Car for camping w/two kids: Highlander, Pilot, CR-V, Mazda 5, ?
We are mourning the sudden decimation of our beloved 1998 Honda Odyssey's transmission. With 240K miles and after having put in $3,300 worth of work last summer, the thought of spending another $3,600 on a new transmission for her has left us without much choice than to replace her. But, here's the thing: it's our perfect car! The car is completely utilitarian, functional, and safe. Big enough to accommodate our frequent road and camping trips with two small children, but small enough not to feel like a behemoth and easy to park/pretty good gas mileage. We thought about replacing her with another car from the same generation (1995-1998), but they are all fairly old at this point (obviously), with high miles, and who knows what that needs repair. I have always had old cars and enjoy the relative "deal" you can get on them, the lack of worry that comes from owning an old car that you don't care about cosmetic issues, spills, et al. with, and just the overall look and feel of old cars. I find that even in the non-luxury car sector, cars have really been "souped up" and rendered far more sleekly in aesthetics than they were in the 90s and early 2000s. That said, we are feeling overwhelmed by choices, and would love to find something that will work for us for quite some time to come, as we are sick of fixing old cars at the moment. The new Honda Odyssey (and its mate, the Toyota Sienna) seem far too big for our liking, so we are looking at the following options: the Mazda 5, the Toyota Highlander, the Honda Pilot, and CR-V (seems too small), the Prius V (this is a long shot, as it has the least amount of space for our massive hauling of stuff and lower clearance for forest roads), and xxx? I am combating the voice in my head that instantly shoots down every car because it is not our Odyssey, and trying to make space for the reality that we need to buy a new car with lower miles, but it is hard for me! Can people chime in with their take on the aforementioned cars or suggestions along the lines of what we are seeking: simple, relatively fuel efficient, roomy for road tripping/camping but also good for city driving. We have had really good luck with Hondas and Toyotas over the years, so will likely stick with those makes, aside from viewing the Mazda, but happy to hear other stories as well. We had two Subarus in the past, both without luck and with much grief, so despite the fact that we know they are beloved by many, we are not considering them this time around. Our budget is max $18,000, but we are more comfortable in the $12-14K range, and we will be buying old rather than new. For comparison sake, our last car purchase was $2,700 for the 1998 Odyssey four years ago! Spending $10K+ more is a bitter pill to swallow, and we would prefer to spend less! Thank you for your reviews/suggestions.
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I recently faced a similar conundrum, needing to replace my 2005 Honda Odyssey (Touring Model). My main bugaboo was that I needed adjustable pedals, which is very hard to find in a used vehicle. I ended up going to Enterprise Rental Car's Auto Sales Lot and looking at and buying a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. It has lots of space, many features similar to my Odyssey, and because it was in Enterprise's fleet it was well-maintained and looked great. I found the experience of buying this vehicle very positive, and they have a very buyer-friendly approach to sales. For example, you get a one week cooling off period, so if you decide during that week that you don't want the vehicle you can return it and only pay a nominal $200 fee for the privilege of driving it for a week. We also found their financing very favorable. So, this is not a vehicle you mentioned, but it has great storage capacity, and unlike the Honda, the seats are stow and go, they basically hide inside the vehicle, so you never need to take the seats out if you need to maximize the storage capacity. When we were looking, they had two Grand Caravans (former ride share vehicles). I don't know how often they have them, but I suggest it's worth a look. Or possibly they might have other vans as well. They have a sales lot in San Leandro, also in Redwood City and I believe Concord. And they move the vehicles around for you too! We first saw one in San Leandro but then the one in Redwood City had lower miles, so we wanted that one, and they brought it over to San Leandro for us. Like I said, great customer service! And they have a good warranty program too. Good luck. I still miss my Odyssey, but this vehicle does the trick for me.
We LOVE our 2009 Toyota Highlander hybrid. It gets good gas mileage for an SUV, it's super comfy and "drivable" - doesn't feel like a tank. And it fits a ton of stuff. We used to have a Subaru and the main advantage of the Highlander is the ability to haul 6 kids, which makes carpooling easier (I've fit 6 kids + 6 unicycles in that baby!). We also have a Prius, and I have to say, it fits a ton of stuff too, just not as many people. My brother had a Honda Pilot that he and his family LOVED; I don't know if they make hybrids now but didn't when we were looking, thus we didn't consider it. Anyway, we've had our Highlander 8 years now and no problems whatsoever, so I definitely recommend it.
We were in a similar situation, although we don't do much camping, and were at a real impasse. My wife was advocating for an Odyssey or Sienna. We test drove one and I felt like I was driving our living room--too big! My brother, also with 2 small children, was in a similar quandary and ended up with an old Mercedes station wagon, I think the 300 series. I asked around about them (I think they were discontinued in 2006) and everyone that had one really liked it. Say what you will about Mercedes, one thing they are is dependable. My father had one for over 20 years and during that time it was driven hard by three teenage sons. My wife wasn't interested in going that route so we settled on the Mazda 5, a mini mini van we call it. Smaller than the behemoths but still roomy enough for bikes and gear when the four of us load up. Prices were good on them and we really like it!
We've had a Highlander (hybrid) for a few years and like it a lot. We test-drove the Pilot before buying the Highlander and the Pilot felt too bulky. The Highlander is good at EITHER hauling 7 people OR a lot of stuff, but if you use the 2 rear seats there's almost no cargo space. The hybrid gets good gas mileage, although I can't speak for the regular Highlander. In my experience (I'm also an used car buyer and keep them a long time), the gas mileage on any new car is going to be a vast improvement over a 90s car. A few years ago I replaced our 1994 sedan with a 2008 model and the efficiency and comfort (and probably the safety features) have improved a ton over those decades - you don't have to go new, but you won't regret upgrading to car made in this century, I promise. :)
I'm so sorry to hear about your car issues. It's hard to say goodbye to a family car!! My family just embarked on the same car search, trying to replace a 99 Honda Civic. The hatchback had been wonderful for our many trips, but with two big dogs, a big kid and lots of camping gear/snow gear, we were looking for something bigger than the Civic. We originally started looking for an older car, knowing we could get a great value. We considered a variety of makes, including Honda, Subaru, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, and luxury brands. I really loved the Honda Element. My sister had one years ago and it was great for muddy bikes and wet dogs! But, my partner wasn't much of a fan. I also liked the Subaru Crosstrek, which he didn't like either. We looked at an older Isuzu Trooper which was actually really cool - but also made us realize that we preferred to spend a little more so that we could get a newer car with fewer miles and better gas mileage. We scoured the dealerships for used cars and found a few we were interested in. While at one lot, we saw a Toyota Highlander Hybrid. It was slightly over our price range, listed at $20,000, but we took it for a test drive. We negotiated the price to $17K, which, like you, was the top of what we had wanted to spend. But, we haven't had a single regret and absolutely love the car. It's been perfect for our needs and a joy to drive. Good luck with your search!!
I have had a Mazda 5 since 2009, and I've been happy with it overall.
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We researched all of these cars, plus the Nissan Rogue and Murano and Rav-4. What sealed the deal for the CR-V that we bought was that it fit the infant stroller the best in the trunk. We thought we'd go with the Highlander, but we didn't love the middle seat (for the model year that we were looking). The CR-V has some pick-up issues, but we otherwise love it. Our neighbors have a Pilot that looks so roomy, but parking it on local streets is a beast.