We looked at the Armadas a bit- they seem to be competitively priced and have decent powertrains. They slot in somewhere between a Tahoe and Suburban in size.
But, we're old school, and cheap, and like simple things you can fix with a hammer. So we bought this, for $1800:
Not to E36 M3 on the Flex owners, but my neighbor had one. The infotainment system was a complete disaster and the car was in the shop on a regular basis. Dealer COULD NOT fix the problem. Solution was trading the vehicle and buying another brand.
Some of the early Sync and MyFord Touch units had problems but the newer ones have been much better.
Ford's ratings in the reliability indexes took a E36 M3 kicking over these.
Re: Sync/MyFord Touch - Any years to avoid?
Would a Nissan Pathfinder or Mazda CX-9 be too small?
Sounds like a minivan is an answer for you, it is what I grew up with.
My wife wouldn't go for it, so we got a Honda Pilot. Fits many of your boxes. Could tow a light car on an aluminum trailer (we tow boats) but not much more. 3 row. Fits a 4x8 sheet width wise but not for length, about 18" sticks out with the tailgate up. AWD available, ours is FWD.
We are 7yrs and 160k miles into ours with dog and now kid duty. Still going strong with only a couple of minor issues. Avg of 18-20mpg.
scardeal wrote: Re: Sync/MyFord Touch - Any years to avoid?
MyFord Touch was first available in 2011.
Sync came out in 2008. I would avoid the first year for sure.
Over the weekend, I test drove the following
- Honda Odyssey
- Buick Enclave
- Chevy Tahoe
I also determined that my previous seat issue with the Traverse was specific to that particular car.
So, that makes the test driven list to:
- Ford Flex
- Chevy Traverse
- Dodge Durango
- Chrysler Town and Country
- Dodge Caravan
- Honda Odyssey
- Buick Enclave
- Chevy Tahoe
Now, my wife has to test drive my top 4:
1. Dodge Durango (2014+; this might be a stretch on price)
2. Ford Flex (Limited AWD)
3. Buick Enclave (AWD & whatever has leather seating/Bose sound)
4. Chrysler Town & Country (2013+)
Eliminated these:
Traverse - Enclave is so much nicer
Caravan - Might as well get a T&C instead
Odyssey - Just felt too big
Tahoe - Wanted to love this one, but I felt like it needed more power, and it's not available with the big 6.2L :( Plus, it's a stretch on price as is.
Any arguments for or against any of the 4 contenders?
On the T&C, I would look at 2012+ unless you absolutely need BluRay on the dual screen in-flight movies. 
There are plenty of those around with under 50k on the clock, fully loaded, for well under $25k. And 2012-up pretty much guarantees you the HD big brakes.
I agree on the Dodge - we've had 2 Caravans, but when we were shopping recently, it seemed like the T&Cs were a bit nicer for not a lot more money. Unless you're really looking for a low-end model, there's no compelling reason to seek one out, but no reason to avoid one either. I would cross-shop both and buy the nicest, cheapest one you find.
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