Let's talk minivans

I do think sometimes a minivan may simply be the best fit depending on your needs.

We just bought a used 2015 Mazda 5, which is a smaller mini van (I call it a micro van), to replace our 2002 Ford Explorer. My kids love having their own Captain's Chairs and my son, who is 6 feet tall, has more leg room than in the Explorer. My wife loves her "wee little van."
 
I have a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country Touring. I think I got pretty lucky because I love my van and haven't had any problems, aside from average age and mileage related things. That said my SIL has a 2011 T&C, and has had nothing but problems, so I'm happy to stick with my oldie. It's unfortunate about the Chrysler because it has the Stow & Go, and I guess I'm in the minority, but I use it ALL the time. I have 3 small kids. I leave one of the 2nd row seats stowed into the floor at all times (but easily flipped up for grown up evenings out where we have offered to drive, or driving my many nieces/nephews, etc). 2 kids sit in the 3rd row and the 3rd kid sits in the 2nd row seat that's still up. This setup allows me to easily climb in and out of the back to help buckle, etc -- nice to be able to just get in back with them and close the door to help buckle when it's pouring buckets or snowing. I also use the Stow & Go storage space a lot on trips. We only have 1 dog now, but up until this past March I had 2 medium/large dogs and 3 small kids -- so the extra in-floor storage was always welcome on trips down to my parents in Maryland or on vacations because my dogs were using a lot of the cargo space. We also do all of our own home improvements on our past 3 homes (most of which were total guts) and the van can carry a lot of lumber, drywall, and so on. The van is nearing 13 years old so I've been looking at different vehicles online just to browse for when the time comes... everyone gets SUVs (people make such a big silly deal about minivans not being "cool"... I need utility and something to make my life easier, I could give 2 craps about looking "cool" in something that depreciates in value every mile I drive it), none of them really appeal to me and none of them have the versatility the van has, so it's going to be really tough when the time comes. I might just end up with another van. The Toyota seems nice but not having the stow area is a bit of a turn-off. The only SUV I've given a remote thought to is the Honda Pilot, but not sure about the whole squeezing into the 3rd row thing.... I dunno. It's always a tough decision. I'm hoping I can get another 2 years out of this van so I don't have to think about it for a while. I seriously hate having a car payment so I avoid it at all costs. I'm in a different position in life than you though, in that I'm just beginning to approach the whole hauling equipment and multiple children around stage -- you probably don't HAVE to have the van, unless it could really benefit you day-to-day in other ways.
 
We are empty nesters and I have had a Honda Accord for the last 7 years. I really want a mini-van again. We had many mini-vans when the kids were little but now we have 2 grandchildren and our adult kids live close so we always seem to travel together. Now we need 3 cars to go anywhere...I would love to have the mini-van again to take more people places. I also feel it is easier to put the baby in and out of the car seat in a mini van than the sedan which sits lower.

I have not actively looked at any yet but I love the idea of the Pacifica with the Stow and Go. I feel like I would use it a lot.

Keeping an eye on this thread. Love reading all the responses.

MJ
 
DH and I don't even have any kids and we have a Honda Odyssey. I LOVE it. I can't imagine driving anything else but my van. It is fantastic for traveling because the back seats fold down and we can load it down for our beach trips. It's also great for when we do things with our aging parents because it is very easy to get in and out of. I am a teacher and the sponsor of the Quick Recall Team, so I can load it up with 7 kids to travel to our away matches.
 


If you can get them state-side, the Renault Espace is a clear winner for me! Otherwise the Chrysler Voyager is EXTREMELY comfortable for 4 and pretty damn nice for 6 - not bad for 7 :) I just remember when we were looking, the crash test results for the Chrysler were TERRIBLE whilst the Renault was the only people carrier that would save your life in a crash!
 
We are empty nesters and I have had a Honda Accord for the last 7 years. I really want a mini-van again. We had many mini-vans when the kids were little but now we have 2 grandchildren and our adult kids live close so we always seem to travel together. Now we need 3 cars to go anywhere...I would love to have the mini-van again to take more people places. I also feel it is easier to put the baby in and out of the car seat in a mini van than the sedan which sits lower.

I have not actively looked at any yet but I love the idea of the Pacifica with the Stow and Go. I feel like I would use it a lot.

Keeping an eye on this thread. Love reading all the responses.

