
10 Vehicles With Enough Room For Extended Thanksgiving Family
Welcome to Thanksgiving, the start of holiday shuttling season.
A family car gets enough abuse during the rest of the year, but it takes a special beating around the holidays. Those discarded school snacks and the foul-smelling sports-season equipment? All child's play compared to hauling the whole family off to dinner or, worse, serving as the de facto car sharing service for aunts, uncles and cousins stranded in your town for a weekend.
Thanksgiving is just the start of it. It's a one-day or a weekend trek that starts with dreams of pie, stuffing and your entree of choice and ends with a bleary-eyed driver schlepping a crew of sleeping family back home. If it's a weekend trip, there may be forced excursions to Black Friday shopping destinations, ill-advised trips to the movies and seemingly endless waits in the airport departure lane.
It's also a big part of the reason why 41.3 million U.S. drivers so eagerly took to the road last year, according to AAA. It was a 4.3% uptick from the year before, and the most Thanksgiving drivers on the road since 2007. Also, the average distance covered by Thanksgiving travelers jumped from 588 miles in 2012 to 601 last year as gas prices dipped below $3 to 2.85 per gallon. Thanksgiving travelers this year may find themselves in a similar position, with AAA putting the national average gas price below $2.30.
With Thanksgiving and winter holiday driving ahead, we teamed up with Edmunds and Consumer Reports to find vehicles with enough passenger room to be a huge help during the holiday season. If you have to shuttle a big brood around this year, make sure you at least have the capacity -- if not the patience -- to accommodate them:
10. 2016 Toyota Highlander
Starting price: $29,990
Passenger volume: 144.9 cubic feet
Seating capacity: 7 to 8
Cargo volume: 13.8 cubic feet with seats up, 42.3 cubic feet with the third row down, 83.7 cubic feet with second and third rows down
This Camry-based crossover helped kill the lumbering conventional SUV when it was introduced little more than a decade ago and continues to trim the fat, especially in hybrid form. That mileage complements features like a panoramic moonroof, power liftgate, three-zone climate control and backup camera without sacrificing the Highlander's storage space or three rows of seating.
The 27.5 inches of legroom in the third row is generous, even if the inch of headroom isn't. However, the 31.5 inches of legroom in the second row is near-miraculous, while the 42 inches of legroom up front is among the best available on this list. Having a backup camera, Toyota's Entune touchscreen audio system, Apple's Siri eyes-free voice controls and Bluetooth all standard also helps, especially when the drive to and from Thanksgiving dinner takes a while.
9. 2016 Honda Pilot
Starting: $29,990
Passenger volume: 152.9 cubic feet
Seating capacity: 8
Cargo volume: 18.5 cubic feet with seats up, 55.9 cubic feet with the third row down, 102 cubic feet with second and third rows down
It got a huge upgrade for 2016, mostly because the 2015 version was atrocious. A combined 20 miles per gallon is awful, no matter what navigation, telematics and wireless features Honda added as distractions. The Pilot was also unnecessarily bulky, with the folks at Honda's plant in Lincoln, Alabama trimming 300 pounds off its frame between generations. It's still the biggest SUV Honda makes, with seating for up to 8 and 109 cubic feet of maximum cargo space. That seems to suit U.S. owners and their families just fine as U.S. sales recovered from 83,000 after the recession in 2009 to nearly 110,000 last year.
Like the Toyota Highlander, this also comes with 27.5 inches of legroom in the back, but the Pilot's boxy frame provides 4.5 inches of headroom that's a bit more forgiving. That said, those 28 inches of second-row legroom are the most cramped you'll see on this list.
8. 2016 Kia Sedona
Starting: $26,400
Seating capacity: 7 to 8
Passenger volume: 172.3 cubic feet
Cargo volume: 33.9 cubic feet with seats up, 78.4 cubic feet with the third row down, 142 cubic feet with second and third rows down
Introducing a minivan into the U.S. market in 2002 was bold, but its minivan makeover in 2015 was absolutely daring.
