Minivans anyone?

[HTN]

My family is growing. Currently with a 17 month and another one on the way. He/She will be here in Oct. Had an Mdx, but too small and too tall for getting in an out with baby. Just added a 550GT, but still need another family car. So far, I've tested 2011 Sienna, Odyssey, and Quest. Quest has the best cabin and smart key( huge plus).
As I am researching these family haulers, I am becoming more and more depressed. The Nsx is the only thing that reminds me of youth at this point.
Thoughts????

 

[Mac Attack]

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

 

[Keahistight]

I was in that same position not too long ago ... dont give in. I ended up buying a Tahoe 4x4. I say go with a full size SUV like a Tahoe/Escalade/GX/Sequoia etc. Then again, if the MDX is too tall to get in and out of that wont be a fit. Plan for the future though. A full size SUV has towing ability which is huge if you have a boat or a camper or do family outdoor type stuff. You are in Florida so a boat may be not too far off in the future if you dont already have one.

 

[HTN]

I was in that same position not too long ago ... dont give in. I ended up buying a Tahoe 4x4. I say go with a full size SUV like a Tahoe/Escalade/GX/Sequoia etc. Then again, if the MDX is too tall to get in and out of that wont be a fit. Plan for the future though. A full size SUV has towing ability which is huge if you have a boat or a camper or do family outdoor type stuff. You are in Florida so a boat may be not too far off in the future if you dont already have one.

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...

 

[NSX3tek]

People who question minivans is because of the image that it's not "cool" to drive one or you're not manly enough.
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.

 

[HTN]

Excellent inputs NSX3tek.

I was amazed with the ride on these newer vans.
Anyone with regrets after purchasing one?

 

[Keahistight]

Eh, don't care if minivans look cool or not. What influenced my buying decision and ultimately lead to a Tahoe is that we live in Sacramento and own a boat and jetskis. I needed the 4x4 for Tahoe snow and we tow a ton during the summer. In Florida the snow wont come into play but definately think about the future if you will need it for towing. If not, pick up a minivan. I personally like Honda. I felt it rode just like an accord.

 

[EdinKali]

Try driving a Mazda5 with a manual transmission. You will be surprised at how un-mini-van like it drives. With sticky tires they handle decently.

The 2012 Mazda5 Sport will come with a 2.5L 4 cyl. and 6 spd manual gearbox as standard.

The other nice thing about the 5 is the fuel mileage. I often get over 31 mpg in mixed driving. You won't get anywhere close to that with a V6 mini-van.

 

[OutbackKY]

My parents have a Toyota Sienna, and my in-laws have a Honda Odyssey. Both are excellent vehicles, and offer similar conveniences. I agree with the above post that auto-opening side doors AND back hatch are necessities. Both feature excellent entertainment systems - totally necessary for kids on long trips.

The Honda offers a slightly more nimble driving experience. The Toyota is quieter, and a little more powerful.

The adaptive cruise control in the Toyota irritates my wife greatly - it automatically hits the brakes if someone cuts in front of you. Hopefully, they will improve that system, because I really like the idea.

Both vehicles changed my mind about what minivans could, and should be. Unless you need towing power, or true 4WD, skip the SUV route and go with a minivan.

 

[dc935]

Minivans are def covenient and we loved our odyssey touring. As other said there is some stigma associated with it that some folks can't deal with, but you get over it pretty quick since it makes travel with the family much easier.

We had a newer escalade esv for a short time as well and that was ok too. Pretty quick for a large suv and so very comfortable. I prefer our ody minivan over the Esv. The new ody and sienna are both top notch and you cant go wrong. I got rid of the esv and got a Sprinter as i wanted more space.

So far we LOVE it! I don’t think there is another vehicle that is capable of moving up to 12 people plus cargo comfortably and with style. Its a MB Turbo Diesel and fuel economy is surprisingly good @ ~25+ mpg. Now, My kids dont want to ride in anything but the "bus" as they call it some pics I posted up on 6spd....I blacked it out like swat :biggrin:

At the vineyard for picnic & some wine tasting

Good luck

 

[Miner]

Respect the van.

My sister is on her 3rd Odyssey and several friends have them and they love them.

My wife says they are verboten, but I keep hoping.

Better than an SUV which is really just a Station Wagon.

Miner

 

[EdinKali]

That's no mini-van...that's a space station!

At the vineyard for picnic & some wine tasting

Good luck

 

[sca037]

Get whatever makes the most sense for you, and to heck with what others might think.
Seriously, we're on our 3rd minivan (current is '07 Odyssey EX-L) and we don't even have kids.
It towed our race car (#3500 total) and anything you might need in the back.
My middle row seats have about 50 miles on them, as they live in the garage and only get replaced as needed (which is basically never with the folding 3rd row seats always available).
We even camp in it for weekends away, way more interior room than some bloated SUV :biggrin:

Brian
(PS- love that 'swat-style' Sprinter, I would have considered one but here in MI they rust pretty badly!)

 

[ravi4l]

Minivans are def covenient and we loved our odyssey touring. As other said there is some stigma associated with it that some folks can't deal with, but you get over it pretty quick since it makes travel with the family much easier.

We had a newer escalade esv for a short time as well and that was ok too. Pretty quick for a large suv and so very comfortable. I prefer our ody minivan over the Esv. The new ody and sienna are both top notch and you cant go wrong. I got rid of the esv and got a Sprinter as i wanted more space.

So far we LOVE it! I don’t think there is another vehicle that is capable of moving up to 12 people plus cargo comfortably and with style. Its a MB Turbo Diesel and fuel economy is surprisingly good @ ~25+ mpg. Now, My kids dont want to ride in anything but the "bus" as they call it some pics I posted up on 6spd....I blacked it out like swat :biggrin:

At the vineyard for picnic & some wine tasting

Good luck

+1 what he sad and Sprinter Can toe more then you think good luck

 

[HTN]

That's a Party Bus!

 

[Ibn Rushd]

My uncle went from a Honda Odyssey to an Acura MDX and just went for a 2011 Sienna XLE Limited or whatever.

Another uncle went from the Honda Odyssey, hiatus, and just picked up a 2011 Sienna SE (they made a deal for two Odyssey's and now two Sienna's)

So far, they absolutely love the Sienna's and the SE looks nice with the sport kit on it. One of my good friends has a Town and Country and loves the hell out of it.

Other than that, haven't heard much about the other ones out.

 

[davidf]

Mini Vans! Their not just for hot soccer moms anymore!!!:biggrin:

 

[EuroBoutique]

I agree with the OP that minivan's are really neat. Everytime we get one as a rental it's usually because we have a function that requires hauling all of our friends around together.

All of us have SUV's but when it comes to packing people in, nothing BEATS a minivan. I personally love the Toyota Sienna (with the sport package, 8-row seating) We rented a pair in Seattle this past weekend for a friend's wedding (we had a pair since there are 14 of us) and that thing can actually do burn-outs at the stoplight....hehe! :biggrin:

In our family we only have one newborn right now but our fleet of cars include x3 two seaters, x1 4 seater sedan, and x2 suv's.

My plan is to upgrade one of the SUV's to a 7-passenger car very soon but the big question is:

MINIVAN vs. 7-passenger SUV

Minivan: vote goes to the Sienna

But for 7-passenger SUV, what do you guys think is the best one out there?

I love the GL550 but my wife prefers a smaller footprint such as a MDX. I'm going this weekend to look at the QX56 and probably just drive an Caddy Escalade just for kicks.


rick

 

[EIFFEL]

We just got our 2nd. Odyssey. Replace the 08 with 2011 Touring.

 

[HTN]

We just got our 2nd. Odyssey. Replace the 08 with 2011 Touring.

White looks great. 2nd is a true testimonial.

 

[HTN]

I agree with the OP that minivan's are really neat. Everytime we get one as a rental it's usually because we have a function that requires hauling all of our friends around together.

All of us have SUV's but when it comes to packing people in, nothing BEATS a minivan. I personally love the Toyota Sienna (with the sport package, 8-row seating) We rented a pair in Seattle this past weekend for a friend's wedding (we had a pair since there are 14 of us) and that thing can actually do burn-outs at the stoplight....hehe! :biggrin:

In our family we only have one newborn right now but our fleet of cars include x3 two seaters, x1 4 seater sedan, and x2 suv's.

My plan is to upgrade one of the SUV's to a 7-passenger car very soon but the big question is:

MINIVAN vs. 7-passenger SUV

Minivan: vote goes to the Sienna

But for 7-passenger SUV, what do you guys think is the best one out there?

I love the GL550 but my wife prefers a smaller footprint such as a MDX. I'm going this weekend to look at the QX56 and probably just drive an Caddy Escalade just for kicks.


rick

The QX is prob my first choice. Had a 2010 MDX and it was a great car with great trade-in value. Only complaint is interior seems a bit on the cheap side. Perhaps I should have gone with the Advanced pkg.

The QX is too big and sucks up too much gas for my taste. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind it at all.

 

[Jetpilot3]

Haha...I was of the opinion minivans are an unnecessary vehicle until we had a baby! LOL...

We don't own one but a weekend away with our Volvo XC90 and its clear two kids, stroller(s), etc. would require a minivan.

When we are close to having a second child (we'd like to have 3 in total) the Honda Odyssey will be our first look.

 

[HTN]

Haha...I was of the opinion minivans are an unnecessary vehicle until we had a baby! LOL...

We don't own one but a weekend away with our Volvo XC90 and its clear two kids, stroller(s), etc. would require a minivan.

When we are close to having a second child (we'd like to have 3 in total) the Honda Odyssey will be our first look.

I'm still trying to hold out as long as possible,but may have to fold soon. Once we purchase one, I will need a sticker that say "My other car is an NSX".