mom@shiloh Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 What do you like? We've owned a Suburban and a 12 passenger van and we're in the market again. It needs to seat 7-8 largeish people (teen boys) and still have cargo space. It needs to have enough power to tow a trailer. AWD or 4WD -- we live in the hills and have friends with crazy driveways. So far, I'm looking at Suburbans, Yukon Denali XL, or Ford Excursions; but I've also seen Cadillac Escalades and Lincoln Navigators as possibilities, although they don't seem to have as much room. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) We’re in the market for exactly the same kind of car. I haven’t owned a Suburban (my mom does though) and I haven’t found anything better (so far) that ticks all those boxes. The Ford Expedition has more leg room in the third row and felt much roomier to me, but has less cargo space. I was a bit surprised at the lack of foot room in the third row of the Suburban, but the cargo area is unmatched. I did notice that the captain’s chairs for the second row made it feel more spacious than the bench. Those are the only ones I’ve tested out so far. I’ll be listening in on this thread! Edited February 25, 2019 by mmasc Changed excursion to expedition 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thessa516 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I'm not sure how much towing power you need, but we easily tow an ultralite with our Toyota Sequoia. I'm very conservative about tow ratings. I had to look it up - 7,400 lbs for the Sequoia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@shiloh Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 What is the seating like in the Sequoia? I think it's difficult to find vehicles that have room for full-sized people in the third row. I'm only 5'4" and I've found that most mini-vans are pretty squishy for me in the third seat. I'd hate to be back there for a long trip, so I'm especially interested in rear leg room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, mom@shiloh said: So far, I'm looking at Suburbans, Yukon Denali XL, or Ford Excursions; but I've also seen Cadillac Escalades and Lincoln Navigators as possibilities, The suburban, denali, and escalade are going to be largely the same (all GM) just moving up and down with the comfort and perks. So an extended escalade should be roughly the same as the suburban and the regular escalade (what I have) will be roughly the same as the denali. The issue with our escalade (not extended) is the short leg space in the 3rd row. It's basically non-functional except for very short or uber-patient people. I personally am not keen on the lincoln navigators. I drove one once and found it clunky and the controls ill-placed. But that's just opinion, not really an issue of motors or anything. I know someone who was in your position who went with the Sequoia and likes it, but the kids were quickly gone. I don't think it's considered a luxury vehicle, if that's important to you. I think if you actually need to transport that many people that the Nissan vehicle (just from seeing it on the road) would make more sense. How long do you anticipate the vehicle lasting and is using two vehicles soon an option? My escalade has AWD (it's about 10 yo) and I can do our hill *most* of the year. My dh's truck with 4WD can do it all the year. So depends on how much of an issue it is for you. I mean, I call my vehicle the beast because it pretty much is, lol. It saved my life in an accident and can go through feet of snow. Remember though, the gas mileage is pretty bad. Adding: The ride is pretty bad in the 3rd row of the non-extended. You definitely wouldn't put anyone motion sick there, lol. Edited February 25, 2019 by PeterPan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 If leg room is a bit more important than cargo, go sit and look inside a Ford Expedition XL. We’re not Ford people normally, but I was truly surprised at how much roomier the third row felt. There’s still a lot of cargo space, just not *quite* as much as suburban. The Yukon XL seemed basically identical to the suburban. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@shiloh Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 We don't need significant towing capabilities -- just a small trailer to haul garden stuff like mulch and manure or a large pop-up trailer. Thanks for the replies. Still searching..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 We had an NV in a hilly winter area with a steep driveway. AWD would be better (we went from a sienna with AWD to the NV), but we opted for studded snow tires during the winter months & that was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thessa516 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 On 2/25/2019 at 11:53 AM, mom@shiloh said: What is the seating like in the Sequoia? I think it's difficult to find vehicles that have room for full-sized people in the third row. I'm only 5'4" and I've found that most mini-vans are pretty squishy for me in the third seat. I'd hate to be back there for a long trip, so I'm especially interested in rear leg room. My Sequoia has great leg room in the third row. I found this website that compares the 2015 Suburban and Sequoia. The Sequoia has slightly more leg room than the Suburban. I don't know what the width is, but I was able to put 3 carseats in the back row. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 8 hours ago, mom@shiloh said: We don't need significant towing capabilities -- just a small trailer to haul garden stuff like mulch and manure or a large pop-up trailer. Thanks for the replies. Still searching..... I wasn't going to answer til I saw this because I thought you meant a big camper/trailer. But we have a Honda Odyssey and it does all those things. We used to have a Suburban and I puffy heart loooooooved it. I would have bought another Suburban in a heartbeat, but since my oldest DS is in college and we don't go very many places all 7 of us anymore we decided to downsize and save on gas with the Odyssey (not to mention a used Odyssey was almost half the price of a used Suburban). I didn't think I'd like it as well as the Suburban, but I really do. It has stow and go storage in the back and while it doesn't have the storage space of the Suburban, obviously, it still has plenty to take care of my monthly grocery run to Sam's and Walmart for 7 people, which is saying something. The kids all unanimously said it was a better more comfortable ride on vacation - 3000+ miles to Maine from Indiana and back towing an 8x12 cargo trailer that was stuffed to the gills with camping supplies and 7 people. The gas mileage wasn't so good on that trip, but it was still comparable to what the Suburban would have got. Then we found out we are expecting a baby and it will need to seat 8 people at least sometimes, which luckily it does with the middle seat insert LOL You might still like a Suburban or other SUV better, but thought I'd throw it out there ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@shiloh Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 Congratulations on the baby Momto5inIN!! Good to know. Maybe I should look at the Honda Odyssey more closely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Are you often all in the car together or just a couple of times a week? We have an Odyssey, but only 4 children. We sit two in each row and I appreciate having a bit of room between them for a basket of car activities, wipes etc. However, we have taken several vacations with my in-laws and they have said the back was comfortable to sit in. Not as much as being in the front seat or in a 12 passenger van, but they did fine on the various trips ranging from 3-12 hours. My FIL is 6'2" and my MIL is 6'. I also have my two oldest in the third row, they're both 5'6" at ages 12 and 11. So all that to say if the only time everyone is in the car together is to go to church on Sunday, a few little trips here and there and the yearly family vacation - the Odyssey may work. However, if you're often all together and your drives are more like 20-30 minutes I wouldn't recommend it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 I told my car nut/future mechanic ds about this thread and he mentioned the Nissan Armada as another possibility. It seats eight and can tow 8500 pounds. He said the Odyssey isn't great for towing because it's front wheel drive, and you want rear wheel drive or 4WD for towing. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linacruise1467 Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 I think Suburban is best for 8 persons, but its also depend on your stuff that how many luggage you are taking with yourself. You can also search on https://www.reecoupons.com/view/car-rental-8 for more info about rent and other things. I saw many on there but I never use Suburban. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 Reported ^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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