An Auto for 8

I have a Honda Pilot (made here in America). Even with a full size forward facing car seat (in the center spot of the middle row, we fit 4 larger adults, one in car seat, two teens and one pre-teen in the car...with a little room left over in the back for storage. In the middle row, both seat sections can move forward to allow people in the 3rd row to enter/exit. I absolutely love it, and the gas mileage is very good for an SUV...and it comes with a lot of good perks! Good luck

I love my '06 Ford Expedition. I have two car seats in the 2nd row all the time and a few times a week we add a booster next to it with no problem. I have also had two additional car seats in the third row, but haven't tried three back there yet. The third row folds down flat at the push of a button. The middle seat in the second row can be pulled forward which was very convenient when the babies were little. The 2ND and 3rd row are very roomy, my 6ft family member was impressed to be comfortable. It also has the back up beepers that are wonderful. I was driving a Corolla before this so it took a little getting used to the size. We haul a 24 ft toy hauler trailer with it. And have recently discovered a double air mattress fits in the back when we need an extra bed camping.

The down side would be gas mileage. I average 12 MPG, I pretty much stay within 10 miles of home so for that i only get 8 MPG but it's gotten up to 18 MPG on the freeway which is how i balance out at 12 MPH. We only get about 8 MPG when pulling the trailer. But it works for us day to day and for hobbies as we can't buy a second vehicle just for the trailer.

It's a big decision, good luck!

Our Chevy van seats 8 and there's room for all the stuff that goes with that many people. It's a 2003 Venture and I don't know if the newer ones are much different, but ours is very nice and comfortable-decent gas mileage, too.

If you want your passengers to have room and want room for storage for travel or extra space then go with a suburban. they get great gas milage for thier size vehicle. the other suvs that say they hold 8 are very small with little room for the passengers without them sitting on top of each other or have no space behind the third seat so your passengers are sitting in the back window. I have 5 children 4 of which are boys that need lots of leg room. you can get great deals now too.!

I have a 2006 Honda Pilot (not American) but I love mine and it seats 8!

As Chevrolet Astro Van will transport 8. This was the family 'car' for us with our three kids. It was comfortable and had enough room that each of the kids had their own window seat and space, which makes it nice on road trips. There was still plenty of cargo room behind the third row of seats. GMC makes a similar van as well as Chrysler/Dodge they call their's a Caravan, not quite as large as the Astro Van though.

I've been lookin for the same for a friend mercury aspen is the best all around deal out there right now.

First of all, vans are great bec the gas is better, but not as much room. Personally I prefer an SUV, suburban or the lg one from ford (I cant think of the names of their SUVs). I had a suburban and loved the thing, I did daycare and there was plenty of room to haul 6 kids(even in carseats), plus still a ton of room to haul supplies. The back seat folds down flat as well as the middle row if you need to haul anything. I had a mini van and it was so cramped, and no room to to haul supplies (groceries, etc). In the vans you usually have to remove the seats if you need the extra space without kids. Also no climbing around room for mom to make sure everybody is buckled. Also my expereience is that most mini vans only seat 5 passengers (6 if you count the front seat).

Dodge van's are made to hold 8 you just have to purchase the middle row 3 seat bench. Most come with just two seats but you can usually get the 3 seat bench. That is about the only thing I can think of. Other companies might have that option also but I know dodge does.

We have a Honda Pilot, and I love to drive it. Very comfortable and drives nice. The kids can get themselves in and out (for the most part- my 6 adn 4 1/2 year old, then I have a 15 month old). One thing that I would recommend when you are ready to get whatever vehicle you choose, is to make sure and take the carseats if you have them and see how they buckle in. In our Pilot, I have fit 3 carseats in the 3rd row, but they were not boosters and it was a very tight fit. I cannot fit 3 boosters back there, and when we give other kids a ride, most of them are in some kind of car seat. I know the Toyota Sequoia is a step up and has more room for the passengers, but when we were looking at our Pilot we wanted the back to work for the kids, not necessarily adults, although we can have adults ride back there but it is a bit cramped. We also didn't want to pay the extra $ for the Sequoia.

