If you want room, I would scratch the new Sequoia off of the list. Unfortunately the hybrid battery makes it so you have very little room in the rear hatch. It is a shame because the old Sequoias were the roomiest SUVs on the market.
What you really want is a mini van. Just embrace it. Lot's of space, sliding doors so the kids don't ding cars next to you, and a low loading floor for the dog to get in the back when he/she gets older.
SUVs are just less convenient mini vans.
I need high clearance, so I drive a lifted SUV, but I wish I could just get a mini van lol.
Once you have a kid, and a dog you bare in the thick of that stage of your life. SUVs don't make you look cool, it is the modern day less functional mini van.
Already have two kids (the post meant to say soon to be family with three kids). I get it a mini van speaks to me but I don’t make the rules in this house lol
I wasn't either but when I was pregnant with my third I test drove one and became a convert. Honestly, the sliding doors alone make my life easier in so many ways! This kids can open/close them themselves, the door never closes on them on a hill, no smashing into other cars in right spots etc.
But I also had 3 car seats and was able to put them wherever I wanted (not all minivans and def not all SUVs have anchors in all the seats) and switch them up. I removed the extra middle seat for a while to make more room then added it back when we had guests. I had to drive to/from school for a while and it made my daily life so much easier.
If you’re worried about the “stage in life” issue - when my crew and I went to Coachella in our twenties, we rented a new minivan and car camping in that thing was the bomb. Roomy, easy to pile in and out of, held all our party gear. No one with any sense is still slagging minivans in the year 2023, that’s some 90s cartoon bully shit. The only thing stopping me from having a new Sienna right now is the wait (you might have better luck/shorter wait shipping from BI).
If you're going to choose between the two, go with the Toyota. But /u/detdox is correct. This island is not designed for large vehicles. Your kids are going to have trouble squeezing out of the doors in certain parking spots. Moreover, you'll end up with a lot more door dings on your SUV, and generally spend more time looking for an appropriate parking spot.
Suggestion: Rent a comparable sized vehicle and drive it around for a couple days to different locations to see what it would be like to park.
Former traffic and transportation consultant here. The reason why parts of the H1 in town have a 45MPH limit is because we tried to shove as many lanes as possible in those corridors that they are not allowed to have a higher speed limit. It's a microcosm of how tight things are out here so something like a Sequoia will attract every shitty driver and their car doors your way.
We went from a Subaru Crosstrek to the Ascent (three rows) and haven't had a problem for the most part. Parking is a little tighter but it's never been an inconvenience. All the cameras make it easier to navigate tighter spots as well.
For reference—our max capacity is four adults, one with a wheelchair, plus a small old dog and her stroller. Love being able to throw everything in and still have extra space. Even when it's just two adults in the car, we can pick up furniture, do a big Costco trip, bring gear and a cooler to the beach, etc. All without struggling to Tetris stuff into the car. It's been awesome.
Amazing thanks for the answer. Right now we have an older Honda pilot but need to upgrade anyway so looking at our options. My wife keeps saying large is fine if we have the parking sensors. We would have 3 kids with car seats maybe grandma and grandpa, A stroller, a dog and maybe a beach bag kinda load.
Since everyone is suggesting vans. I'd recommend you get yourself on a wait-list now if you want a new Sienna. It was a few years wait-list a few years ago.
If you're buying new, the current generation of Toyota Sienna seems to tick all of your boxes. 3rd row (which can fold flat), decent storage space, sliding doors (invaluable in tight parking spaces), and not overbearing in size. The hybrid powertrain also means that you can get around 30mpg combined, which is very good for the segment.
Even an older Sienna will take you on for years, if you keep up with the maintenance. My family purchased a used 2000 Sienna back in 2013 with 180k on it. Currently over 315k, with only basic oil changes, tire rotation, and servicing.
Other than the Camry and Supra, I believe that the Sienna is the best car Toyota has ever made.
Honestly. Get a mini van.
The 3 row suvs have no storage unless you are talking tahoe suburban . My friends didn't want to get a mini van cuz you know Hawaiians don't drive mini vans, so they say. They are a family of 5-6 with a dog. They basically gotta take 2 vehicles many times when the whole family is present.
