Vehicle Recommendations - Springfield,MO

We've had a Honda Pilot w/3rd row seat (seats 8) since '05. I have a 14 and 11 yo. My son's plays competivite baseball and we always have buddies, equipment, cooler, etc. to haul around. I love it! It's spacious but not so big and bulky as some of the other SUV's. Honda's are great vehicles and very reliable. Also the 3rd row and seat will let down to fit 2 or 3 people so you don't have to let up the whole back seat if need to use space for cargo.

I would say if you need space - not all wheel drive - then stick w/ the minivan. Better gas mileage, better safety ratings, lower insurance costs...all make it a much more practical vehicle. I have a Honda Odessey (2007) and love it. Good luck with your search.

I have a Yukon and I love it! I have 2 carseats in the captain's chairs (2nd row) and a booster seat and a nine year old in the back. The third row is fairly roomy, but I will say that the middle might be a little uncomfortable. In my Pilot, the third row split was 60/40 (or maybe 70/30?), so the crack from the split was not in the middle of the middle seat. In my Yukon, the split is 50/50, so there is a crack going down the middle seat and I'm not sure how comfortable that would be. I have a 2007 which was the first year for the current model, so I'm not sure if its the same in older models.
So far, (knock on wood!) we haven't had any problems with it, other than routine maintenance. It has been a great vehicle and we plan on driving it til it dies.
Also, please be advised that a large SUV gets horrible gas mileage. I have the Denali (it has a bigger engine, so the mileage is a little worse than the SLT or lower) and I get about 11-12 mpg, 16-17 mpg hwy. For us, it was worth it- we really, really didn't want a van, but for some, that might be a deal breaker. Good luck with your search!
ETA: About insurance, I don't think an SUV vs. a van would drive your rates up. I have a spotless driving record and we pay about $60/month for full coverage that is well above the state minimum- I think that would even be less if my husband (who does NOT have a spotless record) were not on my policy. So maybe a van would drop my rates by a few dollars, but not a significant difference.
I also forgot to add that AWD is something that I never want to be without after having had it. I would assume that your winters are very similar to ours (southern Ohio), so it would be something you could certainly use in the snow.

We just purchased a Mitsubishi Endeavor and we LOVE it! I'd say see if one their SUV's have 3rd row seating. I have to be honest with you, what you want and your price range don't match. Do all of them have to be 2008 or newer? I don't know what vehicles go for where you live, but you won't find one like that where I am in your price range. Can you try saving up a bit longer so that you have more money to use toward a purchase?

We have both an Armada and a Yukon XL. The Denali has more room for adults I'd say, but I prefer the Armada and drive that daily. But if you want a lot of room and cargo space, the Denali is awesome! We got ours used and paid more than $15k for it, but it's probably under that now if you needed to buy one. We ave an '04 and love it!! You can find GREAT deals on gas guzzlers right now because not many people are looking for them. Good luck!

Hi J. - We have a newer Pilot and a minivan. On the Pilot - I think they did some modifications, maybe in 2009 to made them wider. For awhile, I had 3 car seats across the middle seat in it, but the kids could touch each other, so that didn't work as nicely. :) The Pilot is the people-mover, the minivan is the stuff mover....so if you have a lot of stuff to carry around, the minivans seem to work out a bit better.

In the Pilot, with car seats (I have a 1,3, & 5 year olds all in car seats), 3 & 5 yr old in back row, 1 year old in middle, and can fit 2 adults in the middle row, too.

Ford FLEX....seats 7, sits low to the ground and hold tons of stuff...and it's American made!!

We bought an '04 Chevy Tahoe last September. I think we paid about $17k cash for it. We had to buy a larger SUV that could tow our 22 ft boat. It was low miles, leather and practically in mint condition. It has the 3rd row and captain's chairs for the 2nd row. We love it. We have had adults fit comfortably in the 3rd row. It runs great and is so comfy. I am jealous my hubby gets to drive it daily :(. I drive the car since I work almost 30 miles from home.

Well I can definitly recommend that you contact me as soon as possible, I currently own a 2006 Ford Expedition, 4wd low miles , and we are trying to sell it to lower bills so I can possibly stay at home with our 3 small children. We have only had it for about a year. I really like it because it is roomy and since I have 3 car seats in just the back seat , I feel my kids are safe. We have it listed on autotrader.com. Let me know if I can help you.Thanks.
We purchased this vehicle as apposed to a mini van because I have yet to find a 4wd mini van out there, lol. We live on a county rd and need 4wd, we plan on keeping my husbands truck , which I will have to drive, but at home with kids, who cares , and who wants to haul twin 3year olds and a 1 year old to the grocery store. ugh .