MJ

I'm not doubting you, so don't at all take this the wrong way... The first question I ask people when someone asks me about minivans, and expresses interest in the Chrysler because it's the only one with Stow N Go is... What would you actually use that feature for? Again, not a snarky question, just asking (or ask yourself). When you fold down the third row of any minivan, the cargo area is huge, gigantic. If you're going to put things like mattresses, 4x8 sheets of plywood (which I don't think fit in the Pacifica anyway), or just an incredibly massive amount of stuff in it, then you may find it useful. But the vast majority of people really wouldn't need it. Minivans can carry an amazing amount of stuff without needing to remove/fold the center seats. Plus, you're trading off so many negatives the Pacifica has...the biggest one being Chrysler, um, "quality", for just Stow N Go.
 
I had a Toyota Sienna for about 10 years and I hated it. And Toyota itself. I will never own another Toyota as long as I live -- and yes, I do realize that I'm a minority.

I own a Honda Odyssey now and I love it (and my automatic doors are still working, unlike my Sienna) It seats 8, but I never have the third seat in the middle row.

We have three kids and a dog. Even though they're older, I feel like I need it more now. We cart friends everywhere, hockey equipment etc. We are also finding our parents can get in and out of the van easier than a sedan. I plan to keep it for a long while...hoping that we can this one through treks to/from colleges. Then, I'm going to wait and see what happens. If we have children and grandchildren near us, as we get to that life stage, then I'll get another minivan. If it's just the two of us, then I'll downgrade to an SUV. They may not look pretty, but (IMHO) they're by far the most useful car you can have. Get one if you want one!
 


Love our 2016 Toyota Sienna. With two kids in college and one at home, we use it more for moving things to and from college.It is nice to have the seating for the rare times all 5 of us go somewhere together. It's also has comfortable seating for longer trips. Gas mileage isn't the best.
 
I keep reading here that Chrysler is the only one with stow and go, and that's not true. Dodge also has the stow and go.
 
I keep reading here that Chrysler is the only one with stow and go, and that's not true. Dodge also has the stow and go.

Yes, but the Dodge Grand Caravan is the old Chrysler Town and Country, with a Dodge badge on it (Chrysler owns Dodge). The Town and Country was replaced in the Chrysler line up by the Pacifica. Dodge does not have a version of it, so they still sell the old Town and Country, as the Grand Caravan. I believe it's being discontinued shortly, it's an ancient design. If you want Stow N Go, the Chrysler family (the Pacifica or previous generation Dodge) is the only choice.
 
Need, maybe not. But do you love the extra space? I have two kids at home, and I think I don't really "need" a minivan, but easier to take dog in and out of (she has to be lifted and is 55 lbs.)

I once owned a Dodge Caravan stow-n-go. I didn't like it, and traded it for a GMC Acadia. I like the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna.
 
Do you mind going into more detail about that? I've been half heartedly looking around for awhile. Love my van but it's terrible on snow covered inclines. I had discovered in my research about the Sienna being the only van with AWD.

As far as the AWD system itself goes it just isn't quite as dreamy as others I've driven (Subaru, Volvo). In layperson's terms I believe it has something to do with the four wheels not communicating and operating independently of each other. As far as I know the Sienna's rear wheels only really have power but not the finesse of other systems.

That said, I agree with others who say that TIRES are what really matter. In fact that run flat tires that come with the AWD Sienna are HORRIBLE in the snow. Too hard. BUT with my studded snow tires combined with the AWD my Sienna is fantastic in the snow and getting up long hills. It also helps that it is heavy and lower to the ground than an SUV - it drives like a tank. I do live the mountains and do have crazy snow and terrain to deal with.

I agree that for most people the sto and go type seats in the third row usually provide plenty of quickly accessible cargo space. I'd rather have the more comfortable captains chairs of the Toyota or Honda in the second row. That said the Honda doesn't really have true captains chairs with the arms on both sides. That was an issue for me.
 
You were asking about the stowaway seats. Only Chrysler has that with the Stow N Go. However, a word of caution from someone who does cars for a living...there are MUCH better vehicles on the market. The Stow N Go is a neat parlor trick, but the van itself is at the bottom of the minivan class. Unreliable (it's a Chrysler), unrefined, just not as good as the others. How often would you really use the Stow N Go? We've had minivans for 11 years and I can count on one hand the number of times I wish we had it. When you fold the third row down...all minivans can do that...there is a TON of room. Taking the middle seats out usually isn't that hard if you really need to do it.

