5 Best Used Family Vehicles for Beach, Work, and Family Life Near Eden Gardens State Park

Picture your Saturday. You load up the kids, drive 50 miles east on US-98, spend the afternoon at Eden Gardens State Park and Tucker Bayou, haul the cooler home, and by Monday you're looking at a job site or a school run. You need a used vehicle that handles all of it without apology. Our top pick at Bay Cars is the Kia Telluride in the 2021-2023 range. You get eight seats, a towing rating up to 5,000 pounds, and a cabin comfortable enough for the drive out County Road 395 to Point Washington. It won't suit every family, though. Below is how we rank the five that make real sense for Bay County life.

The Rankings at a Glance

1. Kia Telluride (2021-2023): The Gulf Coast Family All-Star

The Telluride earns our top spot because eight seats and a towing rating up to 5,000 pounds cover most of what a Bay County family actually needs, though it asks you to accept a tight third row for tall adults. You get the kids, their friends, a small utility trailer, and enough cabin space that the back row doesn't feel like a punishment.

On fuel, the EPA rates the 2022 Telluride with front-wheel drive at 20 city and 26 highway mpg. All-wheel drive (available on most trims) brings that to 19 city and 24 highway, a real but reasonable trade for grip on a wet Panhandle afternoon. NHTSA awarded the 2022 model a maximum 5-star overall safety rating. The 2023 Telluride earned IIHS Top Safety Pick+ status, the testing organization's highest designation. For a vehicle hauling kids, those scores matter.

The drawback is simple. Third-row headroom is tight for adults over six feet. Teenagers are fine. A full row of grown adults on the drive to Eden Gardens is a different conversation. The cargo area behind that third row measures 21 cubic feet, enough for beach chairs and a soft cooler and not much more. Fold it and you jump to 46 cubic feet, which fits exactly what a State Park day-trip demands.

Within the 2021-2023 window, the 2023 refresh brought a larger 12.3-inch infotainment system and updated exterior styling, a meaningful step up inside. The 2021-2022 models carry the same powertrain and the same capacity with slightly older tech, which lands right in the used-value sweet spot for buyers who care more about seats and towing than the latest touchscreen.

2. Ford Explorer (2021-2023): Seven Seats and Real Towing Muscle

The Explorer moves up to 5,600 pounds of towing with the 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 and the Class IV tow package, enough for most bay-area boat-and-trailer rigs without stressing the drivetrain, though its used-market history asks for a careful look before you sign. The base 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder still pulls up to 5,300 pounds and returns EPA-estimated fuel economy of up to 21 city and 28 highway mpg on rear-wheel-drive trim. Browse our used Ford Explorer listings to see what's on the lot right now.

Seven seats, real tow numbers, and a highway figure that holds up on the US-98 run to Walton County add up to a genuinely useful combination.

We'll say the tradeoff plainly. Used Explorers in the 2020-2022 range carry a documented history of transmission and power transfer unit concerns, and NHTSA received complaints across those model years. A used Explorer with verified transmission service records is a solid pick. One without that paper trail is a bigger gamble than the Telluride or Tacoma. We'll always pull the history on any vehicle we show you, and this is the model where that check matters most.

3. Toyota Tacoma (2022-2023): The Panhandle Contractor and Weekend Warrior

A V6 Tacoma equipped with the Toyota tow package pulls up to 6,800 pounds, more capacity than either three-row SUV above, so it handles a heavier boat or a loaded utility trailer with ease, though you trade away seats to get there. Ground clearance on the 2022-2023 Tacoma measures 9.4 inches, which matters when you're pulling off the main road onto the loose gravel or packed-sand access areas you find at some bayou-side launch points in the Point Washington area.

The EPA rates the 2022-2023 Tacoma V6 at 20 city and 23 highway mpg on rear-wheel-drive configurations. Those are truck numbers, not crossover numbers, and we won't dress them up. See used Toyota Tacomas at Bay Cars, and the Double Cab body style is worth seeking out for back-seat usability.

The tradeoff here is blunt. Five seats, and that's it. A family of five works. A family of six or seven does not. The Tacoma is the right call when the same vehicle goes to a job site during the week and hauls kayaks or a small jon boat on the weekend. It's the wrong call when every seat needs filling every trip.

• Payload ranges from approximately 1,135 to 1,685 pounds across 2022-2023 trims
• The V6 tow package is mandatory to reach 6,800 lbs; without it, even the V6 is capped at 3,500 lbs
• 9.4 inches of ground clearance handles gravel ramps and unpaved park access roads
• Resale value on used Tacomas stays high. Worth knowing when you trade eventually

4. Honda Odyssey: The Underrated Beach Day Van

The Odyssey earns its spot because sliding doors and a flat load floor make beach-day loading fast, and it hauls the full family crew, though it tops out at 3,500 pounds of towing if a boat is in your future. Sliding rear doors mean kids get in and out without swinging a door into the car next to you in the parking lot at Eden Gardens. The Odyssey seats up to eight and returns EPA-estimated fuel economy of up to 19 city and 28 highway mpg.

The load floor is flat and low. Beach chairs, a stroller, a cooler, and a bag of towels all slide in.

Browse used Honda Odyssey vans at Bay Cars if you're organizing the full family crew for a Panhandle day trip.

Straight talk on the limit. The Odyssey tows up to 3,500 pounds, which covers a small utility trailer or a pop-up and not a boat. If hauling a boat to St. Andrews or towing a heavier trailer is part of your regular routine, the Odyssey isn't the right tool. It's a family hauler, one of the best on the used market, and it delivers real fuel economy doing it.

See What Your Trade-In Is Worth

5. Ford F-150 (2020-2022): When the Job Actually Needs a Truck

A SuperCrew F-150 with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 is rated up to 13,200 pounds of towing across the 2020-2022 model years, a full category above anything else on this list. The payoff goes to the family that truly tows heavy, though it asks the most of you to live with day to day. The truck suits the family that genuinely needs to tow a 20-foot boat, haul hurricane-cleanup debris, and still run a job site. Payload across those configurations runs from approximately 1,400 to 2,238 pounds depending on how the truck is set up.

The tradeoff is size. A SuperCrew F-150 is a large vehicle, harder to park at a beach lot. Fuel economy on the gas V8 configurations runs around 15-17 mpg combined, a real line item on a Panhandle summer with regular towing runs. If you tow heavy loads multiple times a month, those are acceptable terms. If you're towing a small boat to St. Andrews twice a season, the Telluride or Explorer handles it and costs you less at the pump. Know which situation you're in before you commit to the truck.

Which One Is Right for Your Gulf Coast Life?

The Kia Telluride in the 2021-2023 range is the most complete answer for Bay County families who want three-row seating, real towing capability, and verified crash-test scores in a single used vehicle. The NHTSA 5-star rating (2022) and the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ (2023) come from independent testing, not brochure copy.

Need more towing than 5,000 pounds? The Explorer steps up to 5,600. Need work capability and trail-ready clearance? The Tacoma. Want seat count and sliding-door convenience over towing? The Odyssey. Actually need a truck? The F-150 is what it's always been.

Come see us at Bay Cars, 615 W. 15th Street in Panama City, or call (850) 785-1591. We'll pull the full history on any vehicle that catches your attention and help you find the one that fits the life you're actually living out here on the Panhandle.