Hi guys - been thinking of replacing the family car. I have two small kids and we want/need something with a third row (for the possibility of the third kid down the road).

I am wondering what your (or your significant other's) other car is. I would give a lot of weight on your input as fellow Porsche/911 owners.

Thanks!

 

I bought my Wife a Honda Pilot Touring. LOVE it. Best Family car we have ever owned. I also have a 2007 Tahoe LTZ and this Pilot trumps it in comfort, space, nooks & crannies to put things, everything. The 3rd row is Adult Friendly, unlike the Tahoe. My wife and I looked at tons of SUV's w/ 3rd row for a while, everything from GL550's to Escalades and we picked the Pilot. Its a great family car and with 2 kids myself its great. The Pilot with NAV and TV all options touches 43k. We leased it with Zero Down for 36 months for $599 tax in.

I will be in one for a while we love it that much.

 

I love my Merc ML320 (w164) which is my dd

 

A lot of SUV has 3rd row, but a lot are just compromised 3rd row and you don't want to sit there.

I used to drive my Dad's Lexus LX470, very comfortable SUV with good 3rd row room, but the SUV is for comfort driving, don't expect much for acceleration and handling.

My brother currently has a Mercedes GL, great SUV with lots of room, handles OK too.

Good luck with your search.

 

We have three young kids so a useable 3rd row was a must, but so was a decent amount of cargo area. We found that most suvs with 3 rows, just stick the 3rd row in the cargo area, so when the 3rd row is being used (which would be daily for us) there was hardly any cargo area left.

Wifey wanted something upscale so we went with the Escalade ESV, which is basically an escalade suburban. we love it. Its a great kid vehicle with 2nd row captains chairs, 3 tv screens, heated/cooled seats, etc...

I also have a prius (no I'm even close to a tree hugger/liberal), but I do drive out of town (700 miles round trip) 2 or 3 times per month, so its makes sense for me... plus its so easy to park and I don't give a crap if its gets a door ding.

 

Land Rover LR3 V8SE is my DD. I love the Rover and has plenty of room but the milage is so-so. The wife has a company car (2008 Chevy Impala LT2) which for an American sedan is nice and gets great milage (28 hwy) even with the 250bhp V6.

 

We have the Lexus GX470 as the family hauler. I hate it, but my wife loves it.

In fact, I took her old GX470 and traded it in on a Merc. g-wagon expecting her to love the new car for family duty. 6 months later and she is back in a GX470.

 

LOL, I had the 911, which was fine for the wife and I, but we had an M3 for one kid we had.....

Later we ended up selling the M3, needless to say once the second one came along we purchased the original Cayenne Turbo S, I was going to sell the 911 but the wife told me not to.... So since she was so nice about it I figured I'd buy her a nice car for herself, so here is our second daily:



Rims are on the car in this photo but will be put back on for her Birthday in a month. I'm also blacking the car out the way she wanted...

-Eli

 

We have the Acura MDX as our family hauler (it has 3rd row and seats 7) and we've been very happy with it. No issue at all after 11000 miles and the only cost was the oil change at 6000 miles ~ $75.

 

My DD is a BMW 535 but will probably go to a VW Golf TDI as a replacement.......infinitely more practical and more reliable.

 

Range Rover Sport. Wonderful interior and a great long distance tourer. The off road ability gives you extra options. The new LR4 has a similar interior and a 3rd row. Do you need to fit 3 child seats in the back?

 

Hot rod 300hp Volvo R Wagon. Plenty of room, handling, safety, 6 speed manual etc. etc.

 

2010 Audi S4 - Perfect for winter and fun all year round!

 

Yukon Denali

 

A POS Chrysler PT Cruiser I bought to keep the miles off of the Carrera (I drive it about 450-500 miles/wk). It's the consumate beater car. Holds 4 for lunch, can haul the dogs (or the groceries) and I can buy a set of new tires for less than the replacement cost of 1 rear Pilot Sport tire on the Porsche. The gas mileage for a four banger automatic is terrible, only beating the Porsche by about a mile per gallon.

The wifes ride is a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500. "Sublime" green, with the "GTX-treme" package the dealer had installed from LA West. Truck gets a lot of positive comments. Would not be a good vehicle to use in a bank robbery; you can pick this thing out from a quarter mile away!