Recommend a family vehicle please

[edyvw]

The OP has a $35k budget, the LE just makes it. Have you looked at the prices of used Limiteds lately edy? What the OP is going to find is something around a 2017, maybe a 2018. If you were thinking about getting rid of yours, NOW would be the time.

I am talking used. And definitely NOT 2017!!! 2016,18.

 

[edyvw]

We were in a similar situation in 2019 with our first child. We got a CR-V because the wife was in love with the 90* doors....I wanted a CX-5. Had the CR-V not have 90* doors, we'd have a CX-5. Then we had our second child in Sept. last year and we sold the wife's Camry and bought our Odyssey. It is a LOT nicer than the CR-V space-wise....we shouldn't even have gotten the CR-V, looking back. We should have gotten something bigger like a Pilot or CX-9 or the minivan sooner. Go bigger than what you think you want/need.

^This.
Definitely bigger. Buy once. No one buys minivans bcs. they are hoot to drive. They are necessary evil. Buy once, that is it. Pour 10 gallons of gas on it in 10years after kids are grown.

 

[Bud]

With kids I would get a minivan if you can swing it.

 

[tyman]

I bought a CR-V in 2016 when kiddo #2 was on her way. Two years later, I was buying a van before kiddo #3 was born because we couldn’t fit three child seats across in the backseat. We kept the CR-V as a second vehicle, but we might as well have skipped it and bought the van.

Yup! In our CR-V, my wife's knees are touching the dash almost because her seat has to be moved forward enough to allow our 2 yo's carseat to sit without moving.

 

[tyman]

Toyota does not manufacture a "bare bones" Sienna anymore. The $35k LE comes with all of the power equipment and a full suite of safety features. Moving up a step from an LE is a LOT more money ($5k more) and doesn't really get you very much for your money.
I finally got around to driving the new Sienna Hybrid. I was a little sceptical about giving up the V/6, thinking that it wouldn't be powerful enough. I was wrong, it actually accelerates better than I thought it would. Accelerating away from a stop is actually better than my V/6. The instant torque supplied by the electric motors make a big difference here. The fuel mileage is phenomenal, given how big and roomy it is, nothing else compares.

We liked the hybrid Sienna we test drove before the Odyssey. The wife likes the Odyssey's magic sliding 2nd row so we got the Odyssey over the Sienna for that reason, otherwise, we'd have a hybrid Sienna. We also got lucky for our Odyssey Elite, $36k in June of last year. The Experian car thing said its worth $40k trade-in or $44k private sale now. Too bad brand new Elites are $50k lol

 

[edyvw]

We liked the hybrid Sienna we test drove before the Odyssey. The wife likes the Odyssey's magic sliding 2nd row so we got the Odyssey over the Sienna for that reason, otherwise, we'd have a hybrid Sienna. We also got lucky for our Odyssey Elite, $36k in June of last year. The Experian car thing said its worth $40k trade-in or $44k private sale now. Too bad brand new Elites are $50k lol

Huge advantage of Toyota over any other minivan is AWD option. I think Pacifica comes with it now too.

 

[FordMan59]

Yep! The gently used ones probably have odometer roll backs.....

Not all of them. My mom has a '99 Grand Marquis (same platform as a Crown Victoria) with 62K original miles. Gas mileage is in the 24-25 MPG range in mixed driving and 27-30 on highway trips depending on how hard it's pushed.

 

[wag123]

Huge advantage of Toyota over any other minivan is AWD option. I think Pacifica comes with it now too.

It depends on where you live. Personally, I would not purchase an AWD because where I live I don't need it. Living in Alabama, the OP doesn't need AWD either. Besides, the 2022 Sienna AWD XLE is $7K more than the LE FWD, the AWD Woodland Edition is $11k more, and the Platinum AWD is a whopping $16k more.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

The wife and I just welcomed our baby boy into the world six months ago and in that time we have became increasingly aware that a ford ranger and a Honda Civic aren’t gonna cut it much longer due to space. Both are paid for and both run great. The ranger is an ‘02 regular cab so it’s not helping anything and my wife’s civic feels like a cramped go cart with a diaper bag and car seat and it has over 200k miles on it to boot. I will be keeping both vehicles For back up reasons and the ranger is my daily driver for work.

My budget is low to mid $30k’s and I’m really trying to avoid the used market as much as possible with all the insane prices. We had initially planned to use her civic until it was just no longer feasible because we both hate debt and we love not having any, but we feel it’s time.

