Expanding Family

[Kryptoroxx]

Well there's good news and bad news. I'm having another kid so that's great. Bad news is we use an 08 Scion XB for our family hauler. It's a great little car but if you think you could fit anything bigger than a toothpick in there with 2 car seats....you're gonna be wrong!!

So we are looking at other Yotas to replace the Scion. I pretty much bleed yota but I am willing to consider other options but it would have to be one helluva deal. So far we have poked around at a Camry, Venza, 4runner (4th gen...I have a 3rd Gen), Sienna, and Highlander.

Bad part is we are limited to 20k being the ceiling so new is out of the question unless a magic fairy general pops up and promotes me early. I'm completely open to suggestions

 

[Hepar]

I voted the boring route and said Venza. My friend (before he had his third) had a Highlander and he loved it.

 

[Mytoy4]

My questions for you would be, is this your second child? Do you plan to have more? Do you have pets to haul as well?

 

[Brian757]

I said Camry because my fiancee has a 2004, but I'd like a new one. I never looked into a Venza because I always had a mental image that they looked like a Prius. But after looking at specs and images, thats a neat vehicle for a growing family.

But like the above poster, how many kids do you have at this point? Anything in the poll is better than an xB, ewwww..

 

[KidVermicious]

Just for reference, when we day trip we barely have room for our family (8 y/o and an infant) in our 3rd gen, after we pack a cooler and my tools/recovery gear and the various kid stuff. Camping requires roof space or a trailer, but it's definitely doable. You don't HAVE to get another wagon or truck.

But if you do, I vote minivan. Those things are awesome if you can get over the image.

 

[DannyLlama]

Voted 4th gen, but i'm just biased Congrats on the addition! reggers:

 

[LittleCaesar]

Highlander. My aunt has an 05 that has 261,000+ miles on it. Other than normal wear and tear (water pump, brakes, etc.), the only odd things have been two bad gas caps and a wheel bearing that went south early on.

My neighbors have two (13 and an 08). Love them as well. More space than a 4th gen. Get the AWD/4wd if you can.

 

[ToyotaDoodz]

I said Camry because my fiancee has a 2004, but I'd like a new one. I never looked into a Venza because I always had a mental image that they looked like a Prius. But after looking at specs and images, thats a neat vehicle for a growing family.

But like the above poster, how many kids do you have at this point? Anything in the poll is better than an xB, ewwww..

I have a 2014 Camry Hybrid. We love it. Don't let the word hybrid bug you. After you drive it, you'll notice they can haul-azz. First 5,000 average is 38.7 mpg. That's about 50-50 city highway. Very comfortable to drive. The test drive will really surprise you if you're a hybrid hater.

 

[Hepar]

But if you do, I vote minivan. Those things are awesome if you can get over the image.

My friend who had the Highlander sold it and bought a Honda Odyssey. His wife hates it (she hates minivans), but we both love it!

 

[BrianSD_42]

$20K buy you a hell of a lot of PRIUS and its actually a pretty damn good car.

 

[Paisano]

My questions for you would be, is this your second child? Do you plan to have more? Do you have pets to haul as well?

I'm gonna second this, need way more info. Go ahead and lay out your future to us.

 

[Kryptoroxx]

I'm gonna second this, need way more info. Go ahead and lay out your future to us.

For right now I'm fighting to stay in the military through the drawdown. I don't think we are done having kids but we will see how having two kids is first. No pets but military housing is not very nice for pets anyway. Lots of parvo floating around. If I end up staying in the military I will be applying for MSG (overseas) and then wherever they assign me for the remainder of my career.

If I have to get out of the military I will either go the GS employee route or finish college. That's about as far as I have made it down that route. If school is my path mech/elec engineering will be my major and I would angle for working at toyota?

As far as keeping the 3rd gen mine happens to be a 3rz 5 spd 4x4....and my wife can't drive stick lol. I was teaching her but she got scared when it rolled back pretty bad, dropped the clutch, peeled out and did a 180....scared the crap outta me.

