One-Year Test Update: 2002 GMC Envoy
FROM THE LOGBOOK
"The Envoy is a good balance of lux and truck: a domestic midsize interpretation of Toyota's Land Cruiser."
--Jeff Bartlett |
Our 2002 Sport/Utility of the Year winner is racking up the miles, having recently made the haul from our Los Angeles office to the banks of the Florida Everglades. Just prior to that, at the 9000-mile mark, the "change engine oil" indicator had yet to flash across the Envoy's message center, so we decided to have the Envoy fully serviced (at $84.75 for fresh oil and filter, plus a tire rotation) before trekking across the country.
Specifications
Base price: $33,985
Price as tested: $38,320
Vehicle layout: Front engine, 4wd, 4-door, 5-pass
Engine: 4.2L I-6, DOHC, 4 valves/cyl
Hp @ rpm: 270 @ 6000
Torque @ rpm: 275 @ 3600
Transmission: 4-speed automatic
0-60 mph, sec: 8.0
EPA mpg: 16 city/21 highway
Total mileage: 16,020
Average test mpg: 16.6
Problem areas: None
Non-warr cost: $84.75
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For the record, we're yet to be convinced that a computer should decide when to change the fluids, and we'd prefer standard service intervals. Fresh from the shop, the Envoy made its way from sea to shining sea, averaging 19.6 mpg on the highway. Online Editorial Director Jeff Bartlett found the multitasking trip computer a helpful tool over the long haul, but wished the interior included more carved-in cubby space to store munchies and assorted road tchotchkes. Moreover, editors on both coasts aren't thrilled with the low running boards that can easily muddy pant legs. To date, the Envoy's been trouble free, but with over 16,000 on the clock, we're expecting the message center to clue us onto another oil change in the not-so-distant future.