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Goodhombre
After driving a minivan for years these are my thoughts: the minivan might scare the girlfriend away, especially if she is not ready for children. Have you considered a Subaru outback? Great mileage, AWD, back seats can be folded to carry stuffs, it has a luggage carrier in the top and last but not least, you can get one with a sunroof which makes me feel younger or something. I can still take my daughter and friends around but I feel better than driving the minivan, I don't know, more powerful? Less middle age, less conformist?
Simple: You don't dress like a slob because of appearances. You don't want to be perceived as a slob or homeless person. So you care what other people think when you go out, otherwise you could dress in ratty sweats, as it's practical and comfortable. Cars are no different. And insulting others that don't want a stigma attached to them for what they drive is hypocritical on your part.
I think that's a big part of what makes me bristle at this thread. I'd never be critical of anyone over their preferences for any type of vehicle. If you're the one cutting a check every month for the payment you owe nobody an explanation for driving what you drive or liking what you like. I don't begrudge anyone their preferences and I'd very much like the same courtesy extended to me. The defensiveness of the minivan advocates in this thread is ridiculous. Assuming others don't "need" the SUV they've chose over a minivan is as arrogant and presumptuous as it gets and every bit as bad as the vanity they perceive in others. It really is a little ironic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiffer E38
Oh, and for me, the most practical vehicle has to carry people and stuff AND be able to tow at least 7500 lbs, preferably more, and go in all weather conditions.
I am with you here. Most minvans have a towing capacity of 3500 or so pounds. Those that come equiped with the traile hitch have a 1 1/2" as of the last time I actually noticed. That's a huge limit. I have a 12' trailer that has a 2" hitch and weighs 1200 pounds. That would be 1/3 of capacity on the trailer alone. On my trailer on moving day you'd be more limited by your minivan than space available on the trailer. And that assumes the minivan had the larger hitch.
I also can't help but wonder (and be a bit bemused) at those who can't fit as much stuff into their SUVs as their minivans. What kind of stuff are they hauling? I've packed an obscene amount of gear for a family of 5 into the back of my SUV. I suppose I could have replicated that payload in my minivan by removing the third row, but then with 3 kids one of them wouldn't have a seat!
Add in the ability to go places a minivan just can't go (we went to a beach house at Outer Banks NC that involved 10 miles of driving in the sand) and the ability to pull some serious weight and for many, the SUV is just the better option. It takes a lot of hubris to assume people just by them for vain purposes or that a minivan is the most practical vehicle for everyone.
LOL, personally I love my minivan and if others look down on me for driving one, well, that's pretty pathetic. Their lives are so pathetic that they need to look down on minivan drivers to boost their own self-esteem???
I'm pleased to say, my friends who have ridden in my T&C have all come away very impressed with the practicality, comfort, and convenience of this vehicle. I took my band to Maine and back a couple of weekends ago, five people plus gear. Everyone was blown away by the spaciousness and comfortable ride. The electric sliding doors and electric liftback, the cool Stow'n'Go fold-away seats, the logical controls... everything about this vehicle has been thought through.
Yep, I'm a convert. There was a time when I would never in a million years consider a Chrysler. Now I consider them to make the world's best minivans, and the 2017 Pacifica is the next great leap forward for mankind. Can't wait to trade up to one of those bad boys!
OP may or may not still be around... but if you're still reading this thread, my suggestion is to get a minivan. It will separate the wheat from the chaff. In other words, the cool women will love it. The superficial ones will be turned off. Take your pick which you'd prefer to hang with!
Okay, just this afternoon I found a way that a minivan could be construed to have an advantage over an SUV with regard to interior dimensions. I have a couple SUP boards and keep one of the paddles in the back of my SUV. Unlike a kayak paddle that can be broken down into two pieces, a SUP board paddle is one piece and often the back of even a full size SUV can be insufficient to lay it down. The result is having to position it in an awkward diagonal direction. The paddle shifts around and I have to make sure it doesn't slip before I close the lift gate (I have an expensive paddle and don't want to damage it by closing the lift gate on it.
I was discussing this very thread with my wife as we pulled into our driveway from running some errands. As I closed the back of the SUV I mused, "I bet I could slide this paddle beneath the third row and between the two mid-row seats on a minivan." So there. I am giving minivans some props.
Then again...
Some of the places I've gone to paddle board...driving on the beach or on dirt roads that were little more than rut marks in the grass...A minivan, even one with AWD, would never have had a snowflake's chance in hell of making it. So the SUV still wins.
I think that's a big part of what makes me bristle at this thread. I'd never be critical of anyone over their preferences for any type of vehicle. If you're the one cutting a check every month for the payment you owe nobody an explanation for driving what you drive or liking what you like. I don't begrudge anyone their preferences and I'd very much like the same courtesy extended to me. The defensiveness of the minivan advocates in this thread is ridiculous. Assuming others don't "need" the SUV they've chose over a minivan is as arrogant and presumptuous as it gets and every bit as bad as the vanity they perceive in others. It really is a little ironic.
