Would you drive a minivan?

Bartman39

Elite Member | For Sale/Trade
Jul 4, 2000
8,867
51
91
Sure... Just to see how far it would go mudd`in...:biggrin:
 

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,033
126
106
A Ferrari one? No. Imagine the the maintenance expenses.

I drive a dodge one though. Best beater ever.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,339
12,924
136
minivans are hard to beat as family vehicles. they're not cool, but they WTF-pwn every other vehicle in practicality.
 

SSSnail

Lifer
Nov 29, 2006
17,458
83
86

Awesome_face_bigger_1886.png
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
minivans are hard to beat as family vehicles. they're not cool, but they WTF-pwn every other vehicle in practicality.

Yeap. Easily a huge majority of SUV drivers with families would be better off with a minivan (almost invariably cheaper to operate, lower center of gravity, more room, higher safety ratings, higher fuel economy), but they have the same stigma that station wagons had : it screams "ZOMG 30+ year old responsible parents!" and that is just not what most people are willing to do.
 

Cheesetogo

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2005
3,824
10
81
My friend's Odyssey is at 196,000 miles and still going strong. Hasn't had any major issues either. The car has surprisingly good acceleration too (more than you'd expect for a minivan anyways!)
 

Cerpin Taxt

Lifer
Feb 23, 2005
11,940
542
126
I do drive a minivan.

I didn't buy it tho, and I probably wouldn't buy one if it was my own money. Mine is a fleet vehicle supplied to me by my employer, but it is the only vehicle I drive. I do not currently own another automobile.

I'm due to get my new vehicle in the spring, and I don't know for sure what the available choices will be. In the spring of 2010 it was the Ford Escape, Dodge Journey, Jeep Patriot or Dodge Grand Caravan. Of those, I wanted the Escape, but this fall when my number came up, the only options were the Journey and the Grand Caravan. I passed then, and I'm hoping for a better selection in the spring.

If I'm faced with only the Journey or the Grand Caravan, I might actually take the Caravan again. I don't mind the Caravan I currently drive. It has the larger 3.6L engine so it moves pretty well for its size. It's a road warrior, really. I'm currently at 99K on a 2008.
 

SearchMaster

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2002
7,791
114
106
I own one, drive it regularly, and don't get what the big negative stereotyping is (other than there are soooooo many of them). Having one as a DD wouldn't fit my needs but if I became "Mr. Mom" I'd happily trade vehicles with my wife.
 

Monster_Munch

Senior member
Oct 19, 2010
873
1
0
I don't have kids so no, in fact I don't really need anything bigger than a 2 seater. Currently I have a 2009 Ford Fiesta (UK model).

If I did have lots of kids I would probably get something like a Volvo XC90 diesel, which is a sort of 7 seater crossover SUV.
 

PottedMeat

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
12,363
475
126
drive regularly - no, don't need one. but i do borrow one for when i have to move 4'x8' sheets of plywood or 10' lengths of conduit.
 

Mursilis

Diamond Member
Mar 11, 2001
7,756
11
81
Yeap. Easily a huge majority of SUV drivers with families would be better off with a minivan (almost invariably cheaper to operate, lower center of gravity, more room, higher safety ratings, higher fuel economy), but they have the same stigma that station wagons had : it screams "ZOMG 30+ year old responsible parents!" and that is just not what most people are willing to do.

QFT. Our Odyssey is simply a great family vehicle, and fits that role perfectly. That "stigma" crap is for wussies. It's simply a great tool for its assigned job.
 

RKS

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,824
3
81
Nope, we have 2 kids and a large Lab but neither my wife nor I wanted to spend our money on a mini-van. We were in the showroom negotiating on a Sienna but I simply couldn't justify spending $40K on a vehicle that I wasn't amped about driving.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
Nope, we have 2 kids and a large Lab but neither my wife nor I wanted to spend our money on a mini-van. We were in the showroom negotiating on a Sienna but I simply couldn't justify spending $40K on a vehicle that I wasn't amped about driving.
???
You know they start at like 25k or something right? You don't need to buy the one that has spinning rims and gold teeth..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPNJjL9iznY

Yes I would drive a short bus around. I would even paint it yellow.
 

Bignate603

Lifer
Sep 5, 2000
13,897
1
0
True that, but how much can it tow?

Significantly more than the average SUV driver tows. It's quite easy to tow more than 0 lb. ;)

Most SUV drivers never tow anything and never leave the pavement. Typically they buy it for style.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
I used to have a Mazda5, so I guess that counts. I wouldn't mind having a swaggerwagon in the garage. Gimme one of those Sienna SE's in black or that dark grey color.

:)

I just hate getting kids and all their crap out in tight spaces with traditional doors.
 

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
5,228
136
Significantly more than the average SUV driver tows. It's quite easy to tow more than 0 lb. ;)

Most SUV drivers never tow anything and never leave the pavement. Typically they buy it for style.


Sorry, but that first comment is just a laugh.

Before we bought our SUV, we looked at minivans. 1000 pound towing limit almost universal on them, not to mention almost all minivans are wrong-wheel-drive....FWD is not the choice in drivetrain for towing.


This weighs significantly more:

quantum2.jpg




And this is a small boat that tops out around only 1800# or so when being towed to the lake. No minivan would safely handle this load, and it's a relatively small one.

Minivans have their place, but so do SUV's.