A lot of car enthusiasts out there might be faced with an enigma later on in life. They start a family, meaning they have to forego the race cars and two-seaters and get something more practical and usable every day. Something that could take the kids to school, do the weekly or monthly shopping, and also be a good overall package.
When the time comes to buy a practical family hauler, enthusiasts are especially reluctant to do so. While some of them aren't willing to make compromises and buy one of the many great fast station wagons, others need a serious, down-to-earth family car with seven seats. In terms of the good ones, we are spoiled for choice.
10 Toyota Sienna
The Toyota Sienna isn't really a minivan as much as it is an institution. It's been one of the main go-to family minivans since it arrived in the late 90s. Depending on your age, if your parents didn't drive you around in a Honda Odyssey or Dodge Grand Caravan, chances are, it was a Sienna.
Toyota's legendary minivan entered its fourth generation in 2020, and people were shocked. Dozens of minivans have made attempts to look "cool" over the years, but Toyota seems to have cracked it with the new Sienna. As well as the stylish exterior, the Sienna, rather appropriately, has class-leading space, tech, and is very frugal thanks to the hybrid powertrain.
9 Mazda CX-9
The original Mazda CX-9, released almost 15 years ago, wasn't exactly a car to behold. While the original was alright, few people wanted to be seen in one. In 2016, Mazda dropped the second generation of their family hauler, and things were looking much better.
The CX-9 features the familiar Mazda design language, and they've done a fantastic job of translating it to a seven-seat midsize crossover. One of the most compelling reasons to buy a CX-9 is the price tag, as it undercuts its luxury brand rivals by quite a bit. There's also plenty of room inside, pretty good tech, excellent dynamics, and a very plush cabin. What's more, it received quite a few long-overdue updates for the 2021 model year.
8 BMW X7
Since 2014, everyone knew that BMW was working on a massive, luxury seven-seater to compete with the Volvo XC90 and Land Rover Discovery. In 2018, said SUV arrived in the form of the X7, Munich's biggest Sports Activity Vehicle (as they prefer to call it) in history.
The X7 is a great all-in-one package. It teams excellent practicality and usability with unparalleled BMW driving dynamics, luxury, and tech. The engines are very strong, and even though the styling is controversial to this day, it does have a hefty bit of presence. It's just a shame the price tag is so steep.
7 Hyundai Palisade
15 years ago, if Hyundai were to announce that they would be making a luxury seven-seat midsize crossover, everyone with even the slightest knowledge of cars would burst out laughing. But as it turns out, Hyundai is having the last laugh with the new Palisade.
The Palisade arrived in 2018 to replace the aging Santa Fe XL. Everyone seems to agree that this is one of the best SUVs currently available on the market. The reason for that is simple; there is no other three-row crossover currently that offers this much luxury and space for the money.
6 Kia Carnival
Whereas the Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey have been dominating minivan sales in North America for over a decade now, the Kia Sedona has been chilling in the shadows. While it was always pretty decent, it wasn't up to snuff with its Japanese contemporaries. Until now.
The new Kia Carnival has a slight proviso; it's not yet on sale in North America. But, journalists across the globe who did manage to spend time with it found that it's a fantastic minivan. The crossover styling should attract potential SUV buyers, and so should the plentiful space and tech, the luxury interior, and the reportedly fun demeanor in the corners.
5 Toyota Highlander
Aside from the Sienna, Toyota's other three-row wunderkind is the Highlander. It was heavily revised for the 2020 model year, adding new features, tech, styling, and even some luxury. That's no bad thing, especially since the original ethos of the Highlander wasn't lost in the process.
The Highlander has always been a fantastic three-row SUV. It features tons of space, great dynamics, and the new model has a pretty plush interior and solid tech. Not to mention, safety is second to none, the pricing is pretty competitive, and the hybrid model is pretty good with gas mileage.
4 Ford Explorer
Just about every modern three-row crossover SUV owes its existence to the Ford Explorer, as it was the car that quite literally started the trend. It was the first seven-seater SUV to forget about off-road capability, in favor of more space and practicality, and it was a huge hit.
2019 brought along a new generation of the Explorer, which is available with plug-in hybrid power for the first time. Space inside is ample, the tech is great, the safety is excellent, and there's even a jazzed up 400 hp ST model for the parent who wants to have a little fun with their family hauler.
3 Honda Odyssey
No conversation about seven-seater family luggers is complete without mentioning the Honda Odyssey. Over its 25 years on sale it's one of the best-selling minivans in North America, and it's not hard to understand why.
Though the earlier models were a bit patchy, the Odyssey still has Honda's legendary reliability to brag about. It's also hugely spacious inside, full of the latest tech and safety features, punchy performance, and it looks surprisingly cool for a minivan. Plus, prices are fairly competitive, and the top-of-the-line versions really are full of stuff.
2 Volkswagen Atlas
Volkswagen has a little bit of a different strategy when it comes to the North American market. A few of their models are specifically designed for the content and are also built at their Chattanooga, Tenessee plant. One such model is the Atlas.
Ever since it debuted for the 2018 model year, the Atlas has been a runaway success. It consistently wins comparison tests and awards, simply due to the value proposition. It looks cool and rugged on the outside, the safety and tech are up to par, it's moderately capable off-road, and the V6 powertrain is pretty punchy, though the recent facelift offers 4Motion AWD on the base 4-cylinder as well.
1 Chrysler Pacifica
15 years ago, the Chrysler Pacifica was just an ill-fated crossover SUV with not much to boast about. In 2015, Chrysler brought back the nameplate for a brand new, seven-seat minivan to replace the Town & Country.
During its early years, the Pacifica was languishing somewhere at the bottom of minivan comparison tests, both with consumers and media alike. But, Chrysler isn't ready to give up on this segment. The newly facelifted Pacifica features pretty sharp new styling, as well as a new hybrid powertrain, optional AWD, and a new ultra-luxury Pinnacle trim level. With that, the Pacifica finally looks like a compelling minivan.