Best Family Vehicle

Hi
I have a 2001 Ford Expedition with a third row and captain's chairs in the second and I love it. It is quite big but it drives likee a dream. I was never one for trucks because I am a short person (5 feet) but this has "custom" seat adjustments. The pedals move the seat moves and the mirrors move so it is awsome. The only thing that I don't like is the gas mileage and the gas prices but what are you going to do. The 3rd seat fold down or comes out if you need the extra room to haul stuff. It is a very good vehicle (except for gas) for a family.
-A.

We bought a Chrysler Pacifica in November. We have just the 2 seat version, but it does have an option for the 3rd seat. I have LOTS of cargo space ( you could easily put the 2 dogs in the back of the 2 seat ones) in mine and LOVE the way it handles. I got just front wheel drive not all wheel to save on the gas mileage and it handles terrific in the snow and rain, has traction control and can come with all the bells and whistles. I just love driving it. It has a very high crash test rating which was important to me. It is designed by BMW for Chrysler and the engineering is obvious. Good luck!

Hi Yvonne!
We have a 2007 Honda Pilot and love it! For now we have only one little one in a car seat. But we felt it is a car we would not grow out of. We have the third row down for now which provides plenty of storage. It also has two separate seats in the third row to allow one or two seating and still some room for storage! Good luck!
L.

have you looked at the Enclave (Buick), Acadia (GMC) or Outlook (saturn)? they are all virtually the same car but with different trims and packages and are a crossover vehicle w/cargo space, 3 rows and decent fuel efficiency. we are thinking about buying one and test drove the outlook to ikea for an afternoon of kids, cargo and driving. it was a good experience.
i'd love to know what you end up with bc we're currently having this same debate. the other car we havent ruled out yet is the acura MDX but not sure if the cargo space is sufficient for us when 3rd row is in use.
best
E.

Hi. We just switched up to a 3rd row a few months ago. We drove everything and every kind. I actually really likes the GMC Acadia but it was to new.. only 2nd year on the market. We looked at Ford, Toyota, Honda and almost everything in between. I went with the Pathfinder. It just drove better and higher and had what we wanted. The V8 engine was quiter then on some of the other models and it has everything. Real easy to put up and down third row and a good amount of trunk space when seats are up. Good luck shopping

I have had a Sequoia since August of 2002 and I absolutely love it. It has a very smooth ride and doesn't feel like a truck at all. We know I should get something new, and with gas prices we are considering something smaller (the Hybrid Highlander now has a third row), but I can't bring myself to get rid of the Sequioa yet. Prior to this I had a Toyota Avalon which I loved as well. I am a big fan of Toyotas at this point.
Good luck!

I know this is completely off topic, but how old is your yellow lab/pit bull mixed puppy?
raelynn

I have a toyota sienna. I am a mommy of three growing children, 7, 3 and 1. Also add in a furry sister. We have a bedlington terrier, show dog. So we travel a lot to ballet classes, recitals, karate, dog shows etc. I am able to fit 8 p[assengers comfortably. Hope this helps.

We have a Toyota Highlander and only one child 20 months(# two ETA mid May)and two labrador retreivers (one chocolate, one black). We have liked the vehicle but longer trips with the dogs are tough. We invested in a rooftop carrier which helped a great deal at Christmas.
Hope that helps.

I have a Dodge Durango with the 3rd room seating. I love it, I don't know that I will ever got to another SUV after having a durango. It rides smoothly, has nice pick up, it does have a different kind of suspension because of it's large size so it takes a bit to get used to going over the bumps in it, but other than that, I can't complain about it at all. My husband drives a Chevy Trailblazer which is the perfect size for him, but when we are all in it, it is kind of squishy, even though he has the 3rd row seating as well, I think it would be even more squishy if we put it up. Do not go for a Ford (sorry for those who have them) but we owned a Explorer and had nothing but problems with it and my sister owns one as well and has tons of issues/problems with it. Good luck.

we have 2 girls too, may have 1 more, still undecided, but we have an '02 explorer, and are about to upgrade to an '07. We LOVE it. its very roomy, you can fit 3 carseats/ boosters in the backseat the trunk is very roomy and it has the 3rd row seat if you have some extra people coming along. you can get it fully loaded of course and im sure it would be a little better on the bank account than the bmw! lol well good luck hope this helps

