family vehicle recommendations?

[e30saam]

I'd look at Toyota Highlanders too. They are great cars. Very comfy and alot of room.

[FlexdXJ]

Powerstroke Excursion.



Do it.

This!

[jwalther]

MB R350. What you give up in storage over an SUV is more than made up by passenger accommodations, comfort, economy, driving dynamics, etc.

[SpecM]

but my wife really likes the Acadia and Enclave.

NO! any new GM = bad

really, just get a Honda Odyssey. maintenance = oil changes and timing belt/spark plugs every 90k. easy.

I would recomend frequent trans fluid changes tho. I do a drain/refill every oil service (only 3 qrts)

[kung fu jesus]

I liked my Pilot for hauling people and cargo, hated the transmission. I am not sure how far the build date range goes, but the Ody,Pilot,MDX, TL, etc have transmission issues at about 100k. Mine had never towed, gone off road, etc. It was exclusively dealer-maintained and it puked at 104k. It's pretty common and a $2/4k repair if Honda chips in. Frankly, it soured me on the brand forever.

Volvos are hot electrical messes. I wouldn't trust one of those to haul my family around.

If you are open to staying European, there is always The E-class wagons with the rear facing seats in the cargo area. Not sure when they stopped providing that option, though.

Toyota Highlander, Mazda CX-9, and although you are adverse to Ford, the Flex is really surprising. Good luck!

[e34john]

I'd get a cx-9

[Aleman]

How about something more.... interesting? This has only 19k miles and sold for $17,000 exactly. The color is not the best, but you get the idea. You could probably find a clean old van like this one in California.

eBay Listing

[decay]

subaru tribeca?

[nrubenstein]

I think you missed the part where my budget is $17k...

Well, technically, you can buy an R350 well inside your budget. Pretty easily, according to the listings I glanced at.

Mind you, I can't imagine that it would be cheap to own.

IMHO, it'd be pretty hard to argue with the Ody for this use.

Although the out of left field option is a W123 300TD. They are large, carry 7, get good fuel economy, and I spent a lot of my childhood in one. :)

[kung fu jesus]

Do the Dodge Sprinters fit the bill? I know people who use them for tow vehicles for racecars, great room inside. That diesel is pretty nice both for utility, mpgs and capacity. Pretty much a re-badged M-B turbo diesel van.

[Stanley Rockafella]

I liked my Pilot for hauling people and cargo, hated the transmission. I am not sure how far the build date range goes, but the Ody,Pilot,MDX, TL, etc have transmission issues at about 100k. Mine had never towed, gone off road, etc. It was exclusively dealer-maintained and it puked at 104k. It's pretty common and a $2/4k repair if Honda chips in. Frankly, it soured me on the brand forever.

Volvos are hot electrical messes. I wouldn't trust one of those to haul my family around.

the Flex is really surprising. Good luck!

This man know's his shiznit!

Routans are nice looking for a van but never driven one.

Rebadged Chrysler/Dodge. Only the front and rear sheetmetal/plastics are different.

When I sold Toyotas for a while, there were several ppl who I sold on Sienna's since they had more reliabile powertrains, and the shift points were far smoother than on the Honda's (shared with the Lexus line, all made by Aisin Warner). The Sienna also came with power remote doors and trunk as well as a plethora of available options.

For domestic, I'd recommend a Ford Edge/Flex as well. Much cheaper to buy fully loaded and hae ben surprisingly far more reliable than older Ford products.

[1fastETA]

E30 touring

[einhander]

Range rover, plenty of room and it looks cool and is capable to boot


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Yes because everyone with several kids always goes off-roading with them.

Get a Ford Transit.

[chadthestampede]

Do the Dodge Sprinters fit the bill? I know people who use them for tow vehicles for racecars, great room inside. That diesel is pretty nice both for utility, mpgs and capacity. Pretty much a re-badged M-B turbo diesel van.

We get these in at work all the time and they are appalling pieces of shit. Maintenance is ridiculous and parts are astronomically priced.

[uofom3]

15 passenger van. Chevy or Ford. Done.