Comments on: What is your favorite family car?

By: Kathy@brazoscowgirl

Kathy@brazoscowgirl — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:45:39 +0000

We recently bought our second Toyota Tacoma Prerunner. I love that truck, it has 5 seatbelts, sits up high and handles like a dream. Toyotas keep up resale value better than any truck we have found. We are out of the minivan stage and didn’t want something as a big as a surburan.

My DH’s last Tacoma had 265,000 miles on it when it was totaled in a wreck.

The new ones are probably 18,000. But we buy used so we didn’t pay anywhere near that amount. If you find one used buy it.

Oh and it has 4 doors a big plus!

By: Lost Cause

Lost Cause — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:26:26 +0000

Do NOT get a mini van. Just imagine yourself putting in the car seats, and kids. They are lacking doors on both sides, which you will need for car seats, if you have more than one kid. Hondas are great cars, I agree.

By: Madison

Madison — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:10:28 +0000

I’m starting to sense a theme here…. Hondas seem to be very popular with families! I know the Honda Odyssey is ranked very high in the lists we looked at. I’ll check out the others that you have all listed here. Thanks for pointing us in the right direction.

By: Four Pillars

Four Pillars — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:37:29 +0000

Couldn’t agree more about the minivan. I don’t really “like” them but for practical vehicles they are pretty awesome.

We have a relatively ‘cool’ Jeep Liberty but I think the next machine will be a minivan…

Mike

By: Ron@TheWisdomJournal

Ron@TheWisdomJournal — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:29:56 +0000

I second Marsha, I love anything Honda, though Toyota is a very close second. We have a Honda Odyssey minivan and love it. We bought it new and it has been a fabulous vehicle. We will have it paid off this time next year (3 years). We plan to keep it for 10 years or more, depending on how things go with some other projects I have in the works.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:38:47 +0000

We have a 2006 Honda CR-V, and while it’s cute and smaller, the gas mileage really isn’t that much better than the van we used to drive.

We stepped down from a minivan to a Buick Rendezvous, which had slightly better gas mileage for nearly the same amount of previously used space.

We wanted better gas mileage, so we stepped down from that to the CR-V. We don’t have near the space or luxury as we did in the Rendezvous, but we spend nearly as much on gas. If it weren’t for the fact that Hondas last forever, we’d probably go back to another Buick.

By: Fabs

Fabs — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:16:00 +0000

I have a subaru outback and really like it. It gets around in the snow, is pretty good on gas milage and even with over 100K miles on it, it requires little maintenance. Honda has a great reputation too.

By: Marsha

Marsha — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:09:28 +0000

I love Hondas. In general with Hondas you get good mileage and super reliability. They hold their value so even buying a used one can be a little spendy. But I think the reliably makes up for that. My 2001 CRV has only had to go into the shop once because the door lock was making an odd sound. Other than that I’ve done regular maintenance and that’s it.

By: Flaime

Flaime — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:43:41 +0000

I have a Ford Explorer, for many reasons, but that won’t fit your needs. I would recommend that you look at 3 cars – A Subaru Forrester, a Honda Odessy (sp?), and a Subaru Outback. These are all pretty highly recommended by regularly mechanics for reliability, they are all mid-range on gas mileage but have excellent size and safety. The Honda is probably the best of the bunch for your needs as listed here, but the Forrester is a very nice car.

By: LJ

LJ — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:00:58 +0000

I have a Chevy Tahoe. It is terrible on gas, but wonderful for the size, the comfort and safety. It’s 4 wheel drive which is nice since we are so rural and with 4 kids, the size is perfect. It was pricey and took a lot of saving to afford it, but it is totally worth it. I only put about 10K miles a year on it and it has 100K warranty, so I think I will be driving it for a long long time.

Take Care

By: Lynnae @ Being Frugal.net

Lynnae @ Being Frugal.net — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:24:12 +0000

I drive a 2003 Toyota Sienna, and I love it. It’s been super reliable, and even though I never wanted to drive a minivan, it’s nice to be able to haul the kids’ friends around.