Recommend 8+ Seat Vehicle?

[Yoder]

If you didn't need to tow anything big, I would recommend a Honda Pilot. They have three rows of seating and a pretty decent amount of room.

 

[KenLee]

Suburban or Yukon XL is always the answer.
I've had 4. Buy em at around 80k miles. Sell at 200k miles.

 

[wesfromky]

Transit would give you room for 8, plus gear. And it can tow a bit as well.

 

[Steve O]

I have rented 4 different Grand Wagoneers in the past year. Every one of them has had the giant center info screen go completely blank while driving. Two came back on after a short time, one when I restarted, and one never.

Suburban/Yukon/Escalade all the way for me.

If I were handy I would find one of the last Ford Excursions with the Power Stroke. Those were tanks.

 

[Weldor]

Bluebird has short 4x4 school buses. Humor!

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I have an older Yukon XL. the removable third seat is not meant for comfort, it's only good for smaller kids, or adults on short trips. That being said, I am very happy with it.

 

[cnelk]

The bigger question is.... are you done having kids?

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

We've got 5 kids and a 33' bumper pull camper. Really the only solution for us was an older diesel Excursion. We found a 2003 Eddie Bauer edition with 125K miles, and we love it. If you take care of those 7.3s they'll go for a million miles. The 7.3 Excursion was made from 2000-2003. DON'T get a 6.0 engine.

 

[chizelhead]

Like others, I recommend looking at the suburban platform. I would avoid the tahoe versions due to less gear space. While I understand the quality risk, I do wonder if the issues get amplified online. BTW I drive one and have for 40 yrs so I'm a fan.. You could also consider a Toyota Sienna 4x4 and lift it at some point. It does only have a 3500 lb tow limit, and I imagine it would be limited with 8 people in the vehicle, loaded down, and towing a trailer.

 

[TX_Diver]

I rented an expedition to drive across country a few years ago - mostly good: great mileage, good power, comfortable, easy to drive. A lot of small quirks that could be ironed out in warranty work.

The main complaint with all the new Fords I’ve rented is with the driving assist - I have to turn them off since they simply don’t feel natural, at least to me. In a heavy downpour with deeply rutted asphalt going down or up hill, driving out of the deepest water to avoid hydroplaning is a constant fight with the car.

You can learn a lot by renting before buying.

I've rented an expedition a few times but haven't found a wagoneer or suburban to rent yet.

I haven't seen driving assist on the rental versions but will look if I rent one again. Thanks!

 

[TX_Diver]

Wagoneer is a terrible choice. Stay away.

Yukon xl or suburban with the 3.0 if you have the funds.

Expeditions have a lot of issues, I’d stay away.

Older sequoia would fit the bill but they’re hard to find.

What about an 8 seater sienna? You can’t beat a minivan as a people mover.

I had an 01 Sequoia that my parents bought new. I sold it in 2018 with 250k miles on it for like $3k or something. It'd be worth 2-3x that now lol...

It didn't have great cargo space behind the 3rd row, but that car was great in every other way and never let me down. Awesome for hunting out of too with the true locking differential.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I had an 01 Sequoia that my parents bought new. I sold it in 2018 with 250k miles on it for like $3k or something. It'd be worth 2-3x that now lol...

It didn't have great cargo space behind the 3rd row, but that car was great in every other way and never let me down. Awesome for hunting out of too with the true locking differential.

Armada, Tahoe and expedition are similar. The suburban and Yukon xl are much better with their cargo space.

Armadas can be had pretty reasonably. We have one.

 

[fngTony]

All wheel drive mid height roof Ford Transit van.

 

[Dust Rider]

A Ford Transit passenger van AWD 3.5L eco boost would fit the bill. Tow package and can configure windows and seating if new. Older Ford Ecoline van with a Quiqley 4x4 conversion is a great van too. No tech to go wrong either. Old excursions are fun.

Mercedes has 4x4 diesel vans, but you have to find a little older model to get 4x4. Newer ones went to AWD and smaller turbo 4 banger diesels. Gonna have to deal with clean diesel crap and $$ maintenance.

 

[pacoalcracker]

Suburban all of the way.

 

[kkp005]

Yukon xl or suburban with the dmax is the ticket .. going to be a little over budget tho

 

[TX_Diver]

A Ford Transit passenger van AWD 3.5L eco boost would fit the bill. Tow package and can configure windows and seating if new. Older Ford Ecoline van with a Quiqley 4x4 conversion is a great van too. No tech to go wrong either. Old excursions are fun.

Mercedes has 4x4 diesel vans, but you have to find a little older model to get 4x4. Newer ones went to AWD and smaller turbo 4 banger diesels. Gonna have to deal with clean diesel crap and $$ maintenance.

Buddy has a Chevy 2500 with quigley conversion/ upfitting and it’s a sweet vehicle. Would definitely drive one if it were a reasonable option. Would be my wife’s top choice too probably.

 

[Maki35]

Toyota Sienna AWD

 

[TaperPin]

I've rented an expedition a few times but haven't found a wagoneer or suburban to rent yet.

I haven't seen driving assist on the rental versions but will look if I rent one again. Thanks!

The semi drivers know these have the self driving mode, and it disengages and applies brakes if another vehicle gets a tire barely into your lane. I’m sure they think it’s hilarious - three trucks tried it in one week, but I don’t even use cruise control so it didn’t affect me at all. Lol

 

[sandhillhunter]

I’ve had 3 Sequoias with bench middle and back seats so they seat 8.

Besides the limited room behind the back seat which you mentioned and the 13-14 mpg with the 5.7 V8, they are reliable with a great transmission and very capable 4wd system.

Having said that, I just found out my current one has the valley plate coolant leak common on all the Toyota 5.7 engines.

Still doesn’t compare, in my opinion, to the problems you’re likely to have with a Suburban. And I used to really like Suburbans.

The back is roomy enough to sleep in with the seats folded.

Here’s some good info if you’re interested.

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