I have a 2013 Audi A6, and it was great for an urban car other than the maintenance expense.
I recently moved to a rural area of Wyoming (lots of snow and mountains), and have two car seats in the back (with the kid behind me kicking the driver seat).
I’m looking to swap it out for something with more room and more practicality in the mountains.
My wife has a 2019 Tahoe, which is great, but looking for something different.
Do what any of us would do. Look on the internet, visit a big used car dealer like CarMax and test drive a variety of cars and SUVs. Decide based on your personal experience rather than the wildly different opinions of folks on the internet. Good Luck
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Do people not realize that a question as what to buy for a vehicle will just get answers based on personal preference and bias. I have two vehicles that suit our purpose and I doubt that any forum would have a majority of people recommending either one.
Mustang is correct , the web vehicle sites can give more info in a couple of hours then a forum could provide in months.
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Good morning, I don’t think the poster said he was limiting himself to what a majority of strangers on the Car Talk Community would say. Most people know when they post here that you get what you pay for, and are simply looking for ideas. Just ideas. Sometimes people don’t immediately consider certain vehicles.
I don’t own a car but have read enough discussions on here (where the topic was actually discussed) and it seems that maybe to narrow your search it may help to consider the availability of dealers and mechanics in your area, since maintenance cost was a factor for the Audi.
Others who deal with rural/snowy weather can weigh in on things like whether the vehicle matters more than the tires, etc.
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I just bought a Buick Envision Preferred. I don’t live near mountains but in snow. I was looking for durability and no gadgetry frills. I wanted something with a normal tranny. None of that CVTOr dual clutch stuff. Did not want turbo cause I’m hopeful that I will drive it without frequent repairs down the road. The tranny seems to be equipped pretty good for hills. Comes standard with hill assist if that’s of any value. So far I’m pleased but time will tell. The back seats have plenty of room, but it’s only built for five. It’s very comfortable for me, but maybe not for a short person. The enclave seats more people and the Encore has no room in rear passenger seats.
If the OP wants a vehicle that will have LOTS more room than the A6, enough so that the kid in the car seat can’t kick the driver’s seat, that’ll need to be something with a movable second row seat, maybe a minivan? You can get a Sienna with AWD, I think.
Midsize SUVs like the Chevy Equinox and Ford Escape have second rows that move. The Equinox has had it for years, but I think MY2020 is the first on for a sliding 2nd row in the Escape. The GMC Terrain should be the same as the Escape with respect to a sliding 2nd row.
Thanks. My knowledge of minivans is about 25 years old, and i naively assumed they were horrible in the snow. Let me know if there are any you think are worth taking a look at
Our family is on its 4th minivan, and we’ve driven in all kinds of snow. With good snow tires, we’ve not had a problem.
I have a preference for the Toyota minivan, followed by Honda, mostly due to their reliability.
Why would you assume that ? Mini Vans have been front wheel drive for years . We know a family that lives in the Colorado Mountains and has had nothing but Honda Odyssey vans a did just fine.
Colorado Mountains? More like hills… a go-kart would be fine there
??? - plenty of mountains west of Denver…
I’m just making a bad joke. Giving Colorado (and its impressive mountains) a hard time.
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How about explaining why you think Mini vans are bad in snow .
I doubt if Colorado understood your joke.
I’m sure the state has a more highbrow sense of humor
My mom had one when I was a kid (dodge caravan) and it slid all over the roads like a hog on ice.
When you were a kid, I don’t think that modern winter tires existed.
Virtually any vehicle can handle at least moderately snowy roads if 4 modern winter tires are mounted.
Toyota Sienna has been available with AWD for a long time. If you really want AWD, it’s available.
Nothing beats a minivan for cargo and people carrying capabilities. To get the cargo and passenger capacity of a minivan, you have to buy a Suburban or Expedition. The SUVs cost a lot more than minivans too.
… and it is considerably more reliable than the Honda Odyssey.
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+1…see Honda’s automatic transmissions that are not only picky about having Honda’s exact specified ATF, but also really don’t like it when you try to extend the ATF change more than 30,000 miles
Is that still true with recent Honda Odysseys?
If so, do you have any pointers to data? I’d be interested in that, as it would be new to me.