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Full sized can. Suburban, Escalade, Older Lincolns, full sized 4 door pickups with a front bench seat will hold 6 (RAM is the roomiest), but the center seats only work for kids). Ford Expedition or an older Excursion, Toyota Sequoia, Any 3 row SUV, but they are quite cramped (4Runner for example).
BTW a minivan is very cramped with 7 people, especially if you have luggage or a dog.
Full sized can. Suburban, Escalade, Older Lincolns, full sized 4 door pickups with a front bench seat will hold 6 (RAM is the roomiest), but the center seats only work for kids). Ford Expedition or an older Excursion, Toyota Sequoia, Any 3 row SUV, but they are quite cramped (4Runner for example).
BTW a minivan is very cramped with 7 people, especially if you have luggage or a dog.
Sure, if you're trying to take 7 adults around plus a dog plus luggage pretty much anything is cramped. Really need a full-sized passenger van for that, something like a 15 passenger van will have room for 7 plus cargo comfortably. Next best things are either a Minivan or large, full-sized SUV like a Suburban or Excursion. A minivan has about the same cargo/passenger room as a Suburban and slightly less than an Excursion. Minivans are cheaper, better gas mileage, two feet shorter so easier to drive in some areas although out in the 'burbs where I live that's not much of a problem. I remember trying to park the pickup in San Francisco and that was a nightmare. Union Square garage I went down the ramps with the right front wheel on one curb and left rear wheel on the other, had to go all the way down and park with the service trucks, pay over-sized rates everywhere. Smaller garages it couldn't even fit and street parking just forget about it. Complete pain.
We have a family of 7. We tried many different types of vehicles. The only ones we found workable were a full sized van or a suburban. 15 passenger vehicles are overkill and are a PIA or drive and park. A suburban or full sized van are not a problem once you get used to them. My wife drove a full sized van for 25 years. (She did not like the "nose" sticking out in front of a suburban, plus the rear seats are harder to access and you have less room for gear like strollers, chairs, or kites. Other than a Suburban/Escalade/Yukon, the other big SUVs either handled poorly or were cramped and uncomfortable. Minivans are absolutely awful with 7 people in them and they have virtually no storage space - less than the trunk space in many cars).
Just before purchasing the most recent van, I told her, since we now had fewer kids at home, she should look at/drive some smaller vehicles. She tried small SUVs, CUVs, Sedans, Wagons, and Minivans. Nothing appealed to her. She was used to driving a full sized van and that is what she wanted even though it was no longer necessary.
Now we are down to 1 kid at home and 1 adult offspring also at home, but she has her own car and likes to drive by herself so she can leave when she wants. Occasionally we have others home for a summer or for a week here and there, but we really have no need for a big vehicle, except maybe two to four times a year. Our current van has about 200,000 miles on it, so we have to start looking at a replacement soon. We cannot really justify the cost of a big van anymore. I suggested she try a Volt. My wife is mildly distraught. A full sized van is what she likes to drive. There are advantages once you get used to them (better field of view, easy to find in a parking lot, plenty of room for all that "emergency" stuff Moms like to carry around even when partially retired from Mommying, virtually unlimited space for groceries or other purchases, she can be the cool mom driver for school trips etc for our remaining "child (he is 17), dogs can be kept to the back and not bother the driver. . . .).
Realistically a small car makes more sense, but I suspect we will end up with another full size van. She always wins and full sized vans are what she loves. I suspect that after I die, she will still drive a full size van even with just her.
My friends who have multiple children both have Mercedes Sprinters, since the full size van offers the best option in terms of passenger room and some cargo space, I agree. However, for the OP's needs of adding in parents for 3-hour trips with a couple of kids, it would be overkill. That said, I do have a friend who has a Prevost for family excursions for when the Sprinter is too small -- he has that many children. The Mercedes Metris is a minivan without the "minivan" stigma since it's not an Odyssey, Sienna, or Chrysler/Dodge.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
Many of the older cars and newer large SUV's mentioned get lousy gas mileage. It's probably more economical to rent what you need for trips, than to buy one of these behemoths and use it as a DD.
Yeh... image is important here in the US. I believe that's why they killed off the Caravan and Town & Country in lieu of the Pacifica nameplate even though it now has more in common with a minivan than the crossover it replaced. If you put image ahead of getting the vehicle that suits your needs, then you should be happy with a SUV or something (I like Grand Cherokees...) but I still think you are missing out.
The Grand Caravan is still being produced until at least 2019. It's also a great option for the OP.
Many of the older cars and newer large SUV's mentioned get lousy gas mileage. It's probably more economical to rent what you need for trips, than to buy one of these behemoths and use it as a DD.
