Title pretty much says it all. Vehicle would not be a primary family hauler, rather something capable of doing so when needed. It would replace one or two of my daily drivers.

Personally I prefer to commute in a nimble sedan (I have a 2011 Taurus SHO now, which I love), but reality is closing in and my wife wants all of our vehicles to be able to haul the whole gang if needed. She has some good points. It would also benefit us to have another SUV in order to haul things as we are hobby farmers and often need to move things to/from other farms or projects.

Wife's daily driver is a late model Acura MDX, which is what usually carries the whole family now.

Parameters:

Budget about $12-15k if I were to only replace the Taurus; up to $30k if I also sold another vehicle. I would like to keep it on the lower end of that scale. Wife doesn't care. We have a good chunk of that in cash set aside for this purchase.

Ability to transport a family of four (kids are very young) and at least a weekend's worth of luggage.

Something relatively new for the safety features. I could not care less about technology and such because I would never be using it anyhow. Can't even remember the last time I turned on a stereo in a car, mainly because I am a ham radio nut and am usually monitoring or talking.

Decent performance and handling. Though I am old and well-trained enough to realize that at least 50% of that is in the driver, you know what I mean. A strong engine and capable suspension.

I do not like, want, or need anything flashy or crazy. I am simple and utilitarian and like a low profile, I do not want acres of chrome or giant wheels or anything like that.

I prefer domestic brands but am open to foreign. Wife is all done with Ford after having a nightmare experience with an Explorer and the electrical gremlins in my Taurus (which I find negligible...but I can't change her mind).

What I have been considering:

Tahoe or Yukon-- however I have never sat in either. Not sure how quick or fun they are in stock form or if some mods would be needed to make the driving experience more enjoyable. It seems there are lots of support forums and people who have done mods online.

Suburban-- probably too large to be much fun, but would meet our needs with room to spare. I have not spent much time looking into mods. I have never sat in one since the mid-80s.

Trailblazer SS-- a friend had one and I drove it once, it was awesome for what it is. There are quite a few with relatively low miles within a few hours' drive of me. Then again reading up on them there seems to be reliability issues that have come up over the years (last made in 2009).

4 Runner-- from what I read, I would probably go late model and replace two cars if I were to buy one, rather than a cheaper/older 4 Runner. I have never sat in one. Seem to be a great balance of capacity, power, available mods, and reliability.

Any input appreciated.

I do not see towing or off-road capability mentioned

Buy a nice well equipped Japanese minivan. The vehicles you mentioned are inferior at the criteria you set forth to a van in every possible way.

This is the part where you mention that you can't buy the vehicle that best suits your needs because of some outdated social stigma. FIFW the CSUV is the modern minivan. Nothing screams "I give up on life" like a transverse mount engined SUV

OK, good points.

We do not do any towing, nor do we plan to.

Off-road needs are minimal, at the most we venture onto some roads where ground clearance is more of an issue than needing full time AWD. Switchable 4WD would be fine. Frankly our driveway is the worst place we go regularly, whether it is due to snow or erosion during the warmer months.

I do not know anyone with any minivan-type vehicle so I have not considered those.

This thread is relevant to my interests. Wife and me just had a kid, and we're looking to replace her car, as it's the oldest and has the highest mileage.

We've been looking at the Honda Pilot, the Yukon, and the GMC Acadia.

We've not settled on any of those in particular, but they do keep popping back up every time we talk about it.

I gotta say though, I'm really not a fan of all the computerized shit these days. At all.

get a first gen 01 to 07 toyota sequioa,  they are under 10 grand, they last forever,  have plenty of room and do well off road.

for what ever reason, sequoias dont have the resale value of the 4runners so they are generally a great deal.

had a tahoe, a suburban 2500, and while both were great vehicle's i am sold on toyota now.

As an ex 1st gen tundra owner I'm a fan of the platform. But the way I read the op I'm betting he's going to find 16 mpg quite shocking

OP, gonna bust your balls a little bit here so just hear me out.

