Is it time for a minivan?

Okay fellow hoarders I need some recommendations. My boy is about to turn 1. The other week my wife and I upgraded his car seat to one that can grow with him from rear facing to forward facing etc etc. The problem is car seats are huge these days. Now we are starting to think about having another child. This obviously means more car seats are in out future. We currently have a chevy cruze and my Suzuki sidekick. Neither one is made to fit 2 normal sized adults plus a car seat (i am 5' 11" she is 5' 10"). We are looking to get her something bigger with 4wd that can easily fit a car seat with enough room for us to fit as well. I will run the cruze for a while until I decide I cant get by anymore without a truck.

So........what do you all recommend??

 

Silverado with a 4 door cab...............................

 

We have 2 kids 4 and 2. Before the kids were born I bought crew cab f150 drove it for about a month and my son was born. Wife drove a carolla at the time. We switched vehicles as I felt it was safer for her and son. She loved it. She was apprehensive at first but liked being higher up. And I had the truck to use when I needed it. We used that truck as a family rig till the carolla got tired and we replaced it with an explorer for her.

I work for a ford dealership so I’m somewhat bias.

 

Sounds like we'll have to take the car seat truck shopping. I guess I'm gonna need a truck sooner or later anyway. Might as well be sooner

 

When we had our first, I knew my wifes Accord was not gonna work anymore...and she wanted a Honda Odyssey van, I wanted a small SUV type vehicle for her...but she found a great deal on an Odyssey, so we bought it...glad we did, it has worked out very well...but now I hate the occasions where I need to haul the kids around in my Mercury Sable...so much easier when their car seats are at normal standing height, and you have a large door opening to work in!
The van has a ton of room for vacations with young kids too...and my wife does not pack light, so the room gets utilized...heck, I often take the van on my Menards runs too...plenty of room. Even hauled our Kuuma wood furnace home from Wisconsin in it...but that one took some planning and creativity...pulled it off though, and not a mark on the furnace, or more importantly, the van!

 

Absolutely! We bought my wifes Kia Sorento with the anticipation of adding a child, and knowing that her Forester didnt have the greatest back seat legroom. Two years later we had the baby, and the car seat facing backwards forced you to have the passenger seat WAY too far forward.

She was talking minivan, but I just couldnt do it. She was quite happy with the SUV choice in the end. Probably will replace it with a slightly larger SUV next year. Traverse or Explorer sized.

 

After our third was born we ended up switching from a dodge caravan to a chevy Suburban. It offered a lot more room for long trips, including those with our black lab. It was much more suitable to our winters, plus it is a large truck which I could use to pull my boat and snowmobile/atv trailers.

 

I went with the Honda Odyssey when my daughter was 5. I was a single dad but knew I needed it. She has graduated and I’m still driving it. Love it. However, if you want 4 wheel drive the Toyota Sienna is the only option in minivans. They make a great product. I love the Suburban but it is BIG. There are many suv choices out there that can handle 2+ kids.

 

The 4 wheel drive Sienna is a great vehicle. My brother and his family own one that has been very reliable and good in the snow for sure.

 

Another Honda Odyssey fan here. Two kids and 4 of their friends; kids and a set of grandparents; 8’ drip edge; etc.

 

You probably do need to get a minivan! Get a Toyota Four 4Runner!

 

you win the internets today for that comment! Well done sir

 

Am I the only one who enjoyed having kids and not having to use car seats? Our first boy rode in his mothers lap on the trip from NJ to Wisconsin when I got out of the army. We had an Opal station wagon when the two boys were small and they had plenty of room to play in the back seat area when we went on vacation. Times do change.

 

You probably drove responsibly as well. That's just not done in this entitled world any more.

 

I am another parent who didn't have car seats. They did have baby carriers that you could use a seat belt with. Came in handy when you had to hit the breaks when an idiot pulled out on front of you.

 

SUV are just minivans on steroids.. Sister 5'10; husband is 6'5" has 15 year old Honda Odyssey, they got new. Will go anywhere on winter tires. Of course trucks are more: fun, money and gas..

 

When we had trouble fitting the huge seat and out stuff we took on trips we went with a used Toyota Sequoia

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

 

I rent minivans for work periodically and they are useful and very comfortable to drive, however back at the turn of the millennium when my wife and I were living in the city and in a similar situation with two young kids and my wife running a home daycare we started looking at minivans in addition to our car. At that time a minivan was about $10K more than a similar optioned sedan. Hard to justify that price for just empty space (that you only use periodically) IMHO.

After looking around for awhile we ended up with a new '02 Suzuki XL7. This small SUV came standard with a V6, 4x4, A/C, power everything, able to tow a decent trailer and although more expensive than a car, it was several $K cheaper than a minivan. This unit had 3 rows of seating for 7 people (albeit small people in the 3rd row). My wife and a friend would take 5 kids to the water park or zoo quite regularly and still had room for strollers and backpacks. The next day I could hook up a trailer and head into a bush road hauling an ATV or grabbing a load of firewood. Best of both worlds and value for our money.

Nine years later in 2011 when our kids were older and my wife stopped her daycare, we went to a pickup for me and a sedan for her. I Sold the XL7 with about 140K miles to my brother and his wife as a spare vehicle. That little SUV is still on the road with almost 200K miles today.

 

Few "need" a minivan... We own one, it's a pig, but drives great and we can pack it for long trips or a bunch of people.

Once car seats are forward facing you can fit them anywhere. I drive a Mazda 3 as my commuter, kids fit in the back no problem.