Hello, I would like your honest opinion on this. My husband and I are looking at new cars right now and he came up with the idea of getting a minivan… I know it’s convenient and big, etc, but I can’t get over the cliché. What would you do? Go for the smart minivan or the trendier SUV?
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I felt the same as you before we purchased our Chevy Venture and now I could not live without it! I love the fact we can remove the seats to move furniture, help friends move, or just get bigger items in the back. It’s great for camping, outings and the fact we take our boys friends with us to the lake is a bonus for the kids. It’s also cheaper on gas than an SUV.
My biggest BIGGEST plus on buying one is about two years we were in a horrific car accident with our boys. A man ran a red light and t-boned us. The van had over 10,000 worth of damage. It caught fire, too. But I could open my door even though it was crushed and we were all okay. Amazingly the van did not crumple like tin. Knowing the vehicle could handle such an impact gives me confidence in buying and I would definitely buy another one!
Happy car shopping!
Forgot to mention now that my kids are a little older the joys of a mini van are that my oldest sits in the back of the van and the younger one sits in the middle so there is NO fighting, no touching and god forbid no one looking at the other one. Something to consider.
I was so not into mini vans when our family grew to 4!!! My husband told me once we got all the gear into the trunk of a SUV (stroller, playpen, luggage) and two carseats in the back seat there would NO room for me to buy anything on our vacations. I did buy a luxury van with remote doors and leather seats with all the bells and whistles. I drive with my stereo cranked (loser I know) when my children are not with me and I can do black friday shopping with no fear of nothing not fitting!!! Hope this helps.
mcourtois,
Sounds like you might need a minivan or a larger size SUV. I know there is also the Dodge Journey as a 7 seater crossover. But it sounds like a bigger vehicle may be needed. Best of luck in your vehicle adventure!!!! Keep us posted on how it goes!
Thanks Julie, I am also looking at SUVs since we have one now and I really love it – the rocket box is one of the option I was looking at but with the SUV it’s way too high for my 5’3″ 😉
Thanks so much ladies for your help!
Naomi, those a great questions to ask myself (and hubby!) and we will definitely go through the exercise – but just to answer a few, we do have a big dog who always travels with us, we are planning on a second child in the next few years, but for now we like to walk everywhere in our neighborhood but I guess that might change when our daughter is old enough to be part of a soccer team or swimming lessons, etc… And KokoCiel, I like that you were self confident enough to assume your choice 😉 Renting one for a weekend is actually a very good idea!
i too was an anti-minivan mama…… that is until my husband brought home a rental, (sneaky sneaky man) you see i was looking for an suv, however most suv’s scrimp on the trunk space….. we travel often, road trips, and i cannot tell you what an absolute God send our brand new, super pimped out grand caravan has been!!! ahh the beauty of silence when we pop in a dvd….. oh wait the baby is crying, let me just walk into the back to change her diaper…. ahhh the spacious trunk even fits my stroller the ginormous thing that it is!!!
definitely get a mini van screw what the neighbours will think, you will N OT regret it!!!
WOW Naomi, lots of awesome questions! You left me pondering…
Well I think have to look at your options and your budget. Have you seen the Swagger Wagon video on youtube?!?! Hilarious. It makes me want to have a mini van!
Some minivans are not cheap on gas because they are V6’s. Sometimes an SUV is just as expensive on gas as a minivan. There are crossovers that are great on gas and SUV’s that are hybrids. I know that my one friend has 3 children and having a sedan just wasnt an option for putting her twins in their carseats. Do you buy vehicles regularily or do you keep them for a while? Are you planning on having more children? Do you want to use it to do some camping/travelling? Do you have dogs? Do you drive a lot of small trips or long trips? Do you LIKE minivans? Do you LIKE sedans? Do you like SUV’s? Who would be driving it the most and what would that person feel comfortable driving? Take a test drive of the vehicles that you think you may like.
I think you and your husband have to ask yourselves a lot of questions and then I think that you will make a great informed decision that you will not regret.
Have fun deciding! I love vehicle shopping!
DON’T DO IT!!! 🙂
there are so many better looking alternatives including sedans that work amazingly. we drive an impala (two kids, mom, dad) and it’s great. we strap a rocket box to the top and away we go for camping and the like.