With all that said, I’ve noticed the VW Tiguan seems to be in my price range new and I was wondering if there are any opinions or experiences with them? I’m not opposed to a full size truck either because the ram 1500 bighorns can be had new for $35k near me.

Mazda CX-5 for the money and the reliability.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Definitely NOT plenty of space in 4Runner. It is body on frame. There are a lot of drawbacks to that when it comes to family needs.

It's not a family car, I agree, as I own one. I traded ultimate reliability for creature comforts, however.

 

[tyman]

Huge advantage of Toyota over any other minivan is AWD option. I think Pacifica comes with it now too.

I personally don't care about AWD myself. I didn't want our CR-V to be AWD but the wife did. I put my foot down after the CR-V and said f no. And Chrysler is just a huge nope.

 

[tyman]

Mazda CX-5 for the money and the reliability.

and looks.

 

[edyvw]

I personally don't care about AWD myself. I didn't want our CR-V to be AWD but the wife did. I put my foot down after the CR-V and said f no. And Chrysler is just a huge nope.

I was just saying generally. Finding FWD is much easier though I personally like AWD regardless bcs. it eliminates that torque steer.
IMO, get used Sienna, if you can find low mileage one 2016 would be good. 2GR-FE is IMO better behaving engine than 2GR-FKS in 2017 and later. Also, 2017 had HUGE transmission issues!

 

[Skippy722]

The 2 perfect vehicles when you have children is a crew cab truck and a minivan. The truck allows me to put the ridiculously big (but necessary for safety) rear facing seats behind my seat and not have to shove the seat uncomfortably forward.

 

[tyman]

I was just saying generally. Finding FWD is much easier though I personally like AWD regardless bcs. it eliminates that torque steer.
IMO, get used Sienna, if you can find low mileage one 2016 would be good. 2GR-FE is IMO better behaving engine than 2GR-FKS in 2017 and later. Also, 2017 had HUGE transmission issues!

Hybrid > non-hybrid

 

[CatCam2]

This -- you're Welcome!!

 

[edyvw]

Hybrid > non-hybrid

Don’t understand.
2GR-FE is older port injection engine.
2GR-FKS is direct injection, Atkinson cycle. Torque is pushed higher and has very narrow torque band.

 

[tyman]

Don’t understand.
2GR-FE is older port injection engine.
2GR-FKS is direct injection, Atkinson cycle. Torque is pushed higher and has very narrow torque band.

My wife and I wouldn't have bought an older one. We would have gotten a new hybrid one - 2020+.

Engine 2.5 L A25A-FXS I4 (gasoline hybrid)
Electric motor 2x permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM)
Power output 186 hp (139 kW; 189 PS) (gasoline engine only); 243 hp (181 kW; 246 PS) (combined system output)

 

[edyvw]

My wife and I wouldn't have bought an older one. We would have gotten a new hybrid one - 2020+.

Engine 2.5 L A25A-FXS I4 (gasoline hybrid)
Electric motor 2x permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM)
Power output 186 hp (139 kW; 189 PS) (gasoline engine only); 243 hp (181 kW; 246 PS) (combined system output)

Definitely better option mpg wise! If you get Sienna, watch out for tailgate when closing not to hit something like bike rack etc. Material is paper thin and bend around hinges in no time. I thought they fixed it on new one, but no.

 

[Kuato]

The wife and I just welcomed our baby boy into the world six months ago and in that time we have became increasingly aware that a ford ranger and a Honda Civic aren’t gonna cut it much longer due to space. Both are paid for and both run great. The ranger is an ‘02 regular cab so it’s not helping anything and my wife’s civic feels like a cramped go cart with a diaper bag and car seat and it has over 200k miles on it to boot. I will be keeping both vehicles For back up reasons and the ranger is my daily driver for work.

My budget is low to mid $30k’s and I’m really trying to avoid the used market as much as possible with all the insane prices. We had initially planned to use her civic until it was just no longer feasible because we both hate debt and we love not having any, but we feel it’s time.

With all that said, I’ve noticed the VW Tiguan seems to be in my price range new and I was wondering if there are any opinions or experiences with them? I’m not opposed to a full size truck either because the ram 1500 bighorns can be had new for $35k near me.

Congrats!

Since you like Honda, mid 30s gets you into Passport or Pilot territory. As stated above if you're considering more than 1 child it pays to plan ahead.