Should I take the plunge?

and get a minivan? I am going back and forth everyday. Right now we have a Yukon Denali and it is getting hard to keep getting all 3 kids in and out of it. I have them all in the same row b/c the seats in the 3rd row are a pain in the a**. I would also love to have a DVD player for my DS to watch so he will not tell me how to drive or when to stop and go. It is killing me to think of myself in a minivan (no offense to those of you that do), it reminds me of such a soccer mom car, I swore I would never ever drive one. Well 3 kids later I may have changed my mind but I'm not fully convinced yet, we are looking at the Honda Odyssey. My DH says if I do want one now is the best time b/c the prices are great on the 08's, he was going to go look at them for me on Sun but I told him to cancel b/c I wasn't sure yet. How easy are minivans for those of you that have them? We have 3 little one's in carseats FYI

 

I swore I would never, ever, ever drive a minivan. (After my first son was born I got another sports car :lol:, after my second son was born I "upgraded" to a Mustang with four seats ) Now, after four children total... I have the dreaded minivan - and I LOVE IT!!!! Seriously, doors that open by themselves... easy peasy to get the kids in and out of carseats... what was I thinking for so many years???? I have leather, heated seats, DVD players, Automatic doors, stowable seats... love it, love it, love it.

 

My BIL/SIL were in the same situation but they had a Toyota Sequoia with DVD. With 2 kids it worked just fine but with 3, using the 3rd row was close to impossible. They decided that as much as they hated the idea of driving a minivan, it would only make their lives easier.

They got a 2008 Odyssey EX-L in October and are amazed at the difference. They basically kicked themselves for not getting one sooner. It's so much easier getting the kids in/out and it's lower to the ground than their SUV was. All three of their kids are in carseats, too.

When my Accord got totaled 2 weeks ago, we decided to go ahead and get our own 2008 Odyssey EX-L even though the twins aren't due until June. It's taken some getting used to, going from a sedan to a van, but it's really laid out well. I can literally stand up (hunched over) from the driver's seat and walk to the 3rd row. I really like this for future situtations where it's raining and I need to get the kids' jackets on them, etc.

We got a really, really good deal on a 2008 Odyssey since the dealerships are trying to move them and make room for the 2009's. My husband did the internet quote thing so there was no hassle or haggling. Be warned there aren't that many of them left, though!

 

I want one so bad! and...I cant believe I just typed that out loud! lol!
I have a Dodge Durango and I like it okay but when gas prices were high I hated it! Now it isnt worth what I owe and I am stuck when all I really want is a mini van...I also said I would never ever ever drive one-but hey with three kids I am no longer "cool" anyway! Ha!
I say go for it! I would if I could! Someday...

 

If you can afford it, go for it. I would love one, we have a Honda Civic and space is very tight, we just can't afford it without tightening our budget a lot... We had to buy a top carrier so we could bring what we need for our vacations instead.

 

I have a van, but I hope to upgrade to an SUV in the next 2 yrs. . HOPEFULLY. I might just wait until all the kids are in boosters only, no car seats.. Anyway, to answer your question...
I havent been in many SUVs but I thought Denalis had a lot of room. Why is the 3rd row seat such a pain? I have four children (in carseats) that I load and unload frequently (everyday) with a van. My oldest (almost 5) sits in the corner (passenger side) 3rd row seat, b/c he can get it and out by himself. Right now my 2 yr old son sits next to him, closer to the door, so I can buckle and unbuckle him. My two daughters sit in the second seat behind me, b/c they are more needy. I have dual side doors so that helps a ton. I dont think I could've had one of those older vans that only have one sliding door.
I used to have my older DD (almost 4) in the back w/ her brother, and I had the twins right behind me, but the older children picked w/ eachother a lot, so as soon as I felt comfortable moving him (when he was about 15 months), I put DS2 in the back. .so its worked out ok that way. I would like to put DD back in the back w/ DS1 but Im worried that they will go at it like they used to.

