OT - Which Type of Vehicle??

[nateryan]

Which would you choose? We have young kids and currently have an Explorer. I was thinking about buying a Minivan but now my DH wants me to look at a Crossover (specifically the Ford Taurus X.)

TIA!

 

[Poohbug]

I have a Freestyle which is the same as the Taurus X and I love it. You have to decide who is going to drive it the most and let that person have the final decision but give the Taurus X a test drive. They are very similar to a minivan but I like it because we have three small children and they can all fit in the second row. (They all have car seats or boosters) That way one kid is not stuck in the way back all by himself and I have a TON of space for all the groceries and the stroller with the back seat folded down.

 

[SplashMountainMama]

I think if you have 3 or fewer kids I'd go with a crossover because they could all fit in the 2nd row and it leaves you with lots of cargo room. If you have more than 3 you'd probably want to go with a minivan because once you use that 3rd row in a crossover for seating you're generally left with very little cargo space for groceries,strollers,etc.

 

[Charleston Princess]

We just bought the new Grand Caravan -- I NEVER wanted to be a minivan mom, but fell in love with that particular model -- it drives smoothly, has cool features, and my two kids have their own seats in the middle section. The trunk is also a good size too -- I can easily put all my groceries (including large bags of dog food and cases of water) in there. Now, there is no problem driving the kids' friends too and the middle seats fold into the floor, and the back seats fold down if we need the room, etc. It was the best car purchase I ever made.

 

[Minniemouse07]

We are planning on purchasing a Sienna within the next year or so. We thought about SUVs and crossover vehicles.... but to be honest if I'm going larger than a sedan, I want the room of the minivan. The SUVs may give me more seating than my sedan, but no more cargo room...and the crossovers not much more.

Cargo room is important to us so we are opting for a minivan.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

even though I drive a Durango and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, I voted for a minivan, cause if I were buying again, I would go for fuel economy.

 

[ljhmom]

We bought a Saturn Outlook yesterday and I absolutely love it!

 

[karajeboo]

I have a Buick Rendezvous and LOVE IT - but DH is in the car business and swears by the minivans. Yes, the dad wants the minivan and the mom wants the SUV! The Rendezvous works for both of us! I want to get 2 more years out of it and get another one! I get the same gas mileage as a minivan (around 20 in the city and 23 hwy). Although I did rent a new Town and Country and would definitely buy one of those (with stow n go and the center table and 2 DVD players!).

 

[SplashMountainMama]

We bought a Saturn Outlook yesterday and I absolutely love it!

Those are nice. We almost bought one, but then got a really good deal on a 1 yr old Durango that we couldn't pass up. We needed a car that could seat 8 relatively comfortably. The GMC Acadia is also the same car as the Saturn Outlook, but with a few more standard features which bring up the MSRP over the Outlook. The Buick Enclave is also the same car, but even fancier standard than the Acadia (read...even more $$)

 

[mom2aredhead]

Which would you choose? We have young kids and currently have an Explorer. I was thinking about buying a Minivan but now my DH wants me to look at a Crossover (specifically the Ford Taurus X.)

TIA!

I had the Freestyle (now called the Taurus X) and loved it. I made the mistake of trading it in for an Explorer and wish I hadn't. Believe it or not, there was actually more room in the freestyle - when the back seats were up there was still storage space behind them - enough to fit a big Graco stroller, where the space behind the 3rd seat of the Explorer is almost useless. There were also a lot of little storage cubbies in the freestyle - good for storing a change of clothes, first aid kit, toys, etc. and the Explorer just doesn't have those. The car seats were WAY easier to install in it too. It was designed much more for families than the Explorer. It's also cheaper, which means you can get it pretty well loaded for the price of a not so loaded Explorer.

I worked for Ford until a few months ago so I drove only Ford products for years. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions about any of them. Also, if you decide to get a Ford product, I'm still eligible for my employee discount, so I'd be happy to work with you to save you some $$.

 

[RyJMom]

I think if you can stand the looks of the minivan that is the way to go. They get better gas mileage and have tons more room than the crossover you mentioned. We just got rid of our Sienna and bought a Saturn Outlook. I was just over the minivan look. I have to admit there are a lot of things I miss about that van. The sliding doors with kids are great. Good luck on your search.

 

[MindyLuvsMickey]

We bought a Honda Odyssey last year and I LOVE it! Never would have guessed i would ever drive a minivan. it's just so practical with kids. Not to mention all of the room.

Perhaps someday, when my son is older, i will graduate to an SUV. For now . . . it's a minivan for me.

 

[tlbwriter]

How many kids do you have? I think with more than 2, a minivan is the way to go.

 

[KevGuy]

We have two kids and a Grand Caravan is one of our cars. I can't tell you how many times it has served as a bus for kids associated stuff like girl or cub scouts and taking the extended family out for dinners etc. Also it doubles as a cargo van lol. My vote is the mini van as they are not really that mini at all imo.

 

[nateryan]

I have 2 boys (5 and 1), I have had an Explorer since my oldest was born. I never thought I would even want a minivan but I do. Since I live in NH, 4WD is wonderful but the minivans and crossovers do not have it. So, I think AWD is the next best thing (am I right?)
Anyway, the only minivan that I know that has AWD is the Honda Odyssey. DH has only bought Ford but will buy the Honda Odyssey if we go minivan. I like to have the doors slide open so I don't have to worry about my kids hitting other cars when they open. Also, my oldest son loves to sit in the way back.

The only thing that I cart around on a daily basis is a Evenflo full size stroller. I also want to have enough seating if extended family want to come with us somewhere. Oh, I also want the DVD system.

I'm going to look at the other cars mentioned.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Anyway, the only minivan that I know that has AWD is the Honda Odyssey. DH has only bought Ford but will buy the Honda Odyssey if we go minivan.

The Sienna has the option of AWD as well.

 

[WantToGoNow]

We have a Ford Freestyle and I love it. It's a 6 passenger - so 2 in each row. My kids were always arguing who got to sit in the back -- now they're both back there. There's plenty of storage room in the back and I like the way the seats fold down if you need to carry something large -- we can fold all 4 seats (back 2 rows) flat. The downside -- doesn't get very good gas mileage. I used to have a Dodge Grand Caravan and I have to say out of the two, I like the Freestyle the best -- and it looks more like and SUV unstead of a minivan.

 

[nateryan]

The Sienna has the option of AWD as well.

TOYOTA! DH won't go for that. Don't even get him started on Toyotas in NASCAR.
I don't get it, I just want a good vehicle.

 

[nascar-j]

I voted other. We had 2 Explorers. My wife loved both of them. When her last one was totaled by a semi that forgot to hit the brakes, my DW was looking at other SUV's. I talked her into getting a 4 door sedan (BMW 330xi) and she loves it. The 330 xi (335xi now) has all wheel drive, a great motor, fold down rear seats, if you get the winter package, that will swallow up almost anything that would fit in the Explorer. It literally drives like a sports car (I race real sports cars) and still gets fuel mileage that would embarass most SUV's and minivans.

j

 

[brightvalleyjrts]

I have a Nissan Quest and I LOVE it!!! I never thought I would drive a minivan, but with my boys and showing my dogs, I needed something with space and that got decent gas mileage. My quest has both!!!