we have 2 little monkeys and a dog, and an owes-me-nothing toyota prius with 300k that's constantly overloaded now that baby 2 has arrived. we have lots of hobbies that involve lots of gear.
having been scouring reviews, sounds like lots of good options out there.
priorities:
good size cargo space (much more than prius, but don't need a suburban)
awd and decent ground clearance (4-low and off-road prowess unnecessary)
3rd row fold-down seating isn't important but might be nice
can easily tow 3000-lb travel trailer
good gas mileage
can't afford a new vehicle, so used
not a minivan (i know the sienna awd is awesome, but just no)
not a subaru (the new ones are great vehicles but they're still so ugly and they require expensive brake overhauls including calipers every couple years)
narrowed down to:
toyota highlander (maybe hybrid), dodge durango (new version), mazda cx-9, gmc acadia, ford flex or explorer (new version), acura mdx, bmw X5 (used).
would prefer a modern diesel for good mileage (especially towing) but can't afford mercedes or vw touareg or audi Q7. and i know their maintenance costs are high, especially the diesels. for some reason used bmw X5's are much cheaper and my friend's is really nice, but still seems a bit too fancy for us. above options all get mediocre mileage, though highlander is the best (but also the most boring vehicle).
anyone have personal good or bad experience with any of these, or other suggestions?