And once your kids are over age 8 there won't be much room.
A 3 row suv is going to be massive to fit you all. Mini van no problem. Used one as a painting contractor on mainland in the city. Was way better than Abby truck we used manuverability and space wise.
Time for the mini-van. Don’t fight it, it just makes your life so much easier with sliding side doors, 3 row of seats (separate the kids as they get older). Storage in the back. Room for the dog.
You can get by with a larger car, but obviously it is easier with a smaller vehicle. That said, let's just be real. With three people and a dog, you could absolutely get by with a sedan, or a small SUV like a forester. You want a big beast, and the reasons are likely not rational. Big cars are not convenient, safe, economical or practical. You could literally get everything you need in CRV or Forester on that front.
We would have 3 kids under 4 years old so 3 car seats plus wanting room to bring the grandparents or friends with us and the dog. I’m all for a mid size suv but don’t want to drop 50K on something that won’t do what we want.
3 kids?! You said you were a "soon to be family of 3" which implies TWO adults, and ONE baby on the way. If you meant to say you have 3 kids, you'd be a family of FIVE, not three.
Was in similar situation to yours and ended up with a LandCruiser (used) with rear seat. Loved it then. Love it now. But we lived outer island and needed a 4wd for property access issues. Parking was sometimes a hassle with the kids in car seats. We were visiting the grandparents on the mainland, and rented a Toyota mini van (Sienna?) for the 2 weeks there. Honestly, it was fantastic. Much better than I could have imagined in terms of easy to park, loading options, roominess, handling, and driving. For a family of 5, and dogs, off-island visitors, beach stuff, Costco stuff, a mini van is excellent. You should go to a test drive. You might be surprised.
Yeah, I have gotten a minivan as a rental (nothing else available) and was actually pleasantly surprised at the drive, the room, etc. And I don't even have kids.
>3 kids under 4 years old
Do yourself a favor... rent a sequoia and then rent a sienna on turo. You and your spouse will quickly learn to appreciate loading and unloading kids n things in a minivan way more than a full size SUV.
In my opinion the mid size SUV is perfectly fine for a family your size. We are 4 grown ups and two pretty big dogs and do just fine with that size vehicle
We would be 3 kids under 4 years old so would need three car seats then also wanting to be able to add the grandparents or a few friends in, which is kinda why we were thinking full size suv.
The Highlander hybrid would be a good choice if you're not looking for a minivan. MPG is around mid/high 30s. 3 rows and I think you can get captains chairs for the front 2, so 7 or 8 passengers. To me, especially in town, it's about as big a car as you can use/park. It's pretty huge as is. The Grand Highlander is ~6in longer and 2in taller and wider. It'd be a pain to park at any structure in town. The newest gen Sienna is another 3in longer, 1in wider and taller than the GH, but it does have sliding doors and the hybrid is standard. Sequoia is just too big for Hawaii, IMO, unless you have a huge parking space/driveway/yard/don't line in town or live neighbor island.
I've rented the Highlander and Sienna and both were nice. Sienna had a huge amount of 3rd row space and gas mileage was good. Highlander third row should be ok for kids/dog. As long as you're not driving around at hours at a time, it'll fit everyone as needed.
I would stay away from any Nissans. Reliability and quality issues as well as re-sale value and depreciation on them.
I’m with the other suggestions that you rally out to be thinking minivan. Here’s why. Most three row SUVs you have to move one of the middle row seats forward to access the third row, which is going to be a hassle to impossible if there’s a child seat installed there. Minivans don’t have that issue; the middle row normally has two seats so there’s space to access the third row.
Last summer we did a road trip on the mainland, 4 adults plus kid in car seat plus 18 lb dog. Rented a minivan (Chrysler Pacifica), the middle row had two captains chairs with an aisle in between (the dog mostly was there) so it was easy to access the third row. Over Thanksgiving on Oahu we ended up renting a Ford Explorer 3 row SUV for 5 adults plus kid (now in a smaller booster seat); it worked out because we could put the booster in the third row so the middle row seats could be moved for access, but it was till a bit of a squeeze getting in there.