 

[Mytoy4]

With that, my vote would be for a gen4 Runner

 

[Paisano]

Ok. I'm voting 4Runner too. You won't be needing a minivan or anything.

 

[Brian757]

I have a 2014 Camry Hybrid. We love it. Don't let the word hybrid bug you. After you drive it, you'll notice they can haul-azz. First 5,000 average is 38.7 mpg. That's about 50-50 city highway. Very comfortable to drive. The test drive will really surprise you if you're a hybrid hater.

Pssha! I'm far from a hybrid hater. I'm a hater of poor design. And earlier in hybrid car development, car manufacturers must've believed that they needed to make them hideous to be a hybrid. But they've come a long way. I have been personally considering the Lexus CT200H or it's sport sibling. I went to a Lexus dealer and it impressed me greatly.

I am currently getting 15-16 with the '02 4runner. Trust me, I'm ready for a hybrid or even car for that matter.

I was teaching her but she got scared when it rolled back pretty bad, dropped the clutch, peeled out and did a 180....scared the crap outta me.

Wha.. How in the..? Maybe she's better than you think!

 

[Limbwalker]

I voted 4th gen, but I will go ahead and say that my 2013 Subie Impreza gets 36mpg hwy all day long, super safe, reliable, has AWD that kicks my 4runners ass in everything but pretty deep snow, roof space, a hitch mounted bike rack that I added, handles great, long lasting etc etc.
It was $19k brand new has the 2.0 liter which is NOT badass, but good enough and cheap to drive.
This wasnt on your list and I know its not a Toyota, but maybe it should be?
My $.02

 

[Kryptoroxx]

I voted 4th gen, but I will go ahead and say that my 2013 Subie Impreza gets 36mpg hwy all day long, super safe, reliable, has AWD that kicks my 4runners ass in everything but pretty deep snow, roof space, a hitch mounted bike rack that I added, handles great, long lasting etc etc.
It was $19k brand new has the 2.0 liter which is NOT badass, but good enough and cheap to drive.
This wasnt on your list and I know its not a Toyota, but maybe it should be?
My $.02

I could go for a subie. I will take a look and see. 36mpg is pretty darn good.

Pssha! I'm far from a hybrid hater. I'm a hater of poor design. And earlier in hybrid car development, car manufacturers must've believed that they needed to make them hideous to be a hybrid. But they've come a long way. I have been personally considering the Lexus CT200H or it's sport sibling. I went to a Lexus dealer and it impressed me greatly.

I am currently getting 15-16 with the '02 4runner. Trust me, I'm ready for a hybrid or even car for that matter.

I'm watching the plug in market but I don't think I would buy. I think leasing would be the way to go with battery tech development and such.

My little 3rz gets around 25 mpg which is not horrible.

Wha.. How in the..? Maybe she's better than you think!

Nope she let go of the steering wheel lol...and then cried. She was a good sport though. We are gonna give it another go soon. It's been 3 years lol.

 

[85straight]

I voted venza for practicality for a family..me and my wife just got a. 2014 loaded honda crv, a bit out of your price range but thought I'd shed some light.. I was set on a rav4 or highlander until I was comparing rav4 vs crv. After driving both we got the crv...I'm usually a through and through toyota guy also but I couldn't deny the fact that the crv was getting better mpgs and the price difference was larger than I thought. We broke it in by taking a 6 day camping trip( with our 8 month old and dog) and the crv did everything we needed and more. I really maxed out storage space but everything fit( and I'm quite a minimalist) . Also didn't hurt that my friend works at the local honda dealer. So I'm just saying I LOVE toyota a but do t exclude Hondas, after working I the auto repair industry for 10 yrs I'm very convinced toyota and Honda are the Only makes I would buy

To add, I also think subarus are badass to drive, but not that fun to work on. And I got average of 37 mpg on my recent trip, way over what the window sticker claimed

 

[85straight]

And just for the hell of it..and yes I'm good at Tetris haha

 

[85straight]

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