2007 GMC Envoy

They don't make them like this anymore!

Interior Rating: 3 Reliability Rating: 1 Value Rating: 3

A lot of people can't tell the difference between what they're calling full-size SUVs now, and what they called mid-size SUVs in the 90s, but there is a major difference. When the popularity of SUVs exploded in the 90sNow vehicles like the Pathfinder, Explorer, and Durango were based on truck frames, meaning the body basically bolts onto a ladder which has a big engine in the front, a transmission bolted behind it, and a driveshaft going to the rear axle. Now those same vehicles have much more in common with minivans than they do with trucks. Their construction is of a unitized body, which, rather than being a body bolted onto a proper backbone, is just a bit cluster of sheet metal with some stressed areas stamped with thicker stock. It saves weight, which in turn saves gas. In standard crash tests where it's the vehicle vs a concrete block, the safety compromise is negligible, but when two SUVs collide, one has massive beams spanning from bumper to bumper and a 500+ lb advantage in structural steel, and one has a body which is optimized for weight savings, how do you think that turns out? The powertrain is also different, going from a large longitudinal-mounted engine powering a rear axle and an optional front axle, to a small transverse-mounted engine with a combined transaxle powering the front with the rear being the option. So here you have the Envoy, the last of GMs mid-size SUVs possessing the guts of a truck. It's built on a ladder frame, with the same basic engine (5.3L V8), transmission (4L60E) and rear axle (GM 8.6" 10-bolt) as the Sierra/Silverado line of half ton pickups. It's an expensive way to build trucks, and GM abandoned it with the introduction of the Acadia/Traverse "SUVs." Most of the other mid-size SUVs, such as the Explorer, Pathfinder, and Durango have followed suit. Only the Toyota Four-Runner still uses a ladder frame. The true full-size SUVs (Suburban, Expedition, Land Cruiser) have retained the ladder frame, for now. As far as our Envoy Denali goes, it's a fun vehicle to drive. It's not especially spacious, not a fuel sipper, not the most luxurious, it's just a really cool vehicle for active people who don't have to carry a lot of stuff. Having owned this vehicle for seven years now, I did two modifications to make it suit our needs: first, I added a jump seat in the rear from littlepassengerseats.com, which made it into a six person vehicle while still retaining a decent amount of cargo space. And second, I installed a lift kit from BDS to allow larger tires. The Envoy Denali is the only vehicle I know of which came with 245/60R18s, meaning there is almost no selection, and certainly no truck/SUV tires. By raising it up 2 inches, and adding 1.5" wheel spacers, I was able to install the standard Chevy Silverado tires: 265/65R18. The vehicle looks awesome, but still stock to the casual observer. If you get the SLT, with the standard 17" tires, you'll have no problem finding tires, and the lift won't be necessary. Personally, I only got the Denali because I wanted that beautiful LS-variant V8 in the short body (305 hp based on the Corvette motor of the early 2000s). I was never really a fan of the bling, but love the bang. Toward the end, they did make some SLTs in that configuration, through they seem kind of rare. As far as major maintenance, it's needed nothing other than new rear suspension airbags at one point (about $200 each). It does have three annoyances, however: 1) the driver's door always made a "thunk" when going over large bumps, especially while turning left. 2) I've found the decapitated heads of three of the 10 exhaust manifold bolts on my garage floor throughout the years, all from corner positions--it's not leaking yet, but when it does, the job will be a real pain with that huge engine shoe-horned into that tiny compartment. 3) The Bose system makes a buzzing, interference sound from time to time, which goes away with a good whack of the center console. I can live with those minor issues.