We were too busy charging up and down our favorite roads enjoying the beautiful performance of the FX’s prolific G35-based chassis, as well as its 280-hp V-6. Infiniti’s FX hasn’t changed much in the five years it’s been with us, and during that whole time, it has offered some of the best fuel economy in its class. Also, all-wheel-drive SRX V-6s only penalize their drivers by 1 mpg in the city, achieving a rating of 14 and 22. However, liveliness is an entirely different measure of performance than the accomplishment of 15 city and 22 highway mpg, which we speculate will be of equal importance to many of today’s luxury-ute shoppers. When we’ve sampled the SRX in the past, we’ve found its handling to be delightful, although the 3.6-liter V-6 is merely adequate in its delivery of its 255 horsepower and 254 pound-feet of torque. The chunky exterior encompasses a spacious three-row, seven-passenger interior that went through an effective redesign and The Cadillac SRX’s wagon-like boxiness may polarize audiences, but it’s crisp, modern, and relatively fresh-looking even four years after launch. Both offer V-8s and all-wheel drive but come standard with more-fuel-friendly V-6s and rear-wheel drive. Tying for the most-fuel-efficient gasoline-powered vehicles in the group are two sports-sedan-based crossovers from opposite sides of the Pacific. But as it turns out, there is a subtle difference: Whereas they all have the same city and highway ratings, the GL is marked with a combined 20-mpg rating versus the others’ 21 mpg combined.īest of all, unlike many other vehicles with optional diesel engines where the diesel variants cost a boatload more money to buy than their gasoline counterparts, the diesel versions of the R-class and M-class cost only a grand more than if they were equipped with the 268-hp, 3.5-liter gas-powered V-6, and the GL diesel actually costs $2500 less than its base gas version, a 335-hp, 4.7-liter V-8.įor now, these diesels are legal in only 45 states, but by fall of 2008, the BlueTec AdBlue treatment system should be in place, enabling all three to pass emissions tests from Maine to California. And all three, interestingly, achieve the same 18/24 fuel-economy figures from the EPA-hands down the best in the field.Īstute readers may wonder how the biggest, heaviest, and truckiest of the three, the three-row G元20 CDI, can score the same fuel economy as the lighter, smaller M元20 CDI and the slippery, minivan-like R320 CDI. No matter which body it’s dropped into, the diesel mill delivers buckets of smooth passing power and silent highway cruising, even if it’s accompanied by a rather unsexy moan at full throttle. All are mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. with three SUVs powered by its stellar turbo-diesel 3.0-liter V-6, which produces a respectable 215 horsepower and a trailer-tugging 398 pound-feet of torque. M-B’s diesels already have a strong following in Europe, and the company is starting to leverage that clout in the U.S. Sweeping the podium is a trio of diesel Mercedes trucklets. Mercedes-Benz M元20 CDI, G元20 CDI, and R320 CDI So if you’re as curious as we were, or if you happen to be in the market for a vehicle that spoils you with creature comforts without forcing you to fill up every two days, read on. The Lexus RX line, which starts at $38,165 for a front-wheel-drive V-6 and rises to $43,345 for the all-wheel-drive RX400h hybrid, is not. For example, the Cadillac SRX, which has a base-price range from $37,790 for a rear-wheel-drive V-6 model to $46,665 when equipped with all-wheel drive and a V-8, is eligible. We defined “luxury SUV” the same way we do for our annual 5Best Trucks competition: SUVs with a base price over $35,000 and at least one model with a base price over $45,000. We set out to find which among the lux-u-vees had the best fuel economy of the bunch as tested by the EPA (see along its redefined guidelines, said to reflect real-world driving conditions better than its previous method. The vehicles here are luxurious, but they are affordable enough to land in homes where practicality is still a concern.Īnd so luxury automakers-who also have seen the writing on the wall on Capitol Hill, which suggests that they’d better get their fuel economies up or risk forfeiting a chunk of their high profit margins as fines-have responded with measures to increase fuel efficiency in the form of high-tech injection systems, zillion-speed transmissions, diesel engines, and in some cases, all those things. But recently, buyers of these behemoths have begun adding smaller carbon footprints, more miles per gallon, and fewer stops at the gas station to their already lengthy list of demands. Traditionally, luxury SUVs and fuel economy have gone together about as well as Republicans and gay marriage.
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