What SUV Are You Most Happiest With?

I loved, loved, LOVED my Toyota Highlander. So sad when I had to sell it (needed more cargo space for work). I still gaze longingly at every Highlander I see when I'm on the road.

Toyota Highlander! I know, I know..Toyota, but they are really roomy. There's a thrid row, but as a great bonus, the second row has captain chairs and it's sooo roomy for two car seats! Best of Luck!

My family has always been a fan of chevy suburbans, we recently bought a used '97. it seats 8 (which is handy when the whole household needs to go somewhere) but also has the removable 3rd row seat. ive sat in all 3 rows, and am comfortable (im 5'6, over 200 lbs). i like being able to take everyone shopping and still have plenty of room for groceries. my kids (3 and 4) have no problems climbing in and out.
i believe we spent $7k or so on it. we do spend about $100 a month on gas - but it does have a large tank and we dont let it go below 1/2.

2001 Chevy Tahoe w/240K miles. LOVE IT! It's big (feels like driving your own ZIP code) & a gas hog, but fits the whole family, is reliable & safe & just keeps on going. Tows like a dream, also.

2002 BMW X5 w/92K miles. Absolutely terrific. A great blend of performance car & work horse. Also has been reliable for us (though I'm a little less comfortable with my teenager driving it -- too much performance for a new driver who is still developing her speed & control abilities). Took my niece home from college yesterday & she was shocked by how much we managed to fit in it.

Absolutely love my Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition. This is our second explorer and we loved our first... we ran it until it was well over 200,000 miles before trading it. We have third row seating, BUT w/ 3 kids and only two in carseats you wouldn't even have to have 3rd row. When we went to NY in the fall we took my MIL with us. Our children were four & two at the time.... so both in carseats. She sat between our two kids for half of the drive.... the other half she did opt to use the 3rd row seat. With the optional 3rd row seat up, which is a full size bench seat we still had plenty of room for luggage for a week and an umbrella stroller in the back.
Good luck finding your "perfect" SUV.

We are also looking at SUV's right now and going between a Suburban and a Yukon XL. Both have 3rd row seats and the extra room in the back which as you're kids get bigger - you will want.
We have a mini van right now and it's great, but I wish 2 years ago when all of our kids were 5 and younger someone would have told us to get something with more space in the way back :)

With 3 kids - 2 in carseats I loved having my minivan...now that we are out of the carseat phase - I am done with my minivan...

I have a Volvo XC90 - and I love it - but it is NOT a big ole SUV - it is a crossover. It has a built in booster for my 7 year old - third row seating and runs great! We bought it used - and prior to buying it thought we were going to get a Honda Pilot - we got a better deal on the Volvo and feel like it was the right choice for us!

We are in the same situation but decided to order an after-market 3rd row seat for our 4runner, it cost $1200 but it's a lot cheaper than a new car! Not sure if you already own a SUV, but this may be an option if you do. We got ours from littlepassengers.com.

volvo xc 90 used certified.. they have 3rd row seating all the features... easy to drive, fast, built in booster seats.. and great prices. look on line for the dealership used inventory.
Lenc

I had a subaru tribeca-very nice, seated 7. AWD was a plus-we lived on a mountain at the time. I had the totally loaded package, though, and it was probably more expensive than it should have been. I have just always been a minivan lover, and that is what I drive now. I like tha tmy kids can get out and not bash the doors into the car parked next to us,and it's easier to get the kids in and out.

I love my Volvo xc 90. Super comfy and all the safety features. 2nd and 3rd rows fold down when I need to haul stuff. The 2nd row has legroom for 6' teens and has 3 seatbelts, the 3rd row works for smaller kids. My 2006 with 50K miles is listed on Kelly Blue Book for 19K. Drives well in the snow and ice. Easy to get in and out, higher than a car but lower than a suburban or big suv. One negative...needs premium gas.

