mid-full size crossover/suv recommendations?

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?

have been really happy with our toyota highlander. Up to 8.5 l/100 km regular driving to 12.5 l/100 km when shuttling fully loaded with four people/dh bikes. Lots of space, more useable space than a 4runner, third row of seats for little ones, seats up to 7. Seats fold fully flat, and has been super reliable and lots of power.

We went through the same thing and ended up with the CX-9. It's on the bigger end, but still drives pretty well. Having the extra row has been really handy and you can fit a ton of stuff in it. We've been driving it for 2 years and with no issues.

The X-5's aren't very good in the snow. The older MDX is nice if you can find one, the newer ones are smaller.

Ford Escape 4x4? Seems like a really good option. I drove one years ago and it was quite capable, roomy, and the 3.0 V6 got really good mileage.

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/ctd/4817356515.html

First vote pre 2013 MDX but only because it was made in my hometown but my former employer.

Talk to Mantle or Schaab and see if they can find you a nice used Highlander hybrid.

New differently shaped roof box , thats what we are getting when baby number 2 shows up, but you are about 140,00km ahead of us on the car replacement project. I'd go for the Kia / Hyundai mentioned above. Or Merc E Class wagon if you can find one.

Ford Escape 4x4? Seems like a really good option. I drove one years ago and it was quite capable, roomy, and the 3.0 V6 got really good mileage.

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/ctd/4817356515.html

I have a 2010 Ford Escape 4x4 with the 4cyl, bought it new and am happy with it.

My nephew bought a similar year Escape used, but his is the V6 [HTML_REMOVED] 2WD version, still driving it a few years later.

They get good reviews in the Lemonade Used Car/SUV/Van/Truck books.

SUV and good gas mileage are mutually exclusive terms.

If you want lots of room, get an Acadia or Pilot. Highlander is a good choice, but I don't know about the towing capacity of their hybrid version.

ford Flex AWD…

/endthread

deceptively huge inside…

Went through the same process 4 years ago with new vehicles so probably the same vehicles you'll be looking at now.

Looked at the Acadia, Flex, Explorer, Durango, 4Runner, Chevy Tahoe and the like, Nissan Pathfinder, Armada, Toyota Sequoia and finally settled with an Xterra Pro-4X.

We did have the requirement of it being a capable off-road vehicle to get us up into the mountains on a weekly basis which it has done extremely well. Loads of power and torque for towing, nicely appointed interior in cloth with excellent sound system. Spray out interior plastics if you are outdoorsy and comes preinstalled with a roof rack, junk box, off road lights, fogs etc.

Back seats can be hard to get into similar to Jeeps and such as the rear door is cut over the wheel well, however the back seats have tons of room, no third row but the hatch in plenty big for carting around a kids worth of stuff and things.

I would recommend as it has proven extremely capable and handy for daily trips with a young child (only 1 mind you) and plenty big for 4 adults plus 1 child on 5hr plus trips north. Was undoubtedly the best bang for the buck at the time without feeling like a minivan like the Acadia, Pathfinder, Armada etc. feel like inside.

Also we started out looking for used similar to you but came across the 0% financing and settled on buying new off the lot, worked out cheaper than financing a used car.

My 2 cents, good luck looking……

I have no idea how I'd choose one of those. Everything I like is overkill. Definitely have a soft spot for the 03-09 4runner with the V8.

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?

you've got some interesting options listed, esp considering that you can't afford new. you're biggest hurdle is going to be the towing capacity. is 3000lb the weight of the trailer by itself or does that include some gear loaded on to it. to be happy with towing a trailer that size i would recommend a vehicle that can handle more than that, esp if you plan to tow more than once or twice per year.

- avoid the bmw unless you like high priced repairs, there's a reason the resale prices of bmw's in general fall of a cliff after the warranty is up.

- second the flex/explorer, personally i like the look of the edge although it is not as refined as some of the other offerings

- like the acura mdx, a good choice (honda- duh!) but a pricier option.

tbh, without a ceiling on your budget it's a bit hard to recommend one over the other due to price variations

Xterra ftw

Xterra ftw

No; just no.