Suburban or Town & Country? gas??

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

So while I think I already know the answer to this question (Suburban)...I'm still gonna ask for your input! I've been DREAMING of a Suburban (my dream car) for about 5 years now. Well, the time has come to say bye-bye to my mini van...but now with gas prices and the fact that they're only going up...we just wonder if we should re-think and maybe look at a T&C? Will we get much better gas mileage?

 

[melissac]

We had a Venture Mini-Van until we had to get rid(200,000 miles) of it then we bought a Lincoln Navigator and had it for only 3 years and I hated it and wanted my mini-van back. I always thought I would love a nice SUV and that it would be nicer than a mini-van WRONG. We just bought a new Town and Country and I love it. We have a lot of bells and whisles but even if we didn't I was glad to go back to a mini-van. We get about 20MPG. Go with the mini-van you will not regret it. My suggestion depending on the dealer see if you can test drive each for a day or even though may cost a little rent each for a day or 2 and see which one you like better. Let me tell you testing drive for a couple of miles proves nothing for a couple of days puts the seal sometimes on things. That is how we decided which mini-van we wanted the last 3 times at Disney we rented mini-vans and liked the town and county the best.

 

[disneywatcher]

We went from a Honda Odyssey to a T&C. The only downside is there was more room in the prior min van. Otherwise, we love the leather seats, 2 monitors for the kids to watch dvd's on and the gas milage is about the same (sometimes I can do close to 25mpg highway which means driving from where I live to my Mom's house in VA is one tank of gas. I have to fill up when I get there but I still get there on one tank.)

 

[juliebean]

We have a 2002 T&C, so I would hope the mileage is improved, just for the environments sake, but ours gets about 20 MPG around town and 22-23 MPG on longer trips. We've had it six years, it has almost 90K and it's been failrly trouble free (fingers crossed). I'm hoping to get another 4 or 5 years out of it, until we have only 2 kids to cart around!

 

[twinboysmom]

Ok OP. You said it yourself at you already know the answer. We have a 2008 suburban. It sucks gas. They will tell you how it drops into 4 cylinder mode while you are cruising and how efficient it is and I will tell you it is a bunch of you know what. I am not a mini van fan but I will say that they are much more small children friendly. The 3rd row of the suburban is not very comfortable and while it claims to sit 3 it is much more realistic to 2. I don't remember how old your children are but if they are car seat age getting to the 3rd row to help is difficult. If we decide to have another child we will get a mini van. If you have any more questions that I might help with just ask.

 

[FormerFF]

We have an Odyssey. The previous vehicle was a smallish crossover. The van is way nicer for a family than any SUV. It's easier to maneuver, park, and drive. It has a ton of room and is easy to load. On trips it gets 24 mpg, but more like 18 in town. A Suburban will use 50% more gas, for not that much more interior space. Unless you need to tow a big trailer and carry a crew, get a van.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

I drove the Tahoe for a little while I think it might be a bit better on gas than the Suburban. With gas prices looking like they will be $6 by Memorial day though...T&C might be a more economical buy.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

really? I'm surprised no taker for the Suburban?? Although I can't be too surprised as mini-vans are soooo popular...especially the T&C...at least over here where I live. Seriously...anytime at any parking lot there are multiples...not very original...not that it really matters. As far as room and for our large family, I thought the Suburban would be just as good as our mini van (right now I have a Montana and really like it)...it's the same configuration inside...seems very roomy. As far as gas...we do drive up north a lot on weekend in the summer...but besides that...we're townies...and pretty much stay in our bubble so we didn't think the gas would hurt too much. Hmmm....I will start to consider though and test drive the T&C....as vein as it may sound...I just love the look of the Suburban....sorry...it's so much cooler than the T&C!!

 

[mjohnson96]

Another vote for the T&C I bought a SUV last year with the 3rd row seats and wish I would have gone with the Mini-Van now. I am already looking at the T&C models with the leather, nav system, entertainment systems, etc. The gas mileage on those will be much much better than a suburban. Heck with my mid size SUV I only get avg 19mpg and when I had the Jeep Grand Cherokee I got maybe 17mpg, can only imagine how bad the Suburban will be.

