Minvan pros and cons.

[ChiTownZee]

We are going to be getting a new car soon and I want a minvan, but my husband doesn't. I'm making a list of Pros and cons of a minivan (mostly pros ) and I want to make the list as long as possible. To those that have minivans, what do you like about it that I might not be thinking of? Anything directly related to the happiness/safety of your children is even better! LOL

 

[ratsrule]

PRO

You can fit a ton of crap in them including kids


CON

Hard to pick up chicks while driving the family truckster

 

[bananiem]

Pros: Smooth ride, each kid can pick there own seat or row, you can seperate bickering kids thereby making YOUR ride more enjoyable, safety features, being able to take out a seat and haul big stuff without a truck, visibility ( big windows), the ability to carpool, being able to go visit our parents and all fit into one vehicle when we go to dinner or church...
We love our van and are on our 2nd one!

Cons: Can't think of one!!! We had an suv and small car before our 1st van. We honestly haven't regretted it one bit.

 

[Lisa L from MI]

I am 36, married, with 2 kids...ages 6 and 9. We got our first minivan in 1996. I remember saying before that "I would NEVER own a minivan"!!!

I LOVED it. We leased that for 3 years and in 1999 got another one. If you have young kids...it is a MUST!!!

But, after 6 years of having a mini-van....plus my kids are getting older...we now are leasing a Dodge Ram Quad Cab....it's a cool truck.

It is just a very good "family" vehicle. I know you will love it....especially if you never owned one before.

I am partial to the Dodge Caravans too. I drove my FIL's Windstar and it didn't compare at all how the Caravan drove.

I can't even think of any cons.

 

[shep]

Cons---you have to drive everywhere cause you can take the most people
People wanting to borrow it because they don't have one..

 

[bananiem]

I wanted to add that it depends on how much travelling you do as well. Our blazer had so little "trunk" space that we had to buy oneof those dog cage wall things to hold our luggage back so it didn't fall forward onto the kids in the middle row. With a van the same amount of stuff only goes halfway up the last seat.

 

[ratsrule]

OHHH

I thought of another PRO

You can take the seats out and..............

Well then you need a bumber sticker

"IF THIS MINI VAN IS A ROCKIN' DON'T COME KNOCKIN'"

 

[alabamaalan]

Anyone else get "The John Boy and Billy Big Show" as a syndicated radio program?

I AM married man!!

In other words, I happily drive my Dodge Grand Caravan. Before that I was in a Pontiac Grand Am. My wife, her guide dog, and I could fill it up easily with luggage on a trip.

Once we had a child, we needed the room and I love it!

The ride is smooth; I sit higher up (nice for drive thrus) and we have 4 "Captain's chairs" so that we can walk freely to the bench seat in the back.

Plenty of room for luggage, coolers, etc.

 

[hercamore]

OUr mini van is l0 yrs old now. It's still in good shape inside and out. At that time, I never wanted a minivan and my dh did. It was one of the best investments we ever made.

It is a true workhorse for us. We just filled it to the max with dds college stuff two wekks ago.

The only downside I can think of is most minivans gets worse mpg than a regular car, but still better than SUVS.

Herc.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

PROS- If you have a family it makes your life easier. Esp. if you get a DVD or VCR player & also get the remote that shuts the door, then you don't have to get out in the rain when the kids are older that is. I don't have that feature but I wish I did. You can cart kids around for sports, girl scouts etc..Also you can't carpool to functions, if you don't have the room.

Cons- none, unless you count gas mileage but if you get a family car you probably won't get a car that has terrific mileage anyway.

SUV's are TRUCKS, they are bouncy. We have an exploder, oops Explorer. It is a killer to drive, meaning it just bounces me to death, my back actually gets sore from driving it. I know you can get a smoother riding SUV's like the Tahoe you can buy the "riding package" which is alot smoother. I prefer my van. We have the Town and Country. Although we would like the Honda Odessey. The seats flip down instead of having to take them out & it has the best safety rating.