I am with you here. Most minvans have a towing capacity of 3500 or so pounds. Those that come equiped with the traile hitch have a 1 1/2" as of the last time I actually noticed. That's a huge limit. I have a 12' trailer that has a 2" hitch and weighs 1200 pounds. That would be 1/3 of capacity on the trailer alone. On my trailer on moving day you'd be more limited by your minivan than space available on the trailer. And that assumes the minivan had the larger hitch.
I also can't help but wonder (and be a bit bemused) at those who can't fit as much stuff into their SUVs as their minivans. What kind of stuff are they hauling? I've packed an obscene amount of gear for a family of 5 into the back of my SUV. I suppose I could have replicated that payload in my minivan by removing the third row, but then with 3 kids one of them wouldn't have a seat!
Add in the ability to go places a minivan just can't go (we went to a beach house at Outer Banks NC that involved 10 miles of driving in the sand) and the ability to pull some serious weight and for many, the SUV is just the better option. It takes a lot of hubris to assume people just by them for vain purposes or that a minivan is the most practical vehicle for everyone.
How often do you actually tow over 3,500 lbs? 95% of the time when people use this argument against minivans, it turns out they tow maybe once or twice per year. I've even encountered people who bought a truck/SUV with a large towing capacity because they "might' need to tow something large in the future. Here's what I did: get a real vehicle for daily use (minivan, sedan, etc.) and keep an older truck around for occasional truck/towing needs. There's no reason to saddle yourself with a giant fuel-guzzling, hard-to-park, foul-handling tank if you use it for its intended purpose only a couple of times per year. Or, just admit that your ego needs an SUV or truck. No shame in that, just be honest about it.
How often do you actually tow over 3,500 lbs? 95% of the time when people use this argument against minivans, it turns out they tow maybe once or twice per year. I've even encountered people who bought a truck/SUV with a large towing capacity because they "might' need to tow something large in the future. Here's what I did: get a real vehicle for daily use (minivan, sedan, etc.) and keep an older truck around for occasional truck/towing needs. There's no reason to saddle yourself with a giant fuel-guzzling, hard-to-park, foul-handling tank if you use it for its intended purpose only a couple of times per year. Or, just admit that your ego needs an SUV or truck. No shame in that, just be honest about it.
I tow a 12' trailer pretty frequently. Sometimes with some serious payload but most of the time with kayaks inside. Those kayaks and the weight of the trailer combine for well under the 3500 pounds a minivan can handle but the size of the trailer itself requires a larger ball hitch than what most minivans come equipped with. Now you can counter that I didn't need that large of a trailer and they do make kayak trailers with smaller hitches. My answer to that is the trailer had to be a certain minimum size because it had to fit the length of the kayaks inside. We passed on a kayak trailer because they were just as expensive as a general purpose trailer and had less utility. If you're going to pay the $$$ for a trailer, why not get one that can be used for multiple purposes? And once you're in that space, the size of the trailer and hitch put it a class above what minivans come equipped with. Again: it's utility and practicality rather than ego that make this an easy decision. I know some here would like to think the minivan is the one-size-fits-all-regardless-of-lifestyle vehicle but it really isn't. I know some here would like to think everyone who drives an SUV does so out of ego but there's a lot of us who picked them knowing they open up possibilities that other vehicles may not.
Regarding there being no reason to "saddle ones self" with a "fuel guzzling hard to park foul handling tank..." My wife and I have owned 4 different SUVs since we've been married, and the two we have now are both full size. Regarding fuel economy, most minivans will do better but I'll say this: the advantage in fuel economy isn't SO MUCH better it can compensate for other disadvantages. As for hard to park or handle...I don't know what SUVs you've driven but that doesn't describe any that I've owned. Perhaps you are making a statement on out your driving skills more so than a type of vehicle?
Last edited by iknowftbll; 06-25-2017 at 07:44 AM..
Ever since the astrovan was discontinued, we lost a real minivan with towing capacity. The awd, extended astrovan was the beast to go to for passenger and towing comfort.
2 most practical vehicles for people that don't need a pickup are a minivan and a hatchback. Since you are single, maybe a hatch is better for you?
I've never met a 30-year-old guy who considered himself middle-aged. I'm twice as old and still want a car that's fun to drive.
A hatchback with a tow hitch, able to pull a utility trailer, can suit the needs of people who only need to haul stuff occasionally and do not routinely carry many passengers. The minivan is best for those with at least two children. The OP moving to a small town may find a pickup to be the most useful, though.
They have built in vacuums.
They're not put there to clean up after adults (although some adults are bigger slobs than babies).
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