In case you didn't already know, the Rav4 Prime (ie. PHEV) should be coming out soon. It is unlikely that I'd have the money to pick that up, but that is definitely one of the top cars on my radar at this point.

Congrats 320 on your news!

I'll have the V60 T8 Polestar in early March if you want to see if that's a good family hauler for you? Also Aznboi and I will be publishing a new video review comparing the Telluride with the Palisade next week so you can get a rough idea of what they're like.

i actually don't understand why minivans can't be a choice for people who are active (outdoors, etc)? It has more space and usability than a SUV or a truck. if AWD is a concern, there's the Sienna AWD.

I might be the only car guy who loves minivans. Maybe due to the fact that I like buses and minivan are sorta close to it.

Congrats! I was in your spot a little over a year ago (I now have a 9 month old and also am on the bubble for a 2nd due to our age). We did all our car shopping prior to the baby coming while my wife was still in a position to comfortably test drive cars and we didn't have to get a babysitter to go car shopping. Like others have said, you can/should wait till you actually need the car before buying it - we narrowed our list down to 2 cars and then waited till we had real life experience with things to help us make the final call. Our TSX worked fine for the first while and would work fine now for the most part but we much prefer the convenience, space, and comfort of our RDX - diaper changes and breast feeding in the back of the RDX is WAY easier than in the TSX.

A few thoughts:
- Unless you're outdoorsy or sporty you'd probably be fine with a compact SUV/wagon even with 2 kids. It's only when you got giant hockey bags and canoes and tents that a 3 row SUV/minivan is really necessary with 2 kids.
- I really LOVED the Golf wagon. Good power, good space, drove great. It just didn't have enough luxury features for us. I highly recommend taking a look at it, it won't feel like you've sold your soul for it.
- For pure practicality and value the CR-V was hard to beat. Gigantic rear seat, huge cargo hold, great visibility, easy to drive. It was my wife's top choice but I couldn't live with the CVT, if you're not the primary driver maybe it's worth a good look.

I grew up on a 1984 Plymouth Voyager LE with a thumping 104 hp motor and I loved it! I find it a shame that minivans are no longer available in the "mini" size and only in the "large" size - if there was a modern Mazda 5 with a little more juice I'd probably be driving that instead of my RDX. Sliding doors rock.

dont need fun cars when you can have this beautiful space shuttle

https://cdn.motor1.com/images/mgl/78...se-auction.jpg

The wife and I don’t get the same days off so progress is slow. Saturday we’re going to Toyota to check out the 4Runner and an Fj Cruiser, as well as a 2020 highlander as the new redesign interior is leagues better than what just left. Sunday is Chevy to go test the Zr2 (probably v6) and Monday hopefully go see the Ford Flex and an f350 (wife’s dream vehicle, it’s a no but we gotta look anyways).

We did test drive and price out both a Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe. Both had every option you could ask for and both came to just under 50k without haggling.

- both vehicles drive the same. Sorento has v6 versus the Santa Fe 2.0t
- Sorento seats 7 where the Santa Fe only 5
- Santa Fe interior seems a bit nicer, less hard plastic
- the buying experience at Kia was 100000x better than Hyundai, to the point where even if we liked the Santa Fe more we’d give our money to Kia

We wanted to look at the telluride but they sold all of them, and the used one they just got in was taken home by one of the managers.

I explained to my wife about resale value and such, and we plan to use the Sorento as the baseline for “at this price point, we can get this much car”

^ Have you considered the Palisade? Those things look pretty good.

Telluride looks way better to me, though the palisade has a bit more upscale of an interior.

Kia won my heart when they started jumping tellurides at SEMA

https://autonxt.net/wp-content/uploa...4a0f093613.jpg

I understand that. Burly 4x4 Esque rugged SUV's are hot right now. Anything that fits into that category is selling (Passport, 4Runner, Wranglers, Tellurides etc).

On a side note, It's a shame Mitsubishi won't bring back the Pajero name in a rugged aggressive form. Engineer a proper V6 with a good 4x4/4WD system and then dress it up in 4x4 fashion with mud tires, slight lift, bull bars and watch it sell.

edit: It already exists in other parts of the world and it doesn't look half bad.

https://www.carscoops.com/wp-content...o-sport-1.jpeg

you want a rugged 3-row vehicle?

say no more

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/6c/6c8b...5a70c5e3e0.jpg

The funny thing is most of them have low ground clearance and no low range.

