Get a minivan. It’s by far the best vehicle for a family.
Let go of that “image” stuff. Nobody cares, and you’re the only one that’s paying a premium for what strangers might say about your car.
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Since you asked for opinions…
Although distinctive bling on a car is fun and ego stroking what makes any adult with a family look “important” is providing a vehicle that is reliable and safe to use because keeping one’s family safe is far more important and impressive than flashy looks.
No harm in wanting to impress people but keep in mind that appearing materially successful takes a back seat to the driving need to be successful in best providing for your family’s needs and protection.
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For that price you could get a 2018 or so Acura RDX. If you’re lucky and can find one you can get it with the Advance package, which is loaded and should still be under 30. I’m not a fan of SUVs in general, but my mother has a 2019 and I have to admit, it’s pretty excellent. It’s certainly more entertaining than my Lexus. 
The tech will be better than the comparable Lexus, and it will be more fun to drive, especially if you get the SH-AWD option which makes cornering a thing of beauty, but the Lexus will feel more luxurious because the sound dampening is much better. It’s impressive how much a quiet car gives off a high-end feel. Both are solid choices in the 3-4 year old range because they still have a warranty, they’ll both be a lot more reliable than most luxury SUVs, and you save nearly 50% from the new price.
If you were asking this a year or so from now I’d also have you look at the Genesis GV80, but they’re too new to have much for offerings on the used market.
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Yeah… You’re not wrong. I agree with the sentiment. But that logic only goes so far. Should I also cut my own hair and buy my clothes from goodwill? 
There are certainly some people on this planet who have their priorities messed up. Personally, I’m trying to strike a balance.
This conversation brings to mind an honest question. What is so great about minivans anyway? The sliding door? I dunno. It seems to me like the difference nowadays is almost completely styling. Do minivans actually hold more? If so, where does that space come from?
Minivans usually offer more space and cargo flexibility than a comparable SUV with better fuel economy. Depending on if 4mpg on the highway makes enough of a difference.
When we were looking at the Pilot and the Odyssey for my dad back in 2005 or so the only real advantage for the pilot would have been the 4WD since they other wise could seat the same number of people.
Decided to keep our '88 Grand Voyager around for a few more years and eventually got a new 2007 CR-V which dad felt met his needs 90% of the time and could use the old Plymouth for Home Depot runs and towing the 16ft boat the handful of times a month it would be needed.
The seats in most minivans are designed to fold into the floor, or if not, for quick removal. Not so the seats in SUVs, which usually get their extra cargo room by folding the rear seatbacks down. You can convert a minivan to a cargo van with the flip of a couple of levers. An SUV requires a socket wrench, and even then the floor usually isn’t flat.
Even my old '88 Caravan had quick-release seats. In those days this meant wrestling 2 very heavy bench seats out the side door so I didn’t do it often, but it was still easier than unbolting seats in a normal vehicle.
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Yeah, sorta. Everybody seems to have the fold flat 3rd row these days and that’s easy. I believe only Chrysler has the fold flat 2nd row, and only in the non-PHEV version. While it’s easier to remove the middle seats in a minivan than an SUV, I wouldn’t call it easy. At least not in my Silhouette and Odyssey. A couple of vendors have, or had, middle seats that flexed forward on the front seat pins and pushed up against the back for the front seats. We didn’t like that idea. Heavy seats too.
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Man, that old caravan almost busted my back, and I was a young guy at the time. It had two heavy duty locking levers that unlatched the front attachment points, then you rotated it backwards to lift it off the rear connections. After that you’re trying to wiggle the thing out of the van without ripping the legs across the carpet, and with no room to “lift with your legs.” And then you have to do it again for the other bench seat, which is even worse because it’s a 3-seater and heavier than the 2-seat middle row.
Half the time I just didn’t bother - it was built in the days before rear seat headrests so unless what I was hauling was particularly tall I just laid it across the tops of the seatbacks.
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After my brother went off to college in '91 the 3rd row seat in our '88 Grand Voyager went into the garage until it was really needed and then you only needed to remove the 2 person middle bench to haul things. A Practical vehicle but far from the most reliable. It was really only 1ft longer than the Volvo it replaced but had so much more room.
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Minivans hold more stuff with a lower ground clearance. And the wheel wells are relatively less intrusive when you don’t need to clear large off road ties
Let me get this straight. You want to spend $30k plus dealer fees, taxes, and interest (if financed) to replace a running vehicle so you can “look important” and “turn heads”??? How is your job security? How many more working years do you have left?
Do you own your home, or are you still flushing money down the rent toilet? Do you have a reasonable cushion of savings to cover unexpected expenses, or are you living paycheck-to-paycheck? Have you started saving for retirement?
I personally do not give a flying you-know-what about “look[ing] important” or “turn[ing] heads”. A car is an appliance, which gets me where I need to go. As long as the car runs properly, and the body is in decent condition, I would just as happily drive a 20 year old car, and put the money that I’m not spending on loan payments, full-coverage insurance, etc. into something else–like my retirement savings. Oh, and I own my home, though it is not nearly as luxurious as the houses some of my friends rent, who pay way more per month in rent than I pay to own–just so they can enjoy a higher standard of living and live paycheck-to-paycheck, despite earning way more than I do.
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Sure sign of spring: the April issue of Consumer Reports is out. Their annual car issue.
They don’t rate how well it makes you think you look important, and to whom. But still, it’s dense with information about new and used vehicles. That can be useful.
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My neighbor is the Local School Superintendent so I guess you could say he is important. His wife has her own business so I guess she is also important .
They have a 5 year old Chevrolet Silverado pickup and an 8 year old Chevrolet CUV .
Apparently that is what Instock should purchase.
It has been a long time since I read The Millionaire Next Door, but IIRC, one of the behaviors of wealthy people who don’t appear to be wealthy is their practice of buying used cars, maintaining them excellently, and then holding onto them for many years. And, IIRC, Dr. Stanley observed that these people bought distinctly non-flashy/unimpressive used cars.
The Chevrolet Traverse isn’t so humble and the Silverado is a common display of excess. My co-worker just sold his VW and bought a new Silverado just for fun.
What is the point of working hard enough to become wealthy if you don’t show off your wealth after you’ve attained it?
I say because it’s nobody else’s business. And advertising it can make one a target.
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That is a question that you would have to direct to the author of that book, but because he is now deceased, neither he nor I can answer your question.
To quote my long-deceased mother, “there are no pockets in burial shrouds”, so I intend to spend most of my money over the next few years, even if my heirs are disappointed when they attend the reading of my Last Will and Testament.
Nah, turning heads is not the main thing. My truck is an '05 RAM. I don’t care what people think. But the Jeep is the family mover and it’s 12 years old. For hauling the family around, I need something reliable. I asked, “What can we get that is PRACTICAL, but could still turn heads?” Practical comes first. But if it looks good and I feel cool driving it and my family is not embarrassed to ride in it… Those are all positives. I dunno why everybody got triggered and is jumping on me like I’m some reckless spendthrift. My finances are pretty solid. But you do make some excellent points.
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