One of our cars is 1983 honda 4 door and the other is a 1998 honda civic. The 1998 just blew a master brake cylinder and as 480,000 km....it has cost us a small fortune in the last two years.... and we are not spending another dime on it..... so we are done to one vehical.

We also have a 1991 suburban but we can't afford to drive it because of the gas. We use it for pulling our old trailer on Camping Vacations.

So now that Dh is working we need to replace at least one of the vehicals (but soon both).

What we need is a vehical that will hold 1 child +2 teens+ 2 adults AND hold a full size cello AND be good on gas AND be reliable.
Any suggestions????? Is there such a beast?

I bought a new Hyundai Sonata a couple of months ago and have been very pleased with it. It is roomy enough for your entire family and the trunk is absolutely huge, I think the cello would fit in it without any trouble. It gets great gas milage, I am getting 34 miles per gallon on the highway (which is what they advertised but I was amazed when I actually got that much) and the warranty on Hyundai vehicles is the best on the market, 10 years/100000 miles. I paid around $17000 for mine and was brand new with great standard features.

I think that those Toyota boxy looking cars are very roomy. I think they are called Scion. My dad has one and he loves it and it's great on gas.

www.edmonds.com has TONS of information on new & used cars. The prices will all be American (I don't think they have a Canadian option). But at least you can look at sizes of passenger & cargo areas, as well as gas mileage (which will be in miles per gallon, but at least gives you a reference and could be converted to km/liter).

If mileage is a problem, don't get a minivan. My Kia van gets half the mileage that my 89 Civic got at 14 years old.

Kia also offers a 10yr/100,000mile warrenty.

I'm a huge Honda fan. The Honda Odyssey might suit your needs. I've never driven one, but my sister has one (she has 4 kids). It hasn't given them any trouble, and I believe the gas mileage is pretty good for a minivan.

We've been happy with our Honda CRV, too. It gets around 25mpg with around-town driving (better with highway driving). It would easily fit your family with the little one in the middle. I don't know if it would easily fit a cello, though. Never tried to put one in mine. :wink:

Thanks for the link Valerie!

We have really liked our hondas. Our 89 honda didn't cost us a cent until it two years ago!!!! at 420,000 km. Up until we hadn't even changed our clutch!

I have heard good things about the toyota matrix too but it won't fit our family AND a full size cello...neither will our civic. Our son had a 3/4 sized cello and it barely fits and it won't be much longer before he will need a full size one.

We have heard that minvans don't get great mileage which is why we are trying to find better options.... Keep the opinions coming!

My aunt and uncle have a Scion and they love it. The interior is absolutely huge. The truck is about the depth of a large cooler, if that makes sense. I'm not really sure how big a cello is.

After having our second child (which means 2nd carseat) in 19 months and living close to family my husband realized that having a minivan would be a big advantage. After looking around and checking several makes and models out we decided on the Dodge Grand Caravan. We put the kids in the middle row and when grandparents come we can all ride in one vehicle. The back seat has more leg room than the middle seat - there is also plenty of room to store the double stroller in the back and still go grocery shopping. Gas mileage may not be quite as good but you will also pay more upfront for the Honda or whatever so you have to weigh out which you like best.

Oh, we also bought ours as a 2005 used vehicle - it had been a rental vehicle before - made it much more reasonable for us!! :)

I love my HOnda CRV too, no idea if the cello would fit though. hmmmm???

what about a saturn vue? those get like 35 miles per gallon.

We just picked up a 2004 Vue-great on milage, wouldn't fit your family-2 teens would fit in the back seat, no room for a little on back there. I can fit 2 booster seats there, nothing more.
I have a 2002 Ford Windstar-never wanted a minivan, but it gets the job done- seats 7, plus room in the back for a double stroller, gets around 26 mpg around town, better on the open hiway.

I loved my Toyota. I had it for 10 years and not one problem. I've had a few mechanics and clients of mine said Toyota's were one of the best built cars.

I saw a documentary on the Toyota factory and how if they found the smallest flaw in a part they would send it back. They build their cars with a lot of care.

We have a Saturn Vue........we really like it alot, we got the 4 cylinder so it gets good gas milage. The other thing I will say about Saturn is they have extremely good customer service......every once in a while we will just stop by for the free car wash, all of the employees are really great to us.

I would highly recamend them to anyone and have.....we get stopped alot in parking lots and asked about how we like ours and I always say nice things about ours and the lovely customer service.

leezza

We just traded my Toyota 4 Runner for a Dogde Ram Van. For years I had sububans and miss mine very much. Nothing so far has carried both the stuff and people like my burbans. The 4 runner lasted us a year and just didn't work out for hauling purposes. We haul lots of stuff from the clearing out of homes to kids to sporting events. Hoping the big van will do the job now. Gas plays a part but not as musch as doing the hauling jobs we need. Like Monday we are headed to Ohio with a load of stuff for freinds there and no room in the 4 runner again was its last straw.

Laurie in Bradenton

We had a Honda CRV and fit a ton of stuff in it - the most was going up north with my and BF, two med-large sized dogs, two tree stands, Two Bows (we were going deer hunting) plus a microwave, all our bags for the week, hunting clothes, a cooler and a milkcrate full of food, two pairs of hunting boots, all our bed linens (pillows, blankets ect) and we had room to spare. So although I don't know what a cello is, I'm pretty sure it would fit lol. I loved that CRV . . . plus I'm a huge honda fan, we currently own a civic and a ridgeline.

holly - what do you consider 'good gas mileage'?

A minivan can still get 500 km/tank just like your honda. The only downfall of Honda's is their gas tank capacity. But honestly I think its all in 'how' you drive - jack rabbit starts vs slow acceleration starts etc and idling etc.

Most cars/vans/trucks are designed to get the same mileage (at least Ive found) but its the gas tank capcity thats the culprit. In your case it may be worth paying for a minivan with a larger gas tank - thus causing you more to keep it filled - but in return you have all the room you will need to travel - family PLUS full sized cello.

I work in the service dept of a car dealership and as far as things that will drive FOREVER with very little maintenance -- the Jeep is the best. Unfortunately a Jeep TJ or Wrangler is not going to be big enough for all of you.

As far as newer vehicles go, the imports require much less maintenance on wear and tire items and are generally better on gas than domestics. Some great names in used cars are Honda, Acura, and Toyota.

Good luck in your search, if you have any questions about domestic vehicles from the Dodge, Jeep or Chrysler lines, I'm your girl!