Time for a new ride. Soccer dad rig?

[jaha2000]

While i love my FJ. The 11 month old and another soon behind are going to make it not practical... (Who am i kidding, its not practical now).
I have looked at the highlander, Flex, Explorer, GM Twins...

Test drove a Flex Ecoboost, that thing has sleeper written all over it. I have some concerns about the longevitiy of the motor in the thing though (not a lot of good things online right now, plus that whole lawsuit deal). I would say it has the nicest interior out of the things i have looked at.
Highlander is getting a major refresh for 2014, so deals can be had on 2013's right now.. Its a toyota, boring and not exciting to drive, but it will just go down the road without much fuss..
The explorer is nice. kinda meh on it honestly..

Any others i should be considering?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Lexus RX? As much as I despise SUVs that one is pretty nice.

 

[MegaFlop]

We just picked up a 2013 Santa Fe Limited for my wife's DD.

Pluses...
25 mpg (real HWY#)
Captains chairs for second row
Panoramic Moonroof (with the Tech package)
The Nav / Audio system is excellent.
The turning radius is excellent.
Warranty..
Cost..

Minuses...
Doesn't have the interior volume of a Flex / Minivan.
At 290 HP it isn't going to keep up with a EcoBoost V6 / V8 SUV.
Seating for 6 (vs 7)
Honestly that is about all I can come up with for the minuses.

 

[jaha2000]

forgot about the lexus... Can get the 8 speed in that one... Quite a bit more dollars new at least though...

The Santa Fe is nice.. But as ignorant as this sounds, i cant bring myself to by a Hyundai...

 

[MegaFlop]

The Santa Fe is nice.. But as ignorant as this sounds, i cant bring myself to by a Hyundai...

Ha. Yeah I used to think like that too. Just look at a new Genesis or Equus to see how far Hyundai has come.

 

[nerp]

Just get a Caravan and call it a day.

 

[jaedaliu]

Just get a Caravan and call it a day.

We seem to have this thread pretty often:
I need a minivan, but for some reason, am not looking at them.

Get a minivan with sliding doors on both sides. That way child seat access is incredibly easy for both kids.

 

[Zargon]

Just get a Caravan and call it a day.

caravans arent that bad

we have a small fleet at work

they all get the v6, which aint bad

 

[NutBucket]

And they're CHEAP.

 

[Imported]

The obvious answer.

 

[ramj70]

We seem to have this thread pretty often:
I need a minivan, but for some reason, am not looking at them.

Get a minivan with sliding doors on both sides. That way child seat access is incredibly easy for both kids.

Yep, those sliding doors are very nice, especially in parking lots when you are next to other cars. It's so much easier getting the kids in and out.

We bought a Ford Freestyle crossover in 06 and we really like it but getting the kids in and out can be a pain sometimes. We just bought a caravan and we love it, it's a very good family vehicle. Get the R/T version with the sports suspension to go along with that 283 HP, black leather with red stiching and you can have a man van :biggrin:

 

[Zargon]

And they're CHEAP.

yep.

10K less than the honda, 7 or so than a comprable Toyota

The obvious answer.

this.

 

[jaha2000]

mmm.. CTSV Wagon... Might be tough in the MI winters though... Good set of snows would make it alright i suppose. But i would guess the traction control would be working over time on those days we get a foot at night..

The minivan is not 100% out of the question. I am avoiding it for as long as possible i suppose!

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Caravan RT - Seriously. $32K MSRP fully loaded, I'm guessing they are giving $4K off these with no problem so $28K loaded up.

2014 Ford Transit - Turbo 4cyl and headroom & cargo space to spare

Dodge Durango - That thing got a Hemi?

Toyota Venza - Its a Camry wagon but at least it has style.

Nissan Pathfinder - do you want 3-row seating?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

mmm.. CTSV Wagon... Might be tough in the MI winters though... Good set of snows would make it alright i suppose. But i would guess the traction control would be working over time on those days we get a foot at night..

The minivan is not 100% out of the question. I am avoiding it for as long as possible i suppose!

Nothing wrong with a minivan. I'd rather see a guy with a minivan with tons of room vs mullet guy stuffing his car seat into the back of a camaro with t tops.

 

[orenero]

Honda Pilot is a great choice / ride to check out.

