Your Car

GMC Acadia. Love it for my family now. This is a 2012 model, I think, has been super useful, and has worked well for our family! (2 adults, 2 kids) Mostly the captains chairs, and 3rd row really make this very versatile for us and family! Plenty of cargo, and room for all! Great ride, not horrible on gas, 4 wheel drive, comfortable, and the bells and whistles don't hurt, either! I love the rear camera, trunk buttons for up and down, and the GPS/radio/DVD combo.

Previosly, we had the "sister" car before the Acadia was really out. A Saturn, I've forgotten the model. Then they discontinued Saturns, and that type of car, so we went to GMC. It has served us well! Though, when we go down in size a little, we will go back to the Jeep Grand Cherokee. That was by far my favorite.

Good Luck, it's hard to find a car that you all like and all fit in!
 
We bought a 2015 Ford Expedition 11 months ago. I love it. It fits all 3 kids and the Saint Bernard (very important because he's my service dog). It also needs to fit my 6'3" husband. Only thing I don't like about it is the $775/month payment..lol

In January we bought a 2016 Ford Explorer (we are a Ford only family). My husband switched companies, and the new company doesn't provide a company vehicle. This is the first time we've ever had to buy a 2nd car, so of course my nerves are rattled. His company provides $750/month (before taxes) towards the payment, but the payment is about $100 more. Anyway, I'm babbling. My point is, I love the Expedition. I used to love Explorer until they changed the body design/size. It's still a very nice vehicle, just too small and too low to the ground for me. Hubby loves it though, and the kids and dog fit, so it works for us..lol
 
We bought our Kia Soul in 2012 . . . it's a 2010. I love this car. And when we need a new car, I'll buy another one!

It's small, but I don't have to get on the ground to get in it. It has plenty of leg room in both the front seats and the back. In short (bwahahahaha), even though it looks small, you can put a lot in it. If you put the back seat down, and it's just you and the hubby, you can actually transport a washing machine in the box in the back. (No, wasn't me that did that but my niece and her hubby when they owned a Soul).

I'd say it's worth a test drive to see if your hubby would be comfortable with leg room. I'm pretty tall, so if I'm comfortable I would think he would be as well.

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Well, we have Chevrolet vehicles since my husband is a mechanic at a Chevy dealership...

I see that you said that the Tahoe is too big. I drive a Traverse and I LOVE the size! Except for when I'm trying to park it in a crowded parking lot. lol! But the back up camera is very handy. In a house that has 3 hockey players, I find the size of the Traverse perfect. Plus we have a dog and go camping. I love the extra space and the option to lift the 3 back seats when my kids and their friends are needing to go somewhere.

We also have a Chevy Cruze. It's one of the smaller cars. It's a great little car and great on gas. I can sort of fit two hockey bags in the trunk. We like this little car to go around town but never for trips. After our lease if up on this one we'll probably go for a Chevy Malibu just for the extra space... or maybe a truck since my husband misses his truck. Good luck!
 
We bought a 2016 Ford Explorer in August. I'm in love with my car. For the last 8 years I've driven a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. We use it for our four wheeling adventures but it was also my everyday driver. It's so nice now to have a comfortable vehicle that isn't a gas guzzler. The kids love that it is lower to the ground. The Jeep was very plain but the Ford has more technology and GPS which I've already used several times.
 
I have a 2012 Mazda 3 hatchback. I love the gas mileage on that puppy, things I don't like: It's too small in the back and very light weight. Light weight means you get moved by the strong wind a lot, living near the windy city DOES NOT help! Trunk space is good too, forgot to mention that.
 
GMC Acadia. Love it for my family now. This is a 2012 model, I think, has been super useful, and has worked well for our family! (2 adults, 2 kids) Mostly the captains chairs, and 3rd row really make this very versatile for us and family! Plenty of cargo, and room for all! Great ride, not horrible on gas, 4 wheel drive, comfortable, and the bells and whistles don't hurt, either! I love the rear camera, trunk buttons for up and down, and the GPS/radio/DVD combo.
!

I have an Acadia too! LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I have a 2015- and also had a 2014 (long story- upgraded just for a dvd player.. sheesh). Like Jen- the captains chairs for the kiddos plus the 3rd row option are SO nice. We have an English bulldog & she loves to sit back in the 3rd row! When my husband has hockey games or soccer for the kiddos or traveling, we lay down the 3rd row & the extra space is great! I couldn't live without my bluetooth connection to my phone, the heated seats or the built in dvd player for the kiddos! :D
 
We have two older cars, I wish we could exchange them :driving
 
I'm still driving my first vehicle - a 2001 Ford F-150 supercab. However, in the next 2-3 years, I'll have to go shopping. My truck is now starting to show it's age and since I have the kids most of the time, I need to make sure it's reliable. It's been my faithful vehicle for 15 years now :) I'm looking at a 4x4 Toyota Tacoma 4dr pickup - likely used. I'm a pickup driver and not really into cars or minivans. My DH drives the family vehicle - a Nissan Murano. It's nice but I really don't need or care for the bells & whistles.
 
Did I mention it fits me?

just wondering how tall you are?

