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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.
Renting a truck twice a year doesn't cost a lot of money.
Comparing a minivan and oversized SUV (Expedition, Suburban/YukonXL, Armada/QX, Navigator) isn't a fair comparison.
How is it not a fair comparison? The discussion began comparing SUVs to minivans. The statement was made that a minivan has more cargo space, can seat more, etc... I simply disproved that myth. A full-size SUV is still an SUV.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SportyandMisty
^^^ +1 ^^^ This.
It is nuts that a sheet of plywood doesn't fit inside most large SUVs even when the seats are flat or removed -- the interior width has been restricted in modern SUVs, taking the "utility" out of SUV. Most manufacturers understand that most SUVs are largely soccer mom vehicles.
A sheet of plywood doesn't fit easily into ANY SUV or minivan.. But it does fit into most with some effort. Keep in mind again that none of these vehicles were designed to use for hauling large materials. That effort is best left to a truck with a bed since that IS what they were designed for. However, other vehicles can be used for things they weren't designed for.
As stated earlier, the Expedition EL will hold a sheet of plywood easily. I've actually hauled 10 sheets of 1/2" plywood home from the local lumber yard in the car when my truck was having work done. It would have held another 15-20 sheets if I had the need for them. From the rear door to the front seat there is 8.19 ft of usable space and the width is 4.28 ft. Since the 2nd and 3rd rows stow flat, seats aren't a problem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by YourWakeUpCall
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 do you know that many who argue against a minivan doesn't tow with it? We tow with our Expedition at least monthly and our load is always over 3,500 lbs. I see a lot of people towing bumper pull campers with them. You won't do that with a minivan. To me that makes an SUV a "real vehicle".
I don't see a reason to buy a second vehicle that has to be maintained and insured (if you use it even semi-frequently) when an SUV will handle both duties with ease. I also think my specs from a few pages back show that there is little difference in length, turning radius (parking), or how they handle. Our Expedition handles like a car. Usually those who make these claims either haven't driven one, or are just opposed to it based on their perception of an SUV. Not real world experience. I believe that is the case here when you automatically bring up ego because someone chooses an SUV or truck over a Minivan.
How is it not a fair comparison? The discussion began comparing SUVs to minivans. The statement was made that a minivan has more cargo space, can seat more, etc... I simply disproved that myth. A full-size SUV is still an SUV.
Technically, you are correct, but I get the impression that question was not about the larger SUVs. Do they even sell that many of the really big SUVs anymore? I don't see as many around as I used to, but I haven't checked.
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.
This is me many weekends out of the year (and some weeks, too):
And the Suburban is easy to drive when I'm not towing. Much better than the diesel dually I had previously:
Neither was/is my daily driver, I have a BMW for that. But If I want to carry stuff, I'd rather have the practicality of the tow vehicle that can also carry people or home building supplies and be comfortable in a pinch (and 4x4 for snow). For me it's way more practical and useful than a minivan. And it'll tow the project cars home, too.
I don't see a reason to buy a second vehicle that has to be maintained and insured (if you use it even semi-frequently) when an SUV will handle both duties with ease. I also think my specs from a few pages back show that there is little difference in length, turning radius (parking), or how they handle. Our Expedition handles like a car. Usually those who make these claims either haven't driven one, or are just opposed to it based on their perception of an SUV. Not real world experience. I believe that is the case here when you automatically bring up ego because someone chooses an SUV or truck over a Minivan.
The whole post was good but this part...Very well said.
In other news, I took the time to look up the seating configurations of some of the minivans mentioned throughout this thread. Interior space-wise, it wouldn't cut it for my family. We haul enough stuff enough of the time that we'd have to keep the third row down. Then we'd be one seat short. And I'm talking just routine in/around town stuff with the double bob stroller, room for groceries, gym bags, in the back, etc. Forget about when we go on a vacation! (Notice how many minivans you see with the roof top storage container? Ever see one of those on a full size SUV?)
