What next?

[clyde]

The lease on wife's Odyssey is going to end pretty soon, so I'm starting to figure out what we'll do next. She's given me her list of requirements and doesn't care much beyond what's on it, so let's review, eh?

• Has air conditioning.
• Won't die a lot.
• Can fit 3 kids in back seat if no third row.
• Not expensive.
• Isn't going to piss her off.

I believe the last item is the No MyFuckingFordTouchOrAnythingLikeIt line.

There are a few "nice to have, but wouldn't want to pay extra" things on her list, but really, she just doesn't care and thus leaving it up to me. It's more important to me that she like it than anything else and I don't understand how she can just so not care, but that's the way it is.

I think I'd prefer another van for the rare occasions when it's helpful to have 7/8 passenger capability or real big/bulk items. My wife likes the sliding doors for the kids, particularly in our own garage so she doesn't have to worry about the kids accidentally slamming a door open into my car, so I'm down with that...but if she got a car, I think I can reconfigure some stuff in the garage to allow semi-offset parking to keep the door thing from being a problem.

I'm inclined to lease again...but what? Open to the idea of a car, SUV, crossover or van, but not sure what to consider. It's probably going to be something that MSRPs around $30 +/-

Any ideas on shopping for a car for someone that doesn't really care so you want it to be not really nice, but not so sucky that you don't completely hate driving/riding in it and will work for taking the family somewhere in it for a week?

[JST]

Originally Posted by clyde

The lease on wife's Odyssey is going to end pretty soon, so I'm starting to figure out what we'll do next. She's given me her list of requirements and doesn't care much beyond what's on it, so let's review, eh?

• Has air conditioning.
• Won't die a lot.
• Can fit 3 kids in back seat if no third row.
• Not expensive.
• Isn't going to piss her off.

I believe the last item is the No MyFuckingFordTouchOrAnythingLikeIt line.

There are a few "nice to have, but wouldn't want to pay extra" things on her list, but really, she just doesn't care and thus leaving it up to me. It's more important to me that she like it than anything else and I don't understand how she can just so not care, but that's the way it is.

I think I'd prefer another van for the rare occasions when it's helpful to have 7/8 passenger capability or real big/bulk items. My wife likes the sliding doors for the kids, particularly in our own garage so she doesn't have to worry about the kids accidentally slamming a door open into my car, so I'm down with that...but if she got a car, I think I can reconfigure some stuff in the garage to allow semi-offset parking to keep the door thing from being a problem.

I'm inclined to lease again...but what? Open to the idea of a car, SUV, crossover or van, but not sure what to consider. It's probably going to be something that MSRPs around $30 +/-

Any ideas on shopping for a car for someone that doesn't really care so you want it to be not really nice, but not so sucky that you don't completely hate driving/riding in it and will work for taking the family somewhere in it for a week?

Given the list of requirements, I am having a hard time seeing why you don't just get another Odyssey. Or a Sienna.

If you wanted to change things up a bit, a CX-9 fits the bill.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by JST

Given the list of requirements, I am having a hard time seeing why you don't just get another Odyssey. Or a Sienna.

If you wanted to change things up a bit, a CX-9 fits the bill.

See, I was hoping you were going to think of something outside of those three.

[ZBB]

It does sound like another Odyssey...

But a Toyota Highlander or Nissan Murano may fit the bill too...

[TD]

Aside from some higher end "sport coupes" that have two individual rear buckets, what car can't fit three kids across in the back seat?

Which opens it up to 95+% of the vehicles on the market.

The first two bullets aren't helpful in narrowing the field.

So we're left with $30k-ish and no menu-driven infotainment/NAV system. Which is still a heck of a large number of choices.

So how critically do your occasional utility, the sanctity of your car in terms of door dings, and your own fun-to-drive quotient play in?

[JST]

Originally Posted by clyde

See, I was hoping you were going to think of something outside of those three.

Well, this meets basically none of your criteria, but you should buy it anyway:

http://www.intersportautosales.com/2...9/Details.aspx

If you want some out of the box thinking, a Taurus fits three across in back, has a trunk so huge you can nearly fit a picnic table inside, and comes (I think) without the MFT in the lower spec, non-Nav versions. At least, it used to.

It looks like the Explorer XLT with basic Sync and Flex SE both avoid MFT, too.

A Dodge Durango is sort of a dark horse option. I kind of like the way they look, for an SUV, and you're getting the Jeep/ML platform that is supposed to be pretty nice.

[clyde]

Murano is out. The time we spent in my parents Murano last summer and was filled with my wife complaining about how awful it was (I only wrong about her list was that it was incomplete...what a fucking piece of fucking shit that thing is). I'd prefer to skip Toyota, but there is no objective reason why the Highlander should be eliminated.

TD, the problem with choice is too much of it and that's why I'm asking... It could be basically anything and I don't really know where to start. While my wife says she doesn't care, that's not as true as she'd like it to be (or even actually believes it to be). See Murano above. I can kind of be her in my head a bit, but not entirely. If I can narrow things down to three vehicles for her to drive and pick which she likes best, I should be in good shape.

[lupinsea]

Originally Posted by clyde

See, I was hoping you were going to think of something outside of those three.

Comes in crewcab so plenty of room in the back for three kids. Is not boring. Oh, and they have a comfy ride due to the supple offroad suspension and come with A/C. And since the crewcabs came out in '11 you can probably pick a used one up at a lower cost now.

You're welcome.



.

[TD]

Originally Posted by clyde

Murano is out. The time we spent in my parents Murano last summer and was filled with my wife complaining about how awful it was (I only wrong about her list was that it was incomplete...what a fucking piece of fucking shit that thing is). I'd prefer to skip Toyota, but there is no objective reason why the Highlander should be eliminated.

TD, the problem with choice is too much of it and that's why I'm asking... It could be basically anything and I don't really know where to start. While my wife says she doesn't care, that's not as true as she'd like it to be (or even actually believes it to be). See Murano above. I can kind of be her in my head a bit, but not entirely. If I can narrow things down to three vehicles for her to drive and pick which she likes best, I should be in good shape.

As long as we're projecting... Chevy SS?

[bren]

Originally Posted by lupinsea

You're welcome.

Now that's some out of the box thinking right there!

So is the Flex out b/c of the infotainment bit?