Its definitely easy for me, but I personally think an SUV would be easy too. . when I upgrade I want this to be my final vehicle for a loong time. so I would like to keep it as clean and nice as possible, and right now the kids arent that great about not dropping things when they have snacks, etc.

 

YES!!!!!!!!! I was another who swore they would never drive a minivan, but then we got pregnant with the twins and that was the best thing for our family since we already had a DD. I love it. Automatic everything and a DVD player (a must have). The nice thing about the van vs. the SUV (we have a Tahoe too) is that the kids can climb into the van themselves and into their car seats. No more lifting!!

 

I want a mini van. But I don't even have an SUV. I have a sedan. I just got rid of the infant carseats and installed convertibles rear facing in the back, and my poor 5 year old has to climb into the middle, and it is next to impossible to get his seat belt done. It took me 10 minutes last night to get everyone buckled in. I've thought about just a bigger vehicle, but I want the sliding doors. My son tends to fling the back doors open, and it makes me cringe. I want them to slide. I swore I'd never have a minivan (That was pre twins).

 

I always said I wouldn't drive a minivan but I now drive a Nissan Quest and LOVE IT! The only thing not to like about it is that it's a minivan. It has way more space then my Expedition had. Much easier to get the kids in and out of. I could go on and on about it. I will drive a minivan until the babies are 4 or so. I'm trying to get DH to let me trade mine in on an Odyssey right now. I've had this one for over my 2 year max.

 

I was driving a trailblazer up until 2 weeks ago and now have a minivan. I'm still "eh" on it. I have 3 kids - 7 mo old twins and a 2 yr old. Pros/cons:

Trailblazer:
Getting a baby in the middle seat was dangerous! I stood on our running boards, which are covered in ice/snow. The middle carseat wasn't stable either. I was constantly bruised from having to climb over the carseats to reach the middle one to buckle/unbuckle.

Van:
Getting a baby in the 3rd row is still a PITA. I have 1 baby in the 2nd row, but because they still are backwards facing carseats, I have to keep the other seat in the 2nd row empty so I can climb in and out to get DD (2 yr old) buckled up in the very back. My back kills me from hunching over and walking to the back to get DD and the other baby.

I think once I can turn the carseats around to foward facing, life will be better.

FWIW, we got ours with an amazing deal because the dealership needed a sale. We got ours 40% off the sticker price. The salesman told DH he didn't know how it happened, but DH got one amazing deal. And we did.

 

I'm another one of those people who said I'd NEVER drive a mini-van! Well, I have a Toyota Sienna and LOVE it. It's so easy to get all the kid's into and out of. I have DS in the back row and moved the two captain's chairs together and DD's are there. We used to have a 4Runner and it was such a pain to get DS up into the seat - I can't even imagine it with all 3 kid's. I say "Yes" go for the mini-van!

 

I haven't really thought about it until now. Now you have me really wanting one too. I would have to trade in my Altima though. It might be worth looking into, if I can keep my payments the same.

 

we have a honda accord and i am dying for a different vehicle. I am praying all the carseats fit when the girls come home

 

We bought a Ford Edge about 2 months before we found out I was pregnant. Right now it works great but the twins are the only kids we have. The downside is we can't really have anybody in the car with us. It's a very tight squeeze between two infant seats! It's not as high off the ground as some SUVs so that's not a big problem. I have a friend with a Nissan Quest and I like it but right now I think with only two I'm still "too young" for the van, lol I think one more child would push me into one.

 

I hated the thought of driving a minivan so much that I kept my Jeep Cherokee until the twins were 3 months old. I would take the 3 little ones with me and DH would drive his car and take the other 2 with him. It was awful, but I loved, loved, loved my Jeep. That said, I say go for it. The van is so nice when all 7 of us need to go somewhere and all of our stuff fits. Getting the kids in with the dual automatic side doors is a snap. We have all the whistles and bells, a DVD player is a must-have! However, I won't let anyone call it a van. We call it the 'Vette. That keeps me cool. The only thing I miss is my big V8 engine and 4 wheel drive.

