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Family SUV, what do you drive?

crank

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Re, Highlander mileage. So-so lucky if I can get 20 on the highway. My next car may be a Highlander hybrid or it may be something a bit smaller with a 4 cylinder engine rather than a 6. MY GF just got a 2014 Subaru Forrester and we will be taking that on many a ski trip this season.
 

deadheadskier

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I'm partial to Mazdas. If I were in the market for a family hauler, I'd probably go with a CX-9.
 

dlague

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Chrysler Aspen - FWD/AWD, great traction control, front and rear heated seats for those cold days and seats a family. Tough on gas - it has a HEMI! However on highway will shut down four cylinders to ease the gas burden which is bad enough!

We were heading up the Bolton Valley access road during a heavy snow storm and made it up that road while other AWD cars were spinning out or getting stuck!
 

jimk

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'12 Outback Limited , AWD , leather heated seats , 31/32 in the summer , 28/29 in the winter , 4 cyl CVT , 73 cu ft of storage , great for skiing and travel in all kinds of weather .
I just got a 2014 Outback.

In retrospect, we perhaps should have gotten an explorer. With 2 dogs and baby #2 on the way, the car is already getting cramped, especially since (at least now) we think we will want to go to 3 or maybe even 4 kids. (.... we will make that decision one at a time ... before everyone says I'm insane for wanting four kids, I've already heard it ;) )

I had four kids, now mostly grown. Missed the SUV train and went straight to a succession of three Chrysler minivans. They worked well for ski tripping in the snow-challenged mid-Atlantic, probably not so good for New England.

Haha threads like this make me feel so poor!
I traded in an old 1992 Honda Accord for my Outback. Only got about $1000 credit, but that Accord was a trooper and we made separate ski trips with it just in the last four years to VT, NH, ME and UT:-o

MY GF just got a 2014 Subaru Forrester and we will be taking that on many a ski trip this season.
:beer:
 

mattchuck2

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Haha threads like this make me feel so poor!

Seriously. I always wonder how people make so much money to afford the vehicles they drive (and the houses they live in). Do they buy everything on credit? Do they not contribute to retirement?

I don't even have any kids and I struggle most of the time. Can't imagine having 4...
 

hammer

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2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee which is up over 50K miles. Replaced 2001 Toyota Highlander which is now our son's beater car and it has just over 200K miles. Used as a commuter car, the Jeep gets 19 MPG mixed driving which is pretty good considering its size.

Regarding finances, we contribute to retirement and college funds (enough for state schools) and enjoy life but our house isn't opulent, and we usually purchase cars new and run them into the ground. Have 9 more payments on the car I drive and hope to have that one for several more years afterwards before needing a replacement.
 

crank

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Same here, I buy them new and run them until they are too tired to go on. this is the first time I have gotten over 200K though and I am hoping to go 250-260K.
 

hammer

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Same here, I buy them new and run them until they are too tired to go on. this is the first time I have gotten over 200K though and I am hoping to go 250-260K.
Good luck, same here...our Highlander still runs but has issues, and at this time I feel like every time my son gets it out and back without a major issue it's a gift.
 

dlague

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Same here, I buy them new and run them until they are too tired to go on. this is the first time I have gotten over 200K though and I am hoping to go 250-260K.

Well we buy 2-3 years old and then run them into the ground! Shop around for the best deal then get it! At least we can get into a vehicle for lower dollars, pay it off faster (2-3 years) and then run it payment free!
 

mlctvt

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Seriously. I always wonder how people make so much money to afford the vehicles they drive (and the houses they live in). Do they buy everything on credit? Do they not contribute to retirement?

I think you're right both of these, at least from what I've read about the average American's retirement savings. I've got friends that make about 1/2 the money I do but they have BMWs or Audis and they always have the latest gadgets/phones but no retirement savings at all! That's scary.