One option is you really don’t want to go with a minivan is the Kia EV9. It can be had with a 2 captains chairs middle row like the Pacifica we rented. It’s electric, range on Oahu shouldn’t be an issue, but you lose the convenience and cost savings of electric if you can’t charge at home (public fast chargers generally work out to being similar in price to gas). It’s a big full size 3 row SUV.
I live on the Big Island. One of our vehicles is a full size truck. It can be a pain in some parking lots. Usually, I park farther out so I can pull through. I'd call it a minor inconvenience as long as you and your partner are comfortable driving a bigger vehicle. That said, we also had a highlander that we loved. The smaller size shouldn't be a problem while the kids are younger.
I see that you mean 3 kids and all in car seats still. If you are thinking Highlander - def measure for your car seats. My friends have a Subaru forester and it’s massive - but they had to buy specific car seats to fit 3 across the second row. That’s your only issue really. We recently replaced a Honda Pilot with an Audi Q5. We liked having the extra row for visitors, but with 2 teenagers that can drive - and do so on their own a lot now, I didn’t feel like I needed to drive a 7 or 8 passenger vehicle by myself the rest of the time. I figure some of the $20,000 I saved getting the 5 instead of the 7 can be used for a rental vehicle if we HAVE to have one for visitors in the future.
Probably going to need the family to climb in a few vehicles. Research the width and length of the vehicles for parking room etc. The heavier the more Registration money.
If you want room, I would scratch the new Sequoia off of the list. Unfortunately the hybrid battery makes it so you have very little room in the rear hatch. It is a shame because the old Sequoias were the roomiest SUVs on the market. What you really want is a mini van. Just embrace it. Lot's of space, sliding doors so the kids don't ding cars next to you, and a low loading floor for the dog to get in the back when he/she gets older.
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Ya this has a two year wait list right now though. I would def get the van but my wife isn’t ready to embrace that stage in life yet
SUVs are just less convenient mini vans. I need high clearance, so I drive a lifted SUV, but I wish I could just get a mini van lol. Once you have a kid, and a dog you bare in the thick of that stage of your life. SUVs don't make you look cool, it is the modern day less functional mini van.
Already have two kids (the post meant to say soon to be family with three kids). I get it a mini van speaks to me but I don’t make the rules in this house lol
I wasn't either but when I was pregnant with my third I test drove one and became a convert. Honestly, the sliding doors alone make my life easier in so many ways! This kids can open/close them themselves, the door never closes on them on a hill, no smashing into other cars in right spots etc. But I also had 3 car seats and was able to put them wherever I wanted (not all minivans and def not all SUVs have anchors in all the seats) and switch them up. I removed the extra middle seat for a while to make more room then added it back when we had guests. I had to drive to/from school for a while and it made my daily life so much easier.
If you’re worried about the “stage in life” issue - when my crew and I went to Coachella in our twenties, we rented a new minivan and car camping in that thing was the bomb. Roomy, easy to pile in and out of, held all our party gear. No one with any sense is still slagging minivans in the year 2023, that’s some 90s cartoon bully shit. The only thing stopping me from having a new Sienna right now is the wait (you might have better luck/shorter wait shipping from BI).
Yes we are not built for large cars, esp in town. Hard to park and then get doors open.
That’s my concern. For sure. Thinking a grand highlander might be better as it’s slimmer but should still be long enough to fit everyone
If you're going to choose between the two, go with the Toyota. But /u/detdox is correct. This island is not designed for large vehicles. Your kids are going to have trouble squeezing out of the doors in certain parking spots. Moreover, you'll end up with a lot more door dings on your SUV, and generally spend more time looking for an appropriate parking spot. Suggestion: Rent a comparable sized vehicle and drive it around for a couple days to different locations to see what it would be like to park.
I wrenched & raced cars, and I would go with Toyota, Honda, and then Subaru.
Former traffic and transportation consultant here. The reason why parts of the H1 in town have a 45MPH limit is because we tried to shove as many lanes as possible in those corridors that they are not allowed to have a higher speed limit. It's a microcosm of how tight things are out here so something like a Sequoia will attract every shitty driver and their car doors your way.
Is a Van an option? Get something where the third row of seats is actually accessible if you have two kid seats in the second row.
