Vehicle questions: Chevy Suburban vs. mini-van

I'm trying to decide on a rental for our trip to the US next year. We'll be traveling in a group of 8 for some of the time. That would be six adults and two kids (11 & 13). I talked to the local car rental agent and he claims these SUV's are good enough for 8 people + luggage.

1. GMC Yukon XL
2. Chevrolet Suburban
3. Ford Expedition EL

I looked at the specs and the trunk size seems to be not a whole lot larger than that of a mini-van like the Chrysler Town & Country or the Dodge Caravan. We've had the T&C as a vehicle for six in the past and I the trunk area was barely enough for the six of us (we had to squeeze stuff and fold one chair). Has anyone tried these and can comment from experience?I know they have room for 8 passengers, but do they really have significantly more room than a minivan? We'd need about double the room, as no chair will be folded and there will 8 pieces of luggage at least.

We went to Florida as a family last year (my family, my mom's sister and her kids, grandkids, etc.) and my aunt got a Suburban for their pack of 8. Our group of 8 opted for 2 regular sedans. All 8 people fit fine in the Suburban but we ended up taking some luggage for them. So I'm a little skeptical about his claims. Plus, if you'll be staying somewhere and someone wants to go somewhere separate from the group, having 2 cars is nice.

I asked a friend who has 4 kids (so 6 of them), and she said she "highly doubt you can legally fit 8 people + 8 luggage in any of the SUVs. Even a minivan might be too small. She might want to see if she can get a real-sized van instead."

That sounds a lot smaller than what the sales agent told you.

Went on two awful road trips as a teenager. Four of us in a rented mini van was too many people in too little space. Thank goodness we didn't bring the dog. To this day I get car sick!

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, I'm not impressed with the way he tried to sell us something that would not have been a good fit. The funny thing is, I got referred to him by the company rep on a travel board who said I should take advice from the pros and make sure I get the right vehicle for the trip 

Getting an 8 passenger vehicle for the 8 of us is now out of the question. I found a Chevrolet Express 15 at a reasonable price though. It's a proper van and can take up to 15 people so I'm sure we  can fold one or even two rows of seats and have tons of room for luggage. Alternatively, we'll take a mini-van and a regular car and that should be good for 8, I think. Thanks again for the feedback everyone! This was very helpful!

And I hope you all have a wonderful time.