OT- minivan or third row suv

[emmababy]

So I just started a thread on having a third baby, which leads to the fact we would need a diff. vehicle. Right now we have an suv which I love. So, for those who have a minivan or 3rd row suv (Acadia, Enclave- NOT Expedition or Suburban) what do you love or hate about it? Did you look at both a minivan and suv and what tipped the scale for you?

 

[MinnieTink]

Although I prefer the look of the SUVs, I LOVE my Honda Odyssey. The automatic doors are great for dropping the older ones off at school, and they make it much easier to get a baby in and out of a carseat. We also drive to Disney, and we feel that the van is much more comfortable for the long drive.

By the way, adding the 3rd, for me, pushed me to my limits! Wouldn't trade it for the world, but my head spins most days!

 

[blondietink]

We also prefer a min-van instead of an SUV for our family of 2 adults and 2 teens. An SUV just doesn't have enough leg room for my teens and there is less luggage room in the SUV. We take lots of stuff with us on vacation besides suitcases; beach umbrellas, a wheelchair, etc. We also have a car top luggage rack fold out thing that we could use, but we never have had to with the min-van. Also gets better gas mileage than an SUV.

 

[Nazran]

I recently bought a minivan and can not imagine why I waited so long. Buy the DVD option too if you take long road trips! I have a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT fully loaded. It is nice but has some issues. I wish I would have bought a Honda.

 

[ChristusG]

When we had our second child, we upgraded from a car. We wanted something with plenty of room on vacations and such (we go camping a lot, as well as drive to Disney).

I prefer the look of SUV's. I always said I would not be a mini-van mom LOL! Well, we started looking around at vehicles and I just could not deny that the mini-van was waaaaaaay more roomy, no matter which way I looked at it LOL. So I opted for the "cool" looking mini-van. I chose a new Nissan Quest.....and I love it!!! We've had it for a little over two years now. Never any problems. There is LOTS of trunk space, more than other mini vans we've looked at. It's because the trunk dips down instead of being equal with the flooring in the rest of the van. We can fit a huge double stroller, groceries, etc back there. We even fit everything we needed for a week-long trip to TN, just in the trunk.....several suitcases, umbrella stroller, baby gate, bed rail, box of groceries. Seriously, the trunk space on this van is awesome. We got the second row bucket seats for easy access to the third row. We got the DVD entertainment system with wireless headphones.

We really love our van. I'm glad I didnt go the SUV route this time!

 

[tzolkin]

I think the ages of your kids (in carseats?) may affect your choice.

We have a minivan and love it, but my mom just bought a gigantic SUV with a 3rd row. There seems to be plenty of room back there, but you must flip one of the middle seats down and slide it forward to access the back. When we go out with my 3 kids and my niece it's really impossible to get back there to buckle one into a carseat. (Also if you have a car/booster seat on both ends in the middle row you aren't able to access the back. So if you have two little ones you will need to climb into the vehicle to put them into a carseat in the middle.) Maybe it would not be such a pain with a smaller SUV. (This thing replaced their 4 door Toyota Tundra and it seems way bigger.)

 

[ThePecks]

We are a family of 2 adults, 2 boys (5 & 2) and a darling little girl (1). We have driven a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the last 9 years and finally needed a new vehicle this year. My wife and I were in the crowd of "We'll never drive a minivan" not too long ago. That is until we went car hunting.

My wife wanted a GMC Acadia...test drove it, loved it. Got back to the dealer, and tried to put the double stroller behind the back seat (it doesn't fit). Moved onto the GMC Yukon, again loved it (maybe not so much the price tag), but again the double stroller didn't fit. At the end of the day, we went over to the Honda dealership and drove an Odyssey.

The ride was nice, lots of room, loved some of the features, but personally I think the Honda is ugly on the inside. I say this because I think they have too many buttons placed in a small area on the dash. Just my opinion...I was willing to deal with the inside of the Odyssey, but we drove the new VW Routan first.

We opted for the Routan. Ours is loaded, with 2 drop down screens (may come in handy for older/yonger and male/female video needs) and I like the interior and exterior styling. I'm concerned for the long term that this is really a better looking Chrysler vehicle, but we will see. We got a great deal on it and 0% financing.

We picked our van up on Tuesday and left Friday morning for Florida. Drove from Ohio to Naples, Florida and the kids did pretty good in it. It sure beats three kids in one seat!!!

