Minivan, SUV, or Large Sedan? Seeking Advice from Moms W/ 2 Kids

M.,
I too have 2 kids (ages 3 and 6) We have the Volvo XC90 SUV. We just bought it used around xmas time. I love it. It has leather(which is nice with kids), AWD and other safety benefits, and it has built in DVD screens on both driver and passenger headrests. Plus, it has a built in navagation system, third row seat that even when up and being used still has space in the back for a stroller. In fact, I am even able to fit my double stroller in the space. When the third row seat in down, there is soooo much room in the. Another bonus is a built in booster seat. It is in the middle of the second row
seat, so we only use it when I drive one of my son's friends with us in the car. the second row seat also can be moved back to allow more leg room. I myself have never wanted a mini van. I like having an AWD/4 wheel drive vehicle, especially where we live. Plus, I guess I am a little bit of a rebel....I said I would never drive a mini van. We have always had SUV's since our kids were born.

1 mom found this helpful

hi there! well, we ended up getting a honda odyssey weeks before my son (2nd child) was due. being hugely pregnant, it was fantastic to let my daughter who was almost 2.5 at the time, climb in by herself. we decided that two kids was enough for us, and we still have the odyssey almost 3 years later. i was always one of those women who said they would NEVER have a minivan, but i must tell you, it has been a Godsend. not only can both my kids climb in and out of it on their own, they can get themselves into their seats, strapped in, and close the doors. the options are great- we didn't do the touring, which has the gps and backup camera, though there are times i wish we had. but we do have the heated seats (which in chicago are a must!), sunroof (for the illusion of cool), and the dvd player, which if you travel at all, is just the best thing on the planet. it also has an underseat lazy susan, which is great for storing all the stuff you manage to accumulate with kids. also- the cup holders! it was a feature they tell you about when you buy it (it has something like 15!), and i was like, who needs that many? but on trips it has been fantastic- you have your waters, juice cups, drinks from the restaurants on the way...it has also been so handy when we want to grab some friends and go to the zoo, arboretum, etc- we can fit 2-3 extra kids and a parent, not to mention strollers, wagons, etc. it does drive nice, too. so while it is certainly not the "coolest" car out there, i have been so happy with the odyssey with only 2 kids. i figure in a few years i will get something a bit smaller, and maybe just a bit cooler. good luck!

All I can say is that I have a Toyota Sienna and I LOVE it!! I have three kids (5/3/2) so we definitely need all the space with three car seats. Before that, however, I did have a Toyota 4Runner with all three car seats in it. It was very dependable, and was good on gas as any other SUV. You can always have a DVD installed at Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. without having to have one as a dealer option. Good luck!

If you decide you want roominess, take a look at the Ford Flex. It is sort of a cross between a SUV and a minivan. It has the DVD option and has rec'd good reviews for reliability. I'm not sure how it compares to other makes/models in terms of fuel economy.

My husband and I just bought one with 6,000 miles and got a great deal b/c it was technically "used", although with such few miles on it, it might as well be new.

We have a Toyota Sienna LE for our twins. I love it! It is even comfortable in the third row seat. We looked at Dodge caravans but they aren't comfy in the back and we had so many issues with our Jeep in regards to air conditioning maintenance that the Toyota is the way to go. American car need so much work down the road that it's worth it to get a Toyota.The Le has enough extras without going overboard in price. Buy it at the end of the month for better prices :)

Hi M.,
If minivans are your thing, I LOVE my Nissan Quest. I'm pretty sure it has a DVD option, although I bought mine used through CarMax(LOVE them by the way too!!)and that was not an important option to me. You can get the automatic slide door options which are great with little ones when you have full hands and will be EXTREMELY handy when your 4 year old hits school age for entering and exiting the car with school drop-offs and such. It is well priced, roomy, and great features. I know several others that are happy with their Nissan Quests as well! Happy car hunting!

