2008+ SUV with 3-row seating suggestions

Jeep Commander

Dodge Durango

fanfoy wrote: Ford Flex.

This. Picked up a used 2013 SEL and love it. We'll below 30k

Sequoia.

/thread.

2007 and up Suburban 2500 would get my vote. I'm currently looking at them since I'm selling one of my trucks. Great all around vehicle plus excellent towing and plenty of room behind the third row.

Tahoe, Vera Cruz or Borrego.

I wish you were closer. I'd buy your 4Runner in a heart beat. Especially since my son decided to come 6 weeks early a few days ago.

Got to agree with Sequoia. Its odd you mention the high resale value. Around me, they seem to depreciate faster than 4Runners. I assume its more of a "status" SUV here, so being seen in one thats not new is frowned upon.

eastsidemav wrote: Got to agree with Sequoia. Its odd you mention the high resale value. Around me, they seem to depreciate faster than 4Runners. I assume its more of a "status" SUV here, so being seen in one thats not new is frowned upon.

I think they do....I just mean Toyotas in general. We paid $28k for our 4Runner in 2008, and KBB/Edmunds/etc seem to show it being worth somewhere in the $18-22k range now (it only has <30k miles) for private sale.

The Sequoias from 2008 seem to list for around $28k now, and new they were probably $50k.....so yeah, they depreciate more I would think. I see plenty of the older ones around here, but rarely see the 08+ 5.7L ones...maybe 1 or 2 a week. Which is odd since this area is "Luxo-SUV" central. Can't go around the block without seeing an X5 or MDX, or Tahoe, really.

LEFT FIELD ALERT!! BWOOP BWOOP!

Chrysler Aspen Hybrid.

Ok now my serious suggestion: Tahoe Hybrid.

How do you feel about Armadas? QX56? If you dont care about gas mileage they might be alright.

Vigo wrote: LEFT FIELD ALERT!! BWOOP BWOOP! Chrysler Aspen Hybrid. Ok now my serious suggestion: Tahoe Hybrid. How do you feel about Armadas? QX56? If you dont care about gas mileage they might be alright.

Aspen is just a Durango with cheesy luxury trim, isn't it? Do they have third rows?

Hybrid is out. For a vehicle that we only put 5-6k miles per year on, the gas savings would probably never outweigh the extra cost of the vehicle.

I don't like Armadas at all. Just the appearance looks like it was a half-ass design job with the weird rear windows that don't align with the rest of the windows. Having driven Titans and not enjoyed it, I can't see that the Armada would be better with basically the same chassis and engine, but more weight. Moot point anyhow, wife would never go for it because it's so ugly. QX56 as well, for that matter.

All in all I've pretty much talked myself into the Sequoia as something that meets my needs and would also be acceptable to my wife (whose primary vehicle it will be). That said, I saw a Buick Enclave in traffic today and was kind of intrigued. May have to drive one yet.....but why the hell does it have to have those stupid little cowl vents on it that look like they came from Pep Boys,.....wtf. Wonder if they can be deleted, lol.

Buick Enclave, GMC Arcadia, Chevy Traverse...
And the earliest version, the much forgotten Saturn Outlook; sans cowl vents

a bobbed duece-and-a-half might fit the bill if you can get some extra seats in the back...

^^ I like the way you think :)

Aspen is just a Durango with cheesy luxury trim, isn't it?

Yeah, they are terrible and i dont seriously recommend them to anyone.

It kinda is too bad that they didnt make a 2-mode hybrid Jeep Commander instead (which is also a 3-row). That truck was a concept with some real potential. Too bad they didnt do more with it.

If you get an Enclave/Acadia/Traverse, be prepared to put a steering rack in it. They all leak, even with very low miles. We do them ALL THE TIME at work, and it's not a driveway job. Gotta lower the subframe down--not difficult, just not really do-able without a lift. Plus they're a pain to bleed the air out of. Personally I am very unimpressed with these vehicles overall, but then again I'm not a GM guy. But these just seem extra bad.

My wife Loves her 03 Honda pilot. Nothing but regularly maintenance with over 155k miles on it. If you need more room go straight to a suburban. I've hated the Honda for no reason at all...and it has yet to give me a reason to go buy her a new one.

JohnRW1621 wrote: Buick Enclave, GMC Arcadia, Chevy Traverse... And the earliest version, the much forgotten Saturn Outlook; sans cowl vents

Any of thise would be a great choice. I was looking at those when we needed something bigger when our third bundle of joy came along. They had not been out that long and were too much money so we got an 06 R350 instead.

sethmeister4 wrote: If you get an Enclave/Acadia/Traverse, be prepared to put a steering rack in it. They all leak, even with very low miles. We do them ALL THE TIME at work, and it's not a driveway job. Gotta lower the subframe down--not difficult, just not really do-able without a lift. Plus they're a pain to bleed the air out of. Personally I am very unimpressed with these vehicles overall, but then again I'm not a GM guy. But these just seem extra bad.

That's pretty much what you do with every Acura since 2004. They can't build a p/s system to save their asses right now.

In reply to Bobzilla:

Just going on my own experience. I've never done a rack on an Acura, and I've done handfuls of racks on these GM suv's just in the past month. They leak like a sieve, and the rest of the vehicle feels extremely cheap too. Apparently we sell them like hotcakes though, so this is just my .02. Not as crappy as the older Trailblazers/Envoys, but not a whole lot better.

YEah, well ours is just the opposite. Never put a rack on a GM of that body style, but I STOCK 4 racks of each. And we get a stock order every day meaning we do not need large inventory on hand.

irish44j wrote: That said, I saw a Buick Enclave in traffic today and was kind of intrigued. May have to drive one yet.....but why the hell does it have to have those stupid little cowl vents on it that look like they came from Pep Boys,.....wtf. Wonder if they can be deleted, lol.

Those "portholes" were a Buick "hallmark" since before you were born. They dropped them for a while but brought them back a few years ago. The aftermarket thought they were "neat" so that is why you see them on every ricemoblie around.

CX9

Hal wrote:

irish44j wrote: That said, I saw a Buick Enclave in traffic today and was kind of intrigued. May have to drive one yet.....but why the hell does it have to have those stupid little cowl vents on it that look like they came from Pep Boys,.....wtf. Wonder if they can be deleted, lol.

Those "portholes" were a Buick "hallmark" since before you were born. They dropped them for a while but brought them back a few years ago. The aftermarket thought they were "neat" so that is why you see them on every ricemoblie around.

Yeah, I'm aware of the history behind them, it was more of a rhetorical question..... But I don't see Cadillacs with big tail fins anymore either. Some hallmarks should just be ditched, lol....

In reply to Bobzilla:

Wow, that's crazy! I would say that for every 10 of those that come into the shop, 8 of them have a leaking power steering rack...and some with VERY low miles.

I dont really get the price difference thing when talking about used hybrids. I just checked my local CL and saw plenty of gas-only same-year tahoes at the same price as the 1 hybrid.

Yeah, you might only save $300/year in gas, but you'll probably save more than that in reduced depreciation/higher resale over the same time period if your theory about hybrid values is true.

Personally i think the xc90 is a size downgrade in spite of the 3rd row. I, personally, would not consider it.