I usually buy 2-3 year old cars and keep them until they're really old or die.
It's just my wife and I so we can get away with smaller vehicles.
2005 Subaru WRX wagon , 2005 Subaru Legacy GT wagon and 2008 Honda Element (with rear seats removed it's like a small van)
 
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family-truckster1.jpg
 

jimk

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I don't even have any kids and I struggle most of the time. Can't imagine having 4...

My youngest child is a junior in college. When she's done I'll have spent conservatively about $450k on education (including private high school and various colleges) for my four kids and that was with them finishing college with loans totaling $15k-$30k each. I guess it was worth it. They're all doing ok in life, but I could have had a slopeside condo somewhere good for that money:)
 
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gladerider

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Glade - we had an '05 Pilot too and at about 175K and a with a big repair bill looming, we decided time for something new. Looked at and researched everything and ended up going with another Pilot. At least it's a different color! I honestly think I'd be cursing trying to pack the fam for a ski trip in anything different, there's so much room for kids, dog, gear, and can even fit the skis and boards inside.

Re Landrover - I so love these and I do think they are far more reliable now. Had an '99 Discovery and it was gorgeous, luxurious and left me stranded over and over. More like a parkinglotsitter than a landrover.

interesting. you know that thought occurred in my mind as well.
 

ctenidae

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My wife got an LR4 as a loaner for her service apt last week. She said the back seat is tiny, not big enough for our rear facing car seat without moving the driver's seat up a little too far.
 

WWF-VT

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We have a 2007 Outback with 98K miles. That version of the Outback is more like a station wagon than the later generation which is a larger crossover vehicle. Our other vehicle is a 2013 Audi Q5 that replaced a 2006 A6 wagon that had 206K miles. We have two teens and a dog and both vehicles work for us on our winter weekend commutes to VT.
 

Geoff

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I have a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer V8 AWD with 113,000 miles. It's my winter beater I use to go to the mountain and summer Home Depot-mobile and occasional tow vehicle. It also serves as the spare car loaner for a bunch of my friends. I had a 100K Ford extended warranty on it and it had a ton of work to make it mechanically perfect as it was approaching 100,000 miles 6 years ago. A decade of Vermont road salt haven't been kind to it. Recently, I've been having all kinds of corrosion-related failures. Right now, it's in the shop getting exhaust manifolds. Earlier this summer, it got power steering pump and all the lines replaced. Before that was the rear part of the exhaust system. My car bill is less than my boat yard bill but not by much this year.

I did a 200 mile trip with it recently and got 19.5 MPG going the speed limit. The mileage drop-off between 65 mph and 80 mph is astounding.

I should probably collapse down to one car but I like having a 30+ MPG fun to drive VW GTI as my daily driver. I need the 4WD and ground clearance for mud month and those epic powder days. Meh. They're paid for. I'll keep these two cars going for another 3 or 4 years and hopefully see something that would be suitable as a single car.

Mountaineer.jpg
 

gladerider

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I have a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer V8 AWD with 113,000 miles. It's my winter beater I use to go to the mountain and summer Home Depot-mobile and occasional tow vehicle. It also serves as the spare car loaner for a bunch of my friends. I had a 100K Ford extended warranty on it and it had a ton of work to make it mechanically perfect as it was approaching 100,000 miles 6 years ago. A decade of Vermont road salt haven't been kind to it. Recently, I've been having all kinds of corrosion-related failures. Right now, it's in the shop getting exhaust manifolds. Earlier this summer, it got power steering pump and all the lines replaced. Before that was the rear part of the exhaust system. My car bill is less than my boat yard bill but not by much this year.

I did a 200 mile trip with it recently and got 19.5 MPG going the speed limit. The mileage drop-off between 65 mph and 80 mph is astounding.

I should probably collapse down to one car but I like having a 30+ MPG fun to drive VW GTI as my daily driver. I need the 4WD and ground clearance for mud month and those epic powder days. Meh. They're paid for. I'll keep these two cars going for another 3 or 4 years and hopefully see something that would be suitable as a single car.

Mountaineer.jpg

nice pic.
 
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