Go for the minivan. I currently have a Toyota Camry and am waiting for the new minivans to come out from Toyota and Honda (supposed to be out this year or next) and am buying a minivan. My parents had one when I was at home, so I love them actually. For all the reasons Shelly O mentioned- they are roomie, you never know when you are going to transport others, etc. You don't transport many others now because they are young, but I think when they are older and out of car seats you may transport others kids every so often and the room will be necessary to do that. You can pick up large stuff at the store yourself (ex: furniture, appliances, etc) vs. having to pay for delivery. There are so many reasons to have extra room. The minivan is the only car you can truly get all that extra room in. As for DVD players, we currently have the portable ones and I plan on using that in the future too. The ones that come in cars I've heard are unreliable in the cold. Also, your children can only watch one dvd, vs. 2 if they each have their own portable. You can strap the portables to the headrests in front of them if you don't want them holding them. The portables are nice for airplanes, long waits anywhere, etc. You can always have an after market dvd player put in any car.

I also agree with everything that Barb said. I only want to add one more thing ..... most minivans these days have remote control sliding glass doors. Our minivan has this and I LOVE it. When my hands are full or if there is bad weather outside, I hit a button and by the time we are at the car, the doors are open, I quickly get my daughter in the car and out of the bad weather. Good luck!!!

Minivan!! I have two boys and don't plan on having any more and I love the minivan. Just because you only have 2 kids doesn't mean you won't be driving more kids around in carpools, etc. My 4 year old is in preschool and thank goodness for carpooling! The minivan is great b/c it gives you the option of a third row - or when it's just your family you have tons of storage room! And in comparison with SUV's the minivan is more fuel efficient. The only other small SUV to consider is the Honda Pilot - it too can have 3 rows, but your kids have to climb to the back. Also - you have young kids - by the time they are 3 (or before) they can get into the minivan themselves and climb into their car seat by themselves! And an adult can walk from the front of the car to the back without having to climb over seats to get to a child, luggage, etc. It was the best purchase ever! Albeit not so hip :)!

We have two kids and went the minivan route. It does often seem bigger than we need, however, it is so great to be able to take extra people with us. I carpool to preschool - no problem. Preschool field trips - no problem - my friend and her two kids can hop right it. We love it. Very comfortable. If you do a SUV - take a look at the third row - usually very small and hard to access.

Hi M.,

We didn't think we would need anything as big as a minivan either until we went on our first road trip vacation. It was wonderful to not have to be sitting on and next to suitcases or the other stuff that wouldn't fit into the trunk.

A minivan will most likely get you better mileage than an SUV in most cases. The tires are usually cheaper to replace, too.

Having said all of that, some days I would like to get rid of the Mom Mobile and get a nicer looking SUV. It is purely for vanity reasons, though. I guess the only argument for it would be the 4 wheel drive ability of an SUV.

As for the DVD option, if you don't find one you like with it, we have loved our portable DVD players over the years. There are some that attach to the back of the front row headrests so the kids have it right in front of them. Our son likes to hold his. There are certainly ways around it that are actually cheaper than the $1000 DVD option on a lot of new vehicles.

I hope this helps. Have fun narrowing it down.
A.

M.,
3 words: Power Sliding Doors!! they make everything about a mini van worth it!! I have a Toyota Sienna (loaded) and 3 kids! there are 4 ways to open and close the doors! what a convenience it is to use the remote, or the side button, or the button centrally located in front on the ceiling by the sunroof button, or the door handle itself!
Of course, the engine is flawless, efficient and dependable. The car is roomy, has lots of storage and cup holders. I've had mine for 4 years and love it!
You don't have to buy a Toyota but definitely get the power sliding doors. And look for where they're located for easy reach for kids or you. SUVs have those big doors that are a pain in the parking lot. and don't stop automatically when fingers are in the way like the sliding doors do!
My van is charcoal grey; so I don't feel so uncool driving it! Good Luck!

We also have two children ages 6 and 20 months so will be needing car seats for a bit yet also. We upgraded from a small SUV to a larger one. We thought about the minivan, but there is no 4 wheel drive or towing really. We ended up with the Chevy Tahoe which isn't too bad on gas considering it is a large one, we get between 16 and 20 mpg with it. What we did as far as the DVD option was went and got the ones that velcro around the headrest. You can get a set of two I believe ours are Sony and the children can either watch the same movie or two different ones which is really nice.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Dodge Caravan. This is the second one we've owned, and it's been great- very little maintainance cost (and we're at 140K miles.) SUV's are hard to get kids in and out of, and are gas guzzlers. They're just not practical. Consider a used one, and save yourself the immediate depreciation costs- save yourself 5-10K. We also camp, and the mini van is so great for that- the chairs are all movable/removable, and give us lots of options. Best wishes- N.

