A note for folks interested in a Suburban

[Pollyanna]

Not sure where to put this but I figured retail therapy worked.

Anyway, we just came back from a trip where we rented a new Chevy Suburban (we currently own a '93 and '99). It is a great SUV if you have a large family but it has one HUGE issue if you plan to have more than two people sit in the third row. In 2006 (or maybe a few years later) they made the third row into a 50/50 seat which means it folds in the middle of the seat. Great for hauling but way sucky if you are the one that sits in the middle third row seat because you are sitting on a very uncomfortable crack which is also uncomfortable as the crack runs up your back. Chevy has essentially made a great 8 passenger vehicle into a 7 passenger. Anyway, it's fine as long as you don't have more than 4 kiddos or don't plan on anyone sitting in that spot for an extended period of time. We'll be buying the Ford Expedition EL from now on anyway but I wanted to give others a heads up. It's huge mistake on Chevy's part.

[SuzySunshine]

That's interesting because DH thought the same thing about the Traverse. He thought the back seat was VERY uncomfortable in the middle but the GMC Acadia's back seat, also split like that, was more cushy and therefore better.

I think they think the split seat gives people more options, which it does, but they don't think about the comfort of that middle seat.

[peggyfromwastate]

I am hoping they fix that MAJOR design flaw. We have that model (2008) and sitting in the middle of the back is ok for little kids but the problem is little kids grow up.

That and the incredibly annoying way the seat behind the passenger folds is what I don't like about the suburban. Dh plans to take over the suburban once he needs to replace his car. We shall see....

We usually only have 7 ppl in there but we just took a friend along on our weekend to great wolf lodge and it's a 3 hour drive. Dd10 sat on The Crack and she didn't complain.

I just don't think they design cars for actually hauling more than 7 ppl. Let me know if you like the expedition. I don't think I could ever convince dh to buy another ford (he says it stands for Fix Or Repair Daily-- he had a clunker Taurus back in 1996 that broke down on him constantly).

Anyway.... Maybe I need to get one of those passenger vans lol?

[SoonerTexan]

Anyway.... Maybe I need to get one of those passenger vans lol?

Don't laugh. My family did. A BIG WHITE one. We actually had people get in our car at the airport thinking it was a shuttle. It actually was amazing for some of the 1000+ mile trips we did, but my mom hated that thing...and so did I when I got to drive it in high school. My dad thought it was obnoxiously wonderful. On the bright side, I can drive pretty much anything.

[Chrisada]

Once my friends had their fifth and sixth kids (twins) they sold the minivan for as I call it the church van. It was nice to load up both of or families into that thing when visiting! And even nicer for them now that they just had number seven...

[Momo]

my girlfriend & her husband just had baby seven. They own one of those white passenger vans to shuttle their large family around.

[v-girl]

Quite a few families in our homeschool group have those. Nissan is coming out with one soon I heard. One of my friends is drooling over it already. LOL

[Pollyanna]

Lol, we call those the Homeschool Vans. I would have no problem getting one except as far as I know they still perform really badly in side impact accidents. I'll have to see if they've done any safety improvements like side airbags etc. And ST, I was laughing out loud about people getting into your van at the airport. OMGoodness, that is so hilarious!!!

Peggy, my friend has had an Expedition EL for about 5 years and loves it, has had no issues. DD drives an F-150 and it is a great vehicle. The one difference between the Suburban and the Expedition is that the Ford vehicles drive more like trucks (which I like) and the Chevy's drive more like a car IMO. It's funny how a bad experience with one car can cloud your judgement about the entire brand. I feel exactly the same way about Toyota after our POS 2004 Sienna experience yet I know overall the brand has great reliability. And so true about once the little kiddos get bigger is when the design flaw of the third row becomes an issue. I think it was noticed right away because our older three always sit in the way back, and this was a really nice leather Suburban.

[Pollyanna]

Oooo, I just looked at the 2012 Nissan Passenger van. Looks like they are taking care of all the safety issues the US vans lack (plus it's built in Mississippi). Will be interested to see the pricing.

One downside, it's kind of odd looking, but not as bad as the Sprinter, lol!

[peggyfromwastate]

Those Sprinters can book it though. For being huge, they have impressive acceleration.

[SoonerTexan]

Dad finally sold it (it was a 94) last year. We all rejoiced.