what cars - family fleet edition

In the next year we will be replacing both of our Daily Drivers. I want to pick the GRM brain trust to make sure I'm not overlooking anything.

At the end of the day we need vehicles that cover the following bases.

1. Daily Driver for her. She has had a minivan for the last 10 years, and is done with those. She wants to have a 3rd row of seats, but doesn't need that and a ton of storage. She prefers the crossover/fwd based SUV's. she would be okay with anything that is either fwd/awd/4wd, just no RWD. This is our main car for weekend driving, and she does a MAJOR road trip each summer. Long term reliability is key.

2. Daily Driver for me. I commute 130 miles each day, so MPG is big. I'd love to have something that's at least slightly on the fun to drive side. My commute however is on the flattest, straightest roads in the world, so fun is hard to come by.

3. Tow rig - I need something capable of dragging my project around. Say a 4000lb rating, and more is always better.

I see two ways to address this.

2 cars, DD and tow rig for her, and some commuter appliance for me. SWMBO would prefer this route. This forces me to get something that is capable of fitting my two boys (11 and 8, and VERY Tall) in and it has to be automatic. budget 25k for hers, up to 20 for mine.

3 cars. Daily driver for her, seperate tow rig/bad weather/camping/kid hauler and a commuter car. This opens the doors for way more entertaining commuters as they could be two seats, stick, etc. budget's the same, 25k for hers, total of 20 for the other 2.

I already have a dedicated autox/track day project. However, something that was decent to drive at autox would be welcome because I always have about half a dozen friends that want to try it out. Reliability is key since anytime I'm working or spending money on these is money/time out of the current or future projects.

so what would GRM do?

My advice would be to shy away from Mazda and their Ford equivalents. We went with a Mazda SUV/crossover when we got my mother a new daily some years back. It hasn't been a great experience.

I don't see a did making the cut for her car, she actively dislikes them. Are the crossovers still shared? I thought they had parted ways?

In reply to RoughandReady:
Was that a CX-7 turbo?
If yes, little shared with Ford but good reason to avoid.

Complete share with Ford would be Escape/Tribute twins.

Chevy Traverse (or other GM clone) or a Highlander (both are rated to tow 5000 lbs plus) if you want a crossover, Tahoe or Suburban if you want more towing capacity for her.

4 cylinder mid-sized sedan (pick whichever is your favorite) that's a year or two old for you.

stumpmj wrote: 4 cylinder mid-sized sedan (pick whichever is your favorite) that's a year or two old for you.

That's so boring!!! Probably the smart answer though

Yeah, the CX-7 is no pinnacle of reliability.....

The CX-9 is a good choice. Reliable, 3 rows, but it only has a 3500 pound tow rating. What about a Suburban?

I'm going to have her drive two burbs, half and 3/4 ton. Her first thought is yuck, to trucky.

If we go with the 3 car route I'm pretty sure the tow rig will be a burb.

Hers:

His:

Oops, I meant:

Does the flex tow ?

I think the 3 car route is going to be best here. Her - Hyundai Santa Fe/Kia Sorento You (DD) - Elantra You (Tow) - Suburban

I suggest the ford flex for her. Yes they can tow. Slightly used prius for your daily. The ford sync system is awesome and after having it in my wife's flex makes me want my next car to be a ford too.

Any thoughts on the new pathfinder? She likes the looks, but I'm unsure about the cvt

I'll agree with the Flex for her. Some were equipped with a towing package from the factory. Ours is really boring to drive, but it's comfortable and at least as big inside as a Suburban. My brother is 6'6" and fit very comfortably in the back seat. Two (female) adults will fit in the third row. We recently got an '09 Limited, everything except nav and AWD with 44k for well under $20k. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.

Besides the one major trip, how much driving does she do? A Suburban sounds like the perfect vehicle, or the slightly smaller Tahoe. They can tow your 4000lb load without pushing its' limits. They do have their share of rattles and things like that, but they run forever if cared for. I see them with 200k and more all the time.

For you, I'd agree something like a 4 cyl family sedan is going to fit the bill perfect. I wouldn't say the 6spd Accord EX-L is a thrill ride, I wouldn't call it a boring appliance (i.e. Impala).

Showed her the flex last night and her reaction was "quite possibly the ugliest thing on the road"

However she thinks the juke is cute and I should get one!

I guess I should be thankful she has no eye for aesthetics, or she never would have married me

Normally she doesn't put much mileage on her car. I'm all for the suburban .

You: GTD
Her: I was going to agree flex, but how about explowa?

Too bad she said no to Flex. With tow package they're rated at 4500lbs.

GTD is awesome, but you won't get a new one for $20K when they come out next year. If you're open to a pocket rocket hatchback, the Fiesta ST is available new at $25Kish with Recaros. A certified used one will likely come in at $20K in the coming year, and will knock out 30ish hwy mpg's.

It's pushing your budget up a bit, but what's she think of the new Explorer? My wife likes them better than the comparable GM Lambdas (Acadia/Traverse/Enclave). Similar to Lambdas the Explorer is more of a fullsizer now (3rd row), will tow 5,000lbs. with proper tow package. They'll still get better mpg's (20ish) than a bigger body on frame V8 SUV since it's primary use won't be towing.

Consider it a Flex in a fancier "mom friendly" wrapper.

Is the gtd a vw something? The nearest dealer is 5 hours away, how reliable would they be?

I would personally go the three vehicle route to have more flexibility for you and her.

I would get the wife a 2010-11 Durango or CX-9. Motortrend says those are the two best mid-sized SUVs made that year.

For your daily driver, I would suggest a 10-11K Jetta diesel 5-speed. They are probably the most fun 40mpg car you can buy. A 4-banger Mazda 6 is fun to drive and would be big enough if you don't like the Jetta. The boring car would be a first generation Ford Fusion. It's reliable and the 4 cylinder cars get good gas mileage. Some of them will have a 5 speed. They also have the largest interior of any car I have ever driven.

Then your tow vehicle can be between a F-150, Ram 1500 or Silverado.

icaneat50eggs wrote: Is the gtd a vw something? The nearest dealer is 5 hours away, how reliable would they be?

Correct.

The GTD is not here yet. It's a GTI with a TDI drivetrain.

It won't be here until the mk7 variant of the Golf/GTI arrive, which is likely to be as a 2016 model, so it's a good ways off.