quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
 I wouldn't consider the Sequoia a "mom van".

He said Sienna (van) is "mom van."

Sienna: Van

Sequoia: SUV

Highlander is a grea vehicle and I think it would fit well for what you need it for

2 words...

Toyota
Venza

I recommend the 6-cylinder and as many features as you can afford. I have a 2011 and LOVE IT!!

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Toyota
Venza

Discontinued 2015.

So not an option if the OP definitely wants new, which is what he seems to be leaning towards.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ah....admittedly I didn't read the entire thread/posts.

Before you pull the trigger on the Toyota take a look at the Honda CRV and Pilot. I'd say have the wife drive both if she's going to be the primary driver. My wife preferred the CRV to the Highlander, so we have that and a 2017 Tundra.

We have a 2012 Highlander Limited with 51k miles and the vehicle is fantastic except for the clunk in the intermediate steering shaft they have since redesigned and offered a TSB for but want almost $600 to fix. We'll have this for a long time.

I had a 2013 and 2014 4Runner as company cars and they were awful floated like a boat in corners, terrible brakes, not comfortable.

Have a 2014 Sienna that is great minus if you need 3 full size car seats. It is terrible so hopefully tomorrow it will go away for a Honda Odyssey as long as I don't take too much of a bath.

My suggestion is to buy used from CarMax and get their bumper to bumper extended warranty. You'll save over New and have a much better warranty than new.

You want a Highlander (or a Subaru Outback, but I digress).

Highlander is a unibody construction like a car. This gives you a roomier interior in a vehicle with smaller external dimensions, plus weight savings.

This means that the vehicle will handle better, have better fuel economy, and will generally be more comfortable (roomier seats).

The Land Cruiser, Sequoia, and 4Runner are all body-on-frame construction. Body-on-frame construction gives you a solid platform that absorbs the stresses of towing, hauling (in the case of pickup trucks), and off-road travel. You lose interior space to make room for the frame and the frame itself is rather heavy, which wrecks the driving dynamics.

For your intended use, I would pick a unibody SUV rather than a body-on-frame vehicle. Of your choices, that leaves the Highlander or RAV4. But you mentioned that the RAV 4 is too small.

If you are looking at vehicles outside Toyota, then I would look at Subaru before you go anywhere else. Subaru's reliability is as legendary as Toyota and Honda, and the thoughtfulness of their engineers makes longtime fans of the vehicle. For instance, Subaru puts symmetrical AWD and a low-slung boxer engine in all of their vehicles (except their BRZ collaboration with Toyota) because they believe that AWD is crucial to safe driving in all conditions, and the low slung boxer engine improves the vehicles center of gravity. As a result, they put those features in every vehicle. I appreciate that--if there's a better way to do something, just do it--rather than making it an added cost option.

A used Land Cruiser is what you want. $40k will buy a really nice one.

Thanks for all the input folks.

I do think a Highlander would be the choice among SUV type vehicles, but the Avalon is certainly worth a look too.

However, a look at the books, resale value of the Corolla and a general reality check makes it clear that nothing will happen until the Kubota is paid off in 2 years.

Highlander v6 AWD.

They quit making the Venza which was the most comfortable car they made. Huge inside. Basically a Highlander without the contraption space hog of the 3rd row seats.

My wife and I compared the Venza to the Highlander when we traded our old highlander in. It was roomier in all areas, especiall rear seat comfort.

If you want the Venza layout, Look at the Lexus RX350. Nearly exactly the same, albeit a bit more refined.

My wife just went from a 2014 RAV4 to a 2017 Highlander....loves it...not too big and not too small.

If you like the Highlander, you should also drive a Honda Pilot and the Nissan Pathfinder. As an FYI, the current generation Nissan Pathfinder has a unibody frame so it has a better ride now.

Suburu Legacy. CR states ride quality rival Lux brands. We are looking also. I can't tolerate a 30-40k price tag. Looking for a Camry upgrade

We looked hard at the highlander but the new front end was not pleasing to the eye. Love the older ones. We also looked hard at the Honda and ended up with the Ford Edge.

Do yourselves a favor and check out a factory certified RX350 pre-owned. You get Lexus quality and reliability, the peace of mind of everything on that car has been checked out and is backed by a factory warranty. Also, someone already took the first year depreciation hit.

Had a 2009 Toyota Highlander and it was a great wonderful vehicle. Wanted something g newer last year. Couldn’t get a good enough deal trading it for a lightly used and cpo Highlander.

Wandered over to the Nissan dealership. Got a great deal on a very lightly used 2015 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum. The thing is smooth and very nice. To me they are almost the same with the Nissan having a little more power and to me, a little smoother ride.

Toyota has a little more when it comes to customer service. An app for your phone to keep track of maintance and coupons and stuff. Nissan doesn’t have that. Also, currently owning both a Nissan and a Toyota when it comes to the service departments it seems the Toyota dealership communicates well where the Nissan dealership’s left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.

I don’t think you can go wrong with either of those two choices.

I know you said SUV, but you'd be well pleased to take a ride in a used Lexus LS430, or a LS460. Large trunk, plenty of room for 4 adults, plenty of power, and a smooth as silk ride.

Recently rode 9 hours in one while sitting in the back. I'm 6'2".

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
Some of you are mixing Sennia and Sequoia. Nobody said the Sequoia is a mom van.

Reread the OP.
 

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
Some of you are mixing Sennia and Sequoia. Nobody said the Sequoia is a mom van.

Reread the OP.
 

Henry is right, I did say that, based entirely on appearance. Didn't realize it's a full-sized (ish) van and not a minivan.

Still not interested.