What kind of family vehicle

[pfettig77]

We currently have a Suburban and it's starting to really nickle and dime me. I'm looking for a family vehicle that:
1) gets reasonable/good gas mileage
2) holds 7 people
3) has 4 wheel drive (not necessary, but a big plus because we're in a very rural area)

Nothing fancy. Just a few thousand.
I'm thinking maybe a Taurus wagon because of the good mileage but kind of wimpy for towing and hauling. We've had Montanas/Ventures and got reasonable mileage (mid-20's), but both vehicles had head gasket problems and I'm sick of that. We had an Astro but that got about the same mpg as the Suburban. Is there such a vehicle that meets these 3 criteria? What are your experiences?

[pfettig77]

Also, those of you who have had Taurus wagons, what kind of actual real world mileage did you get? Thanks.

[Bearfootfarm]

Is there such a vehicle that meets these 3 criteria?

I don't think you'll find much that will carry 7 safely and in comfort and still get good mileage

I'd get a full sized van

[onebad93]

The Taurus, in general, tend to have transmission problems. Changing the transmission filter(s)(there is a filter built into one of the cooler lines that can be changed if you cut it out), and fluid about twice as often as recommended has kept my stepson's wagon alive(I believe).

[HuskyBoris]

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

I don't think you'll find much that will carry 7 safely and in comfort and still get good mileage

I'd get a full sized van

yup..that or a suburban

[JLMissouri]

Seating 7 is a tough job for anything getting good mileage. Only thing I can think of that could do such are old vehicles like a VW vanagon. Maybe a Jetta or Mercedes diesel wagon. The Jatta would be a tight fit.

[gibbsgirl]

we had an old Volvo station wagon for years that seated 7 with the jumpseat in the back. gas mileage was better than the suburban we drove before that.

looked at getting a ford flex 3 years ago, and was pleased with it.

but, then we decided that we didn't need every vehicle we'd own to seat everyone in the family. so, we kept our trucks that seated more people, and we bought a kia rio in 2012. bought the lowest model they sold with manual doors, windows, transmission. it was under 15k out the door.

the gas mileage is outstanding, regularly above 40 miles a gallon. hasn't given us any trouble, and it came with an above average warranty. insurance and registration was also very reasonable considering it was a new vehicle.

husband uses it a lot for work. and, we also use it for a lot of our longer distance driving for trips when not the whole family has to go, like wrestling tournaments where only a couple of kids are going for the day with one parent. for towing and hauling and in town driving, we still have our trucks that don't get horrible gas mileage, but it's typically half or less of what we get out of the kia.

it's actually worked out for us. but, it was not a solution that occurred to us when we were first shopping.

the trunk has a lot of room and I was able to fit two booster seats in the car for little ones while we needed them and not give up having the other kids fit in the other seats.

I don't know if that would be an option for what your situation is. but, thought i'd put it out there in case it helped.

I don't know if Subaru makes a 7 seater. but, I've known people who swear by them, especially in snow country.

I've also known people who will never drive anything but audis. but, not sure if they sell a 7 seater either.

the next time we buy a vehicle, i'm pretty sure it will be a ford flex. we're getting close to the time, when it will help some of our kids if we have an extra vehicle for them to drive.

[Irish Pixie]

We have a Honda Pilot and with the third row it will accommodate 7. It's 4WD as well, but the gas mileage is fair.

We rented a Toyota Sienna van last year for a vacation to southern Virginia and it was very nice. I believe they come in 4WD as well. My oldest daughter just bought a Dodge mini van (I can't remember the model, not enough coffee) but the mileage isn't even as good as our Pilot.

The resale value on both vehicles is fairly high so I don't know if they would be in your price range.

[NEfarmgirl]

Originally Posted by gibbsgirl

I don't know if Subaru makes a 7 seater. but, I've known people who swear by them, especially in snow country.

They used to make them and stopped making them about 3 or 4 years ago. It was the Subaru Tribeca. We have a Subaru Outback and love it. I gets decent gas mileage, drives well on snow, ice, gravel, you name it, and has been a super dependable car. We decided to become foster parents and needed a larger vehicle so immediately went to the Subaru dealer only to be let down they only make 5 passenger vehicles and nothing bigger. It is impossible to find used Subarus in the area and if they go to a dealer they are bought right away. We have had ours almost 11 years and it is still going strong.