1. a Taurus is a boring POS and your SHOULD replace it it with something else
2. an Acura MDX is a jacked up compact sedan and SHOULD be replaced with something else

but...... just like every fucking thing made to fit a need NOTHING fits every need which is why you buy multiple vehicles to fit your needs

A. if you need to haul a lot of people, then you buy a good sized people hauler aka Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon as they are full size and will tear a car up in an accident which IMHO opinion is what I want to happen if my family is in the SUV

B. you want a highway car?  Ok, buy something that hauls ass and that handles.  You can go extreme like a Corvette, or you can go more every day friendly like a CTS-V or a BMW M3

But remember just like any tool, you don't try to nail nails with a screw driver.  Re-evaluate your approach and you'll easily find the right set of cars to buy.

This is basically what I came to say.  My wife drives an odyssey.  It is fantastic and meets every possible need for us.

The second gen Sequoias hold plenty of value.  To price one close to $25,000, I was looking at an 08 with 150,000 miles.  The first gen ones under $10,000, you're going to hunt not to find one with a ton of miles, meaning close to 200,000.  

My 2000 4 runner has 254,000 miles, 200,000 I've put on it.  You definitely can't go wrong with one.

I'm a Toyota guy all the way.  Have a 4 runner, 08 Tundra, and a '12 Highlander.  For your price range I'd probably ly look at the Tahoe if you can't find a 2nd Gen Sequoia in a price that's agreeable.

My mother in law owned the Sequoia, Highlander, and 4-Runner.  A couple years ago she bought the Honda Pilot.  Her and my father in law deeply regret it. 
She misses her 4-Runner the most.

Nothing boring about a Taurus SHO!

OP,  I just swapped from a GT Mustang to a 4 door JKU.  I got 3 kids, all in some level of child restraint.  I plan to do way more off-road than you described, but I think a Jeep is a good all around and enjoyable vehicle.

Older Toyota Previa.

Well kept secrets.

Forester XT might be another option, but might be too small.


The minivan is probably best choice.

Yeah, people don't want to hear it because they aren't "cool" or "fun" but if you don't need off-road capability, the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna blow away every single SUV on the market as a family car/people mover. Generally better at hauling "stuff" too.

Thanks for all of the replies.

The Sequoia looks good, never even considered it. I am mainly driven to consider vehicles that friends of mine own, and nobody has one, but it could be ideal.

We own multiple vehicles for different reasons, as suggested. We have one strictly for fun but not practical to haul a family or take for long trips.

I have owned quite a few Explorers from second generation to the previous, so I am used to not getting good gas mileage, that's not a worry.

The Taurus SHO is still fun to drive but is too small and lacks the ground clearance to use year-round. We live in a rural area with no paved streets and a long, rutted, dirt driveway. Wife wants me to replace it with something that she can drive under most conditions without worrying about getting hung up in a rut. The roads around here wash out and/or turn to fairly deep mud at the drop of a hat.

I'm in the same boat and I would love to buy a Ford Flex with the ecoboost. Unfortunately, I also want to move soon so the flex may have to wait. Could be a good option for you though.

Jeep SRT8, TBSS would be nice. A friend at work has a 2014ish Durango RT that runs really hard. He loves it. Not gonna lie, it sounds really good even bone stock.

Three very, very different vehicles. You have a shortened minivan, a full size truck, and an oversized car.

In the same boat here.  We're looking at a Yukon.  Current Honda Odyssey is a pain.  One door has been issues for years.  The harmonic dampner fell off.  Lastly the environmental controls/ac have been an issue going to the shop on many an occasions.  Alternator went out last week with no warning.  Should have bought a Toyota.  Good luck Op.

What compact sedan can hold 7 passengers?

Nor does the mdx

The third row in vehicles of this type is much akin to the back seat in a camaro or mustang. It's there just to say you have one it's not realistic to use even on a semi regular basis

A suburban is the only exception

Those you listed?