 

[jaha2000]

Caravan RT - Seriously. $32K MSRP fully loaded, I'm guessing they are giving $4K off these with no problem so $28K loaded up.

2014 Ford Transit - Turbo 4cyl and headroom & cargo space to spare

Dodge Durango - That thing got a Hemi?

Toyota Venza - Its a Camry wagon but at least it has style.

Nissan Pathfinder - do you want 3-row seating?

Wife has a Venza limited right now. Dont get me wrong, decently big car, but the cargo area is not all that. Time you put a stroller in there, not much room for much else. Has a lot to do with the way the back is shaped.

The new pathfinder does look really nice. I should also mention i need to keep around a 5k towing capacity as well, which limits my choices a bit. Just went though the config on that thing actually. Seems like a really good deal.

 

[jaha2000]

Went and checked out the new pathfinder last night. It is leaps and bounds nicer inside than the Toyota. Seems on part with the Flex/Explorer.
That CVT scares me in the long run though. I know they have been doing it for a long time, but makes me nervous. The internet is not being real kind to it either (guess its a new model).

 

[jlarsson]

mmm.. CTSV Wagon... Might be tough in the MI winters though... Good set of snows would make it alright i suppose. But i would guess the traction control would be working over time on those days we get a foot at night..

You could get a regular CTS wagon with AWD. Sure, it doesn't have 550hp, but it would be able to handle winter quite easily (with a good set of winter tires).

 

[vi edit]

Flex is awesome. Excellent comfort and space. Agree with you on longevity concerns. Ford has fudged up some of the Ecoboost engines. No where as good milage as advertised, under performing, durability concerns, ect. But it's still pretty damn fast.

I went with a Sienna SE for my "Man Van". Looks nice, had the essential options I needed, and drives good...for a van.

At this point though, I'd give serious consideration to the Caravan RT. Potent engine, incredibly well optioned, and you can't beat the price. I've seen them advertised for under $28,000. That's $2000-$4000 less than anything else remotely close from Honda/Toyota.

 

[nerp]

Optioned Caravan is badass. Plus when the kids are older, you and your wife can have sex in it at night without waking up the kids. It's just versatile. And it don't look half bad anymore. Dodge/Chrysler build quality is on par with the rest of the industry now, so forget reliability/quality concerns.

 

[jaha2000]

Optioned Caravan is badass. Plus when the kids are older, you and your wife can have sex in it at night without waking up the kids. It's just versatile. And it don't look half bad anymore. Dodge/Chrysler build quality is on par with the rest of the industry now, so forget reliability/quality concerns.

You hit the nail on the head with the build concerns on the dodge for me.. Probably fine at this point, but hard to get rid of the stigma

 

[slag]

While i love my FJ. The 11 month old and another soon behind are going to make it not practical... (Who am i kidding, its not practical now).
I have looked at the highlander, Flex, Explorer, GM Twins...

Test drove a Flex Ecoboost, that thing has sleeper written all over it. I have some concerns about the longevitiy of the motor in the thing though (not a lot of good things online right now, plus that whole lawsuit deal). I would say it has the nicest interior out of the things i have looked at.
Highlander is getting a major refresh for 2014, so deals can be had on 2013's right now.. Its a toyota, boring and not exciting to drive, but it will just go down the road without much fuss..
The explorer is nice. kinda meh on it honestly..

Any others i should be considering?

We like our explorer sport. Get 19 mpg roughly unless we put our foot in it and then around 13-14 for a short period of time. 3rd row seating is a bitch to get in and out of even with the sliding middle seat.

 

[OCGuy]

Optioned Caravan is badass. Plus when the kids are older, you and your wife can have sex in it at night without waking up the kids. It's just versatile. And it don't look half bad anymore. Dodge/Chrysler build quality is on par with the rest of the industry now, so forget reliability/quality concerns.

Interesting to hear. Drove a PT cruiser that belonged to an old employer, and had a 300 SRT-8 for a while.....both felt like they were going to fall apart. This was 05-06 or so. Glad to hear they have improved.

 

[hans007]

I have a friend with an fj and an infant. He's gonna make it work. That said I could see it being impossible with two

Rented a Chrysler town and country recently and the stow and go seats just blew my mind. I know the Japanese vans are higher rated but that really impressed me haha and Chrysler vans are cheap too.