lb3 said:

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Since most of the things listed so far aren't really SUVs, The Model X p100d is my vote for the best minivan masquerading as a SUV.

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Not exactly within the OP's stated budget range of $25,000-$35,000 but your point is still valid.

No love for an Acura MDX, or does that bust the budget?

I've seen several threads last couples months with the sentiment that Acura quality has really gone down. But I'm interested if others have differing opinions.

If you go '15 Pathfinder, watch out for the fan and valve body. I know of two of them that both had these issues under 40k miles. Otherwise have been good vehicles.

Really happy with our 2013 MDX. Just rolled over 100k and nothing but regular fluid changes, tires, and brakes.

1agswitchin4lanes said:

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ChevyAg said:

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Serious, uneducated question... Whats wrong with the Acadia or Traverse? My wife has an Expedition (past 5 vehicles have been Fords) that she wants to trade for something smaller. The Explorer is too small and doesn't have as much room as we'd like. The new Expedition's are outrageously priced, in my opinion. The Traverse or Acadia seem to be the next in line size wise. She found an Acadia she likes, but we are still researching our options. Just curious, haven't owned a GM in years.

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Wait for the 2020 Explorer.

The Acadia/Traverse is one of the worst vehicles made in terms of reliability. There were issues with Transmissions, variable controlled timing, numerous suspension issues, water pumps, etc.

The new one is reskinned but the same old issues lie beneath.

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Wife drives a 15 Traverse and never have we had any issues to this day. Guess we are lucky.

My sister in law had a 2014 equinox that burned oil like a mofo and had a timing chain come loose that grenaded the motor at about 90k miles. It was a POS.

She's so smart she bought an Acadia to replace it.

Odyssey

several good choices are out there. I have a Ford Flex with Boost that meets your criteria but gas mileage isn't great. The captains chairs in the second row are awesome.

Kia Sorento and Honda Pilot also come to mind my friends with those are very happy and the Pilot now comes with captain chairs in te 2nd row as an option.

AggieMPH2005 said:

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Kia Sorento and Honda Pilot also come to mind my friends with those are very happy and the Pilot now comes with captain chairs in te 2nd row as an option.

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Only the Pilot Elite trim has 2nd row captain chairs, and that would be at top of his budget.
We recently got a '16 Touring model. The "one touch" 2nd row chairs makes it easy for the kids to get in and out of the 3rd row.

Ronniecoleman30 said:

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1.Honda Pilot

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We have a 2012 Pilot and like it so much for a 3 row kid carrier that we will probably look at a 2019 Pilot in a year or two.

Who is going to be the first auto board-er to get a new Telluride or Pallisade?

Flaith said:

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Who is going to be the first auto board-er to get a new Telluride or Pallisade?

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I found out not only is it FWD, but its based on a Santa Fe chassis. Sigh.

That being said, it probably fits the bill for most everyone looking for a people hauler that aren't rally needing serious off road capability.

vansprinkle said:

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A lightly used GX460/470

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I went and sat in the 3rd row of one of these yesterday. Its most definitely for kiddos only.

We got a Durango about 4 years ago, and we really like it. Haven't had any issues with it. Third row isn't huge, but an adult can squeeze back there. Ours has plenty of power with the standard V6, but my buddy has the RT and it's a beast.

The conversation starts with the Highlander and the Pilot. After driving them back to back at the auto show, my wife likes the Pilot better. If for some reason one of those doesn't work, then expand the search. The Highlander is a little smoother, refined, and more responsive. A nicer ride. The Pilot is very good and has more cargo capacity than the Highlander. A little roomier. Everything else has serious compromises. The Explorer has less room than the Pilot and weighs 500 lbs more. Ford also wants more than I'm willing to pay for a Ford. I know they patent a lot, but I don't think that support their cost. GM would rather make commercials about how reliable their cars are than make reliable cars. Dodge/Jeep feels like a senior design project instead of a real product.

