People who question minivans is because of the image that it's not "cool" to drive one or you're not manly enough
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I never understood that. For one, you're married with kids. Who are you trying to look cool to? To another hottie next to you at the stop light with her suv? :biggrin: j/k
I can agree that a minivan handles like a boat, that would be a semi-legit excuse.
And this is why these newer minivans are more car like. Toyota came out with the se which I have and if you can stand the frankenstein design of the odyssey, it drives more car like also.
I will not give a dime to government motors with their bailouts
I had a new Sienna at 25. It's not that bad, but the NSX was my daily beater so I could enjoy her.
Minivans are awesome! The versatility is second to none. Minivan image haters are just extremely superficial folks that I could care less about....
Power sliding doors are a must for little ones. It wasn't a necessity when we went to buy, but they quickly became one of the best options we've ever had on a car. I even say that as I've spent the last few nights tearing apart one of the doors to rebuild the operating motor/cable/pulley assembly
Dealer wanted $1800 to fix it
The Quest, Sienna, Odyssey, and even Chrysler minivans are all about the same - just boils down to individual preferences.
Dave
I totally agree with Dave. Minivans are the best in versatility and convenience. We carry craploads of bikes, wagons, power wheels, big screen tvs, mattress, double strollers in our vans that I dare an suv can do.
I was an suv owner and I will not trade my sienna for any suv out there.:wink:
Power slidings are the best even up to middle school when you're/picking them up and dropping them off to school.
Power hatch is also great too esp. when your hands are full and you can open/close with a push of a button.
Imo the only downfall with a minivan are:
1) offroading. seriously, who actually offroad here? most end up as mall-crawlers anyway
2) towing
Funny that you brought up the boat idea. It actually crossed our minds. Too crazy busy now to even enjoy the X. Boat is a long stretch.
My instinct is not to give in...YET.
MacAttack made some good points about easy access for the little ones. Unfortunately we are short asians, we need low vehicles.
Decisions Decisions...
Main question is whether you need that 3rd row seatings WITH storage?
I don't see any suitable full size 3 row suv that can match the storage space of a minivan.
This is why a minivan is lower and more suitable and not straining on your back when lifting the baby with the car seat up and down.
Having another baby close to each other will require a double stroller. We were in that situation and depending
With the sienna, you can scoot the 2nd row ALL the way back and have a huge space where wife can walk back and forth.
Downfall is the stupid small middle seat. Can't believe toyota went backward on this while the oddy gave it a regular size seat.
Quest is way too small, particularly the 3rd row. Interior quality has greatly improved though.
take a look at toyotanation, siennachat or the odyssey forum.
I say bring a car seat with a 10 lb weight with you to the dealer and simulate you or your wife lifting the car seat in and out of the minivan vs. suv and see how your lower back likes it.
Good luck on your decision and do what's best for your family.