To get this much room, we would have had to go with a Suburban or Yukon XL, spent 15k more and spent a lot more on gasoline. VW also throws in the first 36K miles of maintenance at no extra charge.

I'd recommend a Routan. My wife stays home with the kids during the day and I know she really likes it...so much for not ever owning a minivan!

I'm looking forward to my trip next March down to WDW!

 

[luvmy3jewels]

I have 3 children (4, 6, & 8) and have had both a minivan (two Honda Odysseys) and a SUV (Honda Pilot). My best advice if you decide to go with an SUV is to make sure that the third row seat is easily accessible.

We traded in our first Ody for the Pilot, because I thought it would be more "fun" to drive. It was more fun, but getting the kids in and out of it was a major pain in the rump! After 1 year, I had enough and traded the Pilot in on another Ody (which I highly recommend!)

My parents have just bought a new Toyota Highlander and it has two bucket seats in the middle with a third row seat. We can fairly easily get the kids in and out of this vehicle, but they are a little older and I no longer have to buckle them all into carseats (they can do it themselves).

One thing that I particularly love about my Ody is the power doors. I don't have to worry about kids slamming fingers (or arms) in the doors, and I can get everyone in and out very quickly. To me, that is one of the major advantages of a minivan.

I love having three kids and to me going from two to three was a piece of cake! My kids are great playmates (usually anyway) and I've never had a moments regret in having three.

 

[Steph9072]

In November we had a wreck that totaled my Odyssey. I loved the Odyssey but it was an 04' w/ close to 70,000 miles and when insuance wrote a check I could have bought what I had or something newer in a different vehicle. Also, we were in front end collison. Basically I am surprise that dh and I did not have at the least broken feet because so much of the engine stuff was in the passeger section. However our airbags did not deploy. Not only that of the five seat with people in then only 3 locked on impact. That really turned dh off of the Odyssey.

I narrowed down to a Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Durango w/ 3rd seat they were w/i $3000 of each other. I loved the look of the Durango and liked how it drove. but dd had trouble getting the 2nd row seat to fold up so she could get out of the vehicle. So I test drove the Town and Country Touring with power doors, power hatch, DVD ,4 captian chairs and more. What I liked with the van dd could walk between the two captian chairs in the second row to get out of the vehicle.

HTH

 

[SLK1]

Definitely a minivan. I have the Enclave now, which is an outstanding car (I just got it last month), but it doesn't even come close to the room my minivans had. And, the sliding doors are a big plus with kids.

 

[Colleen27]

There is one thing that keeps me buying minivans even though I prefer the SUV/truck look - access to the 3rd row seat. In my minivan, it is MUCH easier to get to the back seats than it is in any of the SUVs we've looked at. I really *wanted* to like the Ford Flex because I'm not thrilled about the remaining options for American made minivans (only Chrysler is still making one - I've had great luck with my Chevy vans and our Ford trucks, so I would have liked to have gone with one or the other), but just like the others, getting to that back row requires folding down the middle seat. Since the carseats would be in that middle row (I've got one in an infant seat w/base and one in a booster), that would be a hassle. So I'll stick with minivans and give the Town & Country a try when it comes time to replace my Venture.

 

[HLAuburn]

If you're cool with a minivan, I definitely think that's the way to go. I just can't bring myself to drive one, but from friends who have them, I can tell you they're great with kids. I've heard a lot of good things about the Honda Odyssey.

That said, I have an Acadia and I LOVE it! I picked it because it offered the 2nd row captains chairs so there's a little gap between the seats for easy access to the 3rd row. I knew I was going to have 2 carseats in the 2nd row seats, so those seats folding up to get to the back wasn't going to work for us. With the captains chairs, people can just walk to the back without doing anything to the 2nd row seats.

Right now, we usually don't have anyone in the 3rd row, so I keep it down and that leaves a ton of space in the back. When the seat is up, it really comfortable, especially for a 3rd row. It can fit 2 adults comfortabley.

The gas mileage is pretty good, especially for the size of it, and I love the XM radio and OnStar.

Good luck deciding!

 

[WIDisneyFan]

We went through this last fall and the and here are a few things to keep in mind.

• Look at the SUV with a 3rd row and see how much room is behind it. When we looked the only ones that would work for our stroller were the Expedition and Suburban - both far bigger than we wanted.
  
