Minivan replacement advice wanted

drainoil wrote: 4 kids here. My '94 Civic vx is my dd averaging 49-50 mpg and when I need to haul all of us I have a '94 Ford conversion van with plenty of room for all and can tow as well. The combined purchase price of both vehicles was far less than going and buying a newer Mazda 5, Rav 4, Sante Fe, etc and I have much more versatility, plus my insurance and vehicle registration is a lot cheaper on 19 year old vehicles lol.

This x a billion! A fun econobox and a dedicated people mover if you shop smart you could even have just one payment or none like me.

I have $6,000 into my F150 and Protege5 together and I get compliments and "is that for sale" questions daily often.

(Substitute F150 for E150 or Suburban etc.)

ebonyandivory wrote:

drainoil wrote: 4 kids here. My '94 Civic vx is my dd averaging 49-50 mpg and when I need to haul all of us I have a '94 Ford conversion van with plenty of room for all and can tow as well. The combined purchase price of both vehicles was far less than going and buying a newer Mazda 5, Rav 4, Sante Fe, etc and I have much more versatility, plus my insurance and vehicle registration is a lot cheaper on 19 year old vehicles lol.

This x a billion! A fun econobox and a dedicated people mover if you shop smart you could even have just one payment or none like me. I have $6,000 into my F150 and Protege5 together and I get compliments and "is that for sale" questions daily often. (Substitute F150 for E150 or Suburban etc.)

This kind of common sense is why I come here. Our van was the only vehicle we have financed and I remember the relief of that last payment. Used vehicle insurance discount is a great factor to keep in the discussion.

Somehow nobody suggested a Miata. Good thing, because I'm 6'-6" tall and it'll never work. P71 on the other hand...

2008 pacifica limited with third row seating.

What do the newer Suburban hybrids go for? I believe those did pretty well in the city and on the highway...

Pacifica only seats 6. My 90 burban was only 2wd. Other than that it was stock, didt have any fancy bug deflectos either. Still towin racecars! 300k+

His statement of 'four plus a couple' actually adds up to 6 so im not sure 6 seaters are entirely ruled out at this point.

Then shoot, crown vic or lesabre both seat 6. Good mpg as well. Not to mention huge trunk.

3rd rows are vastly superior to seating 3 across in the front row. Plus anything with a 3rd row is guaranteed to have a cargo area 2-3x as tall as a car trunk.

I thought the Honda Odyssey is the gold standard for family transportation. You have the budget to purchase another one. What is holding you back from just getting a newer model Odyssey when they fit your budget?

How about a Volvo V70R? Obviously it isn't a BMW M3, but with the Ohlins electrically adaptive two way dampers, they're pretty flat in the corners and the Atacama leather interior is to die for. Last week, Jalopnik had an article on why it will be a future classic. I should note that on Thursday, I placed a down payment on a 2004 S60R so I'm a bit biased; write-up to follow

Pacifica has no cargo room when seating 6. And not much when not. Don't speak in absolutes, you will most always be wrong. Roadmastr wagon has three rows....seats 8!

I see you decided to end-run your own advice by sticking in the word 'most'.

Yep! Its from all these damn ASEs and other cert tests I take.

fanfoy wrote:

OHSCrifle wrote:

fanfoy wrote: 2005 to 2007 Ford Freestyle. Carries 7 in comfort, is nice to drive and doesn't look like a minivan. My old 05 got 20-22mpg city and as high as 28 (economy run) on the highway. And that was with AWD. A FWD should get a bit better. For your budget, you could get the nicest/newest/lowest mileage example and have 10k left for a sporting vehicle.

Wasn't this re-badged? Taurus X or something after 2007?

Yup. 05-07 Freestyle is a Fordified version of a Volvo XC90 (generally more reliable, except for fragile CVT). 08-09 Taurus X is an evolution of the Freestyle with a normal 6 speed and larger engine (more reliable, but more thirsty). And the 09-up Flex is an evolution of the Taurus X with improved front brakes.

I would definitely hold out for a Taurus X over the Freestyle. It's not just the real 6 speed auto which drives far nicer, gives better fuel econ but is massively more reliable than the CVT, but the jump from the 3.0L to the 3.5L was a huge improvement. I used to have a Taurus X, put 41,000 (literally, not 40,999, not 41,0001, but 41k on the nose) in about 14 months. Brilliant vehicle. Big, yet small enough to be fine around town, yet large enough to eat up cross country trips with ease. Our was the DD kid hauler and it also went to Yellowstone, DC, Austin etc. from SE Mi. I can't say enough good things about them. Tom Spangler on here still has one and I think will echo my views.

The Flex, while a stunning long distance hauler is for me just too big and unwieldy for DD in town duty. They seem to be a favorite of soccer moms around here, but in town I don't like them. Great mile eater though.

There's an X button in the upper right hand corner of your posts that you can use to clean up double posts.