mmarshall

Even NuLuxe? Check out the NuLuxe used in the new Lexus NX. You won't believe how nice it is. I myself was not a fan of the fake stuff until I saw what went in both the CT and NX.

But, if you're happy, and what you have works, fine.

J.P.

Seen it while shopping for a new company car.... It was OK but call me crazy , for 50-60-70k I expect leather and even choices to upgrade to other leathers

SW17LS

Love the new X5, but its too small and too expensive.

Yeah leather is much easier to clean, I know that from years of having dogs and cars with leather. My sister in law got her Odyssey with cloth seats and was sorry she did. Hard to beat the wipability of non-perforated leather.

Initial B

iTrader: (2)

Our Sienna has been great so far. I didn't like the fabric seats either, so I added some Coverking neoprene seat covers....much better and water resistant.

The Quest's interior is of much higher quality than either the Sienna or Odyssey....too bad about the crash score.

Based on what you're looking for I'd recommend the new Sedona - it even offers a ventilated driver's seat. The lack of this (or even perforated leather for the front seats) in the Sienna is why I went with the LE instead of XLE or Limited trim. Good luck

kyo7878

Congrats on the twin babies. My wife and I were in a similar situation and have gone through 2 top of the model minivans, Quest and Odyssey. Both had their pros & cons and in the end, we left minivan mainly due to the poor sound insulation and squeaky interior.
We cross shopped QX60, MDX and GX at the time and QX60 was the winner for us. It was most spacious out of all 3 and the top trim have nice tech features that was very useful for my wife, especially the back up intervention thingy that have helped her many times when visibility was limited. It also has the radar cruise so you wont be missing that feature
We do miss minivan's spaciousness from time to time and hopefully Jap luxury trio will make one to compete with mb's V-Class. If they do I'll buy one in a heart beat

SW17LS

I REALLY like the QX60. Only issue for me is the CVT, if not for that we might have one now instead of the Jeep. How do you feel about the CVT in everyday driving?

kyo7878

The CVT in our JX works really well, buttery smooth for city driving and lots of torque during acceleration. Even when the car is loaded to the max it still feels like it has tons of power. However the CVT in Quest was a whole different story. Those 2 should have the same engine and tranny but in Quest it feels like a rubber band and often have a loud clunk when shifting from R to D
Not sure if its just a software difference or not but in JX is much more refined. If you are still considering a minivan, I would recommend steer away from Quest

mmarshall

I reviewed a JX35 (QX60) a couple of years ago, when it first came out. I found its CVT, at least to my tastes, though with a small amount of typical CVT motorboating/rubber-banding, significantly better-driving than the CVTs in a number of other vehicles. Nissan/Infiniti, though, in the meantime, did have durability problems with some of their CVTs....and extended warranties were issued on them.

I'll re-post the review, if you are interested and didn't catch it. I was generally impressed with this vehicle, and, after a string of rather quirky and weird Infiniti SUV designs, found it to be their first relatively "normal" one for the American market.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...niti-jx35.html

SW17LS

Yeah it was more my aversion to a CVT more than its feel when I drove it...

TripleL

Back in June we took a 10 day family trip to Texas to meet family friends that lived there. Rented a minivan for the 7 of us to do 'touristy' things but when I got there they had a Buick Enclave in the mix so I grabbed that as I wanted the quieter ride. My thoughts and why I'm mentioning it here:

As an SUV its about average I guess but about 1/2 way through the trip I began to realize that its more a useful minivan than a SUV. By the end of the week I was convinced. Particularly the interior with the captain chairs and the walk through second row. (pic below) Never once heard a complaint getting in or out no matter who sat in which seat. Very comfortable for long cruises down the highway, and drove/parked just fine.

If she's really decided on a minivan and you think she can live without the sliding rear doors and no walk through from the 1st to 2nd rows it might be worth checking out.

GL with your search and most importantly congrats on twins!!

J.P.

Larry, the inlaws have an Acadia and the inside is pretty damn roomy! The 3rd row seat is pretty useful as well. If someone wants more comforts the enclave is a good option!

SW17LS

The problem with the Enclave (which I like a lot) is that at least last time I looked at it it did not have keyless entry and start. She absolutely insists she will never drive another car that doesn't have keyless entry and start. Has that changed?

Thanks for the congrats!

stlgrym3

iTrader: (4)

for those SUVs or vans with second row captain chairs, where do you place a car seat for toddler? in one of those 2nd row captain chairs or in 3rd row? this was one of the reasons i went with the 8 seat Highlander.

SW17LS

Car seats will go one in each captain's chair. Then you still have seating for 2/3 in the third row. With two carseats installed on a bench there would really only barely be room for a person to sit there also.

mmarshall

It IS odd that Buick, for some reason, doesn't list keyless entry on their current official Enclave web-site. So, also out of my own curiosity, I asked the Buick Customer Information Center if it was available. They said it was on both the 2014 and 2015 versions....FWD and AWD.

J.P. is correct, BTW. The Enclave/Acadia/Traverse (all three are different versions of the same platform) is one of the very few SUVs smaller than the Suburban/Yukon XL class with a third-row seat that is actually usable for typical American adults.