Hands Down the Dodge Durango (newer style). They don't make them anymore, but you are looking for used anyway. My 6'4" tall brother fits confortably in the 2nd row and any of our 6' tall friends sit fine in the 3rd row. We have 2 carseats that also fit great. My husband loves how roomy it is for a midsize SUV. It also drives just like a car! We travel a lot and we love the comfort of this SUV. This is actually our 2nd Durango. We had a limited edition 2005 (LOVED THAT CAR) that went off the road and tumbled down 175 feet with my FIL at the drivers seat. My husband, his best friend and his best friend dad were all in the car. All four servivied! they had major injuries of course, but all are well now. the outside of the car looked like a pinto, but the inside was intact. I tell people this story because it is a testimate to how safe and strong this SUV is. I know from personal experiance. After that, we bought a Nissan Pathfinder (we couldnt afford a Durango at the time)...it lasted less than a year! It was no bigger than a car and we didnt fit well at all with carseats. We finally traded it in for a 2007 Durango and I love everything about it, even without all the bells and wistles that the first one had.
A side note: Check out www.albeebaby.com for the Safeguard GO Booster. Thats what we have. It is a five point harness that last up to 6 years and 60lbs then converts to a backless booster. and you can start using it at 1 year. They take up no more room than the seat itself. We get questions all the time from people about it and I have had several friends buy them now because they take up so little room. getting these will surely help you feel more spacious!
Sorry this is so long! I just wanted to make sure to get it all in! :)

Honda Pilot-my friend has one and the 3rd row is pretty much useless except for a small child. She says all the time, she wishes she had my SUV.

Ford (anything)-My FIL has always drove Ford SUVs. He said we were stupid not to buy one as they drove sooo "smooth". When we bought our Durango and let him take it out, he was AMAZED! It was such a smoother ride!

Nissan-yes it has a 3rd row, but its useless (way too small) and my husband (5'11") couldnt drive with the infant carseat behind him.

I drive a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. It does have the third row that will seat 2 additional people, but not much leg room. I have 2 boys, one in car seat and the other in a booster seat. I can fit between them in the 2nd row. Probably not for a long drive, but it's ok for a short distance. This is our 2nd pathfinder. The first one we had for 10 years. Love them! It's an SUV but rides smooth.

I have an SUV that only will fit 2 car seats in the back - a passenger can SQUISH, but not comfortably...One point I will make is that if you get something with a third row, it is really difficult to access the third row if you have two car seats in the middle row - unless it has bucket seats in the middle row (like a van might have) and not a bench. I know several people with the Honda Pilot - they love the car, but it is difficult to get into the third row unless you crawl through the back of the car or undo a car seat. I don't really know any SUV's that hold three across the back seat - my friend has a VW wagon that can hold three carseats...

I love my Honda Pilot! I have 140,000 miles on my 2004 and have had NO problems with it. I would highly recommend one.

I live in Spokane, WA. and sometimes we do get real snow ;) I am an SUV person...have been for about 10 years...I have lots of kids and need the space as well.

I loved my '91 Ford Explorer.
I disliked the '02 Dodge Durango
I will drive my '05 Chevy Suburban till it dies! It has the space and the feel that I love...it is a big car compared to the others but I need seating for at least 7, sometimes 9 (we got the 3 bench seats option)+ a huge dog...4 of them are now teenage boys with LONG legs!

the honda pilot is great! we have 2 carseats in ours also - bought it certified used 2005 model from a honda dealer a couple of years ago and love it! great amount of space. the back can be 3 additional seats or lay flat, which is how we usually have it. i believe the price was just barely over the amount you mentioned. i don't know what the price would be today.

I loved our Ford Escape! I wish we still had it, but muy husband traded it in for a new car. I miss having all the space, especially now that we have three girls!

I love my Ford Excursion, it just turned 300,000 miles and still runs great! While it is huge and most people don't need that large of a vehicle I have been very happy with it. I would like a little smaller SUV next time and since we don't really need this big of a vehicle anymore I would go with an Expedition or Explorer. My family has always had good luck with Fords lasting forever.

I really love my Ford Freestyle (2007). I think now it's called a Taurus Crossover. But, if you looking for used, it was called a Freestyle a few years ago. It has an optional third row with two seats (good for smaller people). I have two carseats in mine, in the center rows, which have bucket seats, so it's still easy to get to the third row by going between the two seats. If you have the third row seats folded down, there is a tremendous amount of room in the back. There is even good storage room if the seats are up. I get about 23 mpg and this thing does AWESOME in the snow. I love it!