New Vehicle Considerations
Printed From: Rocket City Rock Crawlers
Category: General
Forum Name: General 4x4 Discussion
Forum Description: Tech Talk
URL: http://www.rocketcityrockcrawlers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12353
Printed Date: 19 April 2024 at 1:56pm
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Topic: New Vehicle Considerations
Posted By: Mike_LaMar
Subject: New Vehicle Considerations
Date Posted: 22 March 2018 at 10:41am
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Krystal and I are considering going the minivan route for the primary family of five logistics solution. We have been researching the market and wanted to pole some of our trusted advisors as to y'alls experience in the segment. Our primary candidates so far are the Chrysler Pacifica and Toyota Sienna the only thing off the table is the Caravan because, IMHO, they are just flat out ugly. All advice is welcome, and thank you in advance. ------------- 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, 4" Superlift Suspension, 37" Toyo MTs "History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. - Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Replies:
Posted By: alabamatoy
Date Posted: 23 March 2018 at 9:12am
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Worth a read: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2017-chrysler-pacifica-long-term-test-review" rel="nofollow - https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2017-chrysler-pacifica-long-term-test-review ------------- "If you didnt buy your 1st gen 4Runner new, then YOU are a newbie!!" BRC Life Member |
Posted By: sixty5vdub
Date Posted: 23 March 2018 at 1:51pm
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We rented a Ford Explorer when we were on vacation in Orlando. Third row seating gave us plenty of room for 5 people and there was still room for our luggage. And they look a little cooler than a minivan, IMO. I have actually considered buying one, and I have never been a Ford guy. My .02 ------------- '07 JK Unlimited Rubicon, more bolt ons, a couple of weld ons, and two extra cylinders '70 VW Fastback, few bolt ons '65 VW Beetle, mostly unbolted |
Posted By: Doc Savage
Date Posted: 23 March 2018 at 8:45pm
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When we went the van route we went with a Kia. It was a 2009 and a knock off of the Toyota, but way better price. I really liked it better than the Chryslers as it had better horsepower and tow capacity. Build quality was pretty good too, and I was impressed with the motor and tranny. Came standard with a manual auto. We put 175K miles on it and it was purring like a kitten when my son totaled it on the parkway. Only motor work had been a sparkplug change. I did have a time that I had a weird oil issue (think two oils didn't mix well). Oil was fairly congealed when I changed it. Some seafoam and some closely spaced changes and it was purring again and ran for a couple of years after that. In that time we had a few scratches on the interior from hauling things, but everything was holding up well. We really liked it. Robert ------------- Past President, Rocket City Rock Crawlers Past President, Madison County CERT Association |
Posted By: NOT4HWY
Date Posted: 25 March 2018 at 4:06pm
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We did the minivan thing. We had the Chrysler Town & Country. 3.6 drank the oil but it was a known defect with those engines. It needed new front rotors every 25-30k miles but nothing else. The thing about minivans is they are very comfortable driving taking everyone and everything getting ok mileage but, buy used from rental agent because they lose value fast like a cadillac.
------------- Club member since 1992, Club President 1995-1999 Trail rig:S-Blazer,Rockwells,507 Caddy,T-400,203/205, Tow-rig: '23 F350 4x4 |
Posted By: magichelmt
Date Posted: 26 March 2018 at 9:29am
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I looked long and hard at this segment a couple of years ago. It came down to the Odyssey and Sienna for me. They are both fine vehicles, but I could not stomach spending 40K on one. Ended up with a 5y/o Odyssey touring with all the bells and whistles for about 14k. Drives great and the wife loves it.
------------- 88 Toyota 4x4 |
Posted By: BlackBird
Date Posted: 26 March 2018 at 1:51pm
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Pacifica has the hybrid now. Also, may want to look at a Grand Cherokee or Durango depending on exactly what you are after. Agree that buying used is the way to go in this segment, but I always look for something still in warranty for at least a little bit so its still fairly new and covered if something goes south but without the new value hit. ------------- Michael Crandall Monrovia Volunteer FF/Driver Mine - 2024 Ram 2500 Rebel Hers - 2023 Jeep GC 4xE Trailhawk |
Posted By: 78CJChic
Date Posted: 27 March 2018 at 9:17am
| I absolutely will not own a minivan. But that's just me...My sister has a Subaru...i'm not sure exactly which one, but it's an SUV with 3rd row seating. She has been happy with it. The nice thing about hers is that the seats fold up and down independently in the third row. You can use one or the other if both are not needed. I'm sure most third row seats work in this manner. |
Posted By: Mike_LaMar
Date Posted: 30 March 2018 at 9:26am
Thank you all for input. We have been on the fence but will be test driving this weekend. We have an 08 Sequoia still and it has tons of space but gets 16mpg. Our struggle with SUVs vs. minivan is space vs. efficiency. Luggage for 5 on a one week trip with a cooler and snacks just takes a lot of space. We had a 2018 Pacifica on our trip to Orlando this week, it worked pretty well and got almost 28mpg. So looking at space, efficiency, and reliability is our 3 main categories. We picked up Krystals Journey yesterday and it's still not defrosting the windows correctly. The service manager offered us his friends and family discount on a trade in because the dealer and Chrysler cant figure it out.  ------------- 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, 4" Superlift Suspension, 37" Toyo MTs "History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. - Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Posted By: BlackBird
Date Posted: 30 March 2018 at 1:10pm
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are you using the service department at Landers? They are incompetent. Simple fixes on my jeep a couple years ago resulted in 6 trips to fix things that they broke or screwed up when fixing the first issue. They didn't even get those right. ------------- Michael Crandall Monrovia Volunteer FF/Driver Mine - 2024 Ram 2500 Rebel Hers - 2023 Jeep GC 4xE Trailhawk |
Posted By: 98TJ
Date Posted: 30 March 2018 at 3:52pm
Yep. I have had excellent results with the parts people.....but vehicle sales and service are awful.
------------- 1998 TJ 4.0 5spd Atlas 36" Swampers RE4.5 ARB's 44/44 |
BlackBird wrote: