One thing to consider IMO is the distance between from rear seat (mainly 3rd row) to rear bumper. In the event of a sever rear end collision, where is the bumper going to end up in relation to cabin? For me, I want the greatest amount of room or gap that I can get/have to act as a safety buffer. If one really doesn't care/need the 3rd row seating, then this will increase what's avail. Otherwise, look for one that has a large gap......again MO.
If your not going to be towing, take a look at VW's Atlas SUV. Plenty of room and on par w/ mpg's w/ other SUV's. Granted it's fairly new to the large SUV market, but I think it has potential yet not a lot of advertising for it. We've had good luck w/ VW since '12/'13 w/ our 2 Passat's. 1st one was a '13 TDI which was friggin awesome, but sadly was part of "dieselgate" and was bought back. 2nd is a '17 w/ the 1.8 4 cyl turbo. Peppy little thing and almost 40k and no problems (bought in March 17).
Lastly, how about the Telluride (?). Forgot who makes it, but that too sounds promising.
