NF - SUV + 3 car seats

[The Urban Fisherman]

Alright, I have a question out of shear curiosity... If one were to possibly need a vehicle that could handle 3 car seats but refused to succumb to driving a mini van or a car what sort of options are out there? And it has to be in the 8 to 12 grand range...

 

Thanks again!

Ryan

 

Ps. For those wondering about the Fish-A-Thon, I'm on holidays as of today so I'm going to have an official thread up soon!

Edited August 8, 2010 by The Urban Fisherman

[PERCHER]

2011 Ford Explorer.

http://www.ford.ca/app/fo/en/suvs_crossovers/explorer.do

[The Urban Fisherman]

2011 Ford Explorer.

http://www.ford.ca/app/fo/en/suvs_crossovers/explorer.do

 

lol I'm guessing they're going to want a little more than 12 grand for one of those bad-boys! haha nice ride though for sure!

 

thanks percher!

[SBCregal]

get an astro/safari. its about as trucklike a van as you'll get. its no soccer-mom grocery getter thats for sure. tows 5500lbs, seats 8, rwd and solid. you'll be able to find a real nice one for that kinda money too.

 

ryan

[Dusky]

I am in same situation for second car, so far my choices are either a Nissan pathfinder 2004 and up, acura MDX 2004 and up, Ford TaurusX. You can also look for dodge journey. All of them have third row seating and plenty of space.

[danbouck]

You poor .... lol

 

I bought my Tahoe for $12,000, Seats 7 or 8, Leather and all. Great for the family with a ton of power and 4x4. But not the best on gas.

[dave524]

get an astro/safari. its about as trucklike a van as you'll get. its no soccer-mom grocery getter thats for sure. tows 5500lbs, seats 8, rwd and solid. you'll be able to find a real nice one for that kinda money too.

 

ryan

 

Ditto on the Safari / Astro, I'd replace mine with a new one in a heartbeat if they still made them Tows my stuff well ( up to 3000 lbs.), lots of room for gear if you take one of the rear seats out, will handle all your kiddy seats and even the best one on the used lot today should be in your price range. Got a 97 with only 122,000K on it , keeping it till it dies, never had a majour issue with it.

[Fisherman]

Well, I'll bite out of sheer curiosity too, someone must be a sucker for punishment..3 car seats, someones primal urges to reproduce are going to curtail their fishing time.

[DRIFTER_016]

I had the perfect vehicle right until you said you wanted to pay next to nothing for it.

 

If you decide you want to spend some more $$$$ look for a used Honda Pilot.

They also have 3 row seating and there are baby seat anchors all over the place.

[Bob]

Check out the recent Montanas and Uplanders, a van that looks like an suv. Two weeks ago, I picked up an 07 Montana, 3.9 litre, 240 hp, pulls up to 3500 lbs with 300 lbs on the tongue and I got it for $6500.00. Right place at the right time.

[The Urban Fisherman]

Yeah - working on a limited budget Drifter! If money was no issue I'd be buying a full sized 4 door pickup... I'm sure you could fit 3 car seats side by side in the back of Tundra!

 

Astro's - Safari's etc. I just can't do it... This isn't going to be a secondary vehicle, it'll be a primary and only vehicle for now and I refuse to drive a van! haha

 

Right now I'm looking at the Acura MDX and GMC Envoy XL as options... Might have to venture up to the 12 - 13 grand range....

 

Thanks for the info - any more ideas or experiences with vehicles of this size class would be muchly appreciated...

 

cheers,

Ryan

[HTHM]

Don't dismiss the Safari too quickly, I have one that will give most sports cars a rough time off the lights. It has over 300,000 K on it and runs strong yet. It is actually a S-10 with a van body.

[The Urban Fisherman]

Don't dismiss the Safari too quickly, I have one that will give most sports cars a rough time off the lights. It has over 300,000 K on it and runs strong yet. It is actually a S-10 with a van body.

 

Thanks Hometown! Problem for me isn't practicality or towing power as I've only got a little boat anyway. It's that I'm still young, most of my homies are still finishing their post grad educations, partying hard and not even in committed relationships. Ginny and I fast-tracked with Averie being an "oops" baby DURING university and we just went with it from there. What I'm saying is that I want a vehicle that I still consider to be somewhat "young and stylish". I love my kids to death, and wouldn't trade them in for the world, but it doesn't change the fact that I want a vehicle that I can look at and WANT to drive! It's just personal preference and not a knock to anybody else!!!

 

Thanks for the leads guys!

 

Cheers,

Ryan

[cram]

Love my toyota highlander. Has 3 rows, though not sure you'd want to put a seat in the back row.

 

Also, a heads up that while MDX has 3 rows the 3rd is for midgets, and virtually impossible to access with child seats in teh 2nd row.

 

I'd look at pilot, highlander,or even a hyundai veracruz. Good size, and suspect they lose value fast so price may be right.

[The Urban Fisherman]

my god I haven't done a vehicle search before as I've always known exactly what type of vehicle I wanted and it's crazy how many brands there are even in the same size class and type of SUV... there must be a dozen or more in the size i'm looking for...

[Sandbag]

I have a Dodge Durango which has seven passenger seating, leather, dvd etc etc....It has been a great vehicle with the 5.7 Hemi in it. I would not however want to use it as a commuter vehicle of any sort. The gas mileage in town is awful. It has towed absolutely anything that I have needed it for.

 

Very comfortable though and I believe you could get one in your price range in the 2005 to 2006 model year.

 

Cheers

 

Craig