by James Hamel

Created on: March 16, 2010

Remember back in the 1970’s when families with lots of children had to buy full size vans to haul everyone back and forth to school and Little League? It didn’t get much better in the 1980’s when the plague of the minivan swept across Suburbia. Well, if you are a parent in 2010 you now have a wealth of stylish and fun to drive 7-seat family vehicles to choose from. And guess what? They won’t even embarrass your kids.

Two of the 7-seat SUV/crossovers talked about here come from the Big Three while the other two come from family car powerhouses Toyota and Honda. All offer 6 cylinder engines with the occasional optional 4-cylinder engine (Highlander) thrown in the mix to confuse things. The Flex, however, is the only one to offer an optional turbocharged V6 with more horsepower than many muscle cars. Which is best? Read on to find out.

2010 GMC Acadia

While real luxury hungry suburbanites are no doubt eagerly waiting for the 2011 Acadia Denali that is coming in a few months, the average family SUV buyer will be very happy with the regular version of this 7-seat GMC. Starting at $31,740, the Acadia comes with a standard 288 horsepower 3.6 liter V6 that sees duty in lots of GM products. Unfortunately the Acadia is a very heavy seven seat crossover so acceleration times can be leisurely and 17 city/24 highway per gallon of gas is nothing to write home about either.

One advantage that the Acadia has over its peers is space. Not only can you order a 2010 GMC Acadia with 8 seats but all three rows have enough legroom to suit your average basketball team. However 8-person seating is only featured on the base model as more expensive trims cut seating to seven.

So you need to decide if you want that eighth perch or Bluetooth, Bose premium audio, power seats and rear parking assist. And remember, prices escalate quickly and top end GMC Acadia models can easily top $40,000 where more talented competitors like the Acura MDX are just waiting to outshine it.  

2010 Ford Flex

The Flex is so spacious and utilitarian that it is kind of like the minivan of the bunch only in much cooler clothes. All seven seats fold flat to make a very large cargo area and depending on how you option your Flex you will be looking at prices ranging from $28,000 to the high $30,000 range. Uplevel models like the Limited and SEL, however, are lavishly equipped and have solidly built interiors with goodies like a rear refrigerator, Sync voice activation, navigation and more.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>