We did end up buying a Toyota Sienna 3 years ago and like it. It hauls 8 people, you can get all wheel drive and it gets around 25 to 26 mpg highway; 21-22 city for us. It can tow a small trailer too. There is a lot of room inside of them and we have not had mechanical issues at all since we have owned it. They are easier to find used and we see quite a few older Toyotas on the road.

[Fishindude]

Sounds like you are currently driving a vehicle that suits all of those needs except gas mileage. I'd consider spending some money to fix up the suburban if it's not too far gone.

[sheila57]

I have a 2004 taurus wagon and I love it. We have 200,000 miles and it still is going strong.Gets good gas mileage and most repairs we can do ourselves.

[AmericanStand]

We had a Buick rendezvous. It sat 4 in comfort and 7 with three in a small third row that layed flat. Great for four people , 6 bags of feed ,a wheel barrow and a weeks groceries. Or equivalent.
In addition it got 28 mpg on the highway and was all wheel drive.
But it was wrecked last week and we are looking for a newer replacement.

[AmericanStand]

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

I don't think you'll find much that will carry 7 safely and in comfort and still get good mileage



I'd get a full sized van

I had a full size one ton ford diesel van that got 19 mph hwy.
You could seat eight and carry Twenty bags of cement and a cement mixer.

[CountryMom22]

Sounds like your living my life! Had a Ford Taurus wagon, liked it ok, but had to put a new transmission in it. The next time it had transmission trouble, we junked it. Then we bought a Pontiac Montana. Loved that van! Lots of room for the kids and extra stuff. That was totaled in a wreck. We went right out and bought another one because we liked it so much! Unfortunately, my husband is 6'6" and my kids are 6'3" and 6'4" and still growing. Todays mini vans don't have the same leg room that my old Montana did so when that died we started looking at Fords. We didn't want to go up to an 8 Cylinder because of the gas mileage so the only vehicle that fit everyone comfortably was the Flex. We spent a year looking to buy a used one and found a 2011, all wheel drive with less than 50,000 miles on it and the price was less than half what it cost new. We really like it. We can seat 6 easily as ours has bucket seats in the second row instead of a bench but I'm sure one with a bench seat could easily seat 7 adults.

My too tall kids can now ride with me without their knees being around their ears and people that do have to get into the third seat can do so without having to jump over the middle seat. My only concern, it's not quite as good on gas, getting about what the Montana did, but because the gas tank is smaller I do have to stop for gas more often. There is also less room for feed and groceries in the back, but then again the Montana was the extended version so the Flex may have the same amount of cargo room as a normal van, not sure, but that would be easy enough to check out.

[pfettig77]

Holy cats! Lots of good advice. I'll look into them. I also remembered the Ford Freestyle which covers all three of my criteria. People were saying on reviews that they were getting around 30 on the highway.
The Suburban has 252k miles on it and the engine still runs strong, but like I said, it's nickle and diming us. Seems like we spend a car payment in repairs every other month. In fact it's in the shop right now. We'd keep it around for hauling stuff and camping, etc., but it wouldn't be our daily driver anymore.

[Bellyman]

Our Toyota Sienna AWD would probably work for you. It will seat 7. It gets around 24mpg and we have really appreciated the all wheel drive a few times. It's been very reliable for us and is pretty comfortable for long trips.

[joseph97297]

Check your local churches and see if they have any vans they are looking to sell. The local church here just got two new vans and sold their other two older vans for $1500 each. They were 1998s and had less than 100,000 miles on them.

If I didn't already have an 85 E-350 that I tweaked to get 15 MPG with I would have bought one.

[pfettig77]

Originally Posted by joseph97297

Check your local churches and see if they have any vans they are looking to sell. The local church here just got two new vans and sold their other two older vans for $1500 each. They were 1998s and had less than 100,000 miles on them.

If I didn't already have an 85 E-350 that I tweaked to get 15 MPG with I would have bought one.

Those giant white church vans are pretty awesome, but one of the important things is gas mileage. We're a half hour or more from everywhere and we go to church 3 times a week. There are 7 of us, so we wouldn't need a bus.

[AmericanStand]

$1500 instead of $15000 will buy a lot of gas !!
You would have to drive about 150,000 miles to come out even.

[pfettig77]

I was planning on spending much closer to the $1500 anyway, but that's true.