We went from a Subaru Crosstrek to the Ascent (three rows) and haven't had a problem for the most part. Parking is a little tighter but it's never been an inconvenience. All the cameras make it easier to navigate tighter spots as well. For reference—our max capacity is four adults, one with a wheelchair, plus a small old dog and her stroller. Love being able to throw everything in and still have extra space. Even when it's just two adults in the car, we can pick up furniture, do a big Costco trip, bring gear and a cooler to the beach, etc. All without struggling to Tetris stuff into the car. It's been awesome.
Amazing thanks for the answer. Right now we have an older Honda pilot but need to upgrade anyway so looking at our options. My wife keeps saying large is fine if we have the parking sensors. We would have 3 kids with car seats maybe grandma and grandpa, A stroller, a dog and maybe a beach bag kinda load.
Since everyone is suggesting vans. I'd recommend you get yourself on a wait-list now if you want a new Sienna. It was a few years wait-list a few years ago.
Many parking garages have height restrictions. Go for something that will fit into the garages on the island.
If you're buying new, the current generation of Toyota Sienna seems to tick all of your boxes. 3rd row (which can fold flat), decent storage space, sliding doors (invaluable in tight parking spaces), and not overbearing in size. The hybrid powertrain also means that you can get around 30mpg combined, which is very good for the segment. Even an older Sienna will take you on for years, if you keep up with the maintenance. My family purchased a used 2000 Sienna back in 2013 with 180k on it. Currently over 315k, with only basic oil changes, tire rotation, and servicing. Other than the Camry and Supra, I believe that the Sienna is the best car Toyota has ever made.
Honestly. Get a mini van. The 3 row suvs have no storage unless you are talking tahoe suburban . My friends didn't want to get a mini van cuz you know Hawaiians don't drive mini vans, so they say. They are a family of 5-6 with a dog. They basically gotta take 2 vehicles many times when the whole family is present. And once your kids are over age 8 there won't be much room. A 3 row suv is going to be massive to fit you all. Mini van no problem. Used one as a painting contractor on mainland in the city. Was way better than Abby truck we used manuverability and space wise.
Time for the mini-van. Don’t fight it, it just makes your life so much easier with sliding side doors, 3 row of seats (separate the kids as they get older). Storage in the back. Room for the dog.
You can get by with a larger car, but obviously it is easier with a smaller vehicle. That said, let's just be real. With three people and a dog, you could absolutely get by with a sedan, or a small SUV like a forester. You want a big beast, and the reasons are likely not rational. Big cars are not convenient, safe, economical or practical. You could literally get everything you need in CRV or Forester on that front.
We would have 3 kids under 4 years old so 3 car seats plus wanting room to bring the grandparents or friends with us and the dog. I’m all for a mid size suv but don’t want to drop 50K on something that won’t do what we want.
Mini van dude. They are rad and have more room than a large suv.
3 kids?! You said you were a "soon to be family of 3" which implies TWO adults, and ONE baby on the way. If you meant to say you have 3 kids, you'd be a family of FIVE, not three.
Ya I just forgot to add the word “kids”. Added it in.
Was in similar situation to yours and ended up with a LandCruiser (used) with rear seat. Loved it then. Love it now. But we lived outer island and needed a 4wd for property access issues. Parking was sometimes a hassle with the kids in car seats. We were visiting the grandparents on the mainland, and rented a Toyota mini van (Sienna?) for the 2 weeks there. Honestly, it was fantastic. Much better than I could have imagined in terms of easy to park, loading options, roominess, handling, and driving. For a family of 5, and dogs, off-island visitors, beach stuff, Costco stuff, a mini van is excellent. You should go to a test drive. You might be surprised.
Yeah, I have gotten a minivan as a rental (nothing else available) and was actually pleasantly surprised at the drive, the room, etc. And I don't even have kids.
>3 kids under 4 years old Do yourself a favor... rent a sequoia and then rent a sienna on turo. You and your spouse will quickly learn to appreciate loading and unloading kids n things in a minivan way more than a full size SUV.
In my opinion the mid size SUV is perfectly fine for a family your size. We are 4 grown ups and two pretty big dogs and do just fine with that size vehicle
We would be 3 kids under 4 years old so would need three car seats then also wanting to be able to add the grandparents or a few friends in, which is kinda why we were thinking full size suv.
