Mid Size SUV Recommendations

[Phoenix Jim]

Love our acura rdx. We have a new mdx as well for hauling grandkids

[dlewis10]

Check out a Mazda 7 or 9. Great vehicles. Reliable and they come with most of the bells and whistles of the high-end vehicles at a very reasonable price.

I agree with this...wife bought a new a CX9 two years ago. Priced very well with similar SUV's with 3rd row seating. Not one issue mechanically. Lots of comfort features, good looking interior, very roomy, and very good gas mileage for a mid size SUV.

[275 pro]

My wife has a 2018 Hyundai Sante Fe she bought new. It has 99,000 miles on it and only thing to get fixed has been bad wiper blades from factory. It has been a great Little vehicle. She is rough on a car. It is on its 3rd set of tires. She tries to see how fast she can get from one light to the next. Also how close before she has to slam on brakes.

[yetti462]

I have a crv, 2003 model, one kid you'll be fine. My first kid we had a tracker. It was fine.. now we roll in a suburban and are maxed out with 3 kids.

[Mbeason]

Get a Gen 3 Highlander with the V6. Plenty of room and power. Like others have said, babies take up a lot of room.

[drainplug]

My wife just bought a Forrester, had 19 CRV, sold it to my son, daughter has HRV, I have had a Telluride over 4 years. Wife has had RDX in the past, I had an old style pilot too. Never a problem with any of these vehicles.

[Phoenix 920 Pro XP]

subaru.

[dbs1]

Lexus ux 250h. Will fit 2 kids through 4 years old or so. 45mpg. Dead reliable and comfortable. Probably a little pricey even as a used vehicle but other than that it continues to be an excellent little hauler. Not so much as a tow vehicle though.

[basscat21]

I am starting to look, the top of the list is the Mazda right now. Funny I see no advertisements for Mazda. Seems like you hear very little about them.

[rctreece]

I just bought a 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4XE Overland and love it. Wife and I ride to and from work on all electric and it can tow 6000lbs.

[Whiteboat]

Subaru Outback, Forester.

just bought a new one for my daughter. it is a quality vehicle that was $31k. These cars are hard to find used and easily go 200k miles with regular maintenance.

[DougN68]

I have a '23 Jeep Grand Cherokee Altitude, the 3.6 V6 runs well, no complaints so far.

[Tarheel14]

Subaru Outback, Forester.

This. We love our Outback. Very safe and reliable.

[croix-man]

Whatever you look at take the baby seat with you. Make sure it will fit in the back seat behind the front seats. Some of the smaller SUV's the baby carrier type seats might not fit and will have to go in the middle. It's much easier getting the carrier in and out if it's next to a door. So I would be sure to test fit the carrier.

[FrancoCialone]

Its hard to beat the mid-size Toyota Highlander or Honda Pilot, I have a 2014 Highlander with a V6 and all-wheel drive, tows the boat well and is the best vehicle I've ever had (38 years with a GM vehicle). Third row seats have been down since I picked it up new from the dealer. Comfortable, smooth ride, lots of room and very good highway mileage.

[JackJ]

Plan for the future and get a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna :)

3 years ago my wife wanted an Odyssey (1 grandchild) but I talked to her into getting a Pilot instead (which I really liked and recommend).
2 years later, now two grandsons, and she sold the Pilot for a Tahoe for ease of getting to third row.
Now another year later, we have a third grandon and guess what, new Odyssey is on the way.
I wish I would have kept my mouth shut and got the Odyssey in the beginning.

[481VSangler]

My wife has a '14 Escape AWD and it has been a solid little SUV. It has held up well to her driving and with 150k on it now, that says a lot to me. She has the 2.0L, which is chain driven. The smaller engine has a timing belt to worry about and as far as I know that's still the case with the new ones. It does well on fuel when I drive it, avg 25-27 mpg mixed, but these turbo engines will start to drink if you're hard on the throttle. She averages about 21-22 mpg. Power output is fine for what it is. If you're a DIY guy, it is a PITA to work on. Even simple things like changing bulbs has left me cussing up a storm. It has just enough storage room to work with our boy day to day, but to accommodate the car seat the passenger seat has to move forward to the point where my 6' self won't fit. My wife still fits well enough, but with the space available, we wouldn't be taking any road trips in it. She wants something bigger when we're able to upgrade and I'm in agreement. My MIL had a '22 Escape for a little while and it was about the same for interior space. She sold it and got an Outback.

[Tfall]

I am starting to look, the top of the list is the Mazda right now. Funny I see no advertisements for Mazda. Seems like you hear very little about them.

Mazda does not have the advertising dollars like all the other big players. It’s to bad that more folks don’t know about them because they are really great cars and very reliable. Word of mouth is their best advertising.

[1781ccT]

Plan for the future and get a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna :)

3 years ago my wife wanted an Odyssey (1 grandchild) but I talked to her into getting a Pilot instead (which I really liked and recommend).
2 years later, now two grandsons, and she sold the Pilot for a Tahoe for ease of getting to third row.
Now another year later, we have a third grandon and guess what, new Odyssey is on the way.
I wish I would have kept my mouth shut and got the Odyssey in the beginning.

my parents bought a minivan after they moved her to FL to be closer to their only grandchild. I’m glad they did! I enjoy my F150, but the poor people in the back seat are cramped with that child seat. They’ve offered to loan it to me for going places with other couples, and we accept that offer every time. Way better than having to take multiple cars, especially since my folks are in their 70’s

[ECobb91]

Mazda does not have the advertising dollars like all the other big players. It’s to bad that more folks don’t know about them because they are really great cars and very reliable. Word of mouth is their best advertising.

I’d rather buy from a manufacturer with a low marketing budget and production rate that produces great vehicles than buy from a company with huge marketing budgets, rely on mass production to claim some bs number like fastest growing company or number one truck brand in America when they use cheap materials, more foreign labor and have crap reliability.

I’ve found that the more marketing budget a company has, usually the worse the quality is.