Edmunds: What is the best vehicle for a family of five?

Trucks and SUVs are the top-selling vehicles in America, and the sales trends show no signs of cooling off. They’ve become the de facto family vehicles for a number of reasons, including a high ride height for better visibility; enhanced versatility thanks to roomy cargo areas; available all-wheel drive for extra wet-weather traction; and the feeling of safety imparted by a larger vehicle.

But what about the go-to family vehicle from a generation ago, the minivan? Though not exactly trendy, the latest minivans offer all of the above qualities apart from the higher ride height. And they still can do things that trucks and SUVs can’t.

How does the trusty minivan stack up today in terms of practicality? Edmunds’ experts set out to determine what type of family vehicle is the most versatile. They picked a representative top-ranked vehicle for each vehicle class and evaluated them from the perspective of a shopper with a family.

Truck: 2021 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab V6 4WD

SUV: 2021 Hyundai Palisade Limited AWD

Minivan: 2021 Toyota Sienna Limited AWD

POWER AND PERFORMANCE

In terms of performance, the V6-powered Ram will be best among these three vehicles. It narrowly wins in horsepower (305 horsepower) and torque (269 pound-feet) over the Palisade (291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet). The new Sienna’s hybrid powertrain — the sole offering for 2021 — has a combined net 245 horsepower with 199 pound-feet of torque.

Steering and handling will be best in either the Palisade or the Sienna. But when you take into consideration its off-road capability and availability of a more powerful V8, the Ram 1500 further solidifies its place.

Winner: Ram 1500

COMFORT

It was a close race in comfort between the Palisade and Sienna, but we gave the slight edge to the SUV due to...