Help picking out family SUV

[jaruss01]

Ok - so I am waiting on my 4 door OBX sas lux. I optioned it up to serve family duty. But I am really getting the feeling that either A. I dont want to share it, B. the cargo isnt big enough, or C. a combination of the two.

We have a 3 year old, and now with #2 on on the way early next year, plus a 40 lb dog. My wife has a commuter sedan with a lease up in November of next year. My plan was to 'test out' the Bronco as a family hauler, and see if i should upgrade the wife's family suv either between now and Feb...or sometime later into 2022 when he lease comes up. But want to get in front of the choices, seeing how hard it is to get a vehicle as of lately. I kind of figure if I go the CPO route, or lease. Will only put on 5k/yr, so either a lease of <30k mile CPO make little difference.

Ive been searching high and low and nothing is standing out. Here's what she is looking for:
-Luxury brand important to her (maybe #1 priority), but I think I could override that with something fast and sporty. This will be a commuter car going through dense urban areas, as well as a road tripper
-She wants a 'cool vehicle' and not a soccer mom car. I.e. no XC90, no Q7, no MDX, no RDX L, no Pilot. She started her asking (half in jest) - but a murdered out Range Rover (the big one), which was a hard no. Whatever we choose it will probably end up getting blacked out.
-Something not too big and not too small. Drives like a car. i.e. no Yukon. Ideal size is something under 200" long and less than 77" wide. 2.5 row ideal. Dont require 3 rows, but we are really heavy road trip packers and would need at a minimum 40 cu ft of cargo behind second row (this has been a starting point of my search)

If i had it my way, I would just take our volvo lease and do an early trade in for an XC90 lease, but that's a no go.


Looking at either lease, or CPO. $700/mo max lease, or ~$45-55k CPO.

I've looked at and crossed out the following (these were immediately brought into the conversation):

-CPO Range Rover Sport (cargo too small; maintenance).
-CPO LR Discovery (she doesnt like; maintenance)
-CPO Audi Q8 (cargo too small)
-CPO Cayenne (cargo too small, too pricey; maintenance)
-CPO Lincoln Aviator (too wide/cumbersome for commuting)

Some options I am flirting with for her:

-Atlas Cross Sport R-Line (lease or CPO). Basically alternative to Q8 but has 40 cu ft cargo vs Q8 (30 cu ft - non starter), and much less $$, but reviews arent great. Doubt she gets on board, but she may be wowed when seeing a well appointed, blacked out one in person.
-2022 GX460 (they are updating the tech for 2022, which is the biggest element of this being a dinosaur. Understood this is a super old platform. She said she likes this truck. It will also be available with a night pack for 2022. MPG poor, but the size and price are perfect. My one take away is if this drives anywhere near a 4runner (loose and truck-ish) it will probably be a no go for her.
-Ford Edge ST blacked out. She probably wont get on board with this, but it's a sporty, well handling SUV and good size - big cargo. FYI, Explorer is no go (cop car comments from her).
-MB GLE 350 (pricey, and doesnt lease well). Would need to wait on CPOs as the big refresh was for 2020. Almost class leading cargo vol for a 2 row. For some reason, she doesnt view this as a 'mom car' or maybe given the interior is so nice, it doesnt matter.
-X5 (same thoughts as above). 0-60 5.0 sec. Great fit, but cargo falls short, and really doesnt give us the space we need.

Any thoughts here?

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[DonM]

Blacked out Defender 110? MB G-Wagon? I personally like our Nissan Armada, but that is probably too big according to your description.

 

[rugbysecondrow]

Pretty much all the SUV you mentioned are "soccer mom " cars, so she might be shit out if luck.

we just went through this process over the Winter and chose and XC 90. part of our decision making, my wife is 5'2" and I am 6'2', so we needed a car that felt good for both of us. Many if the SUVs felt too big for my wife. She liked the style and feel of the Volvo.

We really enjoy our XC 90 t6 (2 parents, 3 kids, two dogs, lots of weekend trips to lake and beach house).

The Pathfinder was a good value and functioned well. Good prices and held value.

The Acuras make really nice cars that seem to last forever.

The Pilot drive like the Honda Odyssey minivan...so we opted out.

The Highlander seemed expensive for what it was and seemed like their designs were frozen in time.



The 4 Runner might be a good option, no third row but storage space.

We liked the Kia telluride, but spending high $40k's for a Kia didn't sit well. Same with the Hyundai Palisade. they drove great though.

The Atlas drove poorly, and did not seem like a good value.

The GMC Acadia drove nicely, and was a good price, but seemed like a grandparent car.

 

[Lakelife36]

-Did you look at the Atlas, not just the Atlas CrossSport?
-Telluride?
-Maybe a new wife?

 

[BroncHouTX]

We're currently looking at a Kia Telluride. Not a luxury brand but the SX trim could pass as luxury. Captains chairs in the 2nd row to separate the kids and a 3rd row if you need it.

 

[jaruss01]

Hard no on Kia....Hard no on Hyundai (even Genesis GV80). she works hard (manages being an attorney while being a mom), so cant really knock her wanting something premium. Although I am stuck in this weird space given she wants a luxury brand, yet doesnt want a soccer mom car, so not sure where that puts us. That eventually had her asking about the blacked out GX since they are less common and have good road presence. She also brought up a CPO G-wagon, but that has no more usability than our soon-to-be bronco and is multiples more.

 

[NotApplicable]

Confused how atlas, x5, gle, edge, etc aren’t soccer mom cars but xc60 and q7 etc are?

 

[Newbie]

Any thoughts here?

 

[BadBradBronco]

I test drove a 2022 Pathfinder Platinum and to be honest, nearly bought it last week. It’s light years better than the previous Pathfinder models. Fully loaded with a sticker price around $48k. All the tech, air conditioned seats. Lots of towing power and very, very comfortable.

 

[jxc]

Hate to say it but you need a minivan. They are purposely designed to do what you need with a family with young children. We had a Sienna XLE - was a bit sad to see it go after 10 years. It hauled a ton, ours was trimmed up nice and had a solid sound system. You could pack a family of 5 with all our gear for a week at the beach + kayaks on the roof. Be sure to get a hitch if you think you may need more space for a platform carrier. Not sexy and you can't go off road but that is about the only downside.

 

[L8apex]

Why an SUV? Embrace the long roof - an A6 Allroad or even better a RS6 Avant would check all the boxes.

Edit: Or find one of these guys used.

 

[BlueBronco]

Lincoln Corsair. Not as big as the Aviator but has the same lines and glass covered D pillar.

 

[jaruss01]

Confused how atlas, x5, gle, edge, etc aren’t soccer mom cars but xc60 and q7 etc are?

Me too....but it's not my brain. I think the Q7, and XC90 are SO common in my town, that a blacked out X5 or GLE somehow stand out enough as being sporty/luxurious?? (Beats me).

 

[Lakelife36]

Me too....but it's not my brain. I think the Q7, and XC90 are SO common in my town, that a blacked out X5 or GLE somehow stand out enough as being sporty/luxurious?? (Beats me).

I feel for you looking for the unicorn, especially if it's got to do for new littles now plus whatever comes at you later. Congratulations by the way. Have you tried one of those carfinder services that takes your specs and suggests vehicles, then goes and finds them? They probably hook you up with black-out service as well. I can't think of anything more 'luxury-brand' than that!

 

[shimmy825]

Porsche Cayenne?

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