We played this game a few times, and now it's time for a new twist. Read the whole post before commenting, otherwise it'll get confusing.
We own a 06 Freestyle, we like it, but it's time to replace it due to a transmission issue. If you haven't been keeping score at home, please read these briefly:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/minivans-vs-carseats/25539/page1/
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/transmission-swap-slightly-unconvention...
We have three kids, all in carseats, the youngest rear facing and one 75 lb dog (Lucy is gone, boo).
We are poor. We ran out of money recently. Long story, not worth telling.
I can't stand being able to afford a FWD high mileage time bomb just waiting for a new transmission (all minivans seem to be deficient in this regard) or a SUV pig that gets 17 mpg on its best highway trip ever. There has really got to be something more. I am even going to open the floor to the "screw the dog, that's what the PT is for, she will never travel with the family ever - get a big pantheresque sedan and squeeze the kids until the door close" option.
Obviously, I like older cars, often easier to fix, often cheaper and easier to find parts for, most of the time just as reliable, but there is one wildcard that we had not considered (widely) yet. Safety. Modern cars rock, older cars suck, as generalities go. Crash tests prove that.
So, what vehicle, capping at maybe 4k, seats this many kids, hopefully sits the dog, gets better than Suburban mileage and has better than T&C or ODY reliability, and has been verified to be safe in some meaningful way. I have looked, and am perfectly willing to accept Euro Ncap scores, which I personally feel are superior to NHTSA, NHTSA, IIHS, Japanese crash tests, or anything else where someone actually smashed the car into something and some expert looked at the result. This one time you had a head on collision with an 18-wheeler in your Austin Healey Sprite totally does not count.
DO NOT:
-Tell me that older cars are safer because the steel is thicker.
-Tell me that cars are being built to pass specific crash tests
-tell me that Obama/Bush is solely responsible for....
-Suggest three Miatas
-Tell me to save more money
-Tell me to take on car payments
Right now, our list looks like this:
2000+ (hopefully) Suburban, Tahoe, Envoy, Yukon
?-1996 Caprice/Impala/Roadmaster wagon
1st gen Odyssey
1998-2003 Sienna
Camry wagon
Accord wagon
Saturn LWxxx wagon
Not even all of those are even that safe. The wagons don't have enough room, really, to boot (get it?) and the trucks have terrible gas mileage. What am I missing? Any ahead-of-its time three row vehicle with great safety ratings? The Astro got terrible side impact crash test ratings, and the Aerostar we borrowed barely had enough room for the rear facing seat in ANY position. Am I stuck with a icky old minivan or a giant SUV?
Purchased new, currently showing 80,000 miles. I've replaced tires and brakes, battery, oil and filters. Probably about time I thought about doing plugs and coolant. It's been great. Mine has the winter package and a transmission oil cooler. Gas mileage in the low 20's in day-to-day driving, up to 26 on interstate jaunts. Not sure how that can be considered bad in a vehicle of this size.
