opinions please!

[jserio]

so, as many of you know i've got a growing family. (myself, the wife, and 3 beautiful lil girls). that being said, i've got to get a car with a bit more room in it. something a bit newer and safer than the '98 malibu. she told me that since her grandfather retired from Ford, she's able to get some kinda special pricing discount on Ford vehicles. now, i grew up a chevy man but ya know, lately since i've been looking, Fords have been lookin mighty sexy! we went and looked at one of these the other day....    http://www.fordvehicles.com/crossovers/flex/index.asp    we didn't test drive it for fear we'd fall in love with it and we aren't actually looking at buying till closer to the end of the year. so, what do you guys think?

[theUBS]

All I can say is that one of my church friends in the Columbus area picked up a Honda Odyssey, and my other friends with growing families got to experience his.  Soon no less than 5 families are all rolling the Hondas.  Yes, it is a minivan, but all of the guys (who seemed so absolutely certain they would never allow their masculinity to be compromised by driving a minivan) are now singing it's praises.  My $.02.

[jserio]

i've nothing against a minivan. i'm comfortable with my sexuality.  and i do like honda's reliability. the main reason we're looking closer into the Ford family is because of the discount she's got available. i'm not sure how much it is but it may be worth it to go that route. 

[spc]

Dude, get yourself an old Duece and a half retro-fitted for troop carrying!!!  They run off of ANYTHING even remotely flammable!!

[theUBS]

Obviously if the discount puts you into a more comfortable price range, that might be the way to go.  Don't forget to double check what your fuel mileage will be!

[theUBS]

i've nothing against a minivan. i'm comfortable with my sexuality. 

...well, you are married with children.  So I'm sure most wouldn't accuse you of playing for the other team.    AND, it's slightly less likely it would thwart your plans to go out and cruise for chicks.

[yamahonkawazuki]

i've nothing against a minivan. i'm comfortable with my sexuality. 

...well, you are married with children.  So I'm sure most wouldn't accuse you of playing for the other team.    AND, it's slightly less likely it would thwart your plans to go out and cruise for chicks.

unless you pimp it out lol  , check into say a freestar , or why the minivan. ford has a few vehicles which would adequately carry the fam. wiht decent mileage to boot

[jserio]

my biggest concern is seating room. (well, fuel mileage also. ) right now in the malibu we've got the baby still in a rear facing seat, the middle daughter in a booster and i really need to keep the older one in a booster as well but they're so cramped when i have all 3 seats in the car. so unless we're going long distances, the oldest just uses the middle seat belt. so, if i can't find something that has the 3rd row, the back seat needs to be decent sized. and i'd like to get similar fuel economy, if not better than what i get now. i average around 21-23 in town and 27-30 highway.

[TheGoodGuy]

boy you are asking for a LOT..

research all cars and minivans.. but I think you might have to look outside of ford.

Hyundai has a 3 passenger suv with good mileage, and so does Mitsubishi.. they got one that does 32mpg+ I think its teh Outlander if i remember right.

[bombadillo]

Hyundai, toyota or honda all have great cars for the money.  The highlander may work but seating isn't much more than you have now.  The odyssey isn't that great for mileage.  You'll get sub 20 in town guaranteed.  i've driven the older and newer model and they aren't good on gas as thought previously.  The ford looks to be the ticket man.  Get it now.

[the mole]

Here's a thought from outside the square; get another GS500, put a sidecar on it and teach the wife to drive it. Now you've got all the seats you need, great mileage, and you can't hear the kids screaming!

[ajaxgs]

i like the look of the flex , kinda grows on you , if your looking at fords look also at the edge that is a real nice vehicle to drive .. was just down at the plant yesterday  that makes them both (flex and edge )

[lewismug]

Go test drive a V70.  Volvo is owned by Ford now, so maybe you can get a discount on one of those as well.  I dunno?