered roads. Large bump absorption on the expy is exemplary. Also, though the bumps are felt, the expy is never harsh. A good thud and thats it, barely no vibrations, and no head toss. All in all, i will say, the expy has the best balance of control and compliance. In lamens terms the complete opposite of my nav and the old expy, its less floaty and cloudlike in the straights, but more sorted and comfortable in town and bad roads. Of note, this is the std suspension with 20in.
Quietness:
The expy is very quiet. I saw some people say the gms are quieter, but idts. The gms are quieter at low speed, but at hwy speeds, i may have to give the expy an edge. Way more quiet than our nav.
Technology:
Pretty good but not blown away. I like the options for the lane keep, park assist works fine, but not great. Sync 3 though easier to use is less customizable from sync 2. My nav had a better sound system(probably the best sounding system stock in the industry for its time). It also had better bt connectivity. The sec row tilt slide seats are fantastic, a way better solution than the tumble seats. They slide with the hold of a button too. My nav had nowhere near the sec row room, comfort, friendliness Or usability.
Problems:
My wife is taking her in tomorrow. The main reason, on hard bumps, theres a squeak or creak in the passenger rear. I dnt think its the vista roof, more the seats or rear cargo cover. Also while its there, were going to ask about the bt connectivity. Both our phones skip ehen playing media, and its getting progressively worse. This didnt occur on my nav, my wife's 6, or any of the expys we tested. Were also gonna ask about the doors, they are extremely hard to close. The front passenger door especially needs to be slammed to closed.
Conclusion:
This truck is fantastic and do not regret it at all. Only thing i wouldve done different is ordered the 302 ltd pkg as it had all the features wifey wanted with the type ride(ccd) i crave(i ordered b4 we could test drive. I thought the ride would somewhat mirror the previous expys ride. Though its smoother than the 17my, the ccd gives the cushy ride i "prefer", but shes smoother than most anything on the road now). Hopefully this will help those looking to purchase a family vehicle. For the money spent, please get what you prefer. As far as my expy, shes perfect(will be after that creaks gone and music stops skippin lol).
First thimgs first, we LOOVVEEE are new baby. Its an amazing truck, suv, and vehicle in general. Because im not biased, i will speak on what i like and not rele like about her in regards to my 09 nav.
Comfort:
Probably My favorite thing about the truck is the comfort. The seats are super comfy, everything feels good, and theres so much space in the first and sec rows(haven't ridden in the 3rd row yet). The seats just melt around you, and the leather on the steering wheel is good quality. Theres also very good sightlines since your sitting so high up, but the passenger front corner bumper is super hard to make out(someone mentioned this in a diff thread). The b pillar is also pretty thick, but i dnt turn my head around too often to notice. Overall, better seat comfort than my nav.
Drivetrain:
Smooth, strong, always available. I havent pressed the pedal too hard yet, but she goes with minimal effort. The deep little growl it has is a little bit off putting at times(no v8), but its well muted inside. Im ok with it because the sound doesnt make the performance and i hate the v8 rumble while i cruise. Now i gotta figure how to get to the epa figures. Havent even matched em since i bought it. I figured it needs to be broken in, but a recent highway trip goin 69 and i couldn't break 22mpg(its rated at 24)
Drivability:
The handling, omg!! I said the gms handled better before, but i take that back. My truck handles as good if not better than our 15 mazda 6. The steering feel is still vague, it has less feel than the nav did, but its better weighted and the steering wheel is the perfect size. Body lean is very well checked, it takes a lot to get her to take a misstep, and the steering is very accurate. The turning circle is better than my navs was as well. The ride is firm but smooth. The first thing you notice is that it has a planted feel, it rides glued to the road. No float, no cloud, you are riding on the road. Compared to the navi, smallish bumps and cracks are felt more readily. I do miss the smooth float on the hwy as well, but i do not miss the harsh sensation on cratered roads. Large bump absorption on the expy is exemplary. Also, though the bumps are felt, the expy is never harsh. A good thud and thats it, barely no vibrations, and no head toss. All in all, i will say, the expy has the best balance of control and compliance. In lamens terms the complete opposite of my nav and the old expy, its less floaty and cloudlike in the straights, but more sorted and comfortable in town and bad roads. Of note, this is the std suspension with 20in.
Quietness:
The expy is very quiet. I saw some people say the gms are quieter, but idts. The gms are quieter at low speed, but at hwy speeds, i may have to give the expy an edge. Way more quiet than our nav.
Technology:
Pretty good but not blown away. I like the options for the lane keep, park assist works fine, but not great. Sync 3 though easier to use is less customizable from sync 2. My nav had a better sound system(probably the best sounding system stock in the industry for its time). It also had better bt connectivity. The sec row tilt slide seats are fantastic, a way better solution than the tumble seats. They slide with the hold of a button too. My nav had nowhere near the sec row room, comfort, friendliness Or usability.
Problems:
My wife is taking her in tomorrow. The main reason, on hard bumps, theres a squeak or creak in the passenger rear. I dnt think its the vista roof, more the seats or rear cargo cover. Also while its there, were going to ask about the bt connectivity. Both our phones skip ehen playing media, and its getting progressively worse. This didnt occur on my nav, my wife's 6, or any of the expys we tested. Were also gonna ask about the doors, they are extremely hard to close. The front passenger door especially needs to be slammed to closed.
Conclusion:
This truck is fantastic and do not regret it at all. Only thing i wouldve done different is ordered the 302 ltd pkg as it had all the features wifey wanted with the type ride(ccd) i crave(i ordered b4 we could test drive. I thought the ride would somewhat mirror the previous expys ride. Though its smoother than the 17my, the ccd gives the cushy ride i "prefer", but shes smoother than most anything on the road now). Hopefully this will help those looking to purchase a family vehicle. For the money spent, please get what you prefer. As far as my expy, shes perfect(will be after that creaks gone and music stops skippin lol).
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