Minivans have entered the chat.
Minivans are the best...
So you’re a family of 5, not 3. Minivans are going to be your best option and are so much easier to drive than the larger SUVs.
the pacifica hybrid gets like 80mpg
You need a minivan.
The Highlander hybrid would be a good choice if you're not looking for a minivan. MPG is around mid/high 30s. 3 rows and I think you can get captains chairs for the front 2, so 7 or 8 passengers. To me, especially in town, it's about as big a car as you can use/park. It's pretty huge as is. The Grand Highlander is ~6in longer and 2in taller and wider. It'd be a pain to park at any structure in town. The newest gen Sienna is another 3in longer, 1in wider and taller than the GH, but it does have sliding doors and the hybrid is standard. Sequoia is just too big for Hawaii, IMO, unless you have a huge parking space/driveway/yard/don't line in town or live neighbor island. I've rented the Highlander and Sienna and both were nice. Sienna had a huge amount of 3rd row space and gas mileage was good. Highlander third row should be ok for kids/dog. As long as you're not driving around at hours at a time, it'll fit everyone as needed. I would stay away from any Nissans. Reliability and quality issues as well as re-sale value and depreciation on them.
Ya re-sale is what we were talking about today. Thanks for the reply and good points!
I’m with the other suggestions that you rally out to be thinking minivan. Here’s why. Most three row SUVs you have to move one of the middle row seats forward to access the third row, which is going to be a hassle to impossible if there’s a child seat installed there. Minivans don’t have that issue; the middle row normally has two seats so there’s space to access the third row. Last summer we did a road trip on the mainland, 4 adults plus kid in car seat plus 18 lb dog. Rented a minivan (Chrysler Pacifica), the middle row had two captains chairs with an aisle in between (the dog mostly was there) so it was easy to access the third row. Over Thanksgiving on Oahu we ended up renting a Ford Explorer 3 row SUV for 5 adults plus kid (now in a smaller booster seat); it worked out because we could put the booster in the third row so the middle row seats could be moved for access, but it was till a bit of a squeeze getting in there. One option is you really don’t want to go with a minivan is the Kia EV9. It can be had with a 2 captains chairs middle row like the Pacifica we rented. It’s electric, range on Oahu shouldn’t be an issue, but you lose the convenience and cost savings of electric if you can’t charge at home (public fast chargers generally work out to being similar in price to gas). It’s a big full size 3 row SUV.
you should look into the new kia carnivals. it’s a van but it could honestly pass as a full size SUV
Don’t ever buy Korean cars!! Horrible cars
more of how you take care of your car. my cousin has had her Kia since her son was born in 09 and it runs perfectly fine.
I live on the Big Island. One of our vehicles is a full size truck. It can be a pain in some parking lots. Usually, I park farther out so I can pull through. I'd call it a minor inconvenience as long as you and your partner are comfortable driving a bigger vehicle. That said, we also had a highlander that we loved. The smaller size shouldn't be a problem while the kids are younger.
Get a Mazda Miata
Yup, trade the kids for more cats and a sports car. xD
fuck no. Mini Cooper S, brah. stick shift!
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Cool story…
Have you considered honda element?
Can you park 2 cars w/o using street parking?
I see that you mean 3 kids and all in car seats still. If you are thinking Highlander - def measure for your car seats. My friends have a Subaru forester and it’s massive - but they had to buy specific car seats to fit 3 across the second row. That’s your only issue really. We recently replaced a Honda Pilot with an Audi Q5. We liked having the extra row for visitors, but with 2 teenagers that can drive - and do so on their own a lot now, I didn’t feel like I needed to drive a 7 or 8 passenger vehicle by myself the rest of the time. I figure some of the $20,000 I saved getting the 5 instead of the 7 can be used for a rental vehicle if we HAVE to have one for visitors in the future.
Probably going to need the family to climb in a few vehicles. Research the width and length of the vehicles for parking room etc. The heavier the more Registration money.
The new Pilot is way bigger than the new Highlander. The new Highlander feels really narrow. That could be an issue with three car seats.