Anonymous wrote:Minivans are great, but we are family of 5 and only had SUV b/c it is a little smaller than minivan so easier to park.

We had no problems with swing doors with kids and accessing the car seats was a snap. 3rd is harder to get to, but kids manage.

The time a family of 4 needs a minivan/8 seat is when you carpool. Has that started for you??? Travel sports?

How old are your kids? We have a minivan but rented an SUV and it was so cramped.

Anonymous wrote:I love my minivan, but I would not buy one if I had a 3 year old perfectly serviceable car. Especially for a family of 4.

This. We are a family of four and we do just fine most of the time with a crossover. Kids are 6 and 8 and we don’t even use the minivan that much anymore, although I do love it for hauling around stuff.

When kids (2 children 18 months apart) were babies and toddlers, I had a CR-V. It had a large truck and it was high so it was easy on my back getting them in and out of car seats Once the oldest was in 1st grade, I got a minivan because we started car pooling, inviting kids to the pool, play dates, etc. Before elementary school, I didn't need a minivan. I find it tough to drive the minivan especially parking but it is handy and much easier for us to all get into one car.

Just get the van. The sliding doors are a game changer with kids in carseats. Your kids are still little so not carpooling yet but when you do get there it is lifesaver. And then when your kids get bigger physically, a mini SUV just does not have enough room in the back seats. They are tiny.

I love my minivan, but I would not buy one if I had a 3 year old perfectly serviceable car. Especially for a family of 4.

For all the maligning, minivans are very well designed and offer a lot of space in a reasonably sized vehicle. And once you've had sliding doors you will wonder why every vehicle doesn't offer them. When we had even a big car (a Crown Vic) somebody's head always got bumped lifting DC in and out. Has never happened with the minivan.

Get it now. I don’t live in the DC area but we used to live in SF (the city itself) and parking wasn’t bad. Sliding doors are a life-changer.

Minivans are great, but we are family of 5 and only had SUV b/c it is a little smaller than minivan so easier to park.

We had no problems with swing doors with kids and accessing the car seats was a snap. 3rd is harder to get to, but kids manage.

The time a family of 4 needs a minivan/8 seat is when you carpool. Has that started for you??? Travel sports?

Anonymous wrote:I got a minivan 5 years ago when my kids were 2 and 4. I absolutely love it, and have from day one. The sliding doors, the flexibility to carry more people (we don’t have to bring two cars everywhere when the grandparents visit!), the cargo capacity (all the rear seats fold down if we need to transport something bulky), it all was just a huge improvement over the SUV I had before. If you can afford it, in your shoes I’d trade in the SUV for a minivan.

It’s especially helpful too if grandparents are starting to have mobility issues, too.

I got a minivan 5 years ago when my kids were 2 and 4. I absolutely love it, and have from day one. The sliding doors, the flexibility to carry more people (we don’t have to bring two cars everywhere when the grandparents visit!), the cargo capacity (all the rear seats fold down if we need to transport something bulky), it all was just a huge improvement over the SUV I had before. If you can afford it, in your shoes I’d trade in the SUV for a minivan.

Do it now. Sliding door is a huge plus with kids in car seats plus if your mini suv is a Honda CRV or Toyota RAV4 or Subaru you’ll be able to get decent value for it if it’s three years old

I do not think you need a minivan as a family of four. I have three kids and two dogs and absolutely love mine (Siena), but if I had one less kid, I would be in an SUV. With your current mini SUV being so new (3 years), I would ride it out and see how you feel in a few years when it's a more natural time to buy for you.

Anonymous wrote:You might as well get it now while your kids are young and you need the features.

+1000.

You might as well get it now while your kids are young and you need the features.

A few years ago, both I & DH got new cars right after we had our first kid. DH changed from 2 door sedan (good for a bachelor, sucks when you have a baby) to 4 door compact sedan. I changed from 4 door compact sedan (space was tight with 1 car seat in) to a mini SUV. Now, we have another one (our last baby), I wish that I had purchased a mini van a few years ago. I want the sliding door feature (easy to take kid in & out), more space (I can imagine myself being inside the car dry/warm putting kids in/out carseat when it is raining/windy/snowy outside) & more seating. We don't do carpool, so we don't really need more seating for now. I definitely will get a mini van one day, but my current mini suv is still really new (purchased new 3 years ago). I am undecided if I should get a mini van now (sell the current mini suv), or get a mini van a few years after. We are a family of 4.