1997 GMC Suburban consumer reviews

We love our suburban. It has met all of our needs for many years. It has taken us on long trips all across America from coast to coast. Did have to replace its transmission but that is to be expected on a car with over 250,000 miles and having done some hard core offroading. If there is a muddy road in Logan County my suburban has been on it. Didn't stop driving it until it got to 262,556 miles when it decided to start randomly dying. Bad alternators and batteries seem to be the GMC Suburban's plague for us.

Awesome power, I filled up to the brim from the nearest gas station and set my odometer 0000. With 5 pax on board we headed North 166 kilometers end point. Cruised at 80 to 90 kilometers per hour coz youll get a ticket at 100( overspeeding). After that long trip, we started to head back at 7pm. with the same pax load. And after 2 and half hours i passed by the same gas station to refill and find the mileage rating. I got 8.3 kilometers per liter of unleaded gas. Roughly 33 miles per gallon. Far better than any SUV you could find. Why? i had the fuel line MAGNETIZED sandwich between the two magnets.It provided better mileage. I swear its the Best for better mileage.

I bought my Suburban used from a co-worker of my wife with over 100,000 miles about 3 years ago. I bought it because maintenance was well documented and it was very clean outside. I also purchased it because my older children, my parents and my in-laws live at least 400 miles away and this vehicle is superb for this type of travel in all kinds of weather. It pulls strong, tows anything and gives all the occupants plenty of room. The handling on this 4WD version surprised me because it was so much improved over the the 1993 Suburban that I previously owned. Contrary to some of the professional reviews I have read, I found the controls easy to understand and reach. Everyone needs to opt for the dual front and rear air/heat controls or you will have complaints from some occupant. The seats are excellent and the lumbar supports in the two front seats are fantastic. The fuel economy is about as advertised, I have driven the vehicle 50,000 miles since purchased and consistently get 13 mpg in town and 16 mpg on the highway. I have replaced the fuel pump and fuel sending unit at 130K miles(about $800), replaced the tires at the same time($600) and the alternator at 152K miles($100 for the part, $0 for labor, I did it myself). None of these seemed excessive given the mileage. Would I by another? Absolutely! Would I recommend one to a friend? I wouldn't be a friend if I didn't. I love this vehicle and that says a lot because I have owned more than 50 vehicles in my driving lifetime and own 3 others (all sedans)now. It is without question the best of the fleet.

We purchased ours 16 month old with 18K miles. We traveled west about 4K miles with the three boys. Plenty of room for everyone, seats are fine, except for the third row, an adult would not want to be back there for more than a couple hours. The boys would prefer that seat though. We had the rear end bearings replaced at 40K miles and water pump at 60K, we now have 80K on it. Very comfortable and secure, great for dense interstate traffic. Will run 80mph all day and doesn't seem to work at it. Not great for narrow alleys and parallel parking! If you drive long distances with four or more people this is the machine. We got a solid 18mpg for all our driving. On the way home from out West we did 900 miles in one day, the only one with a sore butt was the toddler in a car seat. Ours is a 2WD and that helped give a soft ride.