minivan question
 

Ok, I have driven nothing but 4x4 trucks since i was 15 (26 years ago) with the exception fo one SUV. Now, I am wrestling with the reality of 2 young kids and $3 gallon gas. My F150 gets about 16 mpg average between city and highway so I think I am gonna sell the F150, buy a used minivan, and buy a beater truck for my property and huntin. What are your experiences good and bad with the different models available? I am looking at a Toyota Sienna (2003) and it gets about 22mpg average. Any info on this or other models? thanks

Turn in your mancard.

Only 2 kids, you should be fine with a nice 4 door sedan w/ over 30 mpg.

Paint some flames on the side, or get some kind of a decal, like a #18

Beat me to it.

For now. When they get older, those kids are gonna have friends, who will probably want to spend time at each other's houses and whatnot. A mini van would be ideal then. But he should hold out as long as he can......

Get an SUV

Make the other lazy ass parents bring their kids over.

Chevy Astro van

There are plenty of hybrid SUVs that have AWD, decent mileage, and plenty of space. No need to completely give up on life and buy a mini-van.

Don't expect to get that much better gas mileage.

A loser cruiser. We just got rid of ours and got a small SUV instead. Good luck. Sounds like the Sienna is a good choice. Of course, Toyotas cost more than others. But they do have a really good reliability rating.

I'd go w/ a Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna.

We used to have a minivan back in the day, not proud driving memories. The ONLY thing good about it was the height in relation to sports cars driven by hot chicks. However, don't even think that you're Clark Griswold.

:huh: Pillowbiter

Personally, I quit giving a shit about what other people think about the vehicle I drive years ago. With that out of the way, most of today's minivans have large V-6 engines in them and aren't going to get spectacular mileage either. Don't fall in love with those EPA ratings, they're just estimates and your actual MPG will probably be lower.

so far I am hearing that you have either had one and got rid of it, or would not ever get one. My kids are 4 and 5 1/2, so there just getting into sports now and just getting friends that go places with us. I will still have the 4x4 truck, just not for everyu day driving. My mancard was turned in long ago.

I'd just buy a large family sedan like someone said. I'm not going to buy a car because other people have more kids than I have. The family sedan will be plenty, 99% of the time I bet.

You can't go wrong with either the Sienna or Odyssey. My family has an '04 Odyssey and its been nothing but great. Like someone else said though, don't expect to get too much better than 18-20 MPG in the city. It does much better in highway driving.

My dad has not given a ton of great advise over the years, but one thing he did always say

-Son, it's hard to be cool in a mini-van.-

My truck gets about 12 or 13 mpg in the city and about17 on the highway. I drive 21,000 miles per year now and even another 6 mpg would save me like 80 bones per month. I could give a flip about what anyone else thinks of me while I am driving it, cause my internal studliness is plenty high, I was hoping to hear of any real great features or bad stories about them. I will not however ever put a stick on soccer ball on the thing.

Oh come on now, you know you can't wait to place that sticker on the back window

My personal experience is with a 1998 Pontiac Transport (Montana). Don't ever buy one of these. Another piss poor design by GM.

How about a "My kid can beat up your honor student" sticker?

Forget the minivan, become a Volvo driving soccer mom.

We own two Honda Odysseys, because we loved the first one so much. Honestly, after six years and four years on each....we've had to do absolutely nothing, in terms of repairs--only "scheduled" maintenance. They drive like a car (which may not be for you;) the ONLY drawback is "road noise" on the highway is louder than some.

Resale is great on them to; which is great as a seller, but not so much as a buyer I guess.

My wife drives a V70XC, and it's alright. It doesn't have 3rd row seating, which is one of the advantages of a minivan. It's also not as spacious as a minivan. You also have to put premium into a Volvo, which screws you on the gas savings. Mileage isn't great either.

Heh, for sure. I know two different people who owned one of those and they were both complete POS. They both had newer models than that too. I'd just stay away from GM altogether. And Ford too.

Take the 3 japaneese vehicles for test rides and see which you like. They handle differently. Look at the room behind the 3rd row seats, how easy do the seats fold, will you need them to fold flat if you use the van to move stuff, check crash test ratings for your year. If it has lots of bells and whistles (all 3 auto doors, dvd player, etc) find out which one offers the best extended warranty.

Was going more for the Everclear reference instead of a practical suggestion. :shrug:

Well would it at least be a sport, turbo-charged minivan?

No?

Alright. Here's what you're gunna do. Take that baby out and paint some flames on it or get a cool decal. Maybe a number 18 on the side or something? Yeah. You're feeling me.

We have a car lot, and from experiance with many differant ones, Crystler/Dodge, Never hold up and become a money pit

I would stick with the truck, and your wife can trade in her car for a van.

I mentioned this in Lzen's thread but two years ago, we traded in our minivan (Mazda MPV) for a 2006 Honda CR-V. I have two boys, 10 and 13 (and the 13 year old is getting pretty big) and we have plenty of room. They actually have way more leg room than they did in the van. We also have a ton of luggage room. We took a week long, 2000 mile driving trip the summer before last and never felt short of space.

The best part is the gas mileage. We get 28-30 in mixed driving (best tank was 33 mpg). It is also easier to drive and park than the van was for my wife.

We only needed the third row in the van once or twice a year, at most, and it just wasn't worth living with it the rest of the time. I figure we can just take two cars (or rent something) for those times.

I must've been the only guy in college history with a minivan... (85 dodge caravan) (graduated in 99)

December '05, bought my wife one ('05 Ford Freestar for Xmas) when we had 3 kids. Now we have 4 and she still loves it.

She was one of those, "I don't want a soccer mom car"
But I offered to get her the new magnum's or whatever and she declined because she loves the MV.

At first she wanted something like my Yukon XL. I told her I'd happily switch as long as she fills it up (she drives to work approx 60miles roundtrip daily, I work from home). After seeing that it costs $80/visit to the gas station she quickly declined.

She didn't even want to test it out for a week.

Truthfully, we find ourselves using it to go most places unless we just need the extra room because the 12mpg Yukon just isn't worth it.

just my .02
Love it.

I've found the opposite to be true, I have a '92 Caravan cargo van with over 200K on it that will never die, although I did have to replace the tranny at 190K. I also have a '94 that I bought 3 yrs ago, and the only things I've done to it since are brakes, tires and a new battery. Hell I don't even take that good of care of them, but yet they both are extremely reliable vehicles.

I'll say you got lucky. I also have a best friend that runs a mechanic shop, and they keep him busy. The tranny problems seem to be in most all of them, though your seemed to hold up for quite some time compared to others.

sickers? I dont need no stinking stickers

Strange that I got that lucky twice, perhaps the reason he keeps busy with them is because there are around six bazillion of them on the road.

And yes, the trannys are the weak point in them, and from what I've heard Chrysler hasn't done a lot to improve them over the years. You definitely don't want to tow anything with them, that's how I tore up the one I had to replace. It's also possible that it had been rebuilt sometime in the past as I bought that particular one when it was already 8 yrs old. I also had to replace the the fuel pump on the older one once, that sucker was around $200 just for the part, and was a PIA to replace. Other than that though, they've both been pretty solid, they haven't nickled and dimed me like other beaters I've had.