I think I've tried every flavor of family truckster with 3 kids.
Wagon- 2005 Subaru Legacy GT wagon. By far the best to drive. It's a turbo, AWD, manual transmission car with a really big trunk. Back seat was tight with car seats/boosters. Could fit 2 car seats with one booster. Cargo area big enough for strollers, port a cribs and such. Could mount a roof box and not need a step stool to reach it if needed. Gas mileage in the low to mid 20's
Full size crew cab truck- 2004 Nissan Titan. Plenty of room in the cab for 3 car seats, and could seat 3 adults up front in a pinch. Lack of secure cargo area a drawback, but never bothered with a topper or cover. Mounted a cargo box over the bed a couple times. Could tow a lot. No sports sedan, but fun to drive for such a large vehicle. Gas mileage around 12-14 average, 18-20 on trips.
Small Minivan- 2002 Mazda MPV. The most car like of the non car vehicles. Great utility to size ratio, was let down by poor seating layout. 7 passenger, but only 2 in the middle and 3 in the non split folding rear. With three kids, that made packing for long trips more challenging than it needed to be. Had to use a roof mounted cargo box. Power sliding doors are awesome. Don't remember the mileage- low 20's?
Large minivan.- 2014 Toyota Sienna. Similar utility to size ratio of the MPV, but in a bigger box. Better utility due to 3 wide middle row and split folding rear. Not as car like to drive as the MPV, but better than SUV's. Much more luggage space, never needed to put the cargo box on the roof. Very roomy and comfortable for everyone on board. Gas mileage 18-20 average.
Midsize 8 passenger SUV- 2020 Kia Telluride. Significant trade off from the Sienna to lose the Mommy Mobile look. No sliding doors, less cargo area (depth,) not as car like to drive, but still drove very well. Plenty of people space inside and very comfortable. The highest quality vehicle of the bunch. Can tow more than a minivan, but we kept the truck for towing. Better gas mileage than the Sienna, despite being AWD. Averaged around 23-24.
Large 8 passenger SUV- 2019 Ford Expedition Max. Max at everything- People room, comfort, cargo, towing. Drives like a truck, which was a plus for my wife. I prefer more car-like for my daily drivers. Real world gas mileage is less than expected. 15 overall average with a best hwy at just over 20. If you need to carry lots of people and their stuff, and tow- this is it. Cameras and parking sensors make this much easier to live with when parking is tight.
My pick-
If I didn't need to haul or tow stuff and could get by with just enough- Wagon
If towing wasn't a concern and cargo/people flexibility was top- Large Minivan
If make my life easier do almost everything except fun to drive- Large SUV
If I could only have one vehicle- Crew can truck.
Note, I have not tried what might be the best option- full sized van. I was really interested in the Nissan NV passenger van, but my wife vetoed due to too much ugly.