We have a Dodge Caravan (father in law retired from Chrysler) a couple of things I love about it is we have not had an car payment in 6 years because of the age of it! It is one of the first vehicles that had the fold down seats and at first I thought I wouldn't like them..... I LOVE THEM! We have hauled home sheets of drywall/lumber in the back of our mini van! A couch from a resale shop. Go to garage sales or antique malls and if you find a piece of furniture all you do is fold down the seats and your good to load up!
I do have to say being where I grew up and all the family members that work for the American car companies. IF you live in the US please consider buying an American car. It does make a difference! There were so many jobs lost in the tier one and tier two suppliers in this area when the car companies were don't doing good. Many people don't realize how many job are affected when you don't choose to buy from the American car companies.

For the next vehicle we are looking at the GMC company. (our son worked for GM) But that wont be till our mini van can't run any longer!

We were looking at Ford as my Brother in law is retired from there and we could get the discount but we have switched to the GMC as we really like the Buick Cars. And we want to get a car the next time around. As our kids are grown now.
 
I have an Acadia too! LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I have a 2015- and also had a 2014 (long story- upgraded just for a dvd player.. sheesh). Like Jen- the captains chairs for the kiddos plus the 3rd row option are SO nice. We have an English bulldog & she loves to sit back in the 3rd row! When my husband has hockey games or soccer for the kiddos or traveling, we lay down the 3rd row & the extra space is great! I couldn't live without my bluetooth connection to my phone, the heated seats or the built in dvd player for the kiddos! :D

I am always cold, so the heated seats are one of my most favorite perks! Plus, the auto start! I don't have bluetooth on my model, but I should look into the devices that you can add to make it similar!
 
I drive a Ford Flex. It's a bit quirky, which is actually what drew me to it to begin with. I like things that are a bit out of the norm (could you guess?). What I love about it... the space inside! It easily fits 2 adults, 3 kids (2 of them teenagers) and 2 dogs (in a giant kennel in the far back). We can load that car up for vacation with plenty of room and comfort to spare. It gets decent gas mileage - averages about 20mpg with TONS of surface road driving. Highway it gets great mileage...too bad I don't drive on the highway more often!
I also love the tech in it. It's intuitive and user-friendly with multiple ways to accomplish the same thing or get to any given menu screen / display / etc. I like that.
 
I drive a 2008 Ford Explorer, which replaced my 1999 Ford Explorer. My husband has a 2011 Ford Explorer, which replaced a Ford Expedition, which replaced another Ford Expedition. So, yeah, I guess we like Ford SUV's! lol

We have not bought any of them as a new car. Alway used or a demo. That way, we get the best options for about half the price of new.
 
Dodge Caravan. 2 things I love about it: back up cam & built in hard drive. Right now we are keeping our eyes open for a 12 passenger van. The Caravan is just going to be too small for our family....hello, 7 kids! I'm totally going to miss the back up cam (living in the mountains can lend itself to some pretty crazy driveways that I have to back up in) and the built in hard drive is just plain awesome. I don't think these are things I'm going to have in my new van....and I might already be crying about that...not to mention I'll be driving a 12 passenger. Not cool. But I love all my kids so it's worth it.
 
I have a Mercury Mariner Hybrid which I adore. Its the same as a Ford Escape but Mercury and Hybrid LOL LOVE LOVE LOVE It!
 
I am absolutely no help whatsoever. We have a 1997 Plymouth Voyager (same kind as a Dodge Caravan) and we have used it to death. I'm still puttering around in it, but would LOVE to upgrade!! DH drives a 2001 Ford Crown Victoria and it too has been run to death. He's a commuter for work and I believe it is pushing 300K miles. Needless to say, they are old and we could really use new vehicles. Soon I hope. Good luck with your search.
 
I'm not going to be much help, either- I drive a 1993 Honda Civic del Sol and a 1995 Toyota Camry station wagon! I love both of them to pieces, but for different reasons, and obviously I like my cars old and used. I'm not sure I could handle the pressure of a new, unscratched car!

In general, I love Civics and Camrys. My del Sol has over 335,000 miles on it and has had little to no trouble. We had to replace the transmission (automatic) at 250K miles, but at that point I called it maintenance. I just bought the V6 Camry wagon (185K miles) last November, but before that we had a 4 cylinder Camry that we adored that made it to 250K miles before the transmission went out. In its defense, my husband did use it to pull a small trailer which probably caused it to die much earlier than it otherwise would have.

Darren drives a 2001 Toyota 4Runner, and it has also been great- no maintenance issues whatsoever. I don't mind driving it (it's one of the few SUVs where I can actually see out of all the windows without any blind spots), but I'm not really an SUV or van person. I like my del Sol because it drives like a go-kart, and the station wagon is good for me because it has more cargo space but is still low to the ground like a regular car.
 
we are on our second Chrysler Town & Country
love:
*the doors that slide open rather than swing open. With small kids opening doors in parking lots, I'm so much more comfortable with doors that do this rather than risk hitting one next to us!
*auto opening doors!
*the space. I cart a lot of kids around for scouts/sports and there's lots of room
*it's also VERY easy to put all the back seats down for when you're carting lots of stuff (like a van full of Boy Scout popcorn!).
*the gps and tv built in. :) Just saying, it's great for long distance and for the directionally challenged. LOL

There's been very little I don't like about my vans but the sticker shock! we always buy new and drive them til they literally fall apart and it costs more to fix than it's worth!
 
@Natalie C and @scrappyjedi Don't feel bad about your older cars! I love knowing which ones are still hanging in there. We had a 2005 Toyota Corolla, and I loved that thing. 188,000 miles, and the only major repairs were brakes and the serpentine belt.
@Scrapping with Liz our rental (Hyundai Tuscan) has a back up camera - it is awesome! Especially in our complex with children running all over.
 
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