 

[tar heel]

I feel that I'm a much better driver in my minivan because I can see the road, traffic, etc. so much better. I'm trying to drive our third car (an older Olds Cutlass) to work at least once a week since our ds went off to college, and I'm amazed at how much more limited the visibility is.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Actually, being the designated mom to drive is a good thing. DS's friends think we're the cool ones. I'll be driving some of the scouts on a field trip. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Lots of room for lots of stuff.

You can see OVER the car in front of you! This was one of the greatest things for me.

Your LARGE dog actually fits inside! I had a Camaro prior to my van. The dog took up the whole front seat! Now I wish I never had that Camaro...what a waste of money it was. Wished I had gotten the van years sooner.

 

[snoopy]

I just got rid of my minivan yesterday, as a matter of fact. I had a Honda Odyssey. It was a good van, it never gave me a bit of trouble, but I wanted something different, so I got a Chevy Blazer instead. So now we have 2 cars, 2 SUVs and a motorcycle. (and no driveway or garage to put all these cars in - I think its time to move!)

The pros: If you have a baby or a toddler, it is so nice to be able to walk into the van and put them in the carseat, rather than hunch over from the outside. This really comes in handy if you are tall. A minivan is also especially nice if you have more than 2 children, or you are used to carting your children's friends around. We only have 2 kids, and we live in the city and do alot of walking to and from friend's homes, so we found we didn't really need the 3rd row of seating. We wanted the extra trunk space rather than the seats. Minivans drive a lot like cars, so that is a plus.

The cons: They are gas hogs! Not as bad as a 4x4 SUV, but pretty bad.

If you are going to buy one, I'd recommend the Honda. Its a really nice van.

 

[d.kurz]

I loved my Dodge caravan. It was 11 years old and had 120,000 miles on it when someone crashed into me and totaled it. It was still running like a champ. I miss it. Temporarily driving a Chevy Trailblazer, which I don't care for at all.

One of the things I liked best about the caravan was the fantastic visibility. Virtually NO blind spots. Although I avoid backing like the plague (I've had TONS of defensive driving classes due to a driving job) it was by far the EASIEST car EVER to back up in.

Plus the cargo space can't be beat. It fits far more than the trailblazer I'm driving now.

Don't buy a 4 cylinder. It is not enough power.

Good luck in your quest!!

 

[EROS]

Pro..............Are you kidding????

CON............Ugly; signature vehicle of the soccer mom set. I prefer the SUVs with the third seat .........

 

[Ricola]

Does this say "soccer mom" to you?

For functionality, for carrying the things we all need to carry now and then, for transporting a bunch of kids or adults, for comfortable road trips, I don't think they can be beat.

And, in a pinch, they are even more economical that a Motel 6.

 

[POLLY ANN]

The only con that I have is that I seem to be replacing brakes all the time!! I have a 98 Dodge Grand Caravan, and the brakes really don't hold up long. They are a nice ride and do carry ALOT of stuff!

I'd love to get a Honda Odyssey with all the stuff I don't have in my van now (power door openers, vcr/dvd player, rear seat a/c, leather seats).

Good luck with your decision!

 

[kamgen]

I just have to agree with Eros. I cannot stand minivans. I find them VERY uncomfortable (unless you are the driver) and I don't care much for driving them either.

You can do a lot with a small suv. We have a GMC Jimmy and we drove from MI to FL with three teenagers, about 6 suitcases and pillows and stuff in it. You work with what you got I guess.

I would prefer a large SUV, a Tahoe, or even a Navigator. LOL!

Actually, I would rather drive a conversion van or a station wagon. JMHO.

I have seen some I think are nice, including the Mazda MPV, but I am just not into mini-vans right now. I think if you fill all the seats, the "trunk" space is really limited.
I am pushing dh to get a Silverado QUAD cab.

Kamy

 

[d.kurz]

Originally posted by EROS
Pro..............Are you kidding????

CON............Ugly; signature vehicle of the soccer mom set. I prefer the SUVs with the third seat .........

OK, EROS, I can take it when you talk about "God" being on vacation, and I can take the HEH club stuff, too. But now you've lumped me in with the soccer mom set. NOW I'm insulted!!!



Besides, an SUV just won't fit all my camping gear!

 

[EROS]

For all of you minivan roadsters: