Yesterday, Joe Tralongo of Gaywheels.com offered the first half of a guest post on family-friendly and gay-friendly haulin’ vehicles. Not everyone wants the same thing in a car, as was clear from comments on the post, but I hope these reviews will give you some sense of what’s on offer if you are in search of an SUV or minivan. Here are the rest of Joe’s picks (after the jump because of the large images):
Volvo XC90
Volvo’s well-known reputation for safety is why we’d be remiss if we didn’t include the XC90 in our picks. While a nicely loaded V8 model pushes well past $50,000 the front-wheel-drive XC90 3.2 V6 model starts in the mid-$30,000 range and comes nicely equipped. Fuel economy for both the V6 and V8 is far from impressive and, as with others in this grouping, the third-row seat in place leaves little cargo space. But if it’s just you, the spouse and two passengers, the XC90 makes a fine family hauler. And unlike most crossovers, you can actually take the XC90 across some serious off-road obstacles, which makes it ideal for those who prefer family vacations far from civilization.
Price Range (includes destination): $36,955-$60,000
Engine: 3.2-liter V6, 235 horsepower, 236 lb.-ft of torque
EPA Fuel Economy: 14 city/20 highway
Engine: 4.4-liter V8, 311 horsepower, 325 lb.-ft. of torque
EPA Fuel Economy: 13 city/19 highway
Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Caravan
Let’s face it. Despite the image it projects, the minivan still proves the most logical choice for a family on the go. Chrysler makes the obvious a bit less painful with its full-size Town and Country/Dodge Grand Caravan twins. Completely new from the ground up, the largest Chrysler vans to date offer a cavernous passenger cabin and a host of useful features not found in any crossover SUV. One such item is the “Swivel ‘n Go” seating, which allows the second-row captain’s chairs to swivel a full 180 degrees to face the third-row seat. A folding table also pops in place to create a portable dinning area. Other features such as the MyGiG audio system with built in 20-gigabyte hard drive for storing music and photos, one-touch power-folding third-row seat and SIRIUS Backseat TV put a modicum of cool back into owning a minivan.
Price Range (includes destination): $22,470 – $42,000
Engine: 3.3-liter V6, 175 horsepower, 205 lb.-ft of torque
EPA Fuel Economy: 19 city/26 highway
Engine: 3.8-liter V6, 197 horsepower, 230 lb.-ft. of torque
EPA Fuel Economy: 16 city/23 highway
Engine: 4.0-liter V6, 240 horsepower, 253 lb.-ft. of torque
EPA Fuel Economy: 16 city/23 highway
Mitsubishi Outlander
Big things sometimes come in small packages. Take, for example, the Mitsubishi Outlander. Sitting somewhere between a compact and mid-size SUV, the little Outlander offers a plethora of features, has a small but usable third-row seat and starts in the low $20,000 range. With sporty good looks, a clever split-folding rear hatch door and fuel-efficient, yet potent 220-horsepower V6 engine, it’s hard to argue against the Outlander. Such options as Bluetooth connectivity, a rear-seat DVD entertainment system and FASTKEY keyless entry system (with fob in pocket, you need only touch the door handle to unlock the car) rounds off an impressive list that makes the Outlander an unbeatable combination of features, looks and affordability.
MSRP (includes destination): $22,000-$33,000
Engine: 3.0-liter V6, 220 horsepower, 204 lb.-ft of torque
EPA Fuel Economy: 17 city/25 highway (FWD), 17 city/23 highway (4WD)
Chevrolet Suburban/Chevrolet Tahoe
OK, the Chevrolet Suburban (and its slightly shorter sibling the Chevrolet Tahoe) is one of the biggest beasts on the road. Employing such earth-friendly advances as Active Fuel Management (designed to cut fuel to four of the eight cylinders when not needed) and FlexFuel E85 capability somewhat helps to reduce operating costs. The big Chevy is not without its detractors, yet for many the Suburban a necessary and invaluable tool. With seating for up to eight passengers, a cavernous cargo hold and a 9,700-pound tow rating (2500 model with 2WD), the Suburban remains the ultimate family hauler. Features such as StabiliTrak electronic stability control have made great inroads toward bettering safety by adding stability and accident avoidance capabilities once considered the Achilles’ heel of the large SUV. Three-row side-curtain airbags should also add a measure of comfort, which you’ll probably need once you see the bill to fill the Suburban’s 31-gallon fuel tanks (39-gallons in the 2500).
MSRP (includes destination): $38,185-$60,000
Engine: 5.3-liter V8, 320 horsepower, 335 lb.-ft. of torque
EPA Fuel Economy: 14 city/20 highway (2WD), 11 city/15 highway (2WD, E85), 14 city/19 highway (4WD), 11 city/14 highway (4WD, E85)
Engine: 6.0-liter V8, 352 horsepower, 383 lb.-ft. of torque
EPA Fuel Economy: 12 city/17 highway (2WD),
But Joe, what about those of us who don’t want an SUV? Can you do a post about wagons?
I waited until the second post to see if the general theme here changed – but alas, it merely got worse. A TAHOE? Even if you painted every square inch green, there’s still nothing green about this behemoth. I would think that gay and lesbian families as a group would tend toward the earth-friendly, but yet you’ve not made a single recommendation for a smaller, more eco-conscious vehicle.
At least you did mention the Highlander comes as a hybrid – but so does the Saturn Vue, which gets much better mileage. Or what about the Jeep Grand Cherokee with the new diesel engine? Dump in some biodiesel and your family can ride around with some of the lowest SUV greenhouse gas emissions on the planet!
And what about smaller vehicles? Wagons, as another poster noted, or hatchbacks, or even four door sedans with big trunks? Have you SEEN the size of the trunk in a Toyota Corolla? It’s huge! And you could afford a LOT more swim/piano/gymnastics lessons for the price difference between it and an SUV. Now THAT’s family-friendly!
Shocked (!) at the lack of review of the Sienna and the Odyssey- hands down considered by most to be the best two larger family haulers around.
I too would love to read reviews on wagons/sedans though unfortunately with our frequent need to haul 4 adults and 2 or 3 kids in carseats, we needed a 7+ seater ourselves…
I should explain: Because Mombian isn’t a car site per se, we had to set some limits for the posts, and Joe suggested focusing on cars that seat at least six. This ruled out most wagons. We also wanted to stick with cars from gay-friendly companies, and Joe notes “Many of your readers may not realize this, but Honda and Acura still refuse to offer domestic partner benefits to any of their U.S. employees.”
If there’s interest and Joe is willing, I could ask for a followup post on smaller cars still suitable for those with kids.
He also recommends the site Mother Proof, “a quest for the quintessential mom-mobile,” which has even more details about LATCH, environmental friendliness, and other car features of concern to parents.
I am really interested in electric vehicles. It would be great to see a review on any of these.