We just got a surprise 4th kid (foster placement). Need to move on from the highlander to something bigger. Thinking a Suburban, Yukon XL, or Expedition.

Looking for a used 2018ish for $34-38k. Each of these have this price point.

What's a good option out of these or maybe something I am not thinking about. Dont really want a sequoia.

The Expedition will have the best 3rd row seat and best engine.

I vote Suburban, even with the craptastic AFM.

What, no minivan recommendation yet?

Not a mini van, but have you considered a full size passenger van? Garage and parking garages may be an issue.

My wife refuses to drive a van of any sort.

Put aside $2-3K to repair known issues for any GM Suburban badge variant built after 2014.

The Highlander is one of the smallest, if not the smallest, interiors in its' class. Might want to consider other options in that class before moving up another size class. I believe the VW Atlas and Subaru Ascent have the biggest interiors in that class. In the next size class up the Expedition has the best third row.

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I love my Expedition. Does everything well. Reliable. Easy to drive. Comfortable. Tows great.

That said, if I didn't need to tow, a Odyssey or something would probably be a better choice.

nhamp07 said:

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My wife refuses to drive a van of any sort.

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Too bad you can't blindfold her and have her drive a minivan. They are surprisingly maneuverable and nimble. And it is far and away the best option,

And God Bless you for being foster parents.

Exact same as you. We got surprise with a 4th from our friends at CPS. Fortunately we were already in a minivan (NISSAN quest). We have moved on to an odyssey and it's been great. Trading it in tomorrow for an expedition max because my wife is DONE with minivan life after 15 years of it, would like 4wd, and MURICA (to quote big rob).

I would echo above and say to at least transition into a minivan first. It will be the most familiar driving. My experience with 4 kids is that Tahoe's and short expeditions are worthless because you need the full 3rd row full time and can't fold them down.

CanyonAg77 said:

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nhamp07 said:

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My wife refuses to drive a van of any sort.

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Too bad you can't blindfold her and have her drive a minivan. They are surprisingly maneuverable and nimble. And it is far and away the best option,

And God Bless you for being foster parents.

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And something like a 2018 low mileage Sedona will be a lot nicer for 10-15 grand less.

We test drove an expedition before going minivan. Would've been bad enough dealing with 2 kids on one of those. Can't imagine 4.

Sequoia for 3rd row room, reliability, big beefy V8 engine, maneuverability, offroad capability, slick road traction, and resell value. Less tech means less crap to break. And the extra you pay for gas is more than compensated by lower maintenance and higher resell.

Everytime I have looked at the Sequoia, I don't like the 50/50 3rd row. Who wants to sit in a seat that is split down the middle. Also, if you put one side down for extra space, then you only have 1 seat back there.

Minivan... Or divorce her.

With 4 kids you're going to have to put down half the seat often because there is no real usable space orherwise back there. I would bet with the 3rd seat up as civic has more storage than a sequoia. And half the 3rd row down means two less seatbelts meaning not enough for 6. So dumb.

If you want to go used, the 2017 expeditions and XL expys probably go cheaper as they were the last year of the last model, but we really like ours. There should still be some decent moderate mileage ones out there. We already are approaching 150K on ours. My wife does a lot of things that involves long drives plus 100 miles of commuting per workday.

We have an the previous body style expy and it has been great. We we head out on family trips and rent SUVs, it's nearly always a Yukon/Tahoe etc. and our oldest hates the 3rd row seating compared to the expy.

The 3rd row in my Sequoia is 60/40 split and seats adults comfortably. The storage behind the 2nd row is huge. The storage behind the 3rd row is big enough for most daily needs. Definitely beats a Tahoe or a plain Expedition. The Suburban/Yukon XL/Expedition Max have more room.

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My wife does a lot of things that involves long drives plus 100 miles of commuting per workday.

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T&P for your gasoline bill!

nhamp07 said:

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My wife refuses to drive a van of any sort.

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This goes back to my theory that the only reason people don't choose minivan, and they don't tow, is because of vanity.

Also some people want something rugged for occasional non paved use. But mostly vanity.

The entire auto industry is about vanity. Otherwise, we'd all be driving Corollas or minivans

Nah, some of us need pickups.

Nonsense.

Bo Darville said:

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nhamp07 said:

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My wife refuses to drive a van of any sort.

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This goes back to my theory that the only reason people don't choose minivan, and they don't tow, is because of vanity.

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Pretty much. It's like tons of people go in wanting something that a minivan does, that looks about the same as a minivan from behind, but isn't called one and they're willing to throw another 20K or whatever into the purchase price. Whatever.

In OP's case I might've missed how big the kids are, but if they're middle school on up I'd give serious thought to an actual van of some sort. You could probably set one up pretty good for less than whatever Suburbans go for now and end up with less of the issues I read people complaining about.

A Honda Pilot is basically a minivan, it just looks like an SUV.

vansprinkle said:

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A Honda Pilot is basically a minivan, it just looks like an SUV.

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With less capability.

You can get a low mileage previous generation CPO Navigator with an extended warranty in the $40k range. Great engine, best 3rd row, great 2nd row, reasonable reliability.

I don't know how much used Expeditions are, but if the above is slightly too expensive, the Expeditions will get you all of the above with an interior that is still decent.

In Houston, you will wish you had better ground clearance than a minivan 1-2 times per year when the streets are full of water. Otherwise, a minivan is indeed the most practical family hauler.

vansprinkle said:

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A Honda Pilot is basically a minivan, it just looks like an SUV.

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Since 2016, it looks a lot like a minivan. Or at least a minivan bred with a midsoze suv

TRIDENT said:

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Nah, some of us need pickups.

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Okay, so a slight exaggeration. But close to 30% of vehicles on the road in Texas are pickups. Nowhere near 30% are actually utilizing it in a manner on a regular basis that couldn't be accommodated some other way.

Bingo Bango Bongo said:

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TRIDENT said:

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Nah, some of us need pickups.

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Okay, so a slight exaggeration. But close to 30% of vehicles on the road in Texas are pickups. Nowhere near 30% are actually utilizing it in a manner on a regular basis that couldn't be accommodated some other way.

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There's nothing unreasonable about buying a truck because you might throw some lumber in the back once or twice a year. That's not vanity. That's just valuing the utility of the truck differently than you do.

'03ag said:

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Bingo Bango Bongo said:

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TRIDENT said:

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Nah, some of us need pickups.

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Okay, so a slight exaggeration. But close to 30% of vehicles on the road in Texas are pickups. Nowhere near 30% are actually utilizing it in a manner on a regular basis that couldn't be accommodated some other way.

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There's nothing unreasonable about buying a truck because you might throw some lumber in the back once or twice a year. That's not vanity. That's just valuing the utility of the truck differently than you do.

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More cost effective to borrow a truck or rent when you need it?