porcupine73
New member
@preston354 Your cons list cracked me up. 
Thank you for these good points.
Thank you for these good points.
Best things about minivans?
- Thread starter porcupine73
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heinzchilim
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@porcupine73 I never saw myself as a minivan mom and now I canāt imagine anything else. We have 4 under 5.
We have a 2020 odyssey! We love it. The doors open by remote, the seats slide, all the space- we fit 3 car seats in the 3rd row and an infant in the middle- trunk fits a small cooler and a wagon.
We have a 2020 odyssey! We love it. The doors open by remote, the seats slide, all the space- we fit 3 car seats in the 3rd row and an infant in the middle- trunk fits a small cooler and a wagon.
porcupine73
New member
@heinzchilim That sounds like a ton of storage space. So useful!
heinzchilim
New member
@porcupine73 And the fact that the minivan sits lower. All of my older kiddos climb in and out by themselves. And right after birth, its nice to not have to haul the infant carrier up to high like you would need to for the suv height.
notalone32
New member
@porcupine73 Chrysler Pacifica owner here and I absolutely love the stow and go seats. Easy to change up car seat placements when needed and store the seats as needed without having to take them out and find a place to store in our home.
Much more comfortable for traveling longer distances with kids and I feel pretty safe on the road because I think people know kids are typically in mini vans.
I am not a mini van person either, but the ease with the doors and the extra space as well as seats is clutch.
Much more comfortable for traveling longer distances with kids and I feel pretty safe on the road because I think people know kids are typically in mini vans.
I am not a mini van person either, but the ease with the doors and the extra space as well as seats is clutch.
porcupine73
New member
@notalone32 Those seats sound like a handy feature. Thank you!
@porcupine73 The fact that the seats in the Chrysler Pacifica fold down into the floor is HUGE. We have two kids but there is still so much space if you just fold down one of the middle seats -- I can even put my 2-year-old's mattress (!) on the floor for trips, she can sleep while we're on the ferry or if we stop at a rest stop for a nap. But we still have the seat if we need it, just pop it out of the floor.
porcupine73
New member
@porcupine73 Btw, you're cool for responding to all the people who comment on your post.
porcupine73
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jared_1991
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@porcupine73 Just get one. Especially with 4! Youāll be hauling friends around at some point, too.
Minivans fit so much stuff! You canāt compare unless youāre considering those massive too-big-to-fit-in-the-garage SUVs. The stroller fits in the back of the minivan with room to spare. An uncollapsed wagon fits in the back of the minivan, with room to spare. The kid bikes fit in the back of the minivan, with room to spare. Fold down one side of the backseat and you can fit more bikes, more equipment, anything you need for adventures. Even with all that space we tend to use the rooftop carrier for camping trips, but we bring the massive canopy and all the air mattresses and way too much stuff.
We got the Pacifica hybrid. With federal and state tax rebates, we got $10,000 back. We love that we can drive 33 miles on all electric power. We can go months without using gas (although that tells us we havenāt been on enough far away adventures recently. But, you know, kids.)
Just get a minivan.
Minivans fit so much stuff! You canāt compare unless youāre considering those massive too-big-to-fit-in-the-garage SUVs. The stroller fits in the back of the minivan with room to spare. An uncollapsed wagon fits in the back of the minivan, with room to spare. The kid bikes fit in the back of the minivan, with room to spare. Fold down one side of the backseat and you can fit more bikes, more equipment, anything you need for adventures. Even with all that space we tend to use the rooftop carrier for camping trips, but we bring the massive canopy and all the air mattresses and way too much stuff.
We got the Pacifica hybrid. With federal and state tax rebates, we got $10,000 back. We love that we can drive 33 miles on all electric power. We can go months without using gas (although that tells us we havenāt been on enough far away adventures recently. But, you know, kids.)
Just get a minivan.
porcupine73
New member
@jared_1991 So many good points! Thanks. Feeling more excited now!
@porcupine73 Trying to get babies in car seats without the aid of a sliding door is so frustrating. Plus older kids open the doors carelessly and hit other cars/poles all the time. Also you would not believe how many cars have dumb designs that make car seats so difficult to install (even some minivansā¦.looking at you Chrysler and Dodge). I just had my second and our car is overflowing with stuff. Iām desperate for a minivan. Some things to look for are lower latch, tether, and removable headrest in every seat, as well as ac vents on the ceiling. The Toyota Sienna and Kia Carnival currently are the only ones that hit all those points.
porcupine73
New member
@porcupine73 Some headrests can interfere with the install of a forward facing car seat. Different car seats have different rules and might not work properly if theyāre pushed in a specific way by a headrest. Yet itās important that all seats in a vehicle have a headrest for non-car seat occupants as severe whiplash can occur without one. Car seats for the littles on Facebook is an amazing free resource staffed by CPSTs if youāre looking for more info.
porcupine73
New member
@porcupine73 I love my Honda Odyssey SO MUCH. We got a slightly upgraded model, which comes with three seats in the middle row, but we can remove the middle seat and slide each side seat independently to the left and right. The middle row seats are also VERY easy to get out and it makes the moving capacity similar to a truck with the back row folded down. The odyssey also had a lot of convenience type features I really liked, better display/gps function from my phone, more outlets, side mirrors tilt down in reverse to help see curbs, etc.
I donāt know about new Siennas, but when we test drove both the Sienna and the Odyssey in 2020 my husband and I both massively preferred the Odyssey. It drives like a much smaller car as opposed to feeling like Iām driving a large van.
Sedans and trucks wonāt let you move a family of 6 in any case. SUVs will move your family, but the sliding doors are a big deal for me, especially because I know just from my kids opening the front doors on occasion that itās not something Iād want them doing in a parking lot. SUVs seem to starting to be more āfamilyā vehicles with all the USB ports and cup holders minivans have historically had.
I donāt know about new Siennas, but when we test drove both the Sienna and the Odyssey in 2020 my husband and I both massively preferred the Odyssey. It drives like a much smaller car as opposed to feeling like Iām driving a large van.
Sedans and trucks wonāt let you move a family of 6 in any case. SUVs will move your family, but the sliding doors are a big deal for me, especially because I know just from my kids opening the front doors on occasion that itās not something Iād want them doing in a parking lot. SUVs seem to starting to be more āfamilyā vehicles with all the USB ports and cup holders minivans have historically had.
porcupine73
New member
theophilus84
New member
@porcupine73 i have what sounds like the same odyssey model as the above commenter and it is THE BOMB. convenience city and soooo flexible and well designed. the best car iāve ever had by far. you wonāt regret it!
eta: i have 3 kids all in car seats.
eta: i have 3 kids all in car seats.
porcupine73
New member
@theophilus84 Good to know! 