Minivans

[Guest TheProudDuck]

So the Tacoma quad-cab is getting kinda cramped, what with the 16-year-old boy (to the extent he'll be seen with us), the unbearably sweet petite 3-year-old girl and the 1-year-old pirate/linebacker hybrid. (Aforementioned 16-year-old especially objects to sharing backseat with said 3-year-old, whose carsickness and associated untidiness have not entirely gone away.) In short, I'm about to break down and join the gelded ranks of minivan-driving men.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I've been looking at the Honda Odyssey, but I really kind of like having my arm and leg attached to me rather than in the hands of the zaibatsu. Dang, that's an expensive car. Might as well go ahead, get the Jaguar X-type I've been lusting after, and put the kids in the trunk. Of course, I couldn't afford that either, so who am I kidding?

I've looked at the Toyota Sienna, which also looks pretty cool. The Saturn Relay got some bad reviews. Anyway, minivan owners -- tell me what you've got and why I should get one.

[Blessed]

My husband bought me a Toyota Sienna and I love it. It is a great and comfortable ride(drove it to Alaska), very economical, has the bells and whistles I wanted, and we have not had one problem with it.

That is my recommendation. B)

[StrawberryFields]

Many folks here in UT have gone with the SUV's and steered away from the vans. We did have an Astro Van mans vehicles ago and liked it.

I love the Toyota line of vehicles we drive a Sequoia and it does everything that a van would do but it's much "cooler". B)

[Guest curvette]

I drive a Burb, but with gas prices going sky high--a minivan would be the smarter choice. Don't know much about them though...

[Snow]

Mrs. Snow drives a Caravan, our second. Good ones both, this new one is particularly nice.

[john doe]

My wife drives a Nissan Quest, I drive a Mercury Villager I picked up for a song. I can't pry my wife's hands off the Quest long enough to service it, she loves it so much, even though she knows my Villager is essentially the same van (as well as being much cleaner inside since I don't carry the kids around as much as she does). The older Quest ('93-'02) is a good van, and relatively cheap comparable to others in its class. Don't buy the new Quest, though, it's a pile of ________(fill in the blank). Despite Snow's experiences, the techs I have talked to are surprised when a Chrysler-made van goes much over 100,000 miles without major repairs. Their transmissions are junk to start with. The Toyota and Honda are good, but the Honda will cost a premium. Honda also has had problems with the electric doors, and I hear there is no bypass when the motors fail, so you have to pay to repair them if you ever want to open them again. The Astrovan is okay, but they have always had problems with front end steering parts wearing out prematurely.

[Winnie G]

Stay away from a FORD van. Top Heavy flips on ice black or regular.

We learned the hard way.

Gas Sucker……………………….

The cost of a tune up is out of this world, they have to drop the engine to get at the plugs.

We learned the hard way.

[Guest TheProudDuck]

Yeah, I'm skeptical about American minivans after my family's experience with a 1989 Plymouth Voyager (same car as the Dodge Caravan). It was underpowered, swayed badly on corners, and needed transmission work about as often as I need Swedish Fish fixes, which is a lot.

Thanks for the suggestions. I was also looking at the Sequoia or a Ford Excursion, but I'm thinking with gas above $2.25 a gallon hereabouts, I think I want something that gets miles per gallon, not gallons per mile.

[Guest curvette]

Originally posted by TheProudDuck@Mar 11 2005, 11:37 AM

I was also looking at the Sequoia or a Ford Excursion, but I'm thinking with gas above $2.25 a gallon hereabouts, I think I want something that gets miles per gallon, not gallons per mile.

And it's only gonna get worse....

[Cal]

PD--stick with the Honda or Toyota--I agree the american cars are crap. I would love to be patriotic about american cars but I can't find any good reason to buy garbage just to make a political statement. Besides, the american companies have been in the cabbose with regard to innovating fuel efficiency, they deserve the financial spanking they have received at the hands of the car buying public.

SUV's--what a fraud foised on the car-buying public!!! It just goes to show you can get people to buy anything if you can make it look cool enough in a TV commercial.

Amazing how detroit figured out that you could put nice seats in a pick up truck, and sell it for twice the price--a triumph of financial planning for the industry. Americans bought it hook line and sinker. I though truck were for TRUCKING and OFF road terrain. I'ld like to see the survey of the percentage of SUV owners that have even ONCE taken the vehicle ANYWHERE but the city streets. What a waste of resources. Not only are they gas hogs, but they are safety hazards--roll overs, damage other cars more in accidents--and cost more in insurance.

PD--if I respected your mind before, I am even more impressed that you have not fallen for the "Honey, I have to have an SUV" Minivans are one of the best buys in an automobile--lots of room, more than most SUV's--closer to the ground so they don't roll over, less insurance costs, and much more fuel efficient.

