What did you buy after your minivan?

[Anonymous]

(I would just get another one but none of the new ones will fit through my narrow garage door opening.)

[Anonymous]

Just traded in my minivan last week and bought an Audi Q7. So excited to no longer be driving a minivan.

[Anonymous]

I just had to get a new minivan. But I drove a zillion SUVs in an attempt to avoid it! In order of recommendation, I suggest you look at:

Chevy Traverse
Hyundai Palisade
Honda Pilot
Volkswagen Atlas

I will admit that I did not pay attention to width. was more concerned with length. My garage is short, so I The Atlas is a cool car, but the configuration is such that if you want captains' chairs in the second row, you can only seat 6.

I ended up with the minivan because I'm carting around too many people, bikes, lacrosse bags and luggage to make things work in an SUV. The Traverse will work if you aren't doing long road trips with 5+people (I found their third row seat to have very little leg room).

Good luck! Tell us what you end up with!

[Anonymous]

I ended up with a Honda Pilot and I love it! Miss the sliding side doors sometimes but otherwise it’s great. Not quite as long (bonus), not too wide, but I can still fit a lot of people/stuff in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just traded in my minivan last week and bought an Audi Q7. So excited to no longer be driving a minivan.

Ha ha yes! Convertible for me

[Anonymous]

My first and 2nd cars were Honda Civics, now driving a minivan (an Odyssey). My next car will be a Honda CRV. I like being high up, like the dependabity/reliability, and I like being able to fit stuff I need to fit!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just had to get a new minivan. But I drove a zillion SUVs in an attempt to avoid it! In order of recommendation, I suggest you look at:

Chevy Traverse
Hyundai Palisade
Honda Pilot
Volkswagen Atlas

I will admit that I did not pay attention to width. was more concerned with length. My garage is short, so I The Atlas is a cool car, but the configuration is such that if you want captains' chairs in the second row, you can only seat 6.

I ended up with the minivan because I'm carting around too many people, bikes, lacrosse bags and luggage to make things work in an SUV. The Traverse will work if you aren't doing long road trips with 5+people (I found their third row seat to have very little leg room).

Good luck! Tell us what you end up with!

OP here. Thanks! Most of those won’t fit in my garage. I haven’t measured the Palisade yet. My husband is turned off from Palisade/Telluride due to price/high demand. My car before the van was one of the first Sante Fe’s so we actually really like Hyundai. I really just want another Odyssey but it won’t fit without power folding mirrors (Elite trim, $$$$) and even then JUST barely.

Mazda Cx9, Subaru ascent, Toyota Highlander and Acura MDX (also $$$$) will fit. I liked them all fine but didn’t LOVE any of them. I’m SO ready for a new car but just can’t seem to make a choice.

[Anonymous]

Have you looked more at the Odyssey Elite? They have side mirrors that pull in so you can make it in the garage. I didn't buy the elite and wish I had. I didn't need any of the other features, but didn't' realize I couldn't make it in my garage...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked more at the Odyssey Elite? They have side mirrors that pull in so you can make it in the garage. I didn't buy the elite and wish I had. I didn't need any of the other features, but didn't' realize I couldn't make it in my garage...

OP here. Yes we have. It fits with the mirrors folded but JUST barely and still a pain in and out. My husband thinks only a matter of time before there would be a garage “incident.” It’s still on the table though if we can’t find anything else. Frustrating though because otherwise I’d be fine with EXL so those folding mirrors are costing about $8k!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked more at the Odyssey Elite? They have side mirrors that pull in so you can make it in the garage. I didn't buy the elite and wish I had. I didn't need any of the other features, but didn't' realize I couldn't make it in my garage...

OP here. Yes we have. It fits with the mirrors folded but JUST barely and still a pain in and out. My husband thinks only a matter of time before there would be a garage “incident.” It’s still on the table though if we can’t find anything else. Frustrating though because otherwise I’d be fine with EXL so those folding mirrors are costing about $8k!

Elite owner here. That's a very odd design choice to have power-folding mirrors only on the highest trim. I've had an Odyssey of some sort since 2006 and have always either parked in a double-width garage or outside. Only recently have I started parking the van inside a single-door garage bay. I don't know how other odyssey owners manage without the power-folding mirrors. I guess technically you can fold just one mirror, but that would still make me very nervous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked more at the Odyssey Elite? They have side mirrors that pull in so you can make it in the garage. I didn't buy the elite and wish I had. I didn't need any of the other features, but didn't' realize I couldn't make it in my garage...

OP here. Yes we have. It fits with the mirrors folded but JUST barely and still a pain in and out. My husband thinks only a matter of time before there would be a garage “incident.” It’s still on the table though if we can’t find anything else. Frustrating though because otherwise I’d be fine with EXL so those folding mirrors are costing about $8k!

PP here. I didn't know before I bought that it wouldn't fit in my garage without the folding mirrors (I mean it fits with 1/2 inch clearance on each side!). We had the power mirrors installed after market at a body shop. FWIW my house isn't that old and my garage door is pretty standard. I have 2- 1 car garage doors instead of a 2 car garage door and we even looked into getting that changed because I was so annoyed.

I didn't like any of the other option on the elite either and it was a 10k difference. I mean I don't need TVs for my kids who are rear facing- I pass out ipads on long road trips! And I don't like their Nav system.

But as for us, there isn't life after the minivan. I love it so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked more at the Odyssey Elite? They have side mirrors that pull in so you can make it in the garage. I didn't buy the elite and wish I had. I didn't need any of the other features, but didn't' realize I couldn't make it in my garage...

OP here. Yes we have. It fits with the mirrors folded but JUST barely and still a pain in and out. My husband thinks only a matter of time before there would be a garage “incident.” It’s still on the table though if we can’t find anything else. Frustrating though because otherwise I’d be fine with EXL so those folding mirrors are costing about $8k!

PP here. I didn't know before I bought that it wouldn't fit in my garage without the folding mirrors (I mean it fits with 1/2 inch clearance on each side!). We had the power mirrors installed after market at a body shop. FWIW my house isn't that old and my garage door is pretty standard. I have 2- 1 car garage doors instead of a 2 car garage door and we even looked into getting that changed because I was so annoyed.

I didn't like any of the other option on the elite either and it was a 10k difference. I mean I don't need TVs for my kids who are rear facing- I pass out ipads on long road trips! And I don't like their Nav system.

But as for us, there isn't life after the minivan. I love it so much.

OP here. Do you mind if I ask what you paid for the folding mirrors after market? And did you use any old body shop or a specialty one?

[Anonymous]

Subaru Forester and I love it. But if you have a few young kids a minivan is wonderful even though many moms say they wouldn’t be caught dead in a minivan so they follow the crowd to an SUV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Subaru Forester and I love it. But if you have a few young kids a minivan is wonderful even though many moms say they wouldn’t be caught dead in a minivan so they follow the crowd to an SUV.

OP here. Love my van and no issues with the image. The car makers keep making them wider and I like parking in my garage. Extremely frustrating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Subaru Forester and I love it. But if you have a few young kids a minivan is wonderful even though many moms say they wouldn’t be caught dead in a minivan so they follow the crowd to an SUV.

I had a minivan for years but now also drive a Forester and I love it. It’s amazing that people won’t be caught dead in a minivan and just follow the crowd to an SUV. If you have 3 young kids a minivan is a life saver! Getting kids in and out of car seats in big SUV is misery.