Is there a Vehicle for Larger Families with great MPG potential?

[roosterk0031]

I made the mistake of buying a car larger to haul other people, 90% of time it was solo operated. It's gone, I'd rather drive (2) 30-40 mpg cars to the same place occasionally than have one of those as a daily driver.

Other problem they (wife's friends) always wanted her to drive.

[radiantthought]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

A case of lateral thinking, literally; make the car a bit wider then have 3 in the front and 3 in the back.

5 years out of production, but seats 6 in 2 rows:
Honda FR-V - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Same concept, but uglier:
Fiat Multipla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neither of those made it to the states though.

[roosterk0031]

Some recent impala's still had 3+3 seating, co-workers' does. I remember riding 4+4 as the youngest of 6.

[radiantthought]

Originally Posted by roosterk0031

Some recent impala's still had 3+3 seating, co-workers' does. I remember riding 4+4 as the youngest of 6.

Apparently 2013 was the year the bench seat died.

[CamMitchell]

I have nearly the same situation as the OP. Due to wife's requirements, I came up with what I thought was a decent compromise: (bio)diesel Suburban.
I tried to get her to agree to a diesel crew cab pickup, but she said she would be too scared to drive it.

Others have shared this same thought on diesel people haulers. There's a reason semis and dump trucks are all diesels. The more weight you haul, the more sense it makes to go diesel.

Still waiting for that factory diesel Sienna...

[jcp123]

Originally Posted by roosterk0031

I made the mistake of buying a car larger to haul other people, 90% of time it was solo operated. It's gone, I'd rather drive (2) 30-40 mpg cars to the same place occasionally than have one of those as a daily driver.

Other problem they (wife's friends) always wanted her to drive.

I see where you're coming from. Wife's Kia gets a bit small for our weekend trips sometimes too, and I moonlight as a property manager and haul appliances now and then. I definitely appreciate the need for room and desire for economy.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by CamMitchell

Still waiting for that factory diesel Sienna...

I'm still waiting for a diesel Toyota Tacoma. There are no diesels offered in the light truck segment.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by roosterk0031

I made the mistake of buying a car larger to haul other people, 90% of time it was solo operated. It's gone, I'd rather drive (2) 30-40 mpg cars to the same place occasionally than have one of those as a daily driver.

Other problem they (wife's friends) always wanted her to drive.

That would be ridiculous with a family. So one parent takes 1/2 the kids in one car while the other parent takes the other half on a 3 hour drive to grandma's. I personally love the long trips on the road with the family, getting 22mpg is a small price to pay for these lifelong memories.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by roosterk0031

Other problem they (wife's friends) always wanted her to drive.

If they can borrow your help in a way that you're paying for the gas and doing the work, they will. One of the benefits of buying a trailer (instead of a pickup truck) is that everyone wants to borrow your pickup, but only two people have ever asked to borrow my trailer- and only one of them actually did.

Originally Posted by Hersbird

I personally love the long trips on the road with the family, getting 22mpg is a small price to pay for these lifelong memories.

Getting 22 mpg on a long trip with everyone is fine. Getting 22 mpg all year long because you take a road trip once or twice a year is ridiculous. Drive what you actually need the other 51 weeks and rent a van for your trip.

[sarguy01]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Getting 22 mpg on a long trip with everyone is fine. Getting 22 mpg all year long because you take a road trip once or twice a year is ridiculous. Drive what you actually need the other 51 weeks and rent a van for your trip.

Not quite. Check out prices of renting a van for a week. My quick search shows that Enterprise charges $650 if you keep the van local to surrounding states. If you leave those states, there is a $0.29 fee per mile. So, if one had a 50 mpg car and rented a van twice a year for one week, the fuel savings cost equals out to just driving a 22 mpg car around year round.

Now, I can see this for a 12 mpg truck when the truck bed never gets used for things that can only fit in a truck's bed.