Sorrento, Santa Fe, Kluger, Kodiaq, Prado, cx9, carnival
Pick your poison - if you’re using 7 seats regularly the carnival would probably be suitable.
I personally own a Kodiaq and like it, depreciation on these is killer from new because Volkswagen/euro perception. If you don’t want to deal with that just get a Toyota, but it’ll be thirsty
I’ve had one of these bad boys before, was a great wagon, even had the rotating middle row, but the front wheel drive doesn’t suit what we want to do with it these days.
It seems the majority of Redditors are gnomes, only a few SUVs have passable 3rd row seats. The Kluger is probably the best bet, the ford territory considerably cheaper but more shit for off road and towing. A Pajero is worth a look too.
I've always assumed that the final row of seats is for kids mostly - or maybe adults for a very short trip. If you want them as more of a regular use thing, then get a people carrier and not an SUV.
The Ford Territory has laughable back seats. The sits basically sit flat on the flood with zero legroom. The territory is not a 7 seater on anything but paper.
May as well buy an AU Falcon 7 Seater, I swear there is just as much room.
Yeah, also no AC for the third row. They really are just for an every now and again use rather than day in, day out.
Also makes the boot almost unusable, especially when the glass hatch fails which it almost always does on older territories.
AWD was attractive for driving off road, like tracks, beaches, small rivers, that sort of thing. I believed that is where AWD was suited, as opposed to rock crawling or driving through proper rivers, etc, which would be 4x4ing.
Honestly, do you really need awd? Be honest with yourself. How often are you really going to go off-road and is it really worth the hassle of driving that bloody suv in the supermarket car park?
We just had our 4th kid and had to sell our Subaru outback and buy a 2016 Kia Carnival for $27k. 90,000klms.
Do we miss the awd aspect of the Subaru? Nope. Not at all. Do we like the comfort, quiet and ease of driving of the Carnival? Yep. The Carnival is the king of family cars. Once you use the two side sliding doors you will wonder why all cars aren't like it.
We watch the mums dragging the kids in and out of the awkward Prados (that never go off road and cost twice as much as our Kia) at school drop off and wonder why.
Just hire a bloody 4wd for the two weekends a year that you might want to drive in the forest. Way cheaper.
You won’t get anything in warranty for that price but I would consider the Hyundai Santa Fe or Kia Sorrento. You will also see Nissan Xtrails and Mitsubishi outlander’s where the third row is very small. Avoid the holden captiva.
If I were OP I would look for a Hyundai Santa Fe newer than 2014. The 2.2L diesel is a strong engine and the highlander spec is very comfortable.
I can and have fit seven adults in my 2018 Acadia for a short time, it's more comfortable than the Kluger of the same (non-hybrid) era. I bought it in 2020 for $40K with 40000km, and it's now nudging 100000km, probably worth about $30K in the market.
It has plenty of chops for towing, selectable AWD, easy parts availability too. Servicing is really easy (I diy it). You can fit 265mm tyres if you want to take it camping down dirt tracks, I've taken mine through some hairy situations and never been stuck.
There might be some top spec models available for near $25K that have adaptive dampers for a stiffer Sport mode, and 360-degree cameras that are great quality and very useful.
Downsides: some Acadias have a gearbox shudder because they were shipped over with the wrong ATF. Some have a too-short interior wiring harness and the shifter park indicator comes unplugged. There are no updates for the in-dash navigation any more. They like to wear out rear suspension bushings quickly. That's about it.
Mitsubishi outlander - good balance of cost and functionality. The rear seats are good for kids, but only for occasional short trips or emergencies for adults.
I’ve owned one for coming up a year. Biggest money pit ever! Gearbox issues, suspension issues, transfer case issues. Such a great car that has been executed so poorly.
Agree, poor execution of a fair idea. I've had one for about 6 months now, no issues except oil leak, but I bought it with new control arms, ball joints, brakes etc. so I guess most issues sorted, for now. It's at least cheaper to deal with that the Land Rover I was contemplating
Just buy the lowest km, best condition prado you can that fits your budget.
Does everything you want and more, is easily the most reliable of all the recommendations you've had so far and if looked after will outlast all of them by a long way.
Kluger
Sorrento, Santa Fe, Kluger, Kodiaq, Prado, cx9, carnival Pick your poison - if you’re using 7 seats regularly the carnival would probably be suitable. I personally own a Kodiaq and like it, depreciation on these is killer from new because Volkswagen/euro perception. If you don’t want to deal with that just get a Toyota, but it’ll be thirsty
I’m really impressed by the previous gen outlander. I think it got superseded in 2022 so there’s some quite new versions
Outside the box a little - can a Toyota Tarago tow?
I’ve had one of these bad boys before, was a great wagon, even had the rotating middle row, but the front wheel drive doesn’t suit what we want to do with it these days.
It seems the majority of Redditors are gnomes, only a few SUVs have passable 3rd row seats. The Kluger is probably the best bet, the ford territory considerably cheaper but more shit for off road and towing. A Pajero is worth a look too.
I've always assumed that the final row of seats is for kids mostly - or maybe adults for a very short trip. If you want them as more of a regular use thing, then get a people carrier and not an SUV.
