Keep 1999 Suburban or trade for 2005 Rendezvous?

What do you folks know about the Hyundai Santa Fe ?

Just curious, that's where my husband works Not interested in buying one, too small...we're not moving down in size from an Expedition any time soon LOL

Victoria, Seth, and Wyatt...Lynette, I don't know if I ever knew your name, but I know those kids' names! <waving hi>
I had a 2002 Rendezvous, and it's definitely not at the top of my list, but better than a Suburban? Maybe... do you all travel pretty light? There's very little cargo space with all the rows up. I think we got maybe 15mpg in our AWD model, but they've had a couple years to improve that number, so maybe it's better now? It was a pretty nice car to drive, anyway... and limber children could easily climb into the back seat. The tether anchor were the pits, but I was always moving my seats around, I'm sure no normal person would find it to be a weekly (if not daily) annoyance like I did!

Darren's selling his 2001 Honda Ody

But seriously, I don't think the Buick's that bad.

jen_nah said:

Well I know I am not in the norm on here as I am an anti minivan mom. Now I will say I do recommend certain ones if that is what the person is asking info on. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Tahoe. My dh and I both agree that minivan styling is truly ugly to us. We do not find anything pleasing to the eye to us. Yes, They have a lot of nice safety features but you can get those same safety features on SUV's too. Also a lot of the smaller SUV's are made on car chassis compared to truck frames. Yes, I know mine is made on a truck frame. So, They are lower to the ground.

I just wish everyone would have a more open mind about vehicles then automatically jumping on the minivan bandwagon right from the get go.

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Well, I'm right there with ya. DH and I were just talking about this last night as a matter of fact. Alot of my friend's have minivans, and I like all the kid/family friendly features. I think the center seat in the Siena is AWSOME!!! I would have loved to have that with my first son b/c he was constantly spitting out his plug and then crying. So then I would have to pull over and retreive it and put it back in his mouth. In a Siena, you could just move the middle seat right up close to you and just reach around and give it back. Very cool.... But, alas, I think pretty much all minivans and wagons are ugly....besides, I'm a 4x4 girl. Always have been. My first "car" was a '74 jacked up full size Ford pickup. It got about 4 mpg and I loved every second of it....LOL

Nice to see you Julie. I used to sign Lyn to most of my posts. I've gone by Lyn since jr. high, but I guess I've recently had an identity crisis and emerged as Lynette again LOL!

The cargo room with the third row up is really a concern of mine. Especially if Dh and I decide to add another member to our family. Where would I put a stroller? The noise my Suburban is making, I found out is a lifter or a rocker arm, I've been told. I had a 1996 Tahoe and I recall something similar going bad and the repair was around $1800 to fix, but it was under warranty thank goodness! The suburban is not.

I've also been thinking that my boys only have about a year(if that) left in their Marathon's. They are big boys! By this time next year, they will more than likely be in booster seats. At which point will make my Suburban a 6 passenger vehicle, because there's only lap belts in the 2 center rear positions.

The whole idea of a different vehicle is making me anxious. Dh and I were going to check out the Ford Freestyle and the Buick Rendezvous this weekend, but have unexpected guests coming tomorrow now. I really don't think we'll be able to get the Freestyle into our price range, but it sure looks just like what we need. Oh and trust me, I already told Dh about Darren's van for sale. Dh just gave me a puzzled look and said "and what are we supposed to do with the Suburban?" We plan on using the Suburban as a trade-in. That was pretty much the end of that conversation.

What's the deal with the tether anchors in the Rendezvous? I only have anchors at the rear of my cargo space right now, so I'm used to them being difficult to deal with. I believe there been some improvement in the gas mileage, it's supposed to get 19/24 mpg for the AWD model now? What are the other downfalls of the Rendezvous? Thanks for the input.

Lynette~CPST and Mom to Victoria 9, Seth and Wyatt 4
Aunt and Foster Mom to Holden 6 and Coooper 5

It's just that the tether anchors are at a funky angle and hard to reach... sounds like you've dealt with worse, though, so it's probably not a big deal!