Motor Trend 2006 SUV of the Year

[Secret Chimp]

Figures.  The ML and Range Rover Sport are too expensive to make the cut, probably, the Explorer and the like are fairly mundane, nothing is revolutionary or stand-out about the Tribeca other than its ugliness, the Tucson and Sportage are other SUVs with nothing special about them, the H3 is really no better than the Xterra.  Don't know much about the Commander.  

Good choice, though.

I'd say the H3 is a lot worse than the Xterra. More expensive, lame powertrain, and lower visibility.

[Raza]

Right, I'm not criticizing the 300C at all. If you want a lot of acceleration for the dollar and interior space, it's hard to find a better choice. (The new Impala SS is astonishingly close, however.)

But there's no style or even heavy-handedness that comes with the 300C.  I'll be the first to admit it's bad styling over good design (or actually the second, since Robert Cumberford said it first) and of the LX cars it's my least favorite.

[Raza]

Figures.  The ML and Range Rover Sport are too expensive to make the cut, probably, the Explorer and the like are fairly mundane, nothing is revolutionary or stand-out about the Tribeca other than its ugliness, the Tucson and Sportage are other SUVs with nothing special about them, the H3 is really no better than the Xterra.  Don't know much about the Commander. 

Good choice, though.

I'd say the H3 is a lot worse than the Xterra. More expensive, lame powertrain, and lower visibility.

True.  I just didn't want to be overly harsh on the H3.  You all know how much I love Hummers.  

:mellow:  

[ifcar]

That's a little different, the Thunderbird was a terrible car that was horribly overpriced, the 300 on the other hand is a pretty good car (though recent competition has passed it) that is only mildly overpriced.

Let's not get back into this, shall we? I still consider the 300 V6 to be mediocre at best, it just doesn't stand out in any way and is quite expensive.

And I don't think the Thunderbird was a terrible car. It wasn't remotely sporty, but it wasn't designed to be. Think of it as an comfortable cruiser, a value option against an SC430 and a premium option against a Sebring. Nothing wrong with that, except that the retro styling attracted hype that it couldn't live up to.

Sorry, the Thunderbird was and is pure crap. It has very little over the 30k Sebring convertible yet costs $10k more and is lacking a rear seat. And, I've never seen anyone say very good things about the Sebring.

The Thunderbird is much quicker, and handles better (though neither are close to any other convertible in that price range) and has much better steering response, has a much nicer interior, and more refinement, and it wasn't close to $10k more after demand dropped.

And the Sebring isn't a bad car either for its market, it has a usable rear seat, reasonable pricing, and a comfortable and quiet ride. It's just not sporty, or rigid.  

Also, one could argue that the 300 line-up adds up to good:

300C (GREAT) + 300 Base/Touring/Limited (medicore)= 300 line-up (good)

It's all in the math.

I prefer to separate the two, calling the 300 line "good" in general over-compliments the V6 versions and is unfair to the V8. There's no reason not to separate them when the separation is that easy.

That said, I still don't consider even the non C 300 to be medicore. It may not be at the top of the class, but compared to what was out before it it was nothing short of excellent (XG350, Crown Victoria, Park Avenue, Le Sabre, etc). I simply won't say that a car has gone from top of the class to medicore in 3 months.

Standards change. Let's look at an approximate order of the $30,000 large-sedan options as of six months ago (the specific order is debatable, but not in a way that should make a difference):

1. Avalon
2. Five Hundred
3. Maxima
4. LaCrosse
5. 300
6. Impala SS S/C
7. Crown Victoria
8. LeSabre

Since then, two of the three main cars behind it (four if you go to a lower price bracket and stick in the XG) have been replaced.

Look at the Colorado: it was arguably a class leader when it was introduced in 2004, and then all but one competitor was redesigned, and it's almost universally considered to be the worst vehicle in its class.

And that's an even more extreme example. The 300 V6 was never at the top of its class.

[TBR]

You make a few good points, but I have a few as well:

1. You can't separate the lines, it just doesn't make sense for a magazine like MT to test the different models separately.

2. Excellent point about the Colorado, but I still wouldn't call it medicore and it has moved a lot farther than the 300 has.

3. What exactly was better than the 300 when it came out? Remember that there was no Five Hundred, the Avalon was still in its 3rd gen, and the Lacrosse and Maxima don't really compete in this class anyway, they are too small.

[ifcar]

You make a few good points, but I have a few as well:

1. You can't separate the lines, it just doesn't make sense for a magazine like MT to test the different models separately.

Who's talking about MT? The 300C has strong points, the 300 V6 does not. It's like separating an Impreza from a WRX. C/D even awarded a 10Best spot specifically to the Mazda6 s once.

2. Excellent point about the Colorado, but I still wouldn't call it medicore and it has moved a lot farther than the 300 has.

The Colorado is definitely mediocre by now. Every competitor advanced past it in terms of acceleration, towing capacity, and interior space, and its ride, handling, and interior quality are midpack at best as well.

It's cheap and fuel efficient, but that's not more than midpack. And I agree that it moved farther than the 300, it used to be a class leader and the 300 (not 300C) definitely never was.

3. What exactly was better than the 300 when it came out? Remember that there was no Five Hundred, the Avalon was still in its 3rd gen, and the Lacrosse and Maxima don't really compete in this class anyway, they are too small.

The 300/300C, Five Hundred/Montego, and new Avalon were all 05 models. The LaCrosse and Impala are larger than the 300, and the Maxima is only inches away.

...

[TBR]

"The 300/300C, Five Hundred/Montego, and new Avalon were all 05 models. The LaCrosse and Impala are larger than the 300, and the Maxima is only inches away."

The 300 was out a couple months earlier than the other three and I can't say much to the last part.

Once again, the 300 was a class leader, the only car that you could even possibly say was better than it when it came out was the Maxima (the Lacrosse didn't come out until fall '04, did it?).  

[ifcar]

It was never around long enough before the others to be effectively named to be a class leader.

And I forgot about the Park Avenue, that could outclass it even if you do think that being out two months before several redesigned competitors can mean that it was temporarily the best. The old Avalon was deeply discounted as well, so I'd toss that above the 300 as well.