We love our Pilot, but just thought I would share some of the things that have been on the downside.
I love the seats that fold down. I love the seat warmers and side mirror defroster (since we live in Alaska). The kids can get in and out easily. If kids in the back need help getting buckled, I usually reach in over the back seat (because there are usually kids in seats in the middle- I just keep a blanket in the back to drape over the rear bumper because it gets really messy back there during our long winter. I like that all the rear belts are shoulder straps and the middle ones can be taken out if needed. I like the 1/3 2/3 seat split.

So now you get a bit of what we like and what we don't, but we recommend our Pilot to lots of others.

Good luck,
J.
PS- we had some friends that were really debating over van or SUV, and they wanted American, and they ended up with a Town and Country- I think it is Chrysler, and they really like it.

I believe a Toyota Sequoia holds 8 people with the extra seat in the back. I know you are looking at American vehicles, but I've owned Chrysler, GM, and Ford vehicles and was very disappointed, especially in GM. They don't build them like they used to. I will now only drive Toyota or Honda.

HONDA PILOT all the way! I love mine! No complaints at all!

S.,

I have to 3rd the Chevy Suburban. We got the bench seat in the front and ours holds 9...way comfortably with plenty of room for storage! 3 of my kids are 5'9 or taller and I also have 1 in a booster seat and 2 in carseats. We love it! It has, by far, the most room for storage out of all the vehicles we looked at..and we looked at all the 8+ passenger vehicles we could find. Some of the other smaller type suv's that hold that many are fine for some but we needed a family vehicle we could all travel together in and that includes luggage for 9 and in our case one enormous dog:)

We love ours! I highly recommend them!

K.

We love our Ford Excursion. Not only does it seat 8 but you still get trunk room. Also we decided against a diesel and If I am careful I average about 14mpg.
Good Luck
L.

Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey are two vans that come with 8 and there are a whole lot of SUV's that come 8, I have never seen a Dodge or Chrysler with 8 and I own a brand new one. I would go with one of the above mentioned or a Honda Pilot for an SUV since they get batter fuel mileage than the others. But do you research and check out each one, before you go look for anything, so you know what each one offers and can pick one out easily. Good Luck!

I LOVE my Chevy Suburban :o. We looked at all the other mini vans, etc. They just don't have the room behind the 3rd row like the suburbans (except maybe the ford ex). I didn't like the hatch being that close to my older kids.

My Honda Odyssey seats 7, but that's with the 2nd row captain's seats. I'm pretty sure they have a bench seat option, which would bring you up to 8. I've really liked my Odyssey. It's very comfy and drives just like a car. It also gets decent gas mileage...about 20 mpg.

We had an older Suburban and loved it. We now have a Ford Excursion and love it more! Lots of room for kids, friends and stuff -- with the third row seat in I can still fit in a bale of hay and two bales of shavings! I also love how the rear doors work -- top/window is hatch-style and bottom is split/"barn door". I wouldn't use the Excursion as a commuter car due to gas mileage and size.

well, its not american, but we love our 05 honda pilot. it holds eight, and the back seat (which holds 3) can be folded completely down for cargo. we have 2 girls, but may have more in the future.

I have a Honda Pilot & love it..it has 3 rows of seats..and the 3rd row folds down if you want more cargo space...I know it's not an American car but it's a great dependable car.

I have lots of friends that have the GMC Yukon XL or the Chevrolet Suburban and they love them! You just have to make sure they have a full bench seat in the middle row! We currently have a Mazda MPV mini van that seats 7, but are looking at getting one of the above mentioned rigs very soon! Good Luck!

I would recommend the Honda Odyssey minivan. It's very dependable and gets better gas mileage than an SUV. It also has lots of kid- and mom-friendly features, like automatic doors, storage, different seat configurations, etc. Even if you think it's too nerdy to have a minivan, you will appreciate it once you have it:)