Time for a new family hauler, what would you choose?

[matthew-s]

We were very recently in this situation. We had a baby on the way, as well as 2 small dogs. I kicked and screamed against the mini-van an SUV options.

We ended up with a CPO 2003 Saab 9-5 wagon. We are very happy with it. We choose it over the Volvo, as it is reported as more reliable, and is more comfortable (although I like the looks of the Volvo's better).

We originally had our sights on the new Subaru Outback. We wanted to love that car, but did not like it when we drove it. The Passat wagon might have been an option too - but the older ones have less cargo room than Saab or Volvo, and the new one was not out yet. Besides - I like used cars.

It is amazing how few station wagons are still being made - I did not realize that until we really looked.

If we ever do truly need more space, it is hard to deny that the Honda Oddessy is a fantastic vehicle. Don't judge until you drive it!

Good luck.

[Noah930]

We recently looked into the Volvo wagon. Spritely enough for around town driving. Very nice styling. But both my wife and I thought it was too small. It felt like a 7/8's sized car. We ultimately settled on an Acura TL. We love it and it's adequate for what we need now (11-month old). But, in anticipation of another child sometime in the future, my wife sometimes wonders if we should have gone with a wagon or SUV. Even with just one infant, there's a LOT of kiddie paraphenelia. Stroller, alone, takes up half the trunk!

[emcon5]

Isn't the Danali just the higher trim/option level of the Envoy and Yukon?

I am in the same boat, but need to be able to tow the race car, and also want 4WD/AWD for the wife for trips over the Sierras to visit her folks. It is worth the added cost/lower mileage not to ever have to screw with snow chains.

I am looking pretty hard at the Toyota 4Runner V8.

Tom

[Noah930]

I am looking pretty hard at the Toyota 4Runner V8

Yeah, that's the SUV that my wife somewhat wonders if we should have bought instead. She's a fan of the styling and utility. We testdrove it and it handles quite well for a truck. Interior is very nice. Very car-like, overall. And (in my eyes) it would have made a good tow vehicle for the P-car and Duc. At the same time, right now we're happy to get the better gas mileage of a car (though it's no fuel-miser, either).

[real550A]

I'm thinking something a little more utility and less sport.

[1973911s]

Originally posted by Noah930
We recently looked into the Volvo wagon. Spritely enough for around town driving. Very nice styling. But both my wife and I thought it was too small. It felt like a 7/8's sized car. We ultimately settled on an Acura TL. We love it and it's adequate for what we need now (11-month old). But, in anticipation of another child sometime in the future, my wife sometimes wonders if we should have gone with a wagon or SUV. Even with just one infant, there's a LOT of kiddie paraphenelia. Stroller, alone, takes up half the trunk!

I have a Acura TL as my daily driver, and love it also.

[HardDrive]

I can't imagine buying one of those huge GM SUVs. The depreciation is horrible.

[1973911s]

Originally posted by HardDrive
I can't imagine buying one of those huge GM SUVs. The depreciation is horrible.

Tell me about it, We bought the Denali 3 years ago for about 55K, and today it is worth about 25K.

[onewhippedpuppy]

If for some reason those are the only two choices, I'd go with the X5 all day long. Sportscar of SUVs vs total pig. I agree with the other guys though, you don't need an SUV. For the money you would spend on the depreciation nightmare that is the Denali, you could get an Infiniti M45, BMW 530, or a multitude of other nice sedans. For far less you could get a number of other nice choices in a sedan or wagon.

Of course, we have a SUV with only one child, not exactly my idea. We couldn't be happier with our 4Runner, 240 HP V6 that gets 20 or better on the highway, true off road capability that we will never use, and hydraulically cross linked shocks like the RS6 on the sport package. An early review I read called it the budget X5, and it does handle well for an SUV. 45k miles with typical Toyota flawless reliability, and you can get it with a 3rd row seat.

[plain fan]

Has anyone tried the TDI (twin turbo v10) Toureg?

[snowman]

You don't need to much extra space untill the kids get to be about 10 years old. Then add 1or 2 extra kids for each of your own, plus some kind of equipment, eg costumes, bats, gear of some kind plus luggage, and double it for girls. At that point you will be back to the full size suburban. In the mean time BMW is hard to beat.

[FrayAdjacent911]

My older sister got a Mazda 6 for her family. They are at two kids, 5 and 1. We (her, her husband, their two kids, and I) rode in that car down to South Padre and back, with most of our luggage (some went into my parent's car). The trunk in the 6 is HUGE. You could fit four good size adult bodies in there, and probalby still have room left over.

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by FrayAdjacent911
My older sister got a Mazda 6 for her family. They are at two kids, 5 and 1. We (her, her husband, their two kids, and I) rode in that car down to South Padre and back, with most of our luggage (some went into my parent's car). The trunk in the 6 is HUGE. You could fit four good size adult bodies in there, and probalby still have room left over.

If I had not pulled the trigger on a 3 year lease for our Audi A-6 I would be buying the new Mazdapseed 6. We have a 12 year old and a 2 year old. We have been driving an A-6 of some sort since before the 2 year old was born. We also have to consider leg room for the 12 year old. A 4 door sedan works great for us.

275 HP AWD 4 doors and lotsa truck space. All for around 30K. Not bad. I just cannot do the Mini Van or SUV thing. I just dont like to drive them.

[FrayAdjacent911]

Jim, I feel ya. When/if I get to the point of having kids... I'll vie for a sedan. If she wants a van or a ute, that's on her. hehehe

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by onewhippedpuppy
If for some reason those are the only two choices, I'd go with the X5 all day long. Sportscar of SUVs vs total pig. I agree with the other guys though, you don't need an SUV...

Ok 2 pages later and I'm the first pro SUV responder I vote for the Yukon or similar. I rode shotgun in a X5 and it rode like...a sedan. That is very very bad in my SUV book. If I want a sedan then I'll buy one. So unless you need to tow something what does the X5 offer over a 530i?

Oh and never buy a SUV new. First year depreciation across all brands is startling. This is a 911 board, well kinda, so you must appreciate driving something not that ordinary. May I suggest a LR Discovery. Recommend a 03-04 model with 30K miles for the $28K range loaded. I'm shopping for one now to replace my wifes 03 Expedition. Since we sold her 99 D2 she's been very unhappy.

[1973911s]

Originally posted by dmoolenaar
Ok 2 pages later and I'm the first pro SUV responder I vote for the Yukon or similar. I rode shotgun in a X5 and it rode like...a sedan. That is very very bad in my SUV book. If I want a sedan then I'll buy one. So unless you need to tow something what does the X5 offer over a 530i?

Oh and never buy a SUV new. First year depreciation across all brands is startling. This is a 911 board, well kinda, so you must appreciate driving something not that ordinary. May I suggest a LR Discovery. Recommend a 03-04 model with 30K miles for the $28K range loaded. I'm shopping for one now to replace my wifes 03 Expedition. Since we sold her 99 D2 she's been very unhappy.

The X5 offers a larger trunk area for strollers and stuff, when we go on road trips.

[84porsche]

Michael,

Good to see you back on the board. You know I always offer you my opinion so here goes. I definitely agree with those that say get a wagon because they are the best of both worlds. When you go to "SUV" level, fuel economy goes down and price usually goes up but it all depends what you are most comfortable in. For starters, if you are used to driving up high, then a wagon will probably bother you. Go the GM Autoshow this next weekend if you can still register and drive them all including the competition so you can get a feel for what is comfortable without a salesperson in the car. I really like the Volvo/SAAB wagons. However the X5 is quite nice as well but all will require premium fuel.

[snowman]

Once you have had a Suburban, its almost impossible to be satisfied with anything less. I DO NOT LIKE GM from past experience, but with the exception of the truck line. Suburbans are the ultimate family car. They can tow, haul, have room for a bunch of kids and their stuff and are really economical, considering what you are hauling. So you have to drive it solo once in a while, bfd, its the rest of the time, its worth it. If you have two or more kids and they are over 8 years old, get a burb.

I am just getting over the kid part, the youngest is 19. I need a truck on occasion, so we got a Caddy Escallade Ext. Very nice truck. But I also have 7 other choices to drive on a daily basis. If you like a good car, get the Caddy versions as they are NOT the same as the Chevy or gm ones, they are much more refined and functional with better every thing and handle and perform more like a real car such as a BMW or MB. Still not in the same class, but much much closer than the Chevy’s. And if you really need to haul something, you can't do it with a BMW or MB.

Now I am on a roll about gm. With a good car, like a BMW, you get good performance, with the cheep models and the top of the line. With gm you get good performance with the Caddy, but ****ty performance with the chevy. There is no excuse for this. Comfort is one thing, but performance, eg good braking, good handling, should not be compromised on the less expensive models like gm does. BMW does comprimise performance on their cheep models. The cheep ones only do very well, the good ones do outstanding. With gm the best do very well and the cheep ones do awful. So gm, if you are listening, get a hint from this post.

[speeder]

I just can't imagine losing $1000 a month depreciation + $500 a month on gasoline to drive a new POS GM truck around town. It's retarded.

[snowman]

You got to pay to play. And the Caddys and Denalis are not POS anymore. My Caddy esc ext got 17.8 mpg at 84MPH Fully loaded from CA to NY and Back. I mean fully loaded with over 1500 lbs of cargo. And the ride was the same as a BMW M6 on a similar trip, just lower average MPH, but almost the same mileage.

The Caddy average MPH was probably more like 60 MPH, the M6 was over 85 MPH AVERAGE including stops.

I must say the M6 was much more fun.