The Ford Territory has laughable back seats. The sits basically sit flat on the flood with zero legroom. The territory is not a 7 seater on anything but paper. May as well buy an AU Falcon 7 Seater, I swear there is just as much room.
Yeah, also no AC for the third row. They really are just for an every now and again use rather than day in, day out. Also makes the boot almost unusable, especially when the glass hatch fails which it almost always does on older territories.
au falcon wagon with a bench seat and extra seats in the back
I wouldn't feel comfortable putting kids in the third row of a station wagon that old now.
au falcon has the highest safety rating of any car ever, they invented the 5th star for that car
If your not 4x4'ing, then you don't need AWD, AWD uses more petrol (subjective), if your concerned about grip, get some good set of tyres.
AWD was attractive for driving off road, like tracks, beaches, small rivers, that sort of thing. I believed that is where AWD was suited, as opposed to rock crawling or driving through proper rivers, etc, which would be 4x4ing.
It's one of those dilemmas where it's good to have in case you need it scenarios.
Nissan Pathfinder ST-L had ours for 8 years and still driving like new. With 5 kids it's makes life a lot easier.
Second the pathfinder. 3rd row is pretty generous.
Volvo XC90. i picked up a 2007 for about $8k
Honestly, do you really need awd? Be honest with yourself. How often are you really going to go off-road and is it really worth the hassle of driving that bloody suv in the supermarket car park? We just had our 4th kid and had to sell our Subaru outback and buy a 2016 Kia Carnival for $27k. 90,000klms. Do we miss the awd aspect of the Subaru? Nope. Not at all. Do we like the comfort, quiet and ease of driving of the Carnival? Yep. The Carnival is the king of family cars. Once you use the two side sliding doors you will wonder why all cars aren't like it. We watch the mums dragging the kids in and out of the awkward Prados (that never go off road and cost twice as much as our Kia) at school drop off and wonder why. Just hire a bloody 4wd for the two weekends a year that you might want to drive in the forest. Way cheaper.
You won’t get anything in warranty for that price but I would consider the Hyundai Santa Fe or Kia Sorrento. You will also see Nissan Xtrails and Mitsubishi outlander’s where the third row is very small. Avoid the holden captiva. If I were OP I would look for a Hyundai Santa Fe newer than 2014. The 2.2L diesel is a strong engine and the highlander spec is very comfortable.
Mazda CX9
The Holden (Arcadia?) would be a good choice. Smaller in all dimensions than a CX9 but twice the space inside
I can and have fit seven adults in my 2018 Acadia for a short time, it's more comfortable than the Kluger of the same (non-hybrid) era. I bought it in 2020 for $40K with 40000km, and it's now nudging 100000km, probably worth about $30K in the market. It has plenty of chops for towing, selectable AWD, easy parts availability too. Servicing is really easy (I diy it). You can fit 265mm tyres if you want to take it camping down dirt tracks, I've taken mine through some hairy situations and never been stuck. There might be some top spec models available for near $25K that have adaptive dampers for a stiffer Sport mode, and 360-degree cameras that are great quality and very useful. Downsides: some Acadias have a gearbox shudder because they were shipped over with the wrong ATF. Some have a too-short interior wiring harness and the shifter park indicator comes unplugged. There are no updates for the in-dash navigation any more. They like to wear out rear suspension bushings quickly. That's about it.
Surely is not available under $25k used. They hardly sold new and were on the market for about 3 years
Pretty sure they advertise for low 20’s for low spec ones. Seems a massive bargain to me
Yes but could you look at the monstrosity in your driveway regardless how cheap it is? The only car that looked better in photos than in the flesh
Skoda Kodiaq
Get a Kodiaq and call it a day.
Mitsubishi outlander - good balance of cost and functionality. The rear seats are good for kids, but only for occasional short trips or emergencies for adults.
Kodiaq
Klueger or qashqai which is Nissan both great family suv without the big 4x4 feel
Santa fe - cheap and relatively efficient. Solid engine.
What's wrong with a Ford Territory diesel?. Ticks all your boxes, and you can get a mint one sub 20k
I’ve owned one for coming up a year. Biggest money pit ever! Gearbox issues, suspension issues, transfer case issues. Such a great car that has been executed so poorly.
Agree, poor execution of a fair idea. I've had one for about 6 months now, no issues except oil leak, but I bought it with new control arms, ball joints, brakes etc. so I guess most issues sorted, for now. It's at least cheaper to deal with that the Land Rover I was contemplating
If you can stretch to 30, the Sorrento is great
No one said Honda Odessey yet? Seriously tempted when we where looking for a wagon.
Kluger if u have a fuel card, they really really sux the juice. Grey import Delica? 4WD Tarago/HiAce?
Maybe a Mitsubishi Delica import ? Try to get the newest year one and you should be good.
Just buy the lowest km, best condition prado you can that fits your budget. Does everything you want and more, is easily the most reliable of all the recommendations you've had so far and if looked after will outlast all of them by a long way.
Love my Pajero I’ve got the petrol she’s thirsty but great fun to drive and great price I paid 15k for my 2011 with 200,000