An Ecoboost-equipped Flex might be worth a look; lots of room with 355hp and mpgs in the low 20s.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....treview_02.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....treview_38.jpg



The new Explorer will hit 27 mpg. Rear seating is not as generous as the Flex.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....xplorer-fd.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....xplorer-fd.jpg

And as far as I know, there will not be a Bullitt option on either of them....

Ford excursion will do it. Leaf springs front and back ...

G

With a family as large as yours, you would want :
1) Full Size SUV
2) Full Size Van
3) Large "mini" van (Odessey, Sienna etc)

While not only will you be toting 4 large boys.. potential friends but also their gear? Strong roof storage and large covered interior storage is also going to be important.

Also, getting LARGE folks into the back of a normal "car" door tends to me more cumbersome than in a VAN. Raised floors of the SUV and generally "low" cabins make it hard. Vans tend to have more Floor to ceiling room.
Hey - How about a Dodge/Mercedes/Freightliner "sprinter" van. Even comes with a Diesel!
http://www.mbsprinterusa.com/vehicles/passenger-van/

A Pilot/ MDX etc or the mid class size tend to have ZERO room behind their 3rd row seats. A minivan will be quite large behind the 3rd row. Full size SUV/Van is also pretty big back there.

On the other hand, you might consider just how often the WHOLE family needs to travel together. Sounds like at least 2 kids are of driving age and the others are close to it. Maybe cheaper overall to travel in 2 more efficient vehicles than 1 really large one.

The third row in the Tahoe, as Soukus noted, is not at all comfortable for anything but children.

The floor is way too close to the seat to make anything but short trips bearable.

the 19yr old needs to move out and stop mooching rides from the family.
the 17yr old needs to get a job and start driving his own self around. he'll be out of the house next year right?

now you only need a large four seater and that can be trimmed down when the 15yr old starts drivng next year.

LOL,

Sometimes the answer is staring us right in the face and we don't see it.

Thank you Captain Obvious.SmileWavy

I am in agreement about the 19 year old! They are all in school and do well, average 3.6 GPA among all 4, I plays football, 2 wrestle, and one..well not sure yet. And yes we are not all together all the time but when we are all together we need the room. Kinda like a truck, most don't need one all the time but when you need it you need it. Now if I can figure a way to cut back on my food bill.....

I am not sure of the mileage, but you can get the GMC Yukon in a hybrid version.

The GMC Acadia, Chevy Traverse, Buick Enclave, and the retired Saturn Outlook are all the same basic vehicle (Lambda platform). They are the largest of the CUVs, considerably larger inside than a Chevy Tahoe or GMC Yukon. Just a little bigger inside than a Ford Expedition. They're basically a big fat minivan without the stigma, and with SUV-like attributes for AWD, suspension, and towing. I drove different ones for a total of about 20K miles. While originally rated 19mpg city and 26 mpg freeway, my experience was closer to 17 city / 22 mpg freeway. My best was 24 mpg on a long trip. But that mirrors my fuel economy experience in minivans as well.

The Ford Flex is just a little smaller, but the same basic idea. Same goes for the Mazda CX9, although it's argueably better looking and more fun to drive.

The other three-row CUVs will likely be too small in the third row. There is a new Durango coming out and it appears to be a huge step in that direction, but I haven't looked at it in the flesh.

The Suburban (Yukon XL, Escalade ESV) or Expedition EL (Navigator L) has more room behind the third row than any minivan or three-row CUV. But they're much thirstier. Figure 11-13 around town and 16-18 freeway.

My recommendations:
First, rule out a good minivan. They're better people haulers, smoother, more comfortable, and typically use less fuel
If the minivan doesn't fit the bill, look at the Buick Enclave (just like Souk's Outlook but different)

Also, your large boys would benefit from center row buckets (7 passenger)

That was my curiosity.. how many times per year are all of you in 1 vehicle? 3-4 times/year? 20 times/year? every day?

I also didn't see a $$ threshold for this vehicle- $25K $40K? I stereotype that the "wife" will be charged with driving this vehicle everyday. What's her input?

In the 1970s, we had a 5 person family with grandparents next door (total 7 on occasion). Back then our answer was a VW Bus. While not fast, it could get us where we needed to be, eventually ;)

imho, if you can't fit in a 7 passenger Minivan, than a FULL SIZE van might be best. Given where you live, I imagine RWD would be adequate? If you really want "good mileage".. well.. you are asking TOO much now. take your pick.. space or mileage ;) or a Sprinter Diesel.. likely 20/25mpg :)

Looked at that.

Gets you an estimated 2-3 more HWY than the standard and IIRC it was like $10k more.

Yikes! I wasn't sure of the mileage, but I hoped it was better than that.

The Yukon Hybrid 6.0L (and Escalade twin) uses 33% less fuel around town than the 5.3L gas version, and a little less than 10% better on the freeway. Like all hybrids, they are more efficient around town as the electric motors cannot run freeway speeds.

Also, the 6.0L Yukon Hybrid is WAY more powerful than the 5.3L gas version.

So to mention only freeway MPG is telling only a little bit of the story.

third row on the mdx is way too cramp for any of your boys. i'd go with full size suv too.

I have 3 kids and 2 Weimaraner's and we have a Honda Pilot. It has 3rd row seating and is very comfortable. We have taken several road trips down to Charleston SC with the entire family and the Pilot did very well. Also it's a Honda so it's reliable.

Chris

..

The newer version (LR3/LR4) has a lot more 3rd row leg room than our Discoveries do.

Not much room behind that 3rd row though.

Depending on budget, how about a Land Rover 110? Quirky as all getup, but they can seat 10.

Good luck!

Paul.

check out the nissan armada or the infinity version. I think the production has stopped on the nissan. I had one and it was awesome. By far way more room that any of the other 3 row suv's. The best part is that the 3rd and 2nd row fold completely flat. Tons of elbow and head room. Tons of room in the rear seating areas as well.

the version i had came with with rear air shocks and a tow package. Towed 10k plus no problem. Had it for 40k miles and did one brake job no other issues. Sold it to my buddy, he has put another 40k on it with no major issues.

big diesel excusion for big boys

http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/po/...259dn2_27.jpeg

I would say go with the diesel Excursion. We have one and love it. Plus you can pull about anything you can hook up to it.