You priced them lately?

A new Yukon, Surburban, Fourrunner, etc will break the bank.

I would look at the Traverse/Acadia, Explorer, or Suburu. In your price range.

I've owned a 2005 Yukon XL Denali, 2007 Suburban LTZ, 2007 Chrysler Town & Country Signature. Now have a 2015 Traverse and 2016 Cherokee.  Suburban was best.  Also had an Envoy in there, it was the worst.

I have an 08 sequoia and I love it.  Around 150k miles and other than routine maintenance all I had to do was replace a starter.

If you are looking at the 4Runner, make sure you also consider the Lexus GX470.  It's basically the same thing, but they all came with full-time 4wd, a 4.7L V8, and a 3rd row seat(but make sure the used car still has it!).  And they are priced pretty close, often being cheaper than the 4Runner.  Some things to check for - timing belt service (due every 90k miles but many surviving much longer due to ignorance), rear leveling air bags leaking, CV boots torn.  Some considerations - if you plan to do any modding for off-road, you might want to avoid KDSS(sway bar system that gets in the way for a lot of stuff), also consider if you want Navigation or not(not problematic, but a little dated, and basically eliminates any hope of modernizing because it is integral with HVAC).  There is a facebook group called GXOR - GX Off Road, lots of good info there.

We have had 7 people in our MDX plenty of times. Yes, the kids get stuffed in the very back. I still can't think of a compact sedan that you can put 7 people in (clown cars don't count).
Well, there was that one time on spring break long ago that I had 5 people in my Datsun 280Z(not even a 2+2). It was a cramped 25 miles!

do you want to do things the hard way, or the easy way?

the easy way has been mentioned; the minivan. the minivan can tow up to 3500lbs, can fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood, will have more than enough room for a weekends worth of luggage, and you do not know the greatness that is a third row seat that folds into the floor. it will get better gas mileage than the suv, but may or may not be cheaper. if you do not care about flash or pizzaz or trying to pull tail, do yourself a favor and get the minivan.

OP it sounds like you want a corvette that is also a suburban.

Maybe one of the police interceptor Tahoes? I saw someone mention a Jeep SRT8 too.

I've got an '01 4Runner that is a great vehicle but it drives like you would expect a 16 year old Toyota truck would drive. I love it though. I just don't expect it to outrun anything.

One thing that might be worth considering is a Forester. I know it's a lesbaru but it's got enough car in it that it might be fun, but it's AWD and has some ground clearance if you needed to go drive up a rough dirt road.

I have a 2008 Sienna.  Has not used a drop of oil in 80K miles.  Everything still works.  Routine maintenance only.  

Minivan...best all around family hauler if you dont need to tow or offroad

I just bought a Hyundai Santa Fe (not the Sport) with 3rd row seating to perform a similar job. 

You already have an SUV/crossover... have you considered a wagon?

You get the benefit of the extra space of an SUV in the rear, yet keep most of the handling of a car for an enjoyable DD. Some wagons you can get used under $20k...

Cadillac CTS
Subaru Outback
BMW 5 Wagon
Volvo XC70, V70, XC50, V50
Audi A6 Wagon, Allroad

Buick has the new wagon as well.

In 2015, I paid $20k my my 2007 Lexus GX470 - one owner, dealer maintained, and 90k on the clock. It's an awesome SUV, but the nav and mileage suck. After owning mine, I don't understand why people opt to get 4runners - the GX is better in damn near every way, except aftermarket armor (bumpers/rock sliders/etc) support. 
Id certainly test drive one, OP. 

in 2014, I paid $13k for a 2006 4runner with 100k

Because the GX's are uglier more expensive versions of the same damn truck?

Um, no

Was that a Limited with the V8? When I searched last summer, the GX was about the same price as the 4runner without the V8, sometimes a little cheaper although prices seem to be rising as they gain popularity.