 

I love my trailblazer, but feel we need to get a van aswell. My husband and I are both tall (dh-6'4, me 5'11) and there isn't much room from the front seat to the back of the car seat. Once we can turn them, I think that will help. And the back space, with the stroller? forget it, we can barley get groceries in there!

I looked at a Tahoe (I love suv's!) and other than the back seat, the space isn't that much different.

If I could keep my payments the same, i would go for it!

 

Ahhh, the mini-van/SUV thread.

Count me in the "I love my van" side.

I saw a question though, the difference between minivans and SUVs. I just want to add my personal reasons for liking my minivan better than my SUV.

1. I'm a tall girl. (6'0") I need leg room. Having car seats in the back of an SUV takes up my leg room in the front because they don't fit turned around backwards without having to maneuver the front seats.

2. Sliding doors vs. regular doors. When you open a regular car door, there is a relatively large area of "unusable" space near the hinge section of the door for moving items (or children) inside and out of the vehicle. Putting the kidlets in their carseats is 1000times easier now that the door opens out of the way and I have nothing in the way when I'm putting them in their seats. Plus I can actually reach over/around the seats and pick up whatever they've dropped on the floor. Oh and taking the car seats in and out is easier now (convertible seats are kind of a P.I.A. to move in and out of cars.)

3. Space. I put that 3rd row in the floor (stow and go) and have just as much if not more space than I did in my SUV.

4. Gas mileage. It gets better gas mileage than my SUV did.

5. Driving. It drives like a car, not a truck. I didn't think I minded, but after driving my van for almost a year, I would not want to drive an SUV again.

And I bought used. A 2004 Toyota Sienna with all the special things I wanted (power door, premium sound, a gazillion and a half cup holders, a place to put a DVD player for when they get older) and my payments actually went down $0.29 a month from the SUV that we had previously. Insurance went up a bit, but negligable.

 

I cannot chime in about SUV's having never owned one. I will say (we have a 2007 Toyota Sienna) that I do like our van, it is spacious and we have the room we need for storage. I like the fact that you can put the third row down for extra space if need be. And if the kiddos aren't traveling with you and you need more room, you can take the 2nd row seats. It's pretty good on gas. I have trouble parking it though-but parking has never been my speciality.
I think you said that you have three car seats, I have the 7 seater Sienna so we use the 2 seats in the second row for our car seats which work well. I am not sure how easy it would be to get a child in & out of a third row carseat, so you may want to look for a Sienna 8 seater model (I do believe those have an 8th seat which can go into the middle row, which might make it easier with a 3rd car seat).
Good luck on whatever you decide. DH and I were going to get a Prius before we found out we were having twins. Then we knew we were most likely going to be better off with the minivan.

 

We bought a Honda Pilot this summer and love it. I (the dad) didn't want to drive a minivan and I also wanted something that could tow our boat fairly well. The third row is great for our 10-year-old because he's not in the same row as the twins. Very nice, roomy, and reliable vehicle...if you want something close to a minivan that isn't a minivan. It doesn't have a couple of minivan features...but it's a fair trade-off for us.

 

I started out in a minivan. It was okay, but I ditched it for a Lincoln Navigator and it's so much better.

 

I drive a 98 Dodge Grand Caravan with two booster seats and three carseats. It's paid for, and I never had the luxury of worrying about my image as portrayed by the vehicle I drove. My doors aren't even remote, there are no leather seats, the tape deck doesn't work but the CD player does. There are no DVD players - I've always thought it was good that kids can learn to entertain themselves looking out the window. It's absolutely nothing special, and I have to be careful not to hurt my back when putting my little girl in her seat on the back bench.

But I love it. I'm thankful for it really.

"You know what driving a minivan is like? It's like giving your whole family a fun piggy back ride at 65 miles an hour." - Peter Sagal

 

nissan quest here and i love it. its our only car so dh isnt a HUGE fan but he likes it okay. i love the smooth ride and the spacious inside. third row stow and go is AWESOME. we have the base model, so nothing fancy, but i still like it

 

Haven't read the other response, but I love , love my Honda Odyssey. It is a great drive, and getting all three little ones in and out is as easy as it could be.