If possible check your car seat or expected seat to make sure it fits. The infant carriers should be ok, but if you use a convertible one , a lot of them don't fit rear facing spending on the specific ergonomics of your vehicle.

$50K for a Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe ... so maybe $45-46K after negotiation? Damn, that's a lot of coin to put into a Kia/Hyundai.

Why not try something like this, save some $$, cheaper on fuel, and arrive in style. 2016 BMW X3 diesel, $34K listed without haggling.

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van...050655997.html

Absolutely no interest in owning European.

If I really wanted the Kia I’d convince my wife to buy the exact same model and now options but 2017 for 30k used. Boom just saved 20 grand

Good luck getting 4-5k off a Hyundai/Kia. They just don't carry those kinds of margins. Especially when they have limited inventory and no rebates.

I use to work for Honda and a brand new Pilot Touring had like $3700 of profit and we had like 2-3 in stock at any given time so no one would get a discount over $2000 unless we were desperate

since you're talking about it.... shameless plug

Never thought I would ever buy an SUV but I'm really considering the Aviator Hybrid. I'm a HP addict but I like comfort... For a long time, I thought I was just going to buy another Genesis since I love my 2015 5.0L but with them dropping the V8 for a V6TT, I'm considering other options... lol... Genesis is unveiling the GV80 SUV next week. If the top engine option isn't 400+ hp, I'll look elsewhere... lol

So slow updates

- test drove the ‘20 Kia telluride. A bit larger than the Sorento but honestly not by much. It’s larger in design but physically fairly similar. Drove nice, looks awesome. But I think we’re going a different direction from the Korean brands I will say though for anyone reading, I urge you to go check out Kia in Richmond. The staff was incredibly friendly and a joy to deal with. Almost to the point where I feel bad for *not* buying a car from them.

- test drove a ‘12 FJ cruiser. Wife and I absolutely love it but it’s overpriced and the dealer doesn’t have much interest in moving. If they were still offered new I’d buy one. But a very high premium for a vehicle with 150k km is just not what we’re looking for

- tested Tacoma. The ultimate disappointment of the group. I have multiple friends with taco’s and love them. They’re small on the interior, build quality is no better than the competitors, the price is insane compared to others and other than resale value, I don’t see why anyone would pay msrp for them.

- 4Runner was nice but too big and expensive.

- ‘20 colorado zr2 v6. I kind of loved it. I was raised in a Toyota family but the zr2 kicks the tacoma’s Ass. Especially when the v6 zr2 is 8-10k cheaper than the Tacoma trd pro, and is more capable off road and more comfortable and compliant on road. The only thing stopping me from buying one is.. well... it’s a Chevy. I’m worried about future build quality and long term reliability. There are no used zr2 on the market and I take that as a good sign

- ‘19 Ford Flex. All wheel drive, 3.5L twin turbo v6. Drives great, looks great. All the HVAC controls are touch buttons and I absolutely hate them. But it’s a massive vehicle that will be fantastic for the family. But we don’t only live in the city. The wife loves it, but I want something a bit more capable. It can’t tow my car to the track, and with the 4 sunroofs I don’t believe we can have a roof rack. That’s useless to me

She’s leaning towards the flex.

Enjoy the Flex!

LUL

I’m okay with that. As far as people movers go, you can’t get any more badass than the flex. It is the ultimate “cross over’ in a sense. A bit suv, a bit wagon, and a bunch twin turbo awd.

That just means that if it happens, I may have to move on from the foRS and get something more adventure capable

https://i.imgflip.com/3m5sp7.jpg

I had a Flex as a rental and actually quite liked it as well. I wouldn’t run out to buy one but understand the appeal.

no way i would still be interested in something as dinosaur as a FJ/T4R/Flex if you're looking at the Telluride

if youre gonna spend a good amount, buy new/new design

or just buy used, old and very affordable...that middle ground seems odd unless you're mostly after warranty

i assume this isn't a hobbyist project that you're gonna be modifying the tits off of...keep your lifted RS for the fun stuff

Come find me about '20 honda Pilot if you are interested, 320icar

With the Flex you can get the 3.5L ecoboost :)

a tune and you can rip!!!