Hi, My husband and I have 4 children 14, 13, 8 and 6 mos. Put them all together along with their friends, sports equipment and diaper bags....a minivan was not cutting it. (We had a ford windstar) We went with a Ford Excursion...on the same lines as the suburban. I beleive they stopped making them in 05 because they are to heavy for the road?????? That just spells safety to me. Anyway, although its not the greatest on gas I never run out of room. 8 passenger with plenty of trunk space. My advice to you is shop ebay...they have some great prices right now. Good Luck

Hi Yvonne,
We are currently looking for a new vehicle also. We are leasing a Honda Pilot right now and have loved it, however we would like to try something new. The Honda Pilot seats 8 and has been an awesome SUV for us.A new body style for that comes out in June. It is not real fancy on the inside, but drives great. We have been car shopping for two weeks now and really like the Toyota Highlander. There are seven seats in that. There is the Buick Enclave which seats 8 and has lots of bells and whistles! The Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia are both based on the same platform as the Enclave and are recommended by Consumer Reports. We really like the Subaru Tribeca, but that may be too small....
I hope this helps.
Good luck!
M.

Hi Yvonne,
By accident, my husband & I ended up leasing a Honda Pilot about a year ago. We were driving a Honda CRV (which we absolutely loved), but realized we could lease the Pilot for $100 less (we are currently paying $310/month for their base model). Because gas prices have been so high the CRV's & flying off the lot (they are 4-cylinder vs. the Pilot which is 6-cylinder) & they've been offering terrific incentives on the Pilot. The car is super reliable, they retain their value, they're roomy, and if you don't put a lot of miles on your car, leasing could be a good option. Let me know what you end up getting.
Good luck,
R.

My cousin and his family have had very good luck with the Honda Pilot.

We presently have a 2007 Suburban, we love it...it holds, 2 children, hockey, baseball, football and softball equipment, as well as friends, and two standard poodles. We drive a lot and it has a built in DVD which is the best on long trip of course my children are 8 &11 years old so the entertainment issue is more involved. When they were little I had a Tahoe, Expedition x2 and out of them all I like the Suburban best!! They can watch the DVD with headphones and we can listen to the music we like...it has solved a lot of fighting that went on during long trips. My husband has the Volvo XC90, nice but small more of a car vs a truck, drives nicely. We live in rural NH on a dirt road so 4WD is a must, neither snow or mud has kept us down in either vehicle, both have 3rd row seats that fold down for more doggie room!! Gas mileage is poor but so far it is still worth it, that may change..hoping for a good hybrid in the near future! Good luck

I hear you about the minivan I owned one for two years and it was terrible on our country roads in the winter. I only have two children but I do a lot of car pooling. Which is great for company, and saves $ on gas, and is better for the planet. Any ways I bought the Ford Freestyle it has the 3rd row which I love, I would of loved to buy it fully loaded. DVD built in and leather seats etc. But our portable dvd is fine. It's all wheel drive and isn't big like a mini van or an suv (I say it's my cool Mom car) good luck

I have a Honda Pilot & LOVE IT!

Oh my goodness! This is the EXACT situation we are in! My husband is a major car buff- so he totally will not drive a mini van. I can't bring myself to own one either!
We went through this same situation 4 years ago- not much out there for picky car people like us. It's like what we want and what we need don't mesh with what car companies offer.
I'll tell you what we found and hope that is helpful for you.
We test drove SO MANY cars... what I really wanted was a 5-speed with some get up and go- that would fit my 2 daughters, 2 dogs and occasional friends. That vehicle doesn't exist!
We ended up choosing the Acura MDX. It has an available 3rd row that folds down flat when not in use. Lots of storage space for a stroller and groceries, room for the dogs when we take them to the vet too. It gets "okay" gas mileage. About 18 on backroads and 20-22 highway. We have Britax carseats and they fit pretty well in the back with leg room for the kids. We have had carseats in the 3rd row. No latch back there- but they installed pretty well with the seatbelts. We did end up going to Safekids for some guidance with the installation.
The main reason we chose the MDX- aside from the 3rd row- is that you get all of the luxury features standard. When we priced out other cars- the up front cost was less- but each feature, such as heated seats, power mirrors, moonroof, etc. have to be added to the ticket price. This drove the price up well above the price of the Acura- which came with these as standard features.
We are going to be purchasing our second MDX this August. We went over all of our other options again and came to the same conclusion. The new MDX is even better than the 2004 that we have now. It comes with voice control for all aspects, IPod integration, navigation, rear view camera, cell phone integration and more. It just feels like a far more expensive car! Not to mention they set all of these up for you before you pick up your car. They will have all of your phone numbers, radio presets and IPod music uploaded for you. So cool. Did I mention free oil changes? The price was far less than the other similar cars we looked at.
No matter what you go with- definitely test drive everything- and try moving car seats in and out. That's a big one for me. Some car seats are not compatible with all cars- and can be more difficult to install in different cars. Give it a try first!
Good luck!
-S.
I noticed others are mentioning the Honda Pilot- the MDX is the upscale version of the Pilot. Much more luxurious. And offers features that the Pilot does not. Once you add the upgrades- your price is about the same!

