Family of 5 - ski, road trip, camp needs

[whatdude17]

Steer clear of the v35a from Toyota too.

Seems like no manufacturer is immune from issues in their current lineup.

 

[studawg]

Currently researching our next vehicle and am seriously considering a LC200/LX570. Family of 5, kids are 12,9,9 plus a 60 lb dog.

Coming from a Subaru Ascent with captains seats that we keep one 3rd row seat up. This is problematic on ski trips and road trips. I am of the belief that a 2nd row bench is better for our needs, sitting 3 across, utilizing the cargo space behind the 2nd row for our trips. We also have a roof top box that we use. The dog doesn’t always come with us on trips.

We need a daily driver and vehicle that can handle road trips. We are a ski/snowboard family, mostly to Lake Tahoe, camp 2-3 times a year and take family vacations in the car. I’m also concerned about the Subaru CVT reliability and failing us while on a trip.

I’ve been researching thoroughly and would like anyone’s experiences similar to our situation (3 kids, road tips and skiing). We likely won’t off-road but need reliability, the ability to drive in snow, camp trips, and handle our daily needs. Bonus will be taking our camp needs further with the LC/LX capability.

My idea is to either remove 3rd row completely, or remove 1 3rd seat for daily and both seats for road trips. Can folks share pics of your packed cargo areas with 3rd row removed or 1 seat removed? How have you managed 3 kids plus gear (camping, luggage or ski)?

Other considerations were / are: Suburban, Yukon XL, Expedition Max, F150, Silverado, Tundra, Sienna and Pacifica. I’m not liking the recalls and lack of reliability in the Ford / GM lineups and feel the Sienna or Pacific AWD won’t suit our needs long term, plus they don’t offer second row bench with AWD.

Thanks for reading and sharing your experiences and or pictures.

I think you can do what you're trying to do in a LC200/LX570, and do it comfortably. (I have owned 3 200s with a family of 4 and taken trips all over the place in them, ski trips, beach trips, etc....) And considering its so much better than all the other options in terms of reliability and resale value, I think its worth a try to buy one and test it out. Take a trip or two in it, and if it isnt working for you, its one of the easiest vehicles to sell, just sell it. At that point, you would know why it wasnt working and that would help you determine exactly what you do need.

 

[Heckraiser]

When I was a kid, we'd go for week-long beach trips, family of 6, in one of these

 

[gasman4u]

Seems like no manufacturer is immune from issues in their current lineup.

Maybe. Unforced error by Toyota imo.

Ford 5.0 seems like a solid contender that’s still on offer. I don’t know much about the stellantis or GM 3.0 diesels though. Otherwise, yes - it’s a mountain of sh*t to behold.

 

[peneumbra2]

1958 IH Travelall 4x4 three-quarter ton. Plenty of room for the entire family...

 

[jasonshiwoo]

I think you can do what you're trying to do in a LC200/LX570, and do it comfortably. (I have owned 3 200s with a family of 4 and taken trips all over the place in them, ski trips, beach trips, etc....) And considering its so much better than all the other options in terms of reliability and resale value, I think its worth a try to buy one and test it out. Take a trip or two in it, and if it isnt working for you, its one of the easiest vehicles to sell, just sell it. At that point, you would know why it wasnt working and that would help you determine exactly what you do need.

Especially if you're not trying to camp out of it a lot. 2-3 times a year, you can deal with a roof box (which you'll already have for your ski trips).

Honestly it really depends on luggage and if you want both 3rd row seats up. I'm a one bagger (just pack all my clothes/stuff in my backpack) and my wife and kids pack into one large suitcase that fits behind the 3rd row seats. My kids are young, so this might get harder and harder to do.. but honestly the bigger the car the more you'll try and bring. We are "minimalist" or at least try to be, but not everyone is.

Again, it's one of the most comfortable and lovable driving cars I've driven. Enough to where I'll pack less or figure out ways to get creative with packing just to drive it.

 

[open country]

Also we have a Gen 2 Sequioa. It has terrible room behind the 3rd row and personally I hate how it drives.

If I am in the vehicle we take the 200. The wife gets the Sequoia and is happy. I can’t stand it. It’s a great vehicle but the 200 series ruined me on it.

We have a 2016 LC and a 2016 Sequoia, same as you for the wife.

Sequoia is much more spacious (we have 3 kids) and bought it specifically because the LC "worked" but was very uncomfortable for loading kids in car seats (2 car seats plus a booster for us) and we ran out of space quickly for road trips that require gear (beach and camping). Roof box was a must and if hauling any guests of the family the space is quickly gone.

We run our oldest who can walk through the second row captain's chairs and buckle himself in the single-section of the third row with the larger section folded down. Tons of room for stroller, Costco run, etc. We just did a 9 hour road trip to Orlando and back, packed everything we needed and some we didn't and were comfortable the whole way. Our Platinum trim has air suspension, heated and cooled seats, rear Blu-Ray, etc. It's a phenomenal family hauler in our opinion but a different tool than the 200 for sure.

 

[cahill]

With 3 kids, the 200 series should be fine as long as you put all 3 in the middle row. We have done many road trips (some up to 6 weeks long) with our 80 series land cruiser which is smaller than the 200. Once we added a fourth kid our trip lengths were limited since we had to use the 3rd row and it severely limited the amount of food we could bring due to only being able to fit a small cooler. We still did 2-3 night trips but packing was harder and there was little margin for gear. After several years of looking we ended up buying a full size van which doesn't have 4x4 but does have extra space and makes long trips possible again. Everything is a compromise but if we only had 3 kids we would still be using the 80 series for our trips.

 

[Supra Turbo]

When I was a kid, we'd go for week-long beach trips, family of 6, in one of these

Realistically, more than plenty. Two in the front, 2 in the middle, and 2 in the back. If one whines or complains about lack of usb ports, they get to ride strapped to the rooftop.

 

[coleAK]

I grew up in Tahoe and now have been in Alaska for going on 20 years. My LX 570 although does fine in the snow is the worst of my families vehicles on winter roads and the one I drive the least in the winter. Others are 2004 MB e 4-matic, 2012 Subaru Outback, 2018 Tesla model 3 AWD, 2024 Chevy colorado ZR2, bronco 4 door and the LX. Coming from a Subaru the 200 will be squirrelly on winter roads.

Since you don’t off road Id look at car based full size AWD SUVs: Highlander, Lexus TX, Q7, …. Or keep the Subaru, their CVT has been around a long time and fairly bombproof (other than off road).