If you need three rows without Tahoe money, the current Acadia delivers space and features at a competitive price, but you're buying into a nameplate with serious baggage. The 2010-2016 models earned their terrible reputation with timing chain grenades and transmission failures before 100k, while the 2017+ redesign is genuinely improved, especially the 2020+ turbo-4 versions most owners find solid. The catch: that turbo-4 sounds like it's working overtime to haul this thing around, droning loudly enough in the cabin that multiple owners specifically mention it, and nobody knows yet if it'll hold up long-term under that load. The newest generation also inherits recurring thermostat and electrical module issues that plague all Acadias. Buy current if you need the space and can live with the noise, but skip anything pre-2017 unless you enjoy surprise service appointments.
Infiniti's three-row family hauler splits cleanly at 2022: before that year, you're buying a Pathfinder in a tuxedo with a CVT that grenades itself before 100k miles, and after it you're getting a genuinely improved interior wrapped around a wheezy turbocharged four-cylinder that takes eight full seconds to drag 4,700 pounds to highway speed. The current version looks sharp and undercuts German rivals by $15k, but the ride is stiff and loud for something wearing a luxury badge, and you're still paying a $15k premium over the mechanically identical Pathfinder for nicer leather and a different grille. One owner made it to 400k miles on a 2015, but that's the exception that proves the rule, most pre-2022 owners are nursing failed transmissions, dead alternators, and $5k timing chain bills while watching their resale value crater. Buy the new one if you want Highlander space without the Toyota tax and can live with the gutless engine, or skip the brand entirely if you're shopping used.