We use it all the time! Both the reconfiguring of the seats, which could be handled by pulling seats out (though in my Chevy Venture I HATED doing that! The seats were awkward to move and the latch/release not the most user-friendly) but also for the underfloor storage space in the middle. One middle seat is almost always up, and in its well we store our picnic blanket, light jackets, sunscreen, bug spray, and a first aid kit. For road trips, we tuck the other middle seat away to make room for a cooler of snacks where the kids can all get to it, rather than having it behind the seats and inaccessible while buckled. When we're headed up to camp for the fair, most of the seats go down to haul the gear and come back up once our campsite is all set up so we can haul "bonus" kids back and forth. A couple of times a month, I end up with all the seats stowed to haul things for household projects here or at my mom's. The stow-and-go is probably the single biggest reason I want to hold on to a minivan even as the kids leave the nest.
 
We ended our 12 years of minivans (3 different minivans) years ago. But every now and then we need the extra space and just rent one.
 
Hmm.... so is Chrysler/Dodge the only ones that does stow 'n go for both 2nd and 3rd row?

Yes. Every minivan on the market has had folding 3rd row benches for decades, only the Chrysler/Dodge do it for the second row.
 
We just decided to move out of the minivan (Honda Odyssey). But we recognize that we still really need the space so we decided on a Ford Flex.

We have two middle schoolers, but our oldest goes to college nearby or they may bring a friend so we occasionally need the extra seating. We also have two dogs that ride in the car often and one is almost as big as I am.

My parents are late 50s and just bought a Honda Odyssey, so I do think sometimes a minivan may simply be the best fit depending on your needs.

We just gave up our van for a Flex too. I LOVE IT. We have one in college and one in HS. What sold us was the leg room. The big kids were never comfortable in the 2nd row, and every new van we tried the middle row seats were so low to the floor and uncomfortable that my 6' son was miserable. This has tons of leg room, almost as much trunk space as the van and the 2nd and 3rd rows fold down easily to extend the trunk.
 
I started a minivan thread on the DIS a few months back.

We are that time in our life when our kids are older & almost ready for college (well, 2 out of 3 kids), &, for a while, I was really questioning whether or not I wanted to get another minivan.

After thinking about it & looking at different options, we decided we'd really miss the minivan - the storage, the comfort, the convenience, the safety factors, etc. I love the sliding passenger doors on a mini-van!

Plus, even w/ older kids, I still find us carting them & their friends around. A couple of weekends ago, we took 6 to a dance.

We had a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan w/ the Stow-and-Go seats, & I KNEW we'd miss those seats! On road trips, the space in the "stow-and-go" compartments was used for extra cases of water, beach toys, & beach chairs. Day-to-day, it was nice to have the ability to stow the seats away if we needed the space for carting something. In other minivans, you have the space, but you have to completely remove the 2nd row seats.

In the end, though, instead of the new Chrysler Pacifica, we went w/ the Toyota Sienna. DH was concerned about the reliability factor w/ the Chrysler. Additionally, for what I wanted in my minivan (the "fluff" stuff like a sun roof, upgraded leather seats, etc.), I could get it for less w/ the Toyota XLE. (The sunroof was only available in the highest trim level w/ the Chrysler.)

I LOVE our Toyota Sienna!! We have the XLE model w/ the additional navigation system. The Limited model includes the entertainment system & a 2nd sunroof. I was able to get our XLE in the prettiest blue, which was important to me (again, "fluff" stuff).

When comparing the Toyota Sienna to the Honda Odyssey, I hated the visible door track on the Honda. The new 2018 Honda model no longer has the door track, but the inside of the Sienna, to me, looks so much nicer than the inside of the Odyssey. The 2nd row seats in the Sienna are nicer than the 2nd row seats in the Odyssey too. My sister has a Odyssey, & the leather on the armrests has cracked & worn off - which would drive me crazy. Additionally, the Sienna feels roomier on the inside to me, & I think, even w/ all the seats in their normal positions, we have more cargo space in the back in our Sienna.

I like the different ways we can configure the seating in the Sienna, & ours will seat 8. However, we store our 8th seat.

However, I will admit, I do miss our Stow-and-Go seats.
 
We have a Honda Odyssey and LOVE it. We technically don't NEED a minivan anymore, but love having the extra space and will definitely get another Honda Odyssey when the need arises.
 

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