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We love ours with our two kids in the second row captain's chairs. We plan to move our oldest into the back row soon to free up a second row seat. We're close friends with a family of 5 that loves theirs as well with 3 kids still in some type of car seat. When we were shopping, the Durango checked all the boxes for us. Feels nicely in between the more car like Honda's and Toyota's but not as big and truckish as the GM truck based variants. The R/T trim is a blast to drive if you can live with the gas mileage.
I failed to mention. We have 5 kids now mostly grown. We tried lots of different vehicles (renting on trips etc). SUVs, even the suburban are not great access wise. Suburban is the second best option from our experience. Minivans are too small. We returned consistently for 26 years to a full sized conversion van with doors on both sides. 4 captains chairs and a bed/bench in the back. A TV with DVD and a game console input is helpful. I suggest you restrict the use to long trips after dark. We prefer a shared monitor to individual screens in each seat-back. It requires more interaction. An AC invererter is nice, but better to not have one built in. If it breaks it is easy to replace if it is an add on. This is the absolute best for large families with young children. We kept trying to find alternatives - nothing is close to the convenience, comfort, accessibility and capacity. You also cannot find a better vehicle for family road trips.
MPG is bad. 12-18 mpg.
We mostly had express vans with a large engine. They all had plenty of power ans surprisingly decent acceleration for a rolling house.
Parking is a bit of a challenge, but it is very easy to find your vehicle in the parking lot. You get used to parking it. Also your kids always know when you arrive to pick them up, it is impossible not to be able to identify "mom's van because they are huge and usually unique when customized.
High top vans are nice because you can stand up in them (if you are not tall). However they are scary to drive in high winds and difficult to park in parking garages. Crush that top and your van is likely totaled.
They can be hard to find used except completely worn out. Families tend to keep them forever. With a lot of hunting you can find them lightly used, but it is hard. Lightly used are a lot cheaper than new, unles you bargain well at the end of the year.
they have big sticker prices on them (like $40,000 - $60,000), but at the end of the calendar year, the prices get very negotiable. We got them to take $12,000 off the one we bought new. One problem you run into is if people pay full price for a converted van (say $50K), they are going to want $40K for it when it is two or three years old. However you can buy the same van new for $40K with good negotiation. This makes it even harder to find a reasonably priced lightly used one. When we look, we look nationwide and always allow several months to look.
After 26 years, we no longer need a big van. My wife started looking at/driving almost every kind of car out there, but said she likes driving the big van. She likes having no "nose" blocking her view and the way they turn due to wheels being mounted so far forward. It is what she is used to. Still trying to convince her to give a Volt a try.
I have a 2016 Explorer Limited with the captains seats. We looked at a lot of 3rd row SUVs and access to the 3rd row, as well as the comfort level of the 3rd row were very important to us. The 2nd row captains chairs are definitely the way to go if you want the 3rd row to be easy to get to. The 3rd row in the Explorer felt like the biggest of all the models we saw, the cargo area behind the 3rd row has been plenty for us but we’re not hauling strollers around anymore.
Top contenders for us were the new Mazda CX-9 and the Nissan Pathfinder. The 3rd row of the CX-9 was disappointing. The Pathfinder was priced a little lower than the Explorer but I preferred the spaciousness of the Explorer’s front cabin.
My friend has the Santa Fe. It's completely loaded (I mean everything) and he got it for like $38K. It's worth looking into even if you end up with a Pilot.
I'd stick with the Sienna! Especially in the 8 seat configuration. you can basically have anything from only two front seats in, for moving stuff, to virtually any combination or arrangement. Reliable, too.
We had a Sienna and loved it. I have read some "mommy forums" where people are searching for a non-van option with the same amount of comfort and space and you really can't find anything unless you pay 20k more. I looked at a Highlander but the third row seat is quite cramped and nothing like the Sienna. Also, the Sienna has great cargo space with all three rows being used, unlike the Pilot or Highlander. Go test drive them all and sit in the third row to get a feel.
If you're wanting easy access to the rear seats you need a van.
The larger SUVs have great space but accessing the rear is not that easy. We had a Suburban and a Dodge Grand Caravan when our kids were young and there was no comparison as far as ease between the two, the van was so much easier but Suburban was bigger.
My parents own a 2016 Highlander and the backseats are some of the most uncomfortable ones I've ever sat in. It's also small on the inside and just doesn't offer much, in my opinion.
You want a great SUV for a family of 5? Suburban or Yukon XL- can't compete with the size or the way they drive! Love those big a$$ vehicles
So, if we went the suburban road, what are the motors that Chevy uses vs the GMC version? And how good or bad is the mileage with those motors? I have a chevy 1500HD with the 6 L motor and I get 13-15 mpg on a good day.
I like the big Subs,, but the better half says its to big for her comfort level. If they get closer to 20 mpg than I might argue that the space is worth the mpg tradeoff.
I agree that the highlander seems "cramped" for headroom and the 3rd row is not for teens or adults. The ceiling height seems better for the Pilots and Siennas. Have never owned a Sub/GMC....
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