3rd Row SUV

[brew]

My wife's daily driver is a Buick Enclave.  She loves it.  We realized after we bought it the "old person's car" (Buick) finally fits us

[kball4]

I want a Durango Hellcat  , but the wife is looking at Grand Highlander hybrid that gets 34 mpg.

[Mtnwalker]

No complaints with the Highlander its been a great rig. Still gets cramped in a hurry with 2 dogs and 2 kids though

[pianoman9701]

I traded in my Grand Cherokee Laredo, son, and Dobernam for a Toyota Tacoma. The back seat and bed are length of room for a cat carrier and groceries. No Regerts!

[HntnFsh]

My wife's daily driver is a Buick Enclave.  She loves it.  We realized after we bought it the "old person's car" (Buick) finally fits us

Buick makes a very reliable comfortable rig. We loved our Lacrosse. Looked at the SUVs last time we shopped and didnt like the mpg.

[HntnFsh]

We bought a new Kia Sorrento SX prestige hybrid last May. I looked at and rode in all of the brands. Didnt like the comfort of the Honda CRv or the Toyota Highlander or Venza. They are  great rigs but we got way more bang for the buck buying the Kia. Way more comfortable, more quiet. Great smooth ride. 36 mpg all summer. A little over 32 right now. Its hard for me to dis on Toyota because we have had several. Including a 2020 Avalon Limited Hybrid that was extremely reliable and got 42mpg all of the time. But within a half hour of sitting in the passenger seat I was squirming trying to get comfortable. The Kia is way more comfy. Even the highest level Highlanders and Venzas had limited adjustability on the passenger seat. Even the electric ones. Which was surprisingly hard to find. Our Sorrento has 3rd row seats but we leave them down all of the time. We also found that cars south of us were running $3000-$7000 cheaper than the same cars to the north of us.

The only thing is, you may still want more room than the Sorrento has. I would say its close to the Highlander that I wanted so badly. Also the high end Highlander was running 8-10,000 dollars more than the top of the line Sorrento we bought.

[mountainman]

Take a hard look at the new 2024 Grand Highlander. More cargo than the standard Highlander. Gas or Hybrid (36mpg) and a Max Hybrid model at 340 hp👍

[Emptyhanded]

Thanks for the info guys! That grand Highlander would probably be the ticket, but I’m curious the see what the street price will be.
Any experience with VW atlas or Nissan Armada? I’m seeing mostly negatives on Audi, safe to assume VW is in the same boat?


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[blackveltbowhunter]

Several friends have had highlanders, decent mileage and reliable. I always thought they were fine in the comfort department, but was in the minority. I would get one if it suited my family needs for sure.  Complaints seemed to be the lack of comfort and the room overall ie...lots of seating but tight seats.

In-laws had a traverse. Was very smooth, and comfortable. Spent a lot of time at the dealership/shop.

Personally, would shy away from audi, VW. Comfortable but expensive to maintain seems to be the consenus and feed back.

I have a bigger family and more dogs, LOL. So a bigger SUV is needed. If more kids are in the plan save yourself the time and just get a 4runner now. 

[ipkus]

Wife is in her second Atlas, I think there’s been two little recall items in 6 years between the two.  Other than that, change the oil/rotate and buy tires.

I don’t drive it much but she loves it.  I will say there is more storage room in the back with the third row seat up than anything else we looked at, including a Tahoe.

[BIGINNER]

X2 on the Atlas   has ours for 5 years  no issues at all. Tons of cargo space and 3rd row space.  We ended up getting a suburban recently just because we outgrew the atlas

[andersonjk4]

I am Ford biased.  I have only owned Fords except one Nissan Rogue, but I have owned all of the various sizes of SUVs.  Had an Escape pre-kids and with 2 dogs and it was a great fit.  Had a kid and added a dog, so went to an Explorer with the 3rd row and that fit the bill nicely.  Added a couple more kids and still had a dog, so the Explorer was getting too cramped having the 3rd row up all the time, so we went up to an Expedition Max.  I think the Explorer was my wifes favorite of the three and sounds like that size range would be a good fit for your situation.     

[steeleywhopper]

The only thing I can offer in this conversation is please don't make the same mistake we did and buy a GMC Acadia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is one of GMC's cars that should have been aborted!!!

[dutchmanaz]

We bought an Audi Q7 AWD last march and have been thoroughly enjoying it.  We only have about 9K miles on it, with no troubles yet.  We've used the back row seats once or twice, but usually leave them folded down.  Good enough for kids, but I wouldn't want to sit back there.  Beautiful machine, quiet,  lots of fun to drive and that thing flat MOVES.  Have to be careful because you'll get going much faster than it seems. 
I'm hopeful it will hold up and not give us problems. We did buy the extended Audi care warranty as a precaution.  Might take a look at Costco if you're a member.  I've heard good things about it.  Good luck in your choice!

[IslandHunter]

Volvo xc90 has been great for me and my family. Even towed a utility trailer and dirt bikes on a few occasions while my truck was down.

The 2008 (I think) to 2013 uses a 3.2 liter inline six that is known to go well over 200K with minimal issues. I bought mine with 110K on it for a pretty reasonable price and refreshed the suspension and breaks and it has been perfect otherwise. Super safe and enjoyable to drive.

Stay away from the v8 it is known to break timing belts and destroy the engine. I remember there being some electrical issues with the 2014 and newer but never looking into it much since I found a nice 2013 before I considered something newer.