Another What Car Thread: Big-ish SUV's (or Minivan?)

[toast2266]

2 adults. 3 kids. 3 50+ pound dogs.

Go.

ETA: I think the rare-ish occasions that we all need to go somewhere together, taking two fairly economical vehicles is the best answer.

Buddy of mine has a Nissan NV. It looks kind of comically big, but for your situation it might actually make sense. It seems like it bridges the gap between a minivan and a full size 15 passenger van.

[Mustonen]

You guys aren’t giving me anything I can sell to my girlfriend. She’s resistant to replacing her cute little SUV with a minivan or full size van. She seems to think that since all the kids and 2 of the dogs are mine I’m the one who should have to drive a GD van.

As if....

[toast2266]

You guys aren’t giving me anything I can sell to my girlfriend. She’s resistant to replacing her cute little SUV with a minivan or full size van. She seems to think that since all the kids and 2 of the dogs are mine I’m the one who should have to drive a GD van.

As if....

You could probably pick up a small box trailer for $3k or so. Keep the cute SUV, throw the kids and dogs in the trailer.

[glademaster]

Good good good, I like this. I think it would still be a nice space upgrade from our Outback/Alltrack reality, but I’m sure it won’t feel like that much.


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I drove a 2010 Outback before I bought my 4Runner, (and a Nissan Xterra before that, for the "#activelifestyle" trifecta; I just need a Taco and an Element for BINGO ) so I'm familiar with both vehicles. The cargo area in the OB is a couple/few inches longer than the 4R when you have the seats folded down, that difference is negligible with the backseats up. The biggest difference in cargo volume is the height of the cargo areas. The trunk is a lot taller in the 4R. The backseat of the OB is a lot more spacious than the backseat of the 4R. The wheelbases of the two vehicles are within an inch of each other IIRC.

One other thing to bear in mind is that your OB will feel like a sports car compared to the 4R. At the end of the day, it is a 25 year old design for a BOF vehicle with a high center of gravity, wallow-y stock suspension, 5 speed auto gearbox that is geared a smidge too tall, and the aerodynamics of a brick.

The OB was definitely more comfortable for long road trips, I did multiple 1000+ mile straight drives in that car, whereas after about 500-600 miles driving the 4R, I'm beat. It's noisier, gets pushed around my winds more, doesn't track quite as well (no putting it in cruise control and driving with a couple fingers on the wheel), and the seats aren't as comfortable(for me, everyone's back and ass are different).

However, a 4Runner is rather unique in that it's about 80% as comfortable as the OB on long trips, and about 80% as capable as a Jeep if you happen to be road tripping somewhere to do some off-roading/remote camping/whatever. Short of the LC/Range Rover class, there's no other vehicle better suited to say, driving from the PNW to Ouray, then spending a week wheeling down there before driving home.

Gas mileage is a weak point, I average about 18 mpg and that's driving around with just my 155 pound ass in the car.

If you're buying a new(ish) 4Runner, get a TRD Off-Road/Trail with KDSS, or get the Limited. KDSS improves the handling and stability significantly on the highway and in corners, while also allowing for increased articulation off-road at speed <12mph. It's a proven system and works well. Or splurge and get a Limited for the full-time 4wd courtesy of the Torsen center differential, which is just a downright awesome piece of automotive engineering.

[Hood26]

You guys aren’t giving me anything I can sell to my girlfriend. She’s resistant to replacing her cute little SUV with a minivan or full size van. She seems to think that since all the kids and 2 of the dogs are mine I’m the one who should have to drive a GD van.

As if....

Crew cab pickup. Get A real insulated dog box from a company like Mountain Top Custom Kennel or Ainley.

[bodywhomper]

What about a sportsmobile 4wd van?

The 100-series land cruiser has a nicer back seat than the outback or 4Runner.

[glademaster]

The 100-series land cruiser has a nicer back seat than the outback or 4Runner.

Marginally nicer. The LC is yet another vehicle that isn't as spacious inside as one would think from the size and shape of the exterior. I know they have a cult following, but I think it's a little foolish to use a 15+ year old vehicle as a family road trip rig. Just my $0.02.

[bodywhomper]

Marginally nicer. The LC is yet another vehicle that isn't as spacious inside as one would think from the size and shape of the exterior. I know they have a cult following, but I think it's a little foolish to use a 15+ year old vehicle as a family road trip rig. Just my $0.02.

Idk about the 200-series, but the few additional inches in width on the 100-series in the rear seat area is noticeable compared to the 4Runner. Just me $0.02 :P

[AKbruin]

BUMP

What did you go with, Toast?