• Look at how hard / easy it is to get kids into the 3rd row and buckled into a carseat or booster (if needed)
  
• Gas mileage may be another issue depending on how many miles you drive - a larger SUV will use far more fuel than a mini van.

We went into the search 100% sure we wanted a bigger SUV and ended up buying a minivan - Honda Odyssey

 

[myprincessgirlisa]

i have a yukon Xl w/ a removable 3rd row seat & I absolutely LOVE my SUV!
we have a dash dvd with a 2nd screen between the driver & passenger seat!

we use the SUV for everything & its is spacious!
If you want a car just to lug kids around then go for a minivan, but if your gonna haul things, roadtrips, etc then the suv has room for 8 & has a good size of room left for bags, wagon, strollers, etc.

one year we took out the 3rd seat & folded down the middle seat & loaded it up with snacks, blankets & pillows & went to the drive in, made a big comfy bed, popped open the doors & watched the movie out the back barn doors...i dont think you can do that in a mini van

 

[aestapa]

i have a yukon Xl w/ a removable 3rd row seat & I absolutely LOVE my SUV!
we have a dash dvd with a 2nd screen between the driver & passenger seat!

we use the SUV for everything & its is spacious!
If you want a car just to lug kids around then go for a minivan, but if your gonna haul things, roadtrips, etc then the suv has room for 8 & has a good size of room left for bags, wagon, strollers, etc.

one year we took out the 3rd seat & folded down the middle seat & loaded it up with snacks, blankets & pillows & went to the drive in, made a big comfy bed, popped open the doors & watched the movie out the back barn doors...i dont think you can do that in a mini van

We have a Suburban and we love it too. I know OP mentioned that she didn't want a suburban...but I wanted to share why we made this decision over a smaller SUV/crossover. With the potential of having 3 kids, we started really looking at the space between the back row and the back of the car. With some, the distance was so close that a child could be severely injured if hit from behind. I feel better with that extra space behind us and the higher driving position...of course, we live in Atlanta where people drive as if posessed! Its every man for himself, so I felt more comfortable in a bigger car!

We didn't look at minivans, so I can't comment on those. But I do know that when people bite the bullet and buy one, they seem to LOVE them!

 

[J3nn78]

I have had an SUV and minivans. I much prefer the minivans with kids. I just got a brand new Kia Sedona. LOVE it. The automatic doors are so convenient. Never knew how much I would enjoy that.

 

[Orlando_Or_Bust]

We have an odyssey and a trailblazer. We can get 2 car seats and a booster in the backseat of the trailblazer, but it is a tight fit. Looking back, if we had known we would have more than 2 children, we would have gotten the TB with the third row seating. I love the odyssey. It is very flexible for seating (we have the 8 passenger) and cargo. It is our more versatile car - we have brought home full sheets of drywall and a dining room table with six chairs in the back. I only wish it was able to tow a higher weight. Our camper exceeds the towing limit for it. As far as DVD players go, we chose to not get an installed unit. It adds a lot to the cost of the vehicle. For $100 you can get a two screen DVD unit.

 

[tbandemommy]

We have owned an Odyssey for almost 7 yrs. I would definitely consider another Odyssey when it's time to replace. Other than regular maintenance, we have had no trouble with it. We got it right before DD4 was born. We already had 2 DS's who were in car seats of various sizes. Adding the infant seat with base was no problem. We do not have the video system. We use our own and the children manage just fine. I LOVE the sliding doors! We owned a Grand Caravan prior to the Odyssey that did not have them. Would not recommend GC as it was nothing but trouble (transmission, brakes etc.)

Congratulations on the baby. Adding a third child was no problem for us. We just added one more plate to the table. I wouldn't trade being a Mommy of three for the world.

 

[Debbie7452]

I really like minivans because of the sliding side doors, however, DH refused to consider owning one. I got a Yukon XL (we do have 4 kids!) with captains chairs for the second row and love it. We definitely needed the extra cargo room for baseball gear, luggage, etc...

I recently got to "test" out the safety factor of having the heavy, bigger car. I got rear ended HARD by a full size Nissan Titan and then the car behind the truck. Both those vehicles had to be towed away, but I had a bent bumper. hitch, and cosmetic damage and was able to drive away. Both myself and DS3 were fine. I am driving the smaller Ford Expedition, right now while repairs are made and don't like it at all. It has no easy third row access.

 

[daisyduck123]

We have a 2007 Denali. We all love it! We got the extended version & that baby can hold a lot!!