Personally, I prefer the Lexus LS 400---best car ever made, bar none. I've had mine for 6 years and had virtually no major repairs, rides great, low insurance, good gas milage, lots of room, --it has as more room than my wifes RX 300 (which I couldn't talk her out of--I tried to persuade her to get a Honda Odyssey--she wouldn't have any of it--women for you--so she gets to make the payments)

[Guest TheProudDuck]

Originally posted by Cal@Mar 12 2005, 03:02 PM

PD--stick with the Honda or Toyota--I agree the american cars are crap. I would love to be patriotic about american cars but I can't find any good reason to buy garbage just to make a political statement. Besides, the american companies have been in the cabbose with regard to innovating fuel efficiency, they deserve the financial spanking they have received at the hands of the car buying public.

SUV's--what a fraud foised on the car-buying public!!!  It just goes to show you can get people to buy anything if you can make it look cool enough in a TV commercial.

Amazing how detroit figured out that you could put nice seats in a pick up truck, and sell it for twice the price--a triumph of financial planning for the industry. Americans bought it hook line and sinker. I though truck were for TRUCKING and OFF road terrain. I'ld like to see the survey of the percentage of SUV owners that have even ONCE taken the vehicle ANYWHERE but the city streets. What a waste of resources. Not only are they gas hogs, but they are safety hazards--roll overs, damage other cars more in accidents--and cost more in insurance.

PD--if I respected your mind before, I am even more impressed that you have not fallen for the "Honey, I have to have an SUV" Minivans are one of the best buys in an automobile--lots of room, more than most SUV's--closer to the ground so they don't roll over, less insurance costs, and much more fuel efficient.

Personally, I prefer the  Lexus LS 400---best car ever made, bar none. I've had mine for 6 years and had virtually no major repairs, rides great, low insurance, good gas milage, lots of room,  --it has as more  room than my wifes RX 300 (which I couldn't talk her out of--I tried to persuade her to get a Honda Odyssey--she wouldn't have any of it--women for you--so she gets to make the payments)

Cal,

I'm not fanatically anti-SUV, mainly because I actually do quite a bit of driving where a high-clearance vehicle comes in handy. Still not sure what I'm going to do without my Tacoma on backcountry trips. That said, there's something really goofy about all the Newport Beach parking lots full of SUVs that never see dirt. Then there's the fact that people drive them as if they're cars, not trucks, resulting in the rollovers you mentioned.

I figure I'm so self-evidently cool already that putting me in a minivan will just give me a much-needed handicap to keep lesser breeds from being murderously envious. B)

[Cal]

Originally posted by TheProudDuck+Mar 12 2005, 03:26 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (TheProudDuck @ Mar 12 2005, 03:26 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Cal@Mar 12 2005, 03:02 PM

PD--stick with the Honda or Toyota--I agree the american cars are crap. I would love to be patriotic about american cars but I can't find any good reason to buy garbage just to make a political statement. Besides, the american companies have been in the cabbose with regard to innovating fuel efficiency, they deserve the financial spanking they have received at the hands of the car buying public.

SUV's--what a fraud foised on the car-buying public!!!  It just goes to show you can get people to buy anything if you can make it look cool enough in a TV commercial.

Amazing how detroit figured out that you could put nice seats in a pick up truck, and sell it for twice the price--a triumph of financial planning for the industry. Americans bought it hook line and sinker. I though truck were for TRUCKING and OFF road terrain. I'ld like to see the survey of the percentage of SUV owners that have even ONCE taken the vehicle ANYWHERE but the city streets. What a waste of resources. Not only are they gas hogs, but they are safety hazards--roll overs, damage other cars more in accidents--and cost more in insurance.

PD--if I respected your mind before, I am even more impressed that you have not fallen for the "Honey, I have to have an SUV" Minivans are one of the best buys in an automobile--lots of room, more than most SUV's--closer to the ground so they don't roll over, less insurance costs, and much more fuel efficient.

Personally, I prefer the  Lexus LS 400---best car ever made, bar none. I've had mine for 6 years and had virtually no major repairs, rides great, low insurance, good gas milage, lots of room,  --it has as more  room than my wifes RX 300 (which I couldn't talk her out of--I tried to persuade her to get a Honda Odyssey--she wouldn't have any of it--women for you--so she gets to make the payments)

Cal,

I'm not fanatically anti-SUV, mainly because I actually do quite a bit of driving where a high-clearance vehicle comes in handy. Still not sure what I'm going to do without my Tacoma on backcountry trips. That said, there's something really goofy about all the Newport Beach parking lots full of SUVs that never see dirt. Then there's the fact that people drive them as if they're cars, not trucks, resulting in the rollovers you mentioned.

I figure I'm so self-evidently cool already that putting me in a minivan will just give me a much-needed handicap to keep lesser breeds from being murderously envious. B)

Oh behave!

[StrawberryFields]

Originally posted by TheProudDuck@Mar 11 2005, 12:37 PM

Thanks for the suggestions. I was also looking at the Sequoia or a Ford Excursion, but I'm thinking with gas above $2.25 a gallon hereabouts, I think I want something that gets miles per gallon, not gallons per mile.

We actually do pretty well on the highway with the Sequoia getting 18-20 MPG. We have owned the Excursion and with it being so big felt like a tank driving it around the town. We really need something pretty big to pull our toys where we want to go. Our other car is a Mercedes E 430 and that is one smooth ride.