Hi Yvonne,
Go with a GMC Acadia!! I have 6 month old twins. My husband and I have very long legs so we love the interior space. That is the number one reason we got rid of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, no leg room leftover for driver and front passenger with two back seat car seats on board. The Acadia has all your space accomodation and TONS of bells and whistles. Get this .. it even has heated windshield washer fluid. Nothing's missing!! and the price tag is right .. roughly 45K.

Hi Yvonne,

We just had our 4th baby and needed a larger vehicle too. On a very tight budget, we ended up buying a limo (funeral car!) off ebay. I know, it's pretty unconventional. It has 3 forward facing bench seats and a HUGE trunk. We are all very comfortable, with seats to spare. The kids get a kick out of it, and their friends all love coming for rides and such. Anyway, it gets over 20 mpg and we paid less than 5K for it with 69k miles on it. It's a bit weird, but actually a perfect solution for us, at least for now.

Hi there! I have a 1 yr. old, a 3 yr. old and a baby on the way. And I'm with you, I so did NOT want a minivan, but needed the space. We bought the Ford Freestyle (about a year ago) with leather seats and "captains" chairs so no bench seat to hop over to get to the 3 row. There are 6 seats total. The 3rd row folds completely flat...perfect for groceries or doggies and even when the seats are set up the trunk space is adequate to hold our groceries. The mileage is good, usually around 20-21mpg just around town, better on the highway. It's a crossover so easy to handle and good gas mileage, but feels bigger like an SUV. WE LOVE IT!!!!!!

Hi, we only have one child, a 2 year old, but are planning a second, and we have a 130lb newfoundland dog. I drive a volvo cross country and bought it with extra children and the dog in mind. It does have 2 jump seats in the cargo space, so technically it seats 7. I LOVE my car and its low enough for the dog to jump in and he has plenty of space. If he can do it, then I'd think 2 smaller dogs would be no problem. We have been looking at a lot of crossover suvs lately, my husband is in the market for a new car, and so far I am not impressed with the rear cargo space. Our dog wont fit in any of them, and we keep coming back to another volvo. My only complaint with the cross country is the gas mileage, and if we do indeed purchase another volvo I dont think we will get an AWD.
BTW when we were shopping for the volvo I brought the dog and the (then) baby w/car seat and all and tried the cars out with both of them. We got a few snarky dealers who weren't too thrilled about it, but they dealt with it because obviously they want the sale. I do recommend lugging the kids AND the dogs with you to test drive since thats what you will be doing on a daily basis. Some cars that I thought would be fine to fit our beast of a dog when we actually got him there were completely not big and/or tall enough.
good luck!

Check out the Honda Pilot. Very roomy with 3rd row option. Not as luxurious as some of the other vehicles but makes up for it with space. We have a 2004 so the 2008 may have better features. Good luck!

Yvonne, I have 2 6 month olds and we have a 2004 Chevy Tahoe Z71 3rd row seat and we love it....I usually have the 3rd row seats out so theres lots of room. But easy to put one or two seats back in when having passengers. The 2nd row are bucket seats so they have there own seats and theres room for our lab in between them or in the back. We bought ours used for $20,000...So shop around and stay away from brand new you will SAVE......Great truck....

Yvonne,
In the past, I owned a Ford Bronco, a Jeep Cherokee and two Toyota 4 runners. Loved the Bronco, hated the Jeep and loved the first 4 runner, which is why I bought another a few years ago. Also have had a Nissan Pathfinder, a Subaru wagon. Of all those, the Toyotas are the best mechanically and last the longest. The Sequoia is huge and the mileage is not great, especially with gas being around $3.20 per gallon. You might consider looking at the hybrids if you too are concerned with the price of gas.

I love my 2004 Toyota 4RUNNER with third row seat. It's not fully loaded or anthing but is great on gas and has plenty of comforts including 4x4. If I had the money to upgrade and gas wasn't ridiculous I would definatly buy a sequoia!! good luck with your car search

Try an Acura MDX..expensive , but worth it!!