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Our son is 18 and a freshman in college. My wife always had an SUV (currently a Macan) and I’ve had a fun but reasonably practical daily driver (currently an e92 M3 with a G80 M3 on order). One small dog (our fourth Pug). No need for two very practical vehicles. This has always worked for us.
We live in the city and we share the M3 as our family car.
The F80 worked surprisingly well as a family car, but the rear-facing seat behind the passenger seat makes it cramped (my wife is only 5' so it was fine). There's plenty of room in the trunk for a regular stroller and diaper bag given it's low floor and wide opening. I ended up replacing it with a Macan which has less space overall lol.
In either case, we preferred using SUVs for primary family hauling duties and road trips. It just makes things easier and more comfortable for everyone.
Bonus pic of both behemoth Britax convertible seats:
Awesome user name and nice F80! That is a full but doable set-up. In my situation, I think with our two dogs, the F80 is out of the question.
Planning to add-to the stable at this point, but may swap my F80 for another 911...
I had a F80 comp that I thought would be a great family car. The rear doors where never opened and sold it within two years.
Range Rover Sport SVR was the go to everytime.
Depending on how much driving and road trips you do the fuel economy of the Land Cruiser will get old. While the m3 isnt great on gas, 10-12mpg hwy is noticeably bad. I'd suggest adding a car to the fleet but if spending a ton extra isnt on the agenda, look into a GX460 or 470 or even LX570- same Toyota reliability but for a fraction of the cost.
We had a new 2018 Land Cruiser and the miserable gas mileage indeed got old. People rave about a Land Cruiser's reliability but don't factor in the additional time they will spend getting more gas. I did like the car otherwise. I would have overlooked the gas mileage if it didn't depreciate so fast from new back in 2018. I don't know what they are going for now, but if they're holding their value like a 4Runner, I'd get another as a non-daily driver. I got a used 2015 4Runner TRD Pro later which I really liked besides being a bit underpowered. My wife hated it, too trucky.
For just one baby, you really don't need an suv until they are older and you're shuttling their friends around. You probably have another two years until you need a bigger car. I have four kids with a 10 year spread between the oldest and youngest, two are driving now. People will ask about what car to get, but it really depends on how long you hold your cars. If you keep them for 5+ years, maybe get the suv now. When your kid is in middle school, start considering your car decisions based on what your kid may be driving in a few years.
Mine was delivered near the end of the run and purchased through a program with Toyota Corporate so I got a smoking deal on it. My local dealer where I took delivery tried buying for $15K more than I paid when it came in......
Of course I am a bit biased on the SUV thing as we had a Tahoe and then shortly after my daughter was born my wife picked out a Volvo XC90 V8 as her DD. I replaced the Tahoe with an Excursion and loved that vehicle, I was always able to keep a "fun" car around, so I commend you on keeping the GT3.
05-08-2023, 01:48 AM
