Originally Posted by
Quaker
Love this thread. Thank you for all your contributions!
Looking for car advice: I'm arriving LAS later this month and renting a car for an almost 3-week epic Arizona-Utah trip (Grand Canyon North and South, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Moab, Capitol Reef, Bryce Zion).
I've never driven to these places but I assume there's no particular need for 4x4 capability. There are 2 of us.
I have Emerald Executive. What's your hierarchy of preferred vehicles for this type of trip? Would you go for the biggest SUV possible or the most luxurious touring sedan?
(I'll be picking up around 9am on a Monday morning so hoping the selection is broad)
Grand Canyon north and south are all well-maintained paved roads. The area around Lake Powell is too, unless you are looking specifically for off-roading. Monument Valley is dirt roads once you leave the parking area. They are well-maintained-ish once you leave the parking lot for the driving tour, but get very washboard-y on the hills. You can get around this by doing one of their paid tours in their open vans. I haven't been to Bryce Canon, Capitol Reef, or Zion - really any of those parks on the west side of Canyonlands, but I have to imagine that they would be the same.
So, based on that, my two suggestions would be:
* pick the most comfortable car you can find, with decent-ish gas mileage. The distances are vast out there, and you don't want to be constantly on the hunt for gas. My wife and I did a similar trip 2 years ago, but we drove down from Portland, Or to see all of those places. We did it in a Ford Edge and found it to be a great balance of space, comfort, and fuel range for our trip. If I were picking from National's ES, I would jump on the chance to drive it in one of the Genesis sedans.
* If you are going to Moab, make time to hit Arches National Park and at least one of the entrances to Canyonlands National Park. I have been to the Grand Canyon north rim 3 or 4 times and the south rim maybe 10 times. I found Canyonlands to be at least as impressive/awe inspiring as the Grand Canyon, and FAR less crowded.