Thanks to the wise advice of this board many years ago, I overcame my insecurities around owning a minivan and bought a used Sienna. No regrets, in fact, I've become a minivan promoter. However 8 years, 150k miles, and many spilled crusty moldy unspeakables later, we are interested in exploring the next vehicular phase of life.
Use case: 3 boys (currently twins ages 11 and a 7 year old), frequent road trips, and my wife will commute for work 2x a week 60-70 miles round-trip
We are thinking this is the "get the boys through high school" car which means it'll need to comfortably hold 5 "adults" (lol) and last 7-10 years. My wife will be the primary driver. She's open to Tahoes and Suburbans but the few times she's driven them she feels uncomfortable with how big they are. Plus they are expensive and not the best for gas for her commutes.
I'm typically a used car guy, but I'd love to get some of the newer safety features and tech. Plus it's my wife's 40th birthday and we've been saving for awhile ($50-60k budget), so want to look at newer options and upgrade her from toddler-spilled-drink-minivan-life.
Early options we've been thinking about:
What else are we not thinking of? Anyone have experience with the above?
And yes, if you're a dealer in the McKinney/Allen area feel free to message me.
Thank you auto board!
Edit to add: AWD is high on the want list too. We have been renting cars to drive to CO and NM for ski trips each year and hope to continue.
Use case: 3 boys (currently twins ages 11 and a 7 year old), frequent road trips, and my wife will commute for work 2x a week 60-70 miles round-trip
We are thinking this is the "get the boys through high school" car which means it'll need to comfortably hold 5 "adults" (lol) and last 7-10 years. My wife will be the primary driver. She's open to Tahoes and Suburbans but the few times she's driven them she feels uncomfortable with how big they are. Plus they are expensive and not the best for gas for her commutes.
I'm typically a used car guy, but I'd love to get some of the newer safety features and tech. Plus it's my wife's 40th birthday and we've been saving for awhile ($50-60k budget), so want to look at newer options and upgrade her from toddler-spilled-drink-minivan-life.
Early options we've been thinking about:
- Sienna - Do we just get a newer one? Toyota tech looks pretty outdated here though
- Grand Highlander - Tech and features much better and I love the size, but can it really handle our family on a road trip? Could use a roof rack. Also, love the Lexus TX version.
- Telluride - Kia seems to really be making great cars suddenly.
- Traverse - Saw an ad for the new redesigned ones but available info is scarce. Looks like it's stuck in some sort of production hold.
- Used Tahoe/Suburban/Full-Size Something - Older tech and features, set aside more for gas, and get used to it.
What else are we not thinking of? Anyone have experience with the above?
And yes, if you're a dealer in the McKinney/Allen area feel free to message me.
Thank you auto board!
Edit to add: AWD is high on the want list too. We have been renting cars to drive to CO and NM for ski trips each year and hope to continue.