 

[nelle]

I'll be the evil one and vote Suburban or Yukon XL. I had a 2003 Yukon XL up until last summer and loved it. I still miss it every time I have to drive my full size van. You can't beat the room both where the passengers sit and behind the third row seat. While it did get bad gas mileage about 14-16 it had a huge gas tank (32gals) and could go forever on a tank of gas(that makes it better right). Before we bought our yukon we test drove a toyota minivan and hands down the space was amazing in the yukon. If you do get one get one with the captains chairs in the second row makes it easier to get to the third row.
We had 4 kids at the time we owned our yukon and it was a great car.
Go test drive both and see which one you like. Don't pick the van because of the better mileage if you hate it or you will be unhappy.

 

[twinboysmom]

Since everyone is bashing the suburbans gas mileage, including me, let me post some realistic numbers as what some people have posted is inaccurate. It gets the same mileage as most midsize suv's, including the 2005 Toyota forerunner I had before it. I have a 4 wheel drive model but its only a mile different or so than my friends and sometimes the same. I average around 17-18 highway and 14 city. I am an average driver, not conservative, speed a little and sometimes brake a little fast. Btw, we considered a tahoe when we bought the suburban and it gets the same mileage as a suburban. OP, I do love it but think a minivan is much more practical.

 

[Wadecool]

I'm a big guy so I have always driven big vehicles and because of that I'm partial to the Suburban. That being said, INMO unless you are planning on towing a boat, RV, or some other substantial trailer, the minivan is the more practical choice for the OP's needs.

 

[bcinohio]

I have a leased 2010 T&C. Like it at first ( it is the second one that we have leased) but just had to put new roters and pads on it and it isn't 1 1/2 yrs old yet and only has 15,000 miles on it. I called Chrysler and complained and they are going to reimburse me $500 of the $700 that I had to pay. Don't think we will be getting another one.

 

[amjg]

Fisrt let me say we own a car dealership so I have driven many a vehicle. We have 4 kids all in booster seats. We drove a van at first, but switched to a suburban (it was also my dream vehicle). I have never looked back. I love the look of the new body style and the new interior. We have been on many vacations and had plenty of room to put everything in the back. There is so much more room behind the 3rd row in a suburban than any other vehicle. We get one with the buckets in second row. Makes it much easier to access the 3rd row. I have probably driven 20 suburbans and have loved everyone. We have now switched to the escalade and love it just as much. I would never go back to a van! We feel so much safer in the suburban.
We average about 15 miles a gallon. I definitely would not go with the tahoe if you are going to use the 3rd row for seating. Not enough room for anything behind 3rd row seat.

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

We just did this switch. Had a 2007 Honda Odyssey. It got 19 MPG. I loved it to drive it (DVD player, great for the kids, power sliding doors) but my husband HATED it. He is 6'2" and was very uncomfortable in it. His knees were up in the dash. Plus he's a mechanic and he hated working on it as it sat so low to the ground and everything in the engine compartment is so tight. I never rode in the van - always drove. While pregnant with my 3rd son, I rode in it a few times. I couldn't believe how bad it rode! You felt a lot of the road and it had a lot of road noise. Also, I always worried about it in an accident due to the way the nose was. I was in an accident in it a couple of years ago. Because of the slope of the hood, the Jeep that I hit was sitting up on the hood of the van. A little more force and it would have been in the windshield.

Anyway, we traded it for a 2010 Suburban (also my dream car). LOVE IT!! I'm a truck person anyway, but we love the way it drives, the way it rides, the comfort of the seats and I feel so much safer in it. We have 3 kids in car seats (7 (in a booster), 4, and 4 months). We have done both configurations - all 3 in the middle row and 2 in the middle, one in the back. No problem either way. We stuck with all 3 in the middle row because my 7 year old (who was in the back) wants to sit next to his baby brother.