Sedona sales peaked at about 61,000 vehicles way back in 2004 before settling in at roughly 7,000 in 2014. However, after making the exterior look a bit meaner, giving the Sedona xenon headlights, LED taillights and accents, Sirius-XM satellite radio, a touchscreen information and entertainment system, Bluetooth, steering-wheel-mounted controls and a backup warning system, sales jumped to 24,000 through July alone. That's still nowhere near what the leading minivans sell, but it's enough improvement to believe that maybe Kia's rebranding of its minivan could work.
Besides, it has a half-inch more legroom in the third row than the Dodge Caravan or Chrysler Town and Country and has almost a full cubic foot more cargo space with the seats in place than either of those two. That said, its total cargo capacity still trails the more popular minivans, even if the driver and front passenger get more legroom.
7. 2015 Ford Expedition
Starting price: $43,228
Passenger volume: 160.3 cubic feet
Seating capacity: 8
Cargo volume: 18.6 cubic feet with seats up, 55 cubic feet with the third row down, 108.3 cubic feet with second and third rows down
Yep, it's an absolute dinosaur of an SUV with no crossover blood whatsoever and a paltry 19 miles per gallon of combined mileage. Yes, it actually comes in a supersized EL version with eight more cubic feet of passenger volume and almost 22 more cubic feet of total cargo space that drops combined efficiency to 18 miles per gallon. But that isn't what we're here to discuss.
The Toyota 4Runner's cargo space with the seats up (47.2 cubic feet) is bigger than the Expedition's Meanwhile, the Mercedes-Benz GL's space with the rear seats gone (93 cubic feet) outclasses the Expedition's 85.5 cubic feet without its last row. However, only the Expedition's luxury sibling -- the Lincoln Navigator with its 128 cubic feet of maximum cargo space -- and GM's Chevrolet Suburban/Cadillac Escalade tandem (121 cubic feet) come close to the Expedition's hangar of a frame.
Just how big is 130.8 cubic feet in SUV terms? It's more nearly double the total cargo capacity KBB's roomiest small SUV, the Nissan Rogue (at 70 cubic feet) and about as much maximum cargo space as the Subaru Forester (74.7) and Nissan Xterra (65.7) combined. The passengers get a decent deal, too, with 28 inches of legroom in the third row, 29 inches in the second and 42 up front.
6. 2015 Ford Flex
Starting price: $28,068
Passenger volume: 155.8 cubic feet
Seating capacity: 7
Cargo volume: 18.6 cubic feet with seats up, 55 cubic feet with the third row down, 108.3 cubic feet with second and third rows down
This vehicle regularly makes our list of family cars for one big reason: It has the room to appeal to people who can use the shuttling space.
Basically a minivan in a crossover's body, the Flex has room for seven, 44 inches of legroom in the second row (though Consumer Reports disputes this and says it's 31.5) and a power folding mechanism for getting into the 33.3 cubic feet (28 by Consumer Reports' measure) in the third row. Lofty headroom makes easy to transport a large crew or throw some gear in the back and take a long trip all while giving them enough room to maneuver regardless of height.
Options such as sliding second-row captain's seats, Microsoft Sync phone, entertainment and navigation systems in its MyFord Touch screen, a DVD entertainment center for the back, a multipanel sunroof, a third-row seat that flips into a rear-facing tailgate bench and second-row fridge console for road sodas compensate somewhat for its roughly 20 combined miles per gallon.
5. 2015 Toyota Sienna
Starting price: $28,700
Passenger volume: 164.4 cubic feet
Seating capacity: 8
Cargo volume: 39.1 cubic feet with seats up, 87.1 cubic feet with the third row down, 150 cubic feet with second and third rows down
Welcome to minivans in 2015, where automakers try to throw enough toys at you to make you forget that you're driving the parental stereotype.
With power sliding doors, keyless entry, power liftgate in the back, second row climate controls, a sliding center console, panoramic moon roof, backup cameras and the Entune entertainment and information system all available, the Sienna is only giving families more to love by raising the stakes on its rival Honda Odyssey. On top of all of that, the entire second row slides up to allow third-row access, and the second and third rows can fold away if there's a need for extra storage.
With 28 inches of legroom in the back, 33 in the center row and 42 up front, the Sienna is built like a rolling apartment and is designed with the big holiday trips in mind.
