Question Mid-size SUV or Crossover for unpaved roads

Dorothy · Jun 9, 2012

So, circumstances have changed AGAIN. Ugh! I was all set on the Flex, but I'm afraid it doesn't have enough ground clearance now that we live on an unpaved road. I NEED seating for a family of four, enough cargo space for a long weekend's worth of luggage and two medium-sized kennels (We have three dogs, but two are littermates and prefer to ride together.), and good fuel economy. I WANT to seat at least six plus have a bit of cargo space. We will probably look at the Pilot again, as well as the Highlander (Edit: Cross the Highlander off the list. :-( Just realized there are no TAs in the third row, which is a must for me.) and '10 Sienna. What else should we consider? TIA

ETA- Also looking at the new Durango.

Re-ETA- We will be looking more at used than new due to cost. So, bonus points for recs of used vehicles with good reps for safety and reliability!

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canadiangie · Jun 9, 2012

Anything truck based. Yukon/Tahoe was my first thought. Suburban if you need the extra cargo room.

Eta: I see you want fuel economy. Nevermind. Lol.

SafeDad · Jun 9, 2012

If you otherwise like the Flex, it shouldn't be too expensive or difficult to increase the ground clearance an inch or so. You'll probably lose some highway fuel economy, though.

kathysr98 · Jun 9, 2012

Yep, I'd be looking at a slight lift on the Flex. Also, I'd stay away from the Highlander. They aren't nearly as big as a Freestyle, and those are smaller than the Flex. They also don't have much ground clearance.

Dorothy · Jun 9, 2012

A lift. Hmmm... Interesting. Thanks for the suggestion! I really do like the Flex. After months and months of looking, it was literally THE ONLY vehicle DH and I could agree on. I was so bummed to have to start over!

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SafeDad · Jun 10, 2012

Depending what wheels/tires come on it and how much room you have in the wheel well, simply going with larger diameter wheels and/or higher profile tires might increase your ground clearance just enough, even without suspension mods.

Dorothy · Jun 10, 2012

CPSDarren said:
Depending what wheels/tires come on it and how much room you have in the wheel well, simply going with larger diameter wheels and/or higher profile tires might increase your ground clearance just enough, even without suspension mods.

Thanks! I was actually just thinking about that on the way home from church today, believe it or not.

I was just reading your blog on the CX-9. Do you think that might be worth a look if we decide to go on anymore test drives? Edit: n/m. No TA in the third row. :-( No adults in my family will fit back there, and my oldest won't be booster-ready for a couple of years. So, at least one TA is a must.

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Dorothy · Jun 14, 2012

So, I have read several places, including on the Flex forum, that's its not advisable to lift a Flex or put larger tires on. :-( I haven't actually talked to anyone in-person yet, though.
ETA- I had also read on the Flex forum that, with caution, the Flex can navigate tame unpaved roads. It said mud flaps are a must to keep the undercarriage and paint from getting eaten up.

A friend has suggested we look at Subarus. My SIL also has the Subaru love. I have found several '09 and '10 Foresters in our price range. Obviously, this is a much smaller, very different vehicle than the Flex. There is no room for additional passengers, but do you think it would be good for a runabout mom-mobile?

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T4K · Jun 14, 2012

I just bought a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited as my mom-mobile. The back seat is awesome for carseats (much better than my Altima), Jeeps hold their value really well, and the cargo room is surprisingly nice.

tesslouise · Jun 14, 2012

My parents live 5 miles outside a small city, on sort-of-paved roads.

My mom's last car was a Subaru Outback. Some friends of hers have always driven and loved Subarus, but be careful buying used: by the time my mom had paid off the (small) loan on the car, it was worn out. Her current car is a Toyota Matrix, which is another AWD station wagon. It might not be big enough, but it would suit your driving conditions.

Dorothy · Jun 14, 2012

Thirsty4Knowledge said:
I just bought a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited as my mom-mobile. The back seat is awesome for carseats (much better than my Altima), Jeeps hold their value really well, and the cargo room is surprisingly nice.

I was wondering what you ended up with.

I'll look at those. Thx!

tesslouise said:
My parents live 5 miles outside a small city, on sort-of-paved roads. My mom's last car was a Subaru Outback. Some friends of hers have always driven and loved Subarus, but be careful buying used: by the time my mom had paid off the (small) loan on the car, it was worn out. Her current car is a Toyota Matrix, which is another AWD station wagon. It might not be big enough, but it would suit your driving conditions.

Thx for the suggestion! I'm trying to look at all my options and weigh size vs fuel economy in the "off-road lite" segment. So, I am happy to look at things I hadn't previously considered.

ETA: The Matrix doesn't have enough cargo room to transport the dogs. :-(

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bubbaray · Jun 14, 2012

I am so confused by your choices. I thought on your prior threads you needed to seat a minimum of 6 and need to transport 3 medium sized dog crates.

