Suggestions for a 7 seater vehicle

Stacey

New member
I've just put the DNR notice on my van! I need to figure out what to get now but I'm overwhelmed. I thought I was set on a new Dodge but the back seat looks soooo small! I have a 14 year old that is taller than I am so he's having a hard time squeezing into the back. Others are 12, 7 in a Monterey, 5 in a Radian and 9 months RF'ing in a Radian.

I need something with a back seat that can seat either the Monterey and a FF Radian plus a child in a shoulder belt comfortably.

What minivans that are 2008 or '09 have a good sized back seat? What about a Ford Expedition? Just how bad on gas are they?

I also need good trunk space for strollers/hockey gear.

Thanks!!
 
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jourdysmom

CPST Instructor
I own a 2008 Town & Country (Grand Caravan twin) and that back seat is tight. I have an Evenflo HBB, Radian and there is just enough room for my 10 year old DD1. Buckling the HBB is a bear. Still trying to find another solution for us as well...

Don't know anything about the SUV's as DH won't pay that much for such bad gas mileage LOL
 

Lucy_R

New member
I have a Yukon XL with captain's chairs in the second row. We chose it because for us, living in Sask without an SUV just isn't really functional in winter. Lol. The amount of snow we get sometimes would put us out of commission too often. Anyways, we were originally going to get the regular sized Yukon, but with the third row there was absolutely not enough room in the trunk. We drive to Calgary often, and we need all the space we can get. So now I'm driving a tank. Lol, it is a very big SUV, but I absolutely adore it. There is so much space for everything, and I have a backup camera so I can actually park the beast. The trunk is huge and I can fit a million things in it. As for gas mileage, I'm not sure what is considered good or not, I'm sure that it has bad mileage. Lol. I know that when I drive to Calgary, I ALMOST could have made it all the way, but not quite. I was driving 120km/h for 8 and a half hours altogether.
 

karlatta

New member
As far as vans go, I think a Sienna would be great. The 3rd row is pretty wide. I have a RF Radian, FF Radian, and a Nautilus in my 3rd row (2006 Sienna, so same body style) and it's plenty roomy. And there's a lot of trunk space. I regularly drive around with a double stroller, single stroller, and enough space for groceries, a big tote full of junk, etc.
 

Melanie

New member
If you're considering an Expedition, take a look at the Ford Flex. The 7 passenger will have a second row bench seat. The 40 portion flips electronically. It probably has more cargo room than the regular Expedition, but less than the extended Expedition. The cargo area has a well like a minivan. The boxy shape gives it a lot of room inside. It has lots of leg room. DH just took ours on a road trip and comfortably fit 6 men in it.

The only wonky thing is the middle seat in the second row has some plastic stuff so RF seats don't work well there. That seatbelt is too short for LBP Frontier install. A Radian or other FF seat works fine there though.

The gas mileage isn't bad for a vehicle that size. It's advertised as 18/24. I've seen 26 on a road trip fully loaded. I do about 18+ driving in town. 15.5 is the worst I've had, but that was doing a lot of idling for long periods.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
I think the Flex is getting Ford's new Ecoboost engine this year, too. Supposedly a 25% increase in fuel economy or something like that.
 

Melanie

New member
I think the Flex is getting Ford's new Ecoboost engine this year, too. Supposedly a 25% increase in fuel economy or something like that.

It's already available on the 2010s. From what I understand, it gives V8 power with the same fuel economy as the V6. Our regular V6 is already pretty peppy.
 

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