4. 2016 Honda Odyssey
Starting price: $29,275
Passenger volume: 172.6 cubic feet
Seating capacity: 7 to 8
Cargo volume: 38.4 cubic feet with seats up, 93.1 cubic feet with the third row down, 148.5 cubic feet with second and third rows down
Of course, Thanksgiving and other holidays are the Odyssey's time to shine as well.
Honda's optional 16.2-inch split screen entertainment system pacifies the passengers while its removable center console offers a useful flip-up trash-bag holder and a "cool box" beverage cooler to keep complaints to a minimum. Meanwhile, an in-cabin vacuum is an available option for families who just know that all of their Thanksgiving dishes just aren't going to make it to the table in one piece.
While the Odyssey gives folks in the front and second rows an inch less space apiece, the sprawling 29-inch third row makes this minivan ideal for larger crowds.
3. 2015 Ford Transit Connect
Starting price: $23,625
Passenger volume: 165.9 cubic feet
Seating capacity: 7
Cargo volume: 15.7 to 19.8 cubic feet with seats up, 58.9 cubic feet with the third row down, 104.2 cubic feet with second and third rows down
Make no mistake: you're getting a cargo van with seats in it.
With Ford's Econoline lost to history, this is now the school, church and airport shuttle. Frils like a leather steering wheel, “smoker's package,” dimming rearview mirror, SYNC, rearview camera, touchscreen controls, voice communication, sliding fold-flat third-row seat and automatic climate control are extra, though a rear-seat heater and air conditioner comes standard.
This is not a minivan or even a particularly comfortable vehicle, but the 29.5 inches of legroom in the third row and 31 in the second are huge, as is the 6.5 inches of headroom. If you'd never own one, you may want to consider it as a temporary holiday rental. We know there are fleets of them out there somewhere.
2. 2015 Lincoln Navigator
Starting price: $61,920
Passenger volume: 159.5 cubic feet
Seating capacity: 8
Cargo volume: 18.1 cubic feet with seats up, 54.4 cubic feet with the third row down, 103.3 cubic feet with second and third rows down
If you aren't plating it in armor and picking up diplomats on the tarmac -- or living in Texas -- chances are you just aren't buying this hulking, extravagant SUV anymore.
As with much of the SUV market, the Navigator's free-spending run rolled downhill in the late 2000s. The nearly 44,000 Navigators sold when the vehicle was introduced in 1998 dwindled to 24,000 just as the financial crisis began in 2007. By last year,Ford could only manage to part with 10,422, which was actually a vast improvement from just 8,600 a year earlier.
The Navigator got a facelift in 2015 and really made the EcoBoost V6 engine work for its name. It still manages only a combined 19 miles per gallon while generating 380 horsepower. It's actually more concerned with blinding headlamps, LED running lights and full LED taillights and the 20-inch rims that replaced its standard 18s. If you'd like to relive the pre-recession 2000s, there's even a reserve model with 22-inch wheels. New features include the 8-inch MyLincoln Touch display with SYNC standard, as well as a push-button starter, passive entry and a rear-view camera to go with leather seating and a bunch of other luxury features we're sure the dealer can talk about at length.
For our purposes, the Navigator comes up big for having 30.5 inches of legroom in the third row of seats. That's not only more than the 29 inches in its second row, but that's larger than the second row of at least two other models on this list.
1. 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe
Tested price: $30,400
Passenger volume: 146.6 cubic feet
Seating capacity: 6 to 7
Cargo volume: 13.5 cubic feet with seats up, 40.9 cubic feet with the third row down, 80 cubic feet with second and third rows down
We don't generally think of this car as enormous. Even on this list, it has the second-smallest passenger volume available.
However, thanks to Hyundai's knack for making the most out of what little it's given, the Santa Fe manages to carve out a whopping 31.5 inches of legroom in the third row and 41.3 in both the second and first. Also, you're getting Hyundai's ten-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty, dual automatic climate control, heated front seats, touchscreen audio, a rearview camera, Bluetooth connectivity and HD Radio for what amounts to a base price for this vehicle. The Santa Fe has a way of feeling loaded for a crossover that's a frugal pick for its class.
This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held TK positions in the stocks mentioned.


