Also, if trying to convince your wife that a minivan is a great solution, make sure her head is clear when she pushes the seat release on the second row. Definitely make sure her head isn't in the way and could get smacked. If that were to happen, nothing else matters as that car is now the one that attacked her.

Quote:

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make sure her head is clear when she pushes the seat release on the second row. Definitely make sure her head isn't in the way and could get smacked. If that were to happen, nothing else matters as that car is now the one that attacked her.

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Does she realize the seat release on any car could whack her in the head?

FarmerJohn said:

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The conversation starts with the Highlander and the Pilot. After driving them back to back at the auto show, my wife likes the Pilot better. If for some reason one of those doesn't work, then expand the search. The Highlander is a little smoother, refined, and more responsive. A nicer ride. The Pilot is very good and has more cargo capacity than the Highlander. A little roomier.

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Hows the 3rd row for Adults in the Pilot and Highlander?

My wife drives a Highlander with 2nd row captains chairs and we really like the vehicle. The 3rd row seems to work well for pre-teen's, but get's pretty tight for teenagers and adults. The second row can slide forward enough to give decent legroom in the 3rd row, but the back row really only fits 2 people...or 3 smaller people on a short drive.

There is no scenario where asking that question improves the situation.

Highlander is not great to poor. Really it's for kids only. Pilot is ok and could work for a short in town run. The space is really the selling point of the Pilot. Best for this class without stepping up to the Nimitz class SUV.

Driving the pilot with the AWD system is really impressive. Car drives much smaller than it is. Third row seating has room for three kids, but would only go two adults. Leg room is is good, especially with the mod row seats slid up.

FarmerJohn said:

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Highlander is not great to poor. Really it's for kids only. Pilot is ok and could work for a short in town run. The space is really the selling point of the Pilot. Best for this class without stepping up to the Nimitz class SUV.

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Wrong. Nissan Pathfinder has over 3 inches more 3rd row leg room than the Pilot

We just picked up a Subaru Ascent last week. Coming from a 2015 QX60, it drives SO much better. By better, I mean better acceleration, less body roll and lean, overall better feeling of control and road feel. It is a "firmer" ride but by no means harsh. The QX60 always felt way too numb. Acceleration was non-existent, and the gas mileage sucked too.

We looked at several vehicles including a newer QX60, VW Atlas, Pathfinder, 4Runner, Highlander, and the CX-9. After test drives we narrowed it down the CX-9 and Ascent. While I read so much about the "handling" and driving experience of the CX-9, I couldn't find enough of an improvement over the Ascent to pass on Second-row captains chair and the Ascent had more room overall.

Our kids are 6 and 11, so the separation between them has been nice. I know it is becoming more standard, but the CarPlay interface and the integration with the various displays is very nice. We have a trip planned to Cape Cod this summer, and I will be sure to post pics once we have the Cargo Carrier and 4-bike rack loaded up. I am sure the gas mileage will be tremendous on that trip...

Pictures aren't all that exciting, but here you go. Had to let the snow melt for a couple of days before we gave it proper wash. Have since added the Crossbars and test fit the cargo carrier, but I didn't grab any pics.

Are we talking the 2019's? That's not what the numbers say. For a 2019 Pilot versus a 2019 Pathfinder:

Pilot
Front Leg - 41 in
Front Head - 6 in
Rear Leg - 28in
Rear Head - 5.5 in
Third Row Leg - 27.5 in
Third Row Head - 4.5in
Cargo Capacity - 48 cu.ft.

Pathfinder
Front Leg - 42 in
Front Head - 4.5 in
Rear Leg - 29.5in
Rear Head - 3.0 in
Third Row Leg - 25.5 in
Third Row Head - 2 in
Cargo Capacity - 39.5 cu.ft.