We're in a somewhat similar situation. Husband, wife, two kids (11 and 14), and a (future) medium-sized boxer dog. We'd like to replace my wife's Forester with something a tad bigger. We live at about 7,600' in Tahoe, where getting off our street after a winter storm can be challenging before the plows come. We'd also use the car 6-12x a year for moderate off-roading--i.e., not rock crawling, but just getting to certain trailheads with rough approaches. We don't particularly need a 3rd row, but cargo room for road trips would be nice. It must be AWD/4WD and have at least 8" of clearance. It need not be a full-on off-roader like the 4Runner, but we'd prefer that it have above-average soft-roading ability. Budget is about $40k or less, and while open to used, we'd prefer new.

Oh, and with the microchip issue affecting supply, it's a total seller's market, and many dealers are asking for several thousand more than MSRP on many models, like the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade.

Highlander: We went in with this as the frontrunner, but were totally underwhelmed when we test drove it. This is mostly subjective, but we didn't like the console or the styling, and the driving felt bland. For better or worse, we just didn't like it.

Passport (EX-L): This might be our favorite. It's got a ton of space and a ton of features. And the V6 is surprisingly zippy and responsive (many report 0-60 in 5.7 secs). It also seems to fit the above-average soft-roading ability that we're looking for. If there's a downside, the styling inside and out is pretty utilitarian.

CX-9 (Touring): The interior is very nice and it drives incredibly well for a CUV. It feels like a luxury car. It's also pretty smart looking. But, while it actually has pretty good ground clearance (8.8"), it sounds like a below-average CUV off-road. (The front fairing kills the approach angle and looks precarious.) It also seems to have pretty mediocre cargo space.

Grand Cherokee (Laredo X): I like the looks and the simple, but high-quality feeling of the interior. The V6, while its on-paper numbers aren't special, is responsive at any speed. And while it doesn't have the off-road bells and whistles of the more expensive models, it's seems more capable than other CUVs. The downsides are it's limited cargo space and reputation for poor reliability.

Ascent: We plan to check it out, but the reviews seem mediocre.

Atlas: Ditto.

Telluride & Palisade: The reviews are spectacular, but they are hard to find and selling for well-above MSRP, and thus outside our budget.

[Mustonen]

You have a husband and a wife?

[El Chupacabra]

Passport or Pilot would be my pick.

[meter-man]

AKB, we got an Ascent last fall. Competition was basically the same as yours.

I voted AWD Sienna because I love minivans. Wife wanted the Ascent. Highlander was surprisingly underwhelming.

Three-rows is great for hauling many humans. Fold-down back for more cargo - you know the drill.

What's your other car/truck/van/moto? That should play a role in what you get.

Also, the Lithia Reno Subaru dealership sucked balls. Certainly the worst buying experience I've ever had - kind of amazing when you're spending $40k+ to be treated so poorly. So yeah, fuck that place.

Come on by and drive it sometime.

[PNWbrit]

Love my Grand Cherokee V6 ltd.

Will probably replace it in three years with a CPO off lease of the very last current models before they go to third row seating.

I'd recommend getting the quadra trac option if you can. Amazing the difference it makes in snow mode.

Spent a lot of time in them in bad weather, long road trips and on FS roads which convinced me to buy my current one.

[AKbruin]

AKB, we got an Ascent last fall. Competition was basically the same as yours.

I voted AWD Sienna because I love minivans. Wife wanted the Ascent. Highlander was surprisingly underwhelming.

Three-rows is great for hauling many humans. Fold-down back for more cargo - you know the drill.

What's your other car/truck/van/moto? That should play a role in what you get.

Also, the Lithia Reno Subaru dealership sucked balls. Certainly the worst buying experience I've ever had - kind of amazing when you're spending $40k+ to be treated so poorly. So yeah, fuck that place.

Come on by and drive it sometime.

Thanks, bud. I am curious about the Ascent. Did you try the Passport? Was the 3rd row the deciding factor?

My daily driver is a 2017 CR-V, which is utilitarian but pretty ideal for my daily Tahoe-to-Reno-and-back commute. The turbo, MPG, features, and space are nifty all things considered. But I've pushed it to the brink of its off-roading and deep-snow fording abilities and find myself wanting just a little more. It's the missus's call ultimately, but it'd be nice to have to have something that would afford a little more access to certain trailheads. And for family road trips, it'd be nice to have a little more space. If I could, I'd try to talk her into a 4Runner, but she wouldn't want it and 4Runners are stupid expensive these days.

Totally agree about Lithia Subaru. And, for that matter, Reno dealerships in general. I didn't get great service from Reno Honda's service department on my CR-V. And when I was shopping, they refused to budge on their pricing at all, which was $3,000 more than in the Sacramento area for similarly equipped CR-Vs.