You can cross off the Matrix and the Subies unless you want to strap dogs and people to a roof rack. ETA and IMO the matrix AWD doesn't have the clearance for off road.

There is no way I would lift a Flex.

I don't think you will find a vehicle that meets your needs that also has good fuel economy. Either you transport less people/cargo or you give up fuel economy. JMHO

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Nisha · Jun 14, 2012

bubbaray said:
I don't think you will find a vehicle that meets your needs that also has good fuel economy. Either you transport less people/cargo or you give up fuel economy. JMHO

This...

We loved our Pilot on unpaved roads, and the fuel economy was nice, but 4-6 people + 2 med sized dog kennels + luggage is REALLY pushing it in any crossover!
We took a lot of weekend trips with our family of 4, and 2 dog kennels wouldn't have fit. Add 2 more people (we travel a lot with my sister & brother in law) and we put on the hitch hauler and a roof top carrier! That still doesn't include dog kennels!

I would go with a suburban hands down!!!

Dorothy · Jun 14, 2012

bubbaray said:
I am so confused by your choices. I thought on your prior threads you needed to seat a minimum of 6 and need to transport 3 medium sized dog crates.

You can cross off the Matrix and the Subies unless you want to strap dogs and people to a roof rack. ETA and IMO the matrix AWD doesn't have the clearance for off road.

There is no way I would lift a Flex.

I don't think you will find a vehicle that meets your needs that also has good fuel economy. Either you transport less people/cargo or you give up fuel economy. JMHO

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Yes, I WAS looking for 6 passengers + a bit of cargo space with fold-down third row so that I could also do 4 passengers + luggage and dogs. HOWEVER, as I said in the first post, CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE CHANGED. I also said upthread that NOW I'm trying to strike a balance between fuel economy, space for at least our family of 4 + the dogs and luggage. I realize it has been all over. I'm totally and completely sick of car shopping as much as anyone reading these threads is probably tiring of the process. Everytime we make a decision, something changes that renders all that work basically useless. It's very frustrating!

ETA: Sorry for the e-yelling. I'm grumpy and frustrated...

Nisha said:
This...

We loved our Pilot on unpaved roads, and the fuel economy was nice, but 4-6 people + 2 med sized dog kennels + luggage is REALLY pushing it in any crossover!
We took a lot of weekend trips with our family of 4, and 2 dog kennels wouldn't have fit. Add 2 more people (we travel a lot with my sister & brother in law) and we put on the hitch hauler and a roof top carrier! That still doesn't include dog kennels!

I would go with a suburban hands down!!!

We already have two full-size pickups. I forget that not everyone has seen the other threads and wouldn't know that coming into this one. Anyway, I get abysmal mpg in my pickup. So, I'm looking for something to run the kids around in. It would be super-awesome if that vehicle would also work for weekend trips, but, at this point, I realize I'm sort of searching for a unicorn.

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bubbaray · Jun 14, 2012

Was just trying to be helpful and clarify your needs. Clearly was not even remotely appreciated on your end so good luck in your vehicle search.

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An Aurora · Jun 14, 2012

Why do you need extra clearance with an unpaved road? Would it not be maintained at all? I've lived on and around dirt roads all my life and I've traveled them in everything from our Hyundai Sonata on up to a full-size pickup. I say get whatever you want.

Dorothy · Jun 14, 2012

bubbaray said:
Was just trying to be helpful and clarify your needs. Clearly was not even remotely appreciated on your end so good luck in your vehicle search.

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I realized the error of my ways and apologized for my defensiveness. Tone, as we know, is hard to convey via text, and, in my contrary mood, your post conveyed a tone that I'm sure was not intended. It was not my intention to be rude to anyone, rather, to clarify my needs. I am certainly appreciative of other perspectives, or I would not have posted the question.

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Dorothy · Jun 14, 2012

An Aurora said:
Why do you need extra clearance with an unpaved road? Would it not be maintained at all? I've lived on and around dirt roads all my life and I've traveled them in everything from our Hyundai Sonata on up to a full-size pickup. I say get whatever you want.

I, also, have lived on unpaved roads most of my life. I've driven small cars to pickups. It's just been my experience that the cars tend to get pretty beat up. Since the Flex is so low, I was concerned about how it would fair. I dunno... Sigh...

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An Aurora · Jun 14, 2012

I don't think clearance is really going to help much. That's more for off-roading (and I mean real off-roading, with ruts and rocks, not just tooling down a graded dirt road). Anything will get beat up if you drive it too fast over a washboardy road

Dorothy · Jun 14, 2012

An Aurora said:
I don't think clearance is really going to help much. That's more for off-roading (and I mean real off-roading, with ruts and rocks, not just tooling down a graded dirt road). Anything will get beat up if you drive it too fast over a washboardy road

I appreciate that perspective.

Thank you. I guess I got a little worked up by all the reviews declaring the Flex a vehicle "designed for pavement." I was being too literal, I guess. Seems to be a shortcoming of mine. ;-)

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