Darren and I would like to have 3 maybe 4 children. In order to do this and still be able to fit all of our family in one vehicle, Darren says we need to buy a minivan. I HATE minivans. I don't hate other people's minivans. I just don't want one. Before Darren and I got married I told him I would never own a minivan. This is not something I am just springing on him now. My suggestion is to get a larger SUV. THAT I am ok with. A minivan is a 'no go' for me!
This is Darren. My argument: A minivan may not be the sexiest car out there but it is the most practical for a family. Not only does it hold far more children than our current vehicles do but the minivan is designed for ease and flexibility. Riding on a car chassis, it sits lower to the ground; this is safer and makes climbing in and out easier for little ones. The doors slide open to allow for simple entrance and egress. Improved gas mileage is another perk over our mid-sized SUV. With the size of car seats these days it will be impossible to pack another one into the back seat. Shall we wait until our eldest is 14 and can safely sit with the air bag in the front seat before having another child? Debbie has stated she will not drive a larger SUV. A minivan fits our needs by balancing out gas mileage, comfort and practicality. Frankly, I can't think of a better car for the growing family than a vehicle designed exactly for such a purpose: a minivan.
Ok, Debbie is back. So there you have it. YOU decide!! I look forward to reading your responses!
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8 comments:
Ok friends... We like that show too... Now, speaking from the stand point of having BOTH mini vans and SUV's... Mini Vans are the WAY to go with young children, MUCH, MUCH, MUCH, did I mention MUCH easier to get children in and out and don't even get me started on car seats... Lots of open cabin space and cargo storage for strollers... SUV's are fun for older children and by then you are ready to loose the mom mobile and drive something a little more sporty, but I will tell they are a pain in behind getting in and out of with a large family, one seat must always be flipped up to access the third row seating therefore really making said seat useless... Not much cabin space and hard to reach kiddos and babies in the back. NO room for strollers unless you have a Suburban. More money in gas, and DOORS for your kiddos to slam into cars in parking lots... All that to say a Mini Van is perfect for just staring families, moms with little ones, and multiple car seats... SUV's are better for when you are done with the car seat and stroller chapter...
I love Mini Vans- they're comfortable for a large family. The kids have an easier time accessing the back seats. The slider door is nice for, ya know soccer balls and what nots. The SUV is bulky and you almost have to climb in the thing to get in- it's more rugged for camping and driving up hill. The cost factor: For a new SUV, I would say you would spend about 35-42K, a late model pre owned minivan, you're looking at around 22K - My vote would be go for the minivan for 7 years and then get the SUV.
Spike
Ummmm... I really hate to do this but I'm gonna have to side with Darren on this one. The only way you are going to fit 4 car seats into an SUV is if you get one of those obnoxiously over-sized Ford Excessive. Gas is SO expensive. She's right that mini-vans have a negative stigma to them, aka "soccer mom", but when you're a mom of 4 kids and married... well sexy takes a back seat to sleep anyway. LOL
PS... I'm really liking the suggestions of mini Van first and when kids are out of car seats go for the SUV.
Debbie I have to say you and I have the same feelings about driving a mini van =). Now that being said I also don't have much knowledge of how convenient they are or aren't for a larger family. I can tell you about how happy I am with our recent upgrade to a full size SUV. We went from a family of 3 in my Dodge Nitro to a family of 5 shoved into a shoebox ;) We now have a Ford Expedition and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! wat this point all three car seats fit in the middle row so for the most part the third row is only used for cargo space (double stroller, groceries, diaper changes). I can fit a ton of groceries and my stroller with room to spare (not sure if you can do that in a mini van). And so far gas milage is not terrible for a big car. I have filled up 3 times and have averaged over 17 mpg each time and that's mostly town driving. Any way hope that helps and good luck car shopping =)
I'm going to give a completely different response having had a minivan in the past, but now driving both a Suburban and an Excursion. I would take the full sized SUV ANYDAY over the minivan!! I ALWAYS have a stroller with me, and sometimes a double, so I got really tired of taking up the entire back of the minivan with the stroller and having no room for groceries, etc. As kids get bigger, so does their stuff! We always have baseball bats, strollers, changes of clothes, etc. in the back of the car and it's nice to not be digging through stuff to have to find things. The ride on long trips (which we take a lot of since it's too expensive to fly anywhere with multiple kids) are much more comfortable since their is an incredible amount of leg room. I easily fit 3 full size Britax carseats on each bench, and folding seats down, removing benches, or climbing in to buckle up kids is not a problem. I especially love my Excursion because it rides a little lower than the Suburban and the ride is REALLY smooth. Most SUVs now have traction and stability control to prevent rollover, etc. I would always advise people to buy used because you avoid the initial depreciation of the vehicle which can be ridiculous. We bought our Excursion, for example, an XLT model with all the bells and whistles except leather (I'm not a fan of leather seats with carseats)with only 60k miles for $12k! A huge difference from the retail just a few years prior at over $40k! Shop around. Test drive. You might be surprised. You might really like a full sized SUV. And as far as gas mileage goes...surprisingly, we get the same mileage in our Excursion that we got in our Saturn minivan a few years back ;)
We went from an 8 seat Pilot to a 7 seat Odyssey not by choice and at first I was so embarrassed and angry that we had a van. After having it for two years now, I now would probably buy a new van over an SUV as long as the kids are small! They have some really nice ones now that don't even look like a minivan. You would think that having one more seat in the Pilot would have been better but there is actually WAY more room in the van. Yes you could seat 8 in the Pilot... 2 adults and 6 children NOT in car-seats that is! The way back seat was practically useless because you had to fold down the one in front of it and slide under the seat belt to get out and it was so cramped. The sliding doors on the van are amazing and the fact that you can open and close them from your keychain is a huge plus because you can have an armload and not have to put anything down. We added airbags and a towing package and tow a camper and boat with the van, so it is not wimpy at all. Our Odyssey is a 2003 and it gets way better gas mileage than some of our friends newer SUVs and definitely better than the Pilot which was also a Honda and also a 2003. We can lay all the seats down just like an SUV and haul things or fold them down lay down our blankets and watch a drive-in like we just did last week - all 5 of us very comfortable. Our front bench comes out in two parts and we just keep one seat out all the time, it fits in our hall closet... unlike my in-laws huge couch-like seats that take up their whole garage. My sister-in-law is also a daycare provider and has to haul the kids around and I see her have to crawl all the way in the back and over seats, etc. because it is cramped and there is no sliding door. I know it is hard to be a minivan person, I am totally with you on that but it is superior to SUVs when it comes to small children. I am not one of those "keeping up with the Joneses (yes that is spelled right, I googled it haha" people so I got over the minivan issue pretty quickly :)
Sorry Darren...I'm with Debbie on this one. The main reason that I personally would not drive a minivan is because they are ALL stupid looking. Someone earlier mentioned that some of them don't even look like minivans anymore...YES THEY DO...they all STILL look like a minivan. Even some of the crossovers look like minivans. With that said, Debbie would cease to be the cool mom that she is and I just don't think that you as her loving husband should take that away from her nor do you want that on your conscience :)
On another note, I'm not sure where you get the idea that a minivan is safer because it rides on a car chassis but my little engineering mind doesn't agree with that statement. Feel free to prove me wrong on that.
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