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

[1973911s]

We currently have a Denali XL, which was nice when gas was $1.50 a gallon.

It is out of warranty, and starting to give me problems.

Option 1

I can lease a BMW X5 for 24 months, for a great price, no money out, and walk out with 5K in equity from my Denali.



Option 2

Go into a GMC Yukon, much nicer than the Denali, will all the bells and whistles.

I would need to drop down about 10K to get the price the same as the BMW.



We have a three year old and a newborn on the way.

Thanks

[stevepaa]

I would go with a Volvo or Subaru wagon. Easy to get kids in and out, great fuel economy, low maintenance, both really do drive like a car because they are, and the interiors are well done and very child friendly.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

[azasadny]

Ford Freestyle...

[gr8fl4porsche]

Just picked up a new Honda Odyssey Touring with Navigation two days ago. It has about every bell and whistle you can imagine. It drives like a dream and can haul a 4x8 sheet of plywood. The voice recognition software for the CD/Radio/DVD/NAV/XM and HVAC works surprisingly well. It is kind of wierd having your car talk to you though

The following pic is not the Touring model - the Touring has nicer wheels with the Michelin PAX run flat tire/wheel combo.

[gr8fl4porsche]

[dd74]

Yuck! I'd really try to avoid an SUV. A good-sized station wagon - not that abomination Jared posted - but a Mercedes or BMW - will be lighter, more powerful, handle better and get better gas mileage.

It will also be safer. At least a lot safer than a Yukon/Denali.

[Tim Hancock]

Only 2 kids? BMW 3 or 5 series sedan (sorry, I hate SUV's, minivans and stationwagons). I am proud to say I made it thru to the kids driving their own cars without ever owning anything larger than a 4 door sedan. In fact we just got back from a family weekend ski trip in our trusty 325i (5 1/2 hr drive each way). Luggage included clothing, ski clothing, 4 sets of boots and skiis (skiis on a roof rack). We still had a small amount of free space left in the trunk!

OK, sorry, I will get off my defiant soapbox now. haha

[Tobra]

You likely do not need an SUV, so why look at them? Horrible handling, gas mileage, unless you are towing, don't get one. With 2 kids, I would get a WRX wagon, but I like turbo and all wheel drive.

[Drago]

Originally posted by Jared Fenton

Paint it banana yellow and it's the spitting image of my first car!

[jyl]

In your shoes, considering where you live, I'd get one of the hybrids that qualify for the CalTrans carpool lane sticker (Toyota Prius, Honda Civic) and the 2006 Federal tax incentives. Big enough for daily use with two adults and two kids, great gas mileage, and moving in the carpool lane beats sitting still in the other lanes, regardless of how nice a car you're sitting still in. A bit small for major roadtrips, but a Yakima pod on the roof would take care of that.

[Jay H]

When we had my first child, we carried her around for 2 years in a Camaro.

I'll ask too... Why an SUV for just two small kids? I cram all three of my kids (2 still in car seats) in our Turbo PT Cruiser. 230 hp, 245 ft lbs, manual trans, 3800 pounds and 28 mpg on the highway to boot.

Is that BMW or the Yukon gonna get that much better mileage than the Denali?

I would think there would be endless choices in 4 door sedans that will give you plenty of room for 2 young children, yet obtain almost double the mileage of the SUV's and handle way better than any SUV can.

But, it's your money...

Jay
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[livi]

Get a Volvo V70. Only point with a SUV is the panorama view.

I gave up a single hauler when I had my fourth kid (+2 step kids)= 6 kids total. We use two cars when everybody is going in the same direction.

Having said that, I drive a V8 SUV by myself to work everyday..

[89911]

I've got an X5 and a new Honda Odyssey. The X5 is about as close to an SUV as the minivan. My car has about 50k on it and it is as tight as when it was new. No rattles. It also handels quite well compared to any other SUV out there, which being a 911 owner is important. I tow with mine so that greatly narrows the list of cars I can use, but the X5 is still a great car.

[speeder]

It's funny how as Americans our choices in vehicles are determined more by fuel prices than actual need or suitability for the task(s) at hand. We are conditioned by dirt cheap energy prices over the last 10 years to drive vehicles that are approx. double the size that the rest of the civilized world uses for the same task.

I like big trucks as much as the next guy, (it's the little boy in all of us, IMO), but the performance enthusiast in me inherently dislikes waste. It simply boggles my mind to look around in the U.S. and see how much fuel is wasted on a daily basis on over-capacity of vehicles. You go to Europe and all of the yuppies w/ little kids drive small sporty wagons w/ TDI power that get ~50 mpg highway, and IMO they are living better than typical Americans who are slaves to advertising and out of control consumerism. I mean come on, we have an intelligent person considering handing GM $50k for a huge SUV then giving Exxon-Mobil how much of your hard-earned ching for the next 4 years? To haul around a total of 300 lbs. of human cargo? A 1992 Jetta would do fine. Work your way up from that in a luxurious direction.

Sorry for the editorial, no personal attack intended. It applies to me as well.

[pwd72s]

A friend of mine has the 6 cyl. BMW sports ute...loves it, claims it gets over 20 mpg highway. Sorry, I'm not into the BMW numbers, so dunno if that's the X-5 or not. His other car? A Corvette...his job? Senior pilot for American. I've driven it. I'd hardly call it a bad handling machine. Probably handles better than many cars out there....not my cup of tea, but I'm not hauling kids around, either.

[M.D. Holloway]

Go with a Honda

[campbellcj]

I don't get the SUV or minivan thing for most people who don't go on major road (or offroad) trips, don't tow, and don't haul cargo for work. A high-quality sedan is more fun to drive, more economical, and safer, generally speaking. Something like an MB E-class or Audi A6 or Lexus GS is a no-brainer to me.

FWIW we have a 4yr old and (hopefully) a newborn on the way too; daily drivers are my Audi S4 and the wife's Toyota Land Cruiser (which does also tow my race car, do ski trips, etc.)

[HardDrive]

We have had a Lexus RX330 suv for 2 years now and love it. Great ride, good mileage, superb interior. The downside is that is much smaller than what you used to, so it might feel cramped.

[Jay H]

Originally posted by speeder
It's funny how as Americans our choices in vehicles are determined more by fuel prices than actual need or suitability for the task(s) at hand. We are conditioned by dirt cheap energy prices over the last 10 years to drive vehicles that are approx. double the size that the rest of the civilized world uses for the same task.

Amen to that. Very True.

We shouldn't be bragging about 20 mpg either. That's pathetic. We all know these manufacturers could be doing much better with gas mileage on large SUV's and trucks. Didn't we do this gas price problem back in, oh, '73 or so?? Most of these large trucks are still in the teens for mileage. You'd think after 30 years of technology, they could at least get 25 mpg on average on the freeway.

Sorry for the commentary. No flames or offense intended to anyone.

Jay
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