I would suggest an suv that can accomodate six or a mini-van. Esp since your oldest is already four, he/she will probably start a sport soon and want a friend to come over for a sleepover, or you'll need to lug baseball, soccer, etc. equipment to games. I have two girls and we need all the room we can get to pack up for all our outings (we've had a van since they were three and four and they are both in high school now. It's even great for taking grandma along for dinner or a trip to go shopping, etc. I wouldn't trade the van in for anything other than another van or spacy suv. Plus if you plan to go on a weekend getaway, you'll need room for luggage, etc. And maybe even a dog...

Think about the next five to seven years when planning this car purchase. Will your kids have playdates in which you are a driver. Will you need to do any carpooling? Going out with friends and family for any events/dining/birthdays? Will you be going on any long trips with the vehicle? When you go grocery shopping with 2 kids will you have enough room for the weeks groceries, including toilet paper and other household items? Also take a look at gas mileage. On alot of the SUV's even the smaller ones you don't get great gas mileage. I would, if it were me take a look at the smallest of the minivans as it probably would serve you well, and allow for all your expectations and have alot more option opportunities such as removing seats to bring home a slightly larger item from a store . Good luck with the decision

Minivan. Our friends who have SUV ended up traded them in with minivan, or borrow other's minivan :)
It might seems big and unappealing, but everything else is great (mileage, roomy, comfortable, and anything that a sedan or suv have or don't have).

I never thought I would do the "minivan" thing but.... i know do not know what I would do without it!!! The room is unmatched...mileage is okay...better than an SUV...and everything fits!! I am a "finder" so on trash days...someone else's trash is my treasure, open 1 of the side doors and in it goes...groceries no worries, no crushing it in. lots of room for friends and for the longer trips they can each have thier own seat for thier "stuff" no fighting. The absolute best option to put in DVD player w/cordless headphones!! Complete serenity while driving. We have taken the middle seat out "permanently" so all that room is heaven can load and haul anything and everything. Can you tell I LOVE IT!!!!We got a Plymouth Grand Voyager SE (SE gave us an extra 12 inches in the back) never had any problems and there are alot of these vans in and around Crystal Lake. Go for the van gotta think about activities in the future and all the equipment that might go with it! Hope this helps....GOOD LUCK!!
Oh yeah some of the new models have windows thatopen in the automatated sliding side doors...how cool is that!?

You've gotten a lot of great responses, but I wanted to share just a couple things that I recently learned. I didn't want a minivan when I was pregnant with our first, so we got an SUV. It was a ford explorer with a 3rd row seat and it had a DVD player. I thought it was perfect and had everything we needed.
I quickly realized that it's not as convenient as I thought. Now that we are trying to conceive our second child, we bought a grand caravan. with two car seats, the 3rd row in the explorer would have been inaccesible. The seats have to fold down to get back there, which means taking out the car seat each time. definitely not worth it! Also, I know a few others mentioned the power sliding doors. Great feature!!
We've only had our minivan for a couple months, and I love it!!!

Hi I went through this same thing last year even though my kids are older and out of carseats, i still went the minivan route because then there is 3 extra seats do if we have someone go with us...I got an uplander and love it and will never have a regular mimivan. An uplander is like a minivan but much better...I did not like the long front end on a regular mini van so i ended up finding the uplander and am so happy i did, now kids can have friends go places with us and since they are a little older when i babysit my sisters kids i can put the 2 car seats in the froun row and the older kids in the back...Easy to get into for the auto doors are a blessing when i have my hands full. I just press the button and by the time i get to the van the door is open and i just put the neice and nephew in with out struggling....Good luck and just shop around and see what works best for you and dont forget to go for something good on the gas mileage. My uplander like never needs gas and i am alway in it....I really love that....