The Pilot generation is from 2016 and the Pathfinder from 2013/14. So if the OP is buying a car with a few miles on it, I would anticipate these numbers being pretty accurate. (Source is Consumer Reports. Head room is gap over a 5ft. 9in person.) Now size wise, the Nissan is bigger than the Pilot. Both in length and heavier (though not Explorer heavy). The Nissan has less load capacity but more towing. But if the difference between 5,000 lbs (segment standard) and 6,000 lbs is critical, you might be looking at the wrong vehicle. I would also say that with 10 years of Nissan V6 ownership experience, I'd buy camshaft sensors in bulk.

Quote:

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Wrong. Nissan Pathfinder has over 3 inches more 3rd row leg room than the Pilot

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Nope:
https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/compare?trims=13238-384879_13329-388994_13330-389981

Hrm, I guess I was looking at 2nd row leg room

carry on

capn00 said:

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We just picked up a Subaru Ascent last week. Coming from a 2015 QX60, it drives SO much better. By better, I mean better acceleration, less body roll and lean, overall better feeling of control and road feel. It is a "firmer" ride but by no means harsh. The QX60 always felt way too numb. Acceleration was non-existent, and the gas mileage sucked too.

We looked at several vehicles including a newer QX60, VW Atlas, Pathfinder, 4Runner, Highlander, and the CX-9. After test drives we narrowed it down the CX-9 and Ascent. While I read so much about the "handling" and driving experience of the CX-9, I couldn't find enough of an improvement over the Ascent to pass on Second-row captains chair and the Ascent had more room overall.

Our kids are 6 and 11, so the separation between them has been nice. I know it is becoming more standard, but the CarPlay interface and the integration with the various displays is very nice. We have a trip planned to Cape Cod this summer, and I will be sure to post pics once we have the Cargo Carrier and 4-bike rack loaded up. I am sure the gas mileage will be tremendous on that trip...

Pictures aren't all that exciting, but here you go. Had to let the snow melt for a couple of days before we gave it proper wash. Have since added the Crossbars and test fit the cargo carrier, but I didn't grab any pics.

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I saw a blue one on the road yesterday. Was pleasantly surprised now neatly it was packaged and how it looked on the road.

I'm surprised to hear your comments about the QX60, as typically Infiniti always likes to market as vehicles with a soul, but the Pathfinder roots shine through I guess.

Does the Ascent CVT have 'gears' aka steps programmed into it? or is it motor-boaty?

Another vote for Flex. Full size adults can fit in the third row.

1agswitchin4lanes said:

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I saw a blue one on the road yesterday. Was pleasantly surprised now neatly it was packaged and how it looked on the road.

I'm surprised to hear your comments about the QX60, as typically Infiniti always likes to market as vehicles with a soul, but the Pathfinder roots shine through I guess.

Does the Ascent CVT have 'gears' aka steps programmed into it? or is it motor-boaty?

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I like the Blue color on Ascent too, but since we just added a blue car last year, I couldn't do another one right now.

The Ascent CVT has "gearing" steps built in, but so did the QX60. The implementation in the Subaru feels more consistent once you get past the first 5 mph. The QX60 would just make a lot of noise but not really change the acceleration rate, then it would just clunk down and keep going. The 2019's were much better sorted, but still not my favorite.

When we were test driving vehicles, I actually preferred the Pathfinder to the QX60. Something about the "luxury" suspension feel they were going for in the QX60 plus the weight and unresponsive steering just never worked for me. It all combined to work great, in a straight line, once you got up to speed. But that was about it...

My wife drove it 95% of the time prior to September of last year, but with the stable re-shuffling we have done, I will use the Subie as my "work" vehicle as I have a car allowance and gas card and I can't take full advantage of that situation with the other car.

javajaws said:

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Another vote for Flex. Full size adults can fit in the third row.

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GF doesnt like the Flex near as much as I do...seems the outgoing explorer 3rd row is also pretty good. Hopefully the 2020 keeps that up.

Telluride possibly

That Ascent looks nice.

Infinity QX60 pre-owned could be in the top end range of your budget.

Z100 said:

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Infinity QX60 pre-owned could be in the top end range of your budget.

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Can anyone endorse this vehicle or speak to the reliability and quality of Infiniti?