I'd do an Audi A4 Avant 2.0 turbo. AWD, decent gas mileage, great looks, nice interior/luxury, and safe. And you can mod it. That's what I want, anyway lol.

 

SloAudi's (slow Audi) suck! Terrible maintance issues.

 

Please dont get a Pilot. There have been excessive numbers of them on the roadway lately and to be frank, their enhanced ***-hattery on the roadways would group you in with their distracted, lane camping, lane weaving, 5 mph under, no-signaling, crappy group of drivers.

You dont want that.

 

The Rav4 wouldn't be much bigger than the civic..The highlander could be an option...

Definitely not underestimating the Odyssey. It definitely checks almost all of the boxes.

I'm not sure I could handle that bad of gas mileage. We make some long trips...but I saw a H1 the other day and I joked with my wife about getting that.

We tried the Pilot...with the car seat in the second row, my wife's knees are up against the dash...that's the problem that we have with the civic...not safe if you ask me...we don't want to have to get another car in a couple years.

we researched the touareg, but the nice ones are pricey...didn't look into the tiguan though...

I know it's probably stupid, but a part of me thinks that it'll be the "same ol'" caravan of years past..yehckk

I love Honda...but same thing that I told Dan...

We still have to check these out..built on the same platform and look promising.

Don't know too much about Volvo's but they seem like a good option.

That's really good MPGs for a v8!
the jeep can't tow....surprisingly..

 

If we didn't need something bigger..and the civic was dead I would love to get the insight and rock those MPGs!

Yeah I'm not a fan of Audi's service history....they always seem to be breaking down.

LMAO...ever since we test drove one, we've been noticing them everywhere too!

 

Thanks for all your input guys!

 

I don't know what Ryan's talking aboot. I've seen way less asshats driving Pilots than minivans. minivan drivers are nearly as bad as Prius drivers, generally speaking of course. I'm not sure if they feel the world owes them something for being breeders, or what their problem is.

I don't recall your wife being that tall - I'm pretty sure my wife is taller and she doesn't have an issue with space with the kids in the back. Granted, you are probably still rocking the rear facing seat which will change soon...forever. Unless more kids are on the horizon, of course.

I'm not sure if you've looked at Fords, or opposed to them, but I'd seriously check out something like the new Edge for your size of family. Another option (though you'd be teetering toward the dark side) would be a Forester. The newest one has gotten a bit too big for what it originally was (IMO), but some of the previous versions seemed to be a good size.

A lightly used Volvo, to get into the range you're thinking of, seems like a good option.

 

definitely with you on Prius's...no love from me.

My wife is 5'11" with long legs. We are still rocking the rear facing carseat. If we were to have another kid, then we would have a rear facing car set again. The issue with a lot of the smaller suvs/crossovers is that they are basically the same size as our civic, just taller, and less fuel efficient. That's why we've been looking at larger vehicles. Take the pain of buying a new car once instead of having to get another one in a couple years again...Definitely not opposed to Fords (the new ones) at all. I think that Ford is in a position to start giving the Japanese a run for their money.

 

With the F-series at the top of the sales chart (usually with a bullet), Ford usually puts on a good show. In all seriousness, if one of their Ecoboost powerplants in the right SUV (said: not a 3 ton pig), it would be interesting to see. I don't follow their models that closely, so maybe one already exists.

I had a Tundra and moved to a Super Duty to relieve the kid seat issues. Forward facing seems better but there is also a time when their feet go straight to your back since their legs are too short to actually bend over the edge at the knee. Plus the FF car seats are usually quite bulky until you move to boosters. You can get smaller ones but they are becoming more rare.

 

Definitely test drive a jeep grand Cherokee and see if you can get by with seating for five, Durango gives you the third row of seating if you near it. The jeep feels like a Mercedes more than a Chrysler. I was trying to push my wife toward a new BMW x3 but after test driving a grand Cherokee it seemed to have at least the same level of quality and you get alot more for the money. If you go with a hemi the 2012 will have a 6 speed so I'm hoping that wil improve the mpg some.

 

Toyota sienna good on gas , good space inside, keep the value , mom's car , good motor...

 

Ralliart Sportback! That's how I talked the Wife out of the Subaru Outback.

 

Minivans are great. We have a Sienna and have transport a ton of stuff in it. It's probably more versatile than any mid to large size SUV. Getting to the 3rd row is easy. Mileage is so so but that comes with big cars.

But since the OP only has 1 kid, I also dont see the need of minivan. A small/mid SUV like the Outlander Sport, Kia Sportage might do. Then there are wagons like Outbacks and Acura TSX.

Make sure the new car fits all the child seat and strollers though. With rear facing infant seat it does takes up lots of space. Test it if you can while car shopping.

Lots of choices in your price range, happy shopping.

 

My mom has a 2011 Outback and it has tons of room inside. They make a v6 model i believe but her 2.5l is rated at 2700 lbs towing capacity...probably on a downhill incline though

 

loool you can always try out each car before you buy right?? just go into every dealer and buckle up your son and wife into a nice family vehicle give it a test drive!! lool :P