Hi Ladies - I'm looking for a new car/SUV/minivan that is safe & gets excellent gas mileage...Has anyone else been car shopping recently or been researching cars online? There doesn't seem to be the "perfect" vehicle out there, but my expectations are pretty high...roomy, safe, great gas mileage/hybrid, reasonable cost, etc. I've looked at Toyota's (Hybrid Highlander, Hybrid Camry & reg. RAV-4), Hondas (Odessey & CR-V-neither of which are Hybrid) and Nissan (Quest & Murano) to date. Any insight or personal experience of what to ster clear of is greatly appreciated!
I am also in the market for a new family vehicle. Here is a link to Parents magazine's choice for best family vehicles.
http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jhtml?storyid=/templ...
Hope this helps!
Hi K.,
I currently have a 1999 Ford Explorer which I love, however my husband and I have been looking into getting a new car so I have done some research. Has I said I love my explorer so we looked at the 2007 ford explorer it seats 7 has a fold down third seat for lots of room however it only gets 15 mpg in the city. But because I love my explorer so I looked at the New 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid it gets 36 MPG in the city it is the highest gas mileage for any SUV. It seats five and it's base price is $25,740. Also the web site states that the Video system is standard. Well I hope this info helps.
i owned a odyssey and absolutely LOVED it. im about to trade my pilot back in for another one. it got excellent safety ratings, and was so practical with kids. they can get in and out on their own, and there's plenty of leg room with the car seats. it drives awesome. i always felt extremely safe in it.
We have a Highlander and love it. Ours is not a Hybrid but gets just as good of gas milage as our Camry (they are both on the same chasis). I really love the way it drives like a car (so I can manage it with ease) and parking is easy (not like a huge truck/SUV). We love our Toyotas and plan on trading in our Camry for the Sienna minivan at the end of this year.
Have you looked into the Chrysler Pacifica? it seats 7 has a nice amount of space left over in the back for cargo. Mine gets 24 to the gallon and has front and side impact airbags. Mine also has the drop down 6disk dvd and rides very comfortably
It doesn't look or feel like a mini van and I call it my mini-mini van, but I went with the Mazda 5. It is great on gas, has some pep to it, and has great safety ratings. I find that it works great for me with 2 daughters and 3 dogs we can do trips and have plenty of room.
Good Luck.
my husband and i rented an uplander when we went to va and it is great. we only had to fill up maybe 3 times. comfortable, safe and secure.
I've had really great experience with the Saturn brand. They're very reliable and safe. Not as expensive as some others as well. They come with all sorts of features. I've got the Relay (minivan) and the SL1 (4 door sedan) No problems. The van has been rear-ended twice and come out with very minimal damage. The dealership is very easy to work with as well. They can help you find exactly what you're looking for with a great attitude. Definitely check them out. Gas mileage is pretty good. I've got a 25 gallon tank on the van and I can drive from Pensacola to central Louisiana and not have to fill it up along the way. Good luck. Shop around. You'll find something perfect for you and your family.
My boyfriend and I just recently bought a 2007 used Chevy Tahoe (we're expecting our 2nd baby in July, he has a 10 year old son, and we have a 60lbs. Boxer). Very roomy, very comfortable, quiet ride, and it switches from 8 to 4 cylinders so it's actually very good on gas. It also takes either regular gasoline or the E85. Only problem there is the closest gas station to us that sells the E85 is in lakeland, which is too far of a drive to make it worth the money we would save. Good luck!
K.,
Hey. I have an '04 Nissan Quest and we love it. It is not the top of the line one with 7 sky lights and two dvd players, but we have taken it back and forth to Boston, MA at least 4 times and to Orlando at least 2 times and we love it! I get about 21-22 miles to the gallon, which is not too bad since it is as big as it is. The rear seat and two middle seats fold down and you can fit the equivalant of a 4x8 piece of plywood in the back (just to give you size). There is sitting for 7, 4 captains chairs and a 3 seat bench in the back. I would not put 7 adults in there, 4 adults and 3 kids (not in car seats) would be fine for around town or maybe to the beach. We bought the dvd player from walmart and hooked tose up to the back of the front seats and that was a huge savings! The single dvd roof mounted from Nissan was around $1200, I think at the time. I also only have one side power door and the rear door is power which is what I wanted and think that is great! If you need anymore info let me know. I will tell you I did not want a minivan when we purchased this van. And most people that either look in it or ride in don't even think of it as a minivan. So it has grown on me and the price was not terrible either. take care and hope this helps, A.
After me and my husband found out we were pregnant with our 4th we considered buying a minivan and at the time the company vehicle my husband was driving was a Hyundai Touscan and we test drove their minivan as well. The SUV was great on gas mileage and they have been rated excellent for front and side crash test safety. Also my parents have a Hyundai Santa Fe and that gets wonderful gas mileage. Me and my sister drove from Riverview to Orlando around for the day and back with more than a 1/2 of a tank left. Good Luck
Hi! I also have a Nissan Quest 2006 and LOVE it!! I have the base model(i got mine for the invoice price($21,500) b/c it had been on the lot for several months)also we only wanted to spend around $20,000.It is very nice and roomy and has the front and side impact air bags and LATCH system. The only thing I would have gotten is the power rear door, it's heavy and bulky especially since i am only 5'2'',but doable. I love how nice it rides and it gets lots of positive feedback from "non minivan people". It gets about 21/22 in the city and 26ish on the highway. I would highly recommend it, my friend has a Honda Odyssey and loves it too. Good luck!
I will recommend the PT Cruiser for every mom--not only is it not a "mom" car, but its soooo roomy, I can fit everything in there (I have two kids)...I go major grocery shopping at Sams and can fit the stroller and all the groceries in there with ease! Its great on gas too!!! I go about 310 miles on one tank...and I do ALOT of stop and go....Its very easy on the pocketbook, and easy on the eyes....I love it! Mine is a 2006.
Hi K.! My husband just bought me a Honda CR-V about a month ago and although he was the one who checked out gas milage/safety features, cost, etc. so far I have loved it! I was actually just wanting a great-looking dependable car since I take a lot of road trips with my son. But I got that and more! I test drove a RAV-4 first but didn't like it. Once I drove the Honda CR-V I realized why. It wasn't big enough to make me feel safe on the road.