There really is not all that much difference for most vehicles. Unless you get some tiny hyper MPG car where you would need to take 2 cars to transport 6 people, you are talking about a difference between 15- 18 mph and 22-25 mpg. Nothing that carries 6 other than Tesla gets better than that. Figuring 20K miles a year (considerably higher than most people drive) and using the high end (18 mpg vs 25) - that will run you about $2.10 per day extra for gas. Of course if you have to take two cars because the higher mpg car is too small, then you will lost about the same amount in added cost, but that is without factoring int he fact the higher MPG cars are more effected by weight, so they will get lower MPG with 3 people and some stuff in them. It depends on you, but to me, being comfortable instead of cramped and uncomfortable is worth an extra $2.10 a day, especially given your average daily cost of a vehicle is something like 10 times that amount. I will pay 10% more to not be miserable.
We have a family of 7. We tried many different types of vehicles. The only ones we found workable were a full sized van or a suburban. 15 passenger vehicles are overkill and are a PIA or drive and park. A suburban or full sized van are not a problem once you get used to them. My wife drove a full sized van for 25 years. (She did not like the "nose" sticking out in front of a suburban, plus the rear seats are harder to access and you have less room for gear like strollers, chairs, or kites. Other than a Suburban/Escalade/Yukon, the other big SUVs either handled poorly or were cramped and uncomfortable. Minivans are absolutely awful with 7 people in them and they have virtually no storage space - less than the trunk space in many cars).
Just before purchasing the most recent van, I told her, since we now had fewer kids at home, she should look at/drive some smaller vehicles. She tried small SUVs, CUVs, Sedans, Wagons, and Minivans. Nothing appealed to her. She was used to driving a full sized van and that is what she wanted even though it was no longer necessary.
Now we are down to 1 kid at home and 1 adult offspring also at home, but she has her own car and likes to drive by herself so she can leave when she wants. Occasionally we have others home for a summer or for a week here and there, but we really have no need for a big vehicle, except maybe two to four times a year. Our current van has about 200,000 miles on it, so we have to start looking at a replacement soon. We cannot really justify the cost of a big van anymore. I suggested she try a Volt. My wife is mildly distraught. A full sized van is what she likes to drive. There are advantages once you get used to them (better field of view, easy to find in a parking lot, plenty of room for all that "emergency" stuff Moms like to carry around even when partially retired from Mommying, virtually unlimited space for groceries or other purchases, she can be the cool mom driver for school trips etc for our remaining "child (he is 17), dogs can be kept to the back and not bother the driver. . . .).
Realistically a small car makes more sense, but I suspect we will end up with another full size van. She always wins and full sized vans are what she loves. I suspect that after I die, she will still drive a full size van even with just her.
That's interesting. She won't even drive a full size SUV? I mean, aren't full-sized van gas guzzlers? It just seems unusual because full-sized vans don't handle very well and don't take off very fast. I mean, I would prefer a full-size SUV if you wanted something big and for yourself, just because they're a better ride and they're still big like a van. The full-size vans just aren't very aerodynamic and have tiny wheels and handle like a truck more than a car. What about a big Jeep with big tires? Those are taller than most cars including vans. That being said, sometimes people just like what they like, and in a marriage you just have to compromise for things like these. This seems like an okay thing to compromise on. As long as she's happy, I guess that's what matters.
That's interesting. She won't even drive a full size SUV? I mean, aren't full-sized van gas guzzlers? It just seems unusual because full-sized vans don't handle very well and don't take off very fast. I mean, I would prefer a full-size SUV if you wanted something big and for yourself, just because they're a better ride and they're still big like a van. The full-size vans just aren't very aerodynamic and have tiny wheels and handle like a truck more than a car. What about a big Jeep with big tires? Those are taller than most cars including vans. That being said, sometimes people just like what they like, and in a marriage you just have to compromise for things like these. This seems like an okay thing to compromise on. As long as she's happy, I guess that's what matters.
Transits van really is not bad at all. I mean, it's not Prius but a Transit 350 15-passenger van is rated for 14/19. Nor is it a sports car or anything, but for a hugantic vehicle they're freakishly quick. They'll have no problem running with a minivan at least in a straight line, which is kind of disconcerting when you figure how massive they are and that they don't handle or stop for crap -- although much better than the old Econoline did.
It's interesting but not surprising. I kind of like driving the older pickup for some of the same reasons. I couldn't live with it day-in-day-out, handles atrociously, poor ride quality and all that but you do get that king of the road in a pickup or full-sized van feeling (or full-sized SUV). You don't in a minivan or crossover. Maybe something like the Durango gets a little closer.
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