We went with the minivan. Even though you don't plan on having more children, the minivan is indispensable for the inevitable play dates, birthday parties, and other excursions when you need to have an extra child (or two) in the van. Ours has also been wonderful when my parents or my father-in-law comes to visit so that we can all go someplace in one vehicle.

On the DVD players, don't go for the extra expense of the fancy in vehicle models when you can purchase each child (or even each person) their own personal DVD player with headphones for much cheaper.

Hello. My husband and I bought a Honda Element which seats four. We plan on having only 2 kids. We loved the Element, but with wanting 2 kids we wouldn't beable to drive anyone else (grandparent to dinner). We figured we needed something bigger so we decided to trade it in for the Honda Pilot which has a third row seat if needed at times. The Pilot does have the option for a DVD player. These are both SUV's. We have used the third row seat a few times so it was nice to have. Hope this helps.

My thoughts have already been mentioned mostly. I was a mother of 2 with an 8 seater minivan for almost 2 years. I filled those seats MANY times with friends, church youth groups, etc. Look at your lifestyle and see if that is applicable.

For DVD options, we had our player installed by the retailer we purchased it from, I don't see why any car, suv or van could not have a DVD player installed.

We have a Toyota Sienna. I love it. It currently has a double jogger and double snap n go in the trunk with a few other items, plus I can fit all four of my kids and two friends. I like the power doors (my 3 and 7 year old get in on their own). We have stow n go in the back (used when we purchased bunk beds) and all three of the middle seats can be removed individually or slid forward or back (like the front seats).

Speaking with friends who have owned SUVs, their comments have been that minivans are "more family friendly", whether it's legroom for the back seat, storage room behind it, easy of driving, multiple friends have switched to minivans for those reasons.

Most of all, do what works for your family and your lifestyle. Good luck!

Just some things I wish would've realized....we have a SUV b/c my hubby DOES NOT WANT to be the mini-van family. Fine accept he is not toting the kids around....

Now I wish I would've pushed for the minivan...can't tell you how many times someone parks too close to us in a parking lot. Then we can't open the doors and the kids cannot get in or out without assistance. A huge drag on those cold and rainy days! Second..you can pop open the doors of the minivan for the kids to start to seat themselves or at least wait in a warm car while you buckle in others, put away groceries or chat with the teachers. Instead I have to freeze while I unpack the cart or buckle the kids in or they have to wait for me to finish my conversation to get it. Big drag! I'm sure these issues are age related, but for the time being it is a drag!

MAZDA 5!! and you can have it all! I wanted one, but my hubby wouldn't let me get one, because the reliability is not yet proven.

I was SOO frustrated that when you want to carpool it is close to impossible to get 3 car seats across in the back. (e-mail me if you want to know how in a camry). I actually searched in German to find out what Europeans were doing, because I know they are more fuel conscious. I found a posting of someone raving about the Mazda 5, a mini-minivan.

Seats 6, easy access sliding doors, 28 mpg! Apparently, they've been around longer in Europe and Japan. I love my Sienna, but feel guilty driving it because it is so big and heavy, and at 19mpg puts out more carbon than I would like... We'll be enjoying luxury or biking....

Hi there,

We just went through this process ourselves and went with a Honda Odyssey minivan. We also have 2 children and wanted more room for family outings and when our girls have friends ride with us. We liked it the most b/c of the versatililty of the seating arrangements and felt that the minivans were more accessible for that 3rd row seating, not to mention all the cool bells and whistles. Plus, I think with Hondas and Toyotas you know you are buying a quality product. Both the Honda and Toyota minivans will meet your requirements. We just liked the Honda a wee bit more than the Toyota.
In the SUVs with 3rd row seating and even the crossovers we looked at, there would be almost NO trunk/storage space if the 3rd row seats were being used.

If however we hadn't gone the minivan route we would have bought the Ford Flex. It was reallly cool and had a surprising amount of room. It is Ford's crossover vehichle.

Good luck, hope that helps and enjoy your new car!

Hi-

I am a mother of three, ages 15, 10, 5. Have you considered a crossover vehicle? I had a Ford Expedition that we traded in for a Saturn Outlook in 2007. I love the Outlook! The same amount of room, and way better gas mileage! Go drive one...you might like it.

A.