As far as gas mileage - I was getting 19 in the van. The Suburban gets 16.2. Yes, it's an impact because prices are so high, but it's really not that much of a difference.

The only downside of the Suburban that I see is the seatbelt configurations. For car seats, the LATCH system is only two seats. And one of those seats is the middle row seat that is separate so you can fold it up for rear seat entry - so you can't put a car seat there if you want to use the third row. Also, the seatbelts in the back row do not lock if you pull them all the way out. They do lock based on force - so if you hit the brakes or are in an accident they will lock, but that doesn't help me with the car seats.

Good luck with your choice! If you have any questions about the Suburban, I would be happy to answer them.

 

[momH2the4th]

I'd go with the Suburban. As a mom of 4 and Suburban driver for almost 11 years, I think it's a better choice. I will say that I'm not a mini-van mom nor will I EVER drive a mini-van. I think a Suburban is completely practical with the ages of your kids and there is a lot more storage in the back of it than a mini van. I bought mine when I had just 2 kids ages 3 & 1 trading in my 4-runner. I can honestly say that the Suburban gets better gas mileage than that did. I do a lot of in town driving and fill up every 10-14 days. Mine has about 111,000 miles on it and we are looking at buying a new one in the next year. We have had to do minimal repairs on it. It has been a great car for our family. My kids have NEVER complained about the 3rd row seats being uncomfortable. I've even sat back there a few times. I think you would be completely satisfied with a Suburban. Good luck with your choice!

 

[dismichelle]

I have driven in both. I've owned a Suburban for almost 5 years, minimal repairs and plenty of room.

On our disney trip last year, we rented a minivan (Town & Country). I have always thought that a minivan would be a better fit for our family, so I've kind of felt bad about driving a huge Suburban around all of this time. My kids had even told me that they wanted me to get a minivan.

We all hated the T&C. Not enough leg room or cargo space and just uncomfortable to nap/rest in.

So, I'm still driving a Suburban and will drive it, a Yukon XL, Escalade or Sequoia until most of the children are out of the house.

BTW, we have the full middle seat (seats 8) and next time we will get the captain's seats in the middle. The third row is probably not meant for most adults, but I've sat back there for a small road trip with my infant, and managed well. Also, my kids are now ages 2-13, two of those are in carseats. We have both carseats in the middle for now, but my 4 y/o sometimes wants to sit on the 3rd row and when she is able to move into a booster and buckle herself in, she will fit back there fine.

 

[Minniemouse07]

We have an 8 passenger Sienna and I couldn't imagine driving anything else when it comes to a non-sedan car (our other car is a Jetta ).

Although we only have 2 children, we often visit with friends that brings us up to 7 people in the vehicle.

Both of my kids are seated in the 2nd row but the middle seat easily fits an adult between their two (large ) car seats!

I've sat in the third row and while it isn't as roomy as the front passenger seat...it isn't horrible and perfectly fine for most trips.

Gas mileage for the Sienna is about 20/24 (local/highway) which I think is just fine for such a large vehicle.

As far as storage...it rocks! We are able to haul around all kinds of things, even w/ the 3rd row up. The tipping point for us to get the larger vehicle was when we had to strap luggage to the top of the Jetta to get to the airport for our first trip to WDW w/ all four of us (when it was just dd we could have me sit in the back seat and wedge a suitcase up front..can't do that w/ two kids).

 

[~Kristina~]

My Suburban gas bill is 120-150.00 to fill up, but I love it! Plenty of room, nice, and it really is a great ride.

 

[Angie_T]

If you don't ever have to tow anything, I would go with the Minivan. I LOVE Suburbans. But there is something to be said for never having to touch a door handle, especially when your hands are full and you would otherwise have to put everything down just to open the door. I would love to have a Suburban but with high gas prices and the lack of ease of getting all my kids put in their carseats, I'm good with my Minivan for now...