Anonymous wrote:The last time I looked (admittedly awhile go), 3-row SUVs and minivans cost at least $10K more than a 2-row SUV. I have 2 kids and a 2-row SUV. I can fit 1 or 2 additional kids in my car, but I’m not spending $10K to schlep half a team to practice or a game. Parents with minivans are constantly asked to carpool teammates and I didn’t want to become the default driver. YMMV.

This, I'm happy to do a real carpool with switching off but most of the time you become the default driver. Next I'll probably get a 3 row suv but i will not have it set up as such and keep a dog seat in it too.

No, get an SUV.

Minivans are great. A minivan that I like the look of is the Kia Carnival. It looks like a full size SUV, but it is a minivan with sliding doors.

To the PP with the 2019 Honda who says minivans suck to drive, that's no my experience with my 2012 Sienna. It is very easy to drive. It has a tight turning radius and I can actually get in and out of parking spaces pretty easily. It's long, though, so you have to be careful not to back into things and not to jump curbs when turning, but it took all of 5 minutes to figure this out.

We are at the stage where we have 2 in college and one in HS and we are thinking of getting a nice SUV that is smaller than a van. The thought of giving up those sliding doors or not being to fit the college kids' move-in/move-out stuff gives me pause. Maybe we'll hold on to the minivan a bit longer.

So OP, you will definitely get a lot of use if you get a minivan now!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are gas guzzlers despite many having smaller engines, and awful for the environment.

We get 20 mpg mixed driving and significantly more on trips. Hardly a “guzzler.”

Most full size 4x4 trucks get 22-25mpg on highway now. 20mpg is worse than a "bro dozer".

You realize you're comparing highway with city, right?

I have a minivan (2019 Honda) - 3 kid family.

When people talk about how much they love their minivans - they are not talking about how well it drives. Minivans suck to drive.

Minivans just provide a lot of functionality, that mostly kicks in when you have 3 kids or more kids.

This includes:
- push button open/close of rear doors (hugely valuable with smaller kids)
- seating for 5, plus tons of space in the back for luggage on vacations
- ability to drive 6 or 7 kids in a car pool (again, hugely valuable because it means you can enter car pools with other lots of other parents by way of reciprocity)
-rear entertainment to keep kids occupied

That's probably it. If any of those features would improve your life, go for it. If not, you'll be happier with something else.

2012 Honda odyssey. The greatest vehicle that ever was. I used chains to climb 80 when we lived out west. It’s got a hitch (tows 3500lbs). It’s got leather. DVD. And It’s got 187k miles.

I am king of my universe.

Love my minivan and I also don't feel like some bro loser driving in a useless truck or a tiny soccer mom perched on a giant SUV throne.

Anonymous wrote:One also might consider a station wagon. We have an Audi allroad.

Surprised the El Camino type design hasn't come back into style yet, the way they always regurgitate things these days.

One also might consider a station wagon. We have an Audi allroad.

Sliding doors have changed my life. I love my minivan. we also do a lot of road trips, so it comes in very handy in terms of space and DVD screens, and ability to separate kids if needed.

We just replaced our awesome 2010 Sienna with a certified 2022 hybrid Sienna. It’s great-35 mpg!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are gas guzzlers despite many having smaller engines, and awful for the environment.

We get 20 mpg mixed driving and significantly more on trips. Hardly a “guzzler.”

Most full size 4x4 trucks get 22-25mpg on highway now. 20mpg is worse than a "bro dozer".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't need one with 2 kids, but if you really want one why not the electric VW?

We've been assuming whenever we pulled the trigger on getting a minivan, it would be for the Sienna, but DH has become very intrigued by the VW since it finally became available.

The VW ID Buzz isn’t efficient. I would recommend the Kia ev9 instead. If you can wait for the Lucid gravity pure edition , it will be twice as efficient as the VW ID Buzz.

Anonymous wrote:They are gas guzzlers despite many having smaller engines, and awful for the environment.

We get 20 mpg mixed driving and significantly more on trips. Hardly a “guzzler.”