Edit: I too like minivans, but I'd want one with AWD and more than the usual ground clearance. Also, we generally haul our skis inside, so have a split-bench rear seat rather than captains chairs seems preferable.

[bodywhomper]

Honda Pilot
Acura MDX

[AKbruin]

Honda Pilot
Acura MDX

As far as I can make out, while the two are closely related, the Pilot's only real advantage over the Passport is the third-row seating, which we don't really need. But it' ground clearance is almost an inch lower, and it somehow has less cargo space (perhaps because of the space taken by the third row) despite being 6" longer.

MDX looks nice but it out of our price range. And I'm annoyed that Acura discontinued the Integra, which was a great car.

[AKbruin]

Love my Grand Cherokee V6 ltd.

Will probably replace it in three years with a CPO off lease of the very last current models before they go to third row seating.

I'd recommend getting the quadra trac option if you can. Amazing the difference it makes in snow mode.

Spent a lot of time in them in bad weather, long road trips and on FS roads which convinced me to buy my current one.

The idea of leasing a GC (I've never leased a car before) has occurred to me. The Trailhawk looks sweet, but it's sadly out of my price range.

[stealurface831]

My aunt got an explorer a few months ago and has great things to say bout it.


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[MakerofEden]

If I were you and you liked the GC the most, I'd get a 1 year used that just came off a 1 year lease. They have less than 15000 miles, are under 40000 for even the trail hawk edition and some even come with a CPO warranty which gives you 2 years on the original warranty and whatever else they would add on. Even if it isn't CPO you can use the money you saved getting one used and I'd definitely recommend an extended warranty, my history with Jeep isn't great but I have friends that have never had any issues.

[bodywhomper]

As far as I can make out, while the two are closely related, the Pilot's only real advantage over the Passport is the third-row seating, which we don't really need. But it' ground clearance is almost an inch lower, and it somehow has less cargo space (perhaps because of the space taken by the third row) despite being 6" longer.

MDX looks nice but it out of our price range. And I'm annoyed that Acura discontinued the Integra, which was a great car.

I ain’t got much: https://www.motortrend.com/features-...ns-comparison/

I haven’t looked closely between the different models, but Acura/Honda have two different AWD systems. It may be worth understanding which models have which system. A friend had complained to me about driving the 9 speed Honda’s in hilly mountain terrain, stating that it’s always hunting for the right gear.

Question for some, how do you pack for long camping trips with mid/large dog with CUV/SUC? Dog in the 2nd row with the kids or dog in the back with the gear? With my 3 kids and a 75-80 lb lab/hound, the dog is on an elevated platform in the back, camping gear in the back next to and under the dog platform, a long skinny roof box and on the roof rack. That’s in a 1999 land cruiser.

[Pinned]

The Grand Cherokee is probably the nicest, most feature rich of all of those vehicles. In general, all Chrysler cars are marked down a ton from sticker - not sure what the deal is right now. The V6 Grand Cherokee gets pretty awful gas mileage though.

If you're open to other cars, check out the Ford Explorer. I think Ford's cars are the best around right now in terms of quality, features, power, fuel economy, etc. At least when it comes to trucks, they are priced above everyone else.

[XXX-er]

You guys aren’t giving me anything I can sell to my girlfriend. She’s resistant to replacing her cute little SUV with a minivan or full size van. She seems to think that since all the kids and 2 of the dogs are mine I’m the one who should have to drive a GD van.

As if....

she is about 110 % correct

IME the mini van had upright seating. more comfortable, way more room got the same or better milage and the long WB was way more stable when shit was literaly going sideways in snow & ice

[J. Barron DeJong]

she is about 110 % correct

IME the mini van had upright seating. more comfortable, way more room got the same or better milage and the long WB was way more stable when shit was literaly going sideways in snow & ice

A Toyota Sienna with a lift kit drove past my house this past weekend. Maybe that’s what AKB (and I) need.

[Sirshredalot]

A Toyota Sienna with a lift kit drove past my house this past weekend. Maybe that’s what AKB (and I) need.

Yeah, I almost got a prior gen Sienna and jacked it to the moon. There's a kit. I bought a used Lexus GX instead. It's a real off-road vehicle and I've only got the two kids. You have to get a little sporty to get away from the crowds when you take the family car camping around here.

The lifted Sienna would've been a bit absurd, but it still would've gotten better mpgs than the GX and it would swallow cargo way better. I sometimes wish I'd gone for it.

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[bodywhomper]

Remember, you’ll want a full size spare for an awd sienna that you’ll take it off-roading. Either on the roof or in the cargo area.