Any good recommendation for 7 seater SUV

thanks for the writeup, great info. I will probably go with Highlander this time.

Just had a friend looking for a wagon for a family of 6, and the only wagon out there with boot space was a kia carnival. They love it and tow a reasonable stock trailer with calves or a few cubes of fire wood. Its only a year old but no issues so far.

No not any costlier than anything else to service. Nothing has gone wrong so no unexpected maintenance to grizzle about.

Its a solid option, I enjoyed the rental one we had in the south island, obviously don't have the super soft Lexus seats, and you only get 7 airbags rather than 10. On the other hand the current highlander picks up Autonomous Emergency Braking, and some more active safety features that are yet to make it into the Lexus.

If you are looking for something to cross shop it with, the Mazda CX-9 is similar, and very well regarded at the moment.

Avoid the Nissan pathfinder, they are known to have significant transmission reliability issues.

As has been mentioned before, the third row in most SUV's can be really tight, and luggage space tiny with it in use. Check this will meet your needs before you purchase. If your immediate family is 6 or more, I would recommend looking at the Kia Carnival, but if you want to occasionally carry a kids friend, then the 7 seat suv's will do fine.

Agreed, nobody like 4L thirsty beast

Defending the petrol Prado for the OP, they like rugged "off road" look of the Prado or Pajero, they like the high riding stance of these vehicles and they like the better visibility.

The petrol 4.0 in the Prado is moderately thirsty, but at 7000 kms per year the difference in running costs (once RUC and registration are considered) is minimal.

Much nicer and lively to drive than the diesel with its DPF issues which low mileage diesel suffer from. I still think it would ideally suit the OP's needs and wants.

Takes 95RON octane too.

Engine is a lot nicer to drive than the 2.8L diesel, (I drove a hilux with it), and was the only engine offered in the toyota FJ cruiser. The toyota 4.0L v6 is set up for less power, and more low down torque for off road 4wd applications. It's thirst is more to do with being an older tech engine pushing around a big, heavy un-aerodynamic SUV.

This is an issue because the NZ road tax system punished thirsty petrol vehicles, while thirsty diesel vehicles get a relative free pass.

The 3.5L in the Highlander is set up for on road applications, and is the same engine that goes into the v6 camry, and a bunch of the lexus fleet.

The current highlander, mazda CX-9 and the nissan patrol have got direct injection technology which is more efficient that than older petrol engines. Also in the last couple of year, car manufactures have taken to putting in auto gearboxes with heaps of gears, which is good for efficiency. Current highlander picks up an 8 speed auto.

Counter point is that the older tech in the likes of that 4.0L prado is more mature, hence could (we don't have data on the newer tech yet to compare) be more reliable.

@bwg11 does have a good point regarding running costs.

even if that 13L/100km turned into 15L/100km in the real world, at OP low mileage, fuel costs come in around $2500 per year due to OP's low mileage. Quite affordable for somebody who is in the market for a $50k - $80k SUV.

Also the performance and acoustics of the 4.0L petrol are a lot better than the 2.8L diesel in the prado. The 2.8L Diesel prado I drove a few years back felt under-powered.

finalized lexus rx350. thanks guys

pretty much what Ive got--but mine has the T badge :-)

Well done. Good choice considering you don't need off-road capability. Enjoy.

Thanks for reporting back.

I'm sure the Lexus will serve you well.