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Toyota Sienna minivan. Can tow 3500 lbs, comes in all wheel drive, extremely reliable. Can be bought to seat 8. Also can be used as a work van to transport materials and such - all the seats can either fold down flat or be pulled, to make it a great enclosed work van.
I would like to spend less than $50k for an SUV or minivan and would love suggestions from those more knowledgeable than I am.
We live in northern Michigan so something that can handle snow is important. Of course we will also get snow tires for winter.
I would love to drive this for the next 10-15 years with as few problems as possible. Looking for dependability and longevity - style isn't a big concern.
We are a family of 4 with a big dog and occasionally transport other people's kids.
We tow a popup so we don't need something super burly for that purpose.
Thanks for any ideas.
So, I may post a thread similar to yours, but we have been deciding between:
1) Odyssey - awesome interior for families, great tech, perfect except for my wife doesn't want to drive a minivan
2) Volvo XC90 - beautiful, amazing drive, free maintenance for the 10, 20, 30K mile services, super safe. The only drawback is that their reliability is unknown at this point (but older Volvo's were great).
3) Pacifica Hybrid - minivan with great tech, no gas for ~30 miles on the battery and $7,500 Federal tax credit.
Toyota Sienna minivan. Can tow 3500 lbs, comes in all wheel drive, extremely reliable. Can be bought to seat 8. Also can be used as a work van to transport materials and such - all the seats can either fold down flat or be pulled, to make it a great enclosed work van.
For this purpose the grand caravan would be the answer. No one has easier/faster seat stowage. pulling seats is awful. What do you do with them? Leave them at the store? They only work if you know exactly what you are going to find/buy and exactly when you will want storage over seating.
Thanks everyone for the ideas so far! I wouldn't mind spending less than $50k or buying used.
I think I will focus on vehicles that can seat 6+. With kids and skis and an additional friend or two and their gear, I want to make sure we can all fit. I will definitely check out the the Sienna and Odyssey. We have a Town & Country now and it they are impossible to beat for hauling a bunch of teens and their sports gear around.
My MIL has been letting me drive her GLE350 while we figure out our next vehicle, and although it is a much cooler car, I don't even feel like I can do a full Costco run.
Last edited by sellinginmn; 02-22-2018 at 08:58 AM..
Reason: add info
Sienna is the only mini with AWD. While I love Honda Odysseys, I was looking at Siennas before I bought a crewcab 4x4 f150 just because of the hazardous winter traveling in WNC. I've had an Odyssey previously and it was A+ except for leaving a bit to be desired as far as road handling in snowy conditions. Not terrible unsafe mind you, but I felt better and more sure-footed in a 4x4.
Can't go wrong with the Sienna or Odyssey. They will last and are invaluable when you have kids and their "stuff" plus a big dog. Kids kind of grow with a minivan as it is sometimes the only way you accommodate your whole family and their stuff on trips, plus extra room to spread out when kids get older.
As mentioned above, the Sienna is the only one to offer AWD so that may be the selling point for you.
For this purpose the grand caravan would be the answer. No one has easier/faster seat stowage. pulling seats is awful. What do you do with them? Leave them at the store? They only work if you know exactly what you are going to find/buy and exactly when you will want storage over seating.
We owned a twin of the Grand Caravan, the Plymouth Grand Voyager. Became a rattletrap very quickly. Not great repair record. Sold it at <100K miles, because we didn't think it was gonna go much farther. We were SO frustrated, because the identical Grand Caravan qualified for that ridiculous Cash for Clunkers program (at about 4-5K), but the twin Grand Voyager was not listed! So we got maybe 1-2K for it.
When we shopped for the next one, which was about 11 years ago, we looked closely at the Grand Caravan. But it didn't have the safety features (full curtain side airbags) that we wanted, and the Toyota Sienna did. So we got the Sienna. Great decision. Still going strong at about 150K. We expect it to go to 200K. We do maintenance on it, but hasn't needed any major repairs.
The back seats fold flat, but you're right, the middle seats need to be taken out. So if we are using it for a work van (and at this point in its life, that's mostly what it's used for), the middle seats are out and in our garage. If we need to transport more people, we empty our tools and put back in the middle seats, which all three come out individually.
For us, the Sienna has been pretty good. Gas mileage isn't great, but none of the big minivans have good gas mileage. At first, it was a fantastic huge family car, great for transporting lot of kids and gear. Now, it's a reliable work van, roomy, can fit a lot of tools and materials, but still can be turned into an 8 person vehicle when necessary. May it live forever!
Can't go wrong with the Sienna or Odyssey. They will last and are invaluable when you have kids and their "stuff" plus a big dog. Kids kind of grow with a minivan as it is sometimes the only way you accommodate your whole family and their stuff on trips, plus extra room to spread out when kids get older.
As mentioned above, the Sienna is the only one to offer AWD so that may be the selling point for you.
And then you use it to move them out! Ours is now moving furniture to college and back.
If the Sienna is the only one with AWD, I think that's the clincher for you. It's roomier than any SUV, and more flexible. In my opinion, the only reason to go with an SUV over the Sienna is if you need high clearance, and just don't want to be seen driving a minivan.
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