Family Vehicle recommendations

[dchance]

3 kids all over 5 years old. We currently have a Ford Flex that is getting up there with 165K+ miles. We love the Flex as a family ride and would get another but also keeping options, possibly less expensive ones open. As much as I hate to do it, have started considering a mini van as they are a bit cheaper but I don't know a thing about any of them. Also what other vehicles fit the criteria. What is solid and what to stay away from etc.

[Bwell]

I was in your shoes but had 3 kids all under the age of 4 and our flex just wouldn't work for us anymore. We ended up getting a 2015 Dodge Caravan RT and we love it. It has a ton of room, stow and go, heated seats, two TV's, DVD player, Bluray player, HDMI, video inputs, and USB in back. We haven't had any problems with it whatsoever, it has been a great vehicle with almost 65k miles on it.

[cowtrimmer]

Dodge Grand caravan, there is a gazillion of them out there so its not a "New" unproven vehicle. Room for 5 kids and two adults. Stow-n-go seating so you dont have to worry about lugging a couple seats in and out when you want to haul something big, speaking of which with all the seats down you can haul a 4x8 piece of drywall or plywood flat in them.

[bassworm1]

I love our town and country full leather which is great all the perks heated seats etc and 3 tvs the back and middle seats will stow away so in a pinch you can haul alot of crap!!

[Rider99XX]

I just sold 2 mini vans and miss them both. Both were Caravans.

We went with a Yukon Denali to replace them.

[basscla]

A mini van

[519DVX]

3 kids, ages 5, 7, and 9, plus a Yellow Lab and we travel 3 hours from home on a weekly basis during the summer months. We have a Honda Odyssey and could not live without it. You would need to go to a Suburban for comparable cargo space, no other SUV will touch it. The Chevy Traverse/GMC Acadia might be close. I can't believe what we've packed in the back of that thing. And, when we bought ours in 2013, it was $8000 less expensive than the Traverse/Acadia. My sister-in-law laughed at us when we bought it, but is now driving her own Chrysler minivan.

[croix-man]

Mazda CX-9 is what we had when our 3 kids were young and growing. Yes a mini van would have been a little handier but neither the wife or I wanted to drive one. Lol... we loved our CX9’s. I’m sure any suv in this size class would work just pick one you like the best.

[Condor482]

We had an Odyssey for 8 years and it was a great vehicle for us. Captain’s chairs in 2nd row made it easy to get kids in and out and as mentioned before, it has great storage that only a Suburban could touch. If we had multiple little ones again, that would be my first choice.

[BassinR83]

If you're not vain like a lot of people the mini van is the only way to go. Super practical and make the most sense by far.

[dchance]

A mini van

shut it....

[dchance]

If you're not vain like a lot of people the mini van is the only way to go. Super practical and make the most sense by far.

this seems to be the wife and I's biggest problem with it.....

[Al from Canada]

It's funny how some will put down minivans but an SUV is really just a taller vehicle and the doors don't slide. A minivan is more practical for a family than many SUV's, not to mention they're less expensive.

[Condor482]

It's funny how some will put down minivans but an SUV is really just a taller vehicle and the doors don't slide. A minivan is more practical for a family than many SUV's, not to mention they're less expensive.

Not to mention that this time of year, you could score a really good deal on last year’s model. That’s what we did on the Odyssey we bought. You might be surprised how much wiggle room a dealer has all of a sudden in December.

[okhawg]

It's funny how some will put down minivans but an SUV is really just a taller vehicle and the doors don't slide. A minivan is more practical for a family than many SUV's, not to mention they're less expensive.

[Dan21XRS]

It's funny how some will put down minivans

Gotta draw the line somewhere... ...

Had em' all, mini van, full sized van (church bus) and a Suburban... Best was the Ford Aerostar, big enough for easy in and outs with small kids, small enough you didn't feel like you were driving a school bus. The Dodge full size vans was just too sterile and the Suburban was a lemon nightmare... Dan

[Iowa Bass Hunter]

Mazda CX-9 is what we had when our 3 kids were young and growing. Yes a mini van would have been a little handier but neither the wife or I wanted to drive one. Lol... we loved our CX9’s. I’m sure any suv in this size class would work just pick one you like the best.

This is what I have. Love it! My wife drives a Chrysler T&C which works really well too but we both like my CX-9 better.

[Iowa Bass Hunter]

It's funny how some will put down minivans but an SUV is really just a taller vehicle and the doors don't slide. A minivan is more practical for a family than many SUV's, not to mention they're less expensive.

My buddy is always asking me about my mini-van (Mazda CX-9). I always have to remind him that it's not a minivan, it doesn't have sliding doors!

[basscat21]

Mini vans are indispensable for families. One issue is towing, if you need that capability they are not suited for that. It came down to get rid of pick up, keep the accord, and look for a people mover/Tow vehicle.
A minivan will surprise people how much lumber and other stuff truck people use their trucks for.

[smalljawguy]

I'm not in the minivan corner as I hate them. That being said, my in-laws are on their 2nd Toyota Sienna and i have to admit that I'm impressed with them. Super comfortable and roomy for 6-7 people and plenty of extras if you want them