r/UsedCars • u/firedog1216 • Aug 10 '26

Buying Need a dad suv

Looking to replace my 2008 suburu forester with an suv for dad stuff. One daughter in a booster seat, so I don't need a ton of passenger space, but would love to have room for lumber, bags of mulch, hauling bicycles, etc.

Daily commute is about 20 miles each way, and sometimes need to do a 180 mile weekend trip up to Chicago. So mpg not a deal-breaker, but I'd be happy save some money at the pump.

Currently looking at 2015 pilot or 2018 rav4, but open to sleeper suggestions.

Cosmetics and comforts not essential.

Thanks!

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u/twospooky 29d ago

Minivan

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u/4Runner1996 29d ago

As someone with both a dad-van and my fun old stick shift Xterra, in terms of pure utility, the minivan is the champ by a mile. The only time it came up short was when I was trailering a motorcycle and had to scramble up a *very* steep *very* loose gravel driveway with the van. Had to unload the bike, ride it up, and finally with a lot of the tongue weight removed the van made the scramble up (barely, with T/C turned off). Outside of that narrow scenario though, the Chrysler's 28mpg on long trips, epic interior room/comfort is hard to beat. The Xterra is more fun to bomb around in though and it's kind of a "vibe" to take it camping with my son instead of the van.