lmkzbcb Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Based off a poll on the board right now; I got to thinking about what vehicle options are out there for a large family that get good MPG. I don't know of any. So, if you are a large enough family that they don't make cars that seat all of you, (7+); how do you get from point a to b? Several smaller more economical cars? One big jalopy and very little going? A diesel? A community transport? What have you found to be economically viable for your family? Also, please list what you drive and the kind of gas mileage you get. Or atleast a guess on how many miles you drive between fill ups and how often you have to fill up. We use a diesel (Excursion) that gets about 12 in city and 17 on hwy. Still terrible, but a lot better than what we would get with a gasoline motor on that sized vehicle. However, I am wondering what other options are available.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 (edited) I drive a Toyota Sienna (2011). I get ~18mpg city and ~22mpg highway. It seats 8 people because we bought the 8-passenger model. We currently have five children. Edited May 16, 2011 by Veritaserum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Really? I don't get too much worse. I drive a Toyota Sequoia and average 18 mpg over all. Dawn I drive a Toyota Sienna (2011). I get ~18mpg city and ~22mpg city. It seats 8 people because we bought the 8-passenger model. We currently have five children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 We only have four kids, but still can not use anything that gets good gas mileage. Right now we have a 7 passenger Kia Sedona mini van. I really do not know what our MPG is, but it isn't as good as our four door sedan was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 One, huge, gas guzzling, 15 passenger van. I pine for the days when I can zip around in a Miata. Right now it takes me over 100 to fill it, and I have to fill it once a week (but soon that will drop drastically as school will be out). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 {sigh} I don't have a good answer. :glare: We drive an '07 Suburban (9 passenger). It gets horrible gas mileage--13 mpg. The problem is that the smaller "9 passenger" vehicles might fit 9 smaller people, but no way can they fit our big guys + any extra stuff like groceries, suitcases for trips, etc. Ours is 4 wheel drive, 3/4 ton, because we also occasionally use it to tow a trailer, and live in a rural area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmkzbcb Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 {sigh} I don't have a good answer. :glare:We drive an '07 Suburban (9 passenger). It gets horrible gas mileage--13 mpg. The problem is that the smaller "9 passenger" vehicles might fit 9 smaller people, but no way can they fit our big guys + any extra stuff like groceries, suitcases for trips, etc. Ours is 4 wheel drive, 3/4 ton, because we also occasionally use it to tow a trailer, and live in a rural area. What smaller 9 passenger is there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 One, huge, gas guzzling, 15 passenger van. I pine for the days when I can zip around in a Miata. Right now it takes me over 100 to fill it, and I have to fill it once a week (but soon that will drop drastically as school will be out). I sold my 15 passenger finally....we now have a Chrysler Town & Country...I get 19-20 mph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferlee Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 We have loved our suburban for trips (bad mileage, but great way to travel with 5 kids and lots of luggage). But we're moving into the city soon and one of the things I am looking forward to is being able to get to stuff without driving (walk, bus, bike) because it's just a killer otherwise. We'll have a tiny little town car to get around to places that require taking a few kids or a bunch of groceries or something. Right now I just try to stay home as much as we can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Hey! Cars for large families get GREAT gas mileage... PER PERSON! :lol: We get about 15 mpg in our 2001 Odyssey, but that should go back up to 18-19 once we replace the out-of-commission computer chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 We have an 8-seater 2005 Toyota Sienna that gets 22 mpg in the city. It would be a little tight if your 6 sitting in the back are big people, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 I drive a Town and Country when we're hauling all 7 of us (about 21mpg on our country roads), but I'm looking forward to moving to a 12 passenger in another year or two. We can fit "our" people, but not with friends, not with the dogs, and certainly not with luggage for 7 people! I do try to work our schedule so that I can take dh's Prius with a kid or two wherever we need to go. When the grocery store is 8 miles in each direction, Target and malls are 20+ miles out, and baseball fields can be 30 miles away, it DOES make a difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 What smaller 9 passenger is there? Well, the Tahoe, for instance, is listed as 9 passenger. There's no way you could fit nine passengers plus their school backpacks, much less groceries or anything else. Even the vans that say 7 or 8 passengers are not considering that the passengers might all be over 6' tall and large, strapping farm boys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda S in TX Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 We drive a diesel 1983 GMC Suburban and get 21mpg in the city. It seats eight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 We drive a 2003 Toyota Sequoia, but we average 23 MPG. It seats 8. I guess we get unusually high gas mileage among Sequoia drivers. I drive like a grandma, though, with the sincere desire to improve our fuel economy. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-2-7 Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 We drive a Chevy 12-seat passenger van. We get about 12 - 15 mpg. As a result, we have drastically cut our driving. When you take into consideration the price of gas, most of our outings are no longer cost effective! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeegal Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Suburban... seats 8. Filling up the gas tank HURTS. :tongue_smilie: But, my teen boys fit comfortably even with car seats for the babies and the extra gear we tend to collect. They love the room after squeezing in various minivans. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 12 passenger chevy 1500 20 mpg We live in city so that things are closer. That saves us a small fortune. No public transport here tho and it isn't very safe to bike or walk many places. We only use the van when it is necessary for the family to go somewhere. Grocery shopping, individual or just a couple kids all means we use dh's work car. A little two door Pontiac that gets great milage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitilin Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 2007 Sienna. Seats 8, gets about 25 mpg highway, which is most of our driving. My 6 dc said when we bought it how much room it has. Plus it has the stow n go for the third row, so the trunk area is extra deep and wide. It had enough room for our luggage for a weekend and two dogs riding on top of it, no problem. :D plus, 3rd dog was riding in the passenger area, and it wasn't too bad. I was super impressed with the space. Caveat: we are a small and skinny family--obviously, YMMV.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 I sold my 15 passenger finally....we now have a Chrysler Town & Country...I get 19-20 mph. I also have a Town & Country but I am only getting 16-18 mpg in the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 We have 8 in our family (just added MIL) and we drive a Ford F150 Econoline Van. We get 12 or 13 mpg in the city. We had considered looking at a minivan to save on gas but I really don't want to give up all of our cargo space. Behind the back seat I have a good 4x3.5(approximately) area for luggage, groceries, bicycles, mulch...whatever I need to haul. There is also lots of head space and leg space in the passenger area. I have leather interior and a dvd player. I love my van !!!! I know it gets stinky gas mileage but I'm not willing to give it up. Not to mention that it is paid for and I don't want any vehicle payments. We just don't make as many uneccesary trips anymore. I try to shop only twice a month and I only go to the library once a month. I schedule dental and vision checkups for all the dc on the same day and I've stopped volunteering to be the transportation for scout trips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindergretta Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 2005 Ford Expedition We have 6 dc. Two are teenagers and 3 are in carseats or booster seats. We get about 13mpg. We have no cargo space to speak of. If we go to Costco, the kids have to stay home. When we take a trip that involves packing, we borrow my dad's Excursion. It isn't a diesel, but gets about the same mileage the pp listed. But it has the room for the extra stuff, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Wow. I thought our station wagon (7 seater because of the pop-up seat in the back) got bad MPG at around 25 on petrol. We've been looking for something bigger that gets better mileage and dh found a Mercedes Vito (no idea what the US equivalent is), and it gets 32 city and 41 highway on diesel. Are you guys driving automatic or manual transmissions? You definitely get better MPG with manual transmission diesel vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 One, huge, gas guzzling, 15 passenger van. I pine for the days when I can zip around in a Miata. Right now it takes me over 100 to fill it, and I have to fill it once a week QUOTE] Same here and it's killing our budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 We have very SERIOUSLY considered getting two minivans instead of our van. :glare: We have an older Dodge Ram 3500. Big Bessie is BLESSED if she gets 10 miles to the gallon. Because we live in Oregon (HELLO HILLS, CURVES, and NON consistent driving speeds) it's worse than when we lived in the Midwest. Sigh. We considered to mini-vans because we figured when DH wasn't around, the kids & I could zip around in the mini-van for dr. appts. and such, but there are too many of us now. Filling her tank this weekend will be $140. I am utterly open to suggestions but I think there are no other options. DH has an incredibly efficient little Honda Civic that we adore. We take it grocery shopping, etc. When I have a dr. appt. I usually take that and he drives the van to work - his work is closer than my OB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmkzbcb Posted May 17, 2011 Author Share Posted May 17, 2011 (edited) I look around at the kind of MPG that bigger cars are getting and it doesn't make sense to me. How does a huge semi truck loaded down with literally tons and tons of weight get 6 MPG (diesel of course), but my Excursion big by car comparison but not tons and tons of weight get 12 or 14 (whatever I originally posted when dh told me what it was). The math doesn't work out. There is no reason why car manufacturer's haven't figured out how to make big vehicles get good (I mean really good) MPG. Anyone have a guess on this? Edited May 17, 2011 by lmkzbcb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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