As I keep saying: for us the SUV was the more practical vehicle. Better power, interior space, towing capacity and if you have 4wd, better accessibility to places you'd never be able to take a minivan.
Technically, you are correct, but I get the impression that question was not about the larger SUVs. Do they even sell that many of the really big SUVs anymore? I don't see as many around as I used to, but I haven't checked.
Yes they do. Here are some sales numbers based on % change from YTD 2016.
If you were to compare minivan sales strictly to large SUV sales, you'll see that the minivan does sell more. However if you compare total suv sales to minivans, you'll see that the SUV still reigns supreme.
Minivans = 212,439
Full size suv - 128,756
Midsize SUV - 400,931
Small SUV - 107,485
Luxury SUV - 93,574
Throw light duty pickups in the mix and they outrank them all with 4,295,134 sales YTD in 2017.
According to some other posters, I guess a whole lot of people have ego problems. (That or they figured out what is actually practical to use)
The whole post was good but this part...Very well said.
In other news, I took the time to look up the seating configurations of some of the minivans mentioned throughout this thread. Interior space-wise, it wouldn't cut it for my family. We haul enough stuff enough of the time that we'd have to keep the third row down. Then we'd be one seat short. And I'm talking just routine in/around town stuff with the double bob stroller, room for groceries, gym bags, in the back, etc. Forget about when we go on a vacation! (Notice how many minivans you see with the roof top storage container? Ever see one of those on a full size SUV?)
As I keep saying: for us the SUV was the more practical vehicle. Better power, interior space, towing capacity and if you have 4wd, better accessibility to places you'd never be able to take a minivan.
This is a point that many large SUV owners that I know (including my family) had to contend with.
We can only fit 7 in my mother in laws Chrysler Town & Country minivan. We can fit 8 in the Expedition EL.
When we have 8 passengers, we still have about 4.5 ft of depth between the 3rd row and the rear hatch. My mother in law has less than 3 ft left of usable space which means everything has to get stacked from floor to ceiling to fit.
My wife's entire family went to the beach last week with us. We drove our Expedition, she drove her minivan. We carried our family of 4, plus 2 nephews. We only had to use the single seat in the 3rd row, allowing us to fold the other two down for storage. We carried a beach cart, cooler, 2 large suitcases, 2 small suitcases, 4 beach chairs, a beach tent, two umbrellas, and cases of drinks and boxes of food with us. None of the passengers were cramped or uncomfortable on the trip. My mother in law took two nieces and my brother and sister in law. She packed 3 large suitcases in the rear cargo area, and had to stow the spare tire and one suitcase in an overhead luggage container because nothing else would fit.
While there my son and I decided to buy a couple of deep sea fishing rods to do some fishing. The rods are 7 ft in length, so we simply tied those to the roof rack for the ride home. Everything else went right back in the way it came out.
I'm used to a trucks and large SUVs. The first car I drove was my fathers full size van. However, the minivan wasn't for me... it was for my wife and children. She actually hated the idea of the minivan in the beginning. For her, the selling point was the large sliding door openings, low lift over height, and it didn't drive like a truck. She doesn't care for towing capacity.
I don't think any of those reasons are resting on my wife's ego... she would rather be caught driving something SUV, crossover or something similar.
If practical is defined as versatility, then yeh.. Large SUV is the ticket.
If practical is a people mover, then yeh... the minivan is the ticket.
To say that people are buying minivans (or SUVs/Trucks) based on egos is a little insulting by insinuating stupidity of the consumer.. irregardless of the final choice in vehicle.
I'll claim stupidity for myself tough... I typically buy two seater convertibles.. lol certainly the least practical type of vehicles. But eh.. I have a spare SUV when needed.
This is a point that many large SUV owners that I know (including my family) had to contend with.
We can only fit 7 in my mother in laws Chrysler Town & Country minivan. We can fit 8 in the Expedition EL.
When we have 8 passengers, we still have about 4.5 ft of depth between the 3rd row and the rear hatch. My mother in law has less than 3 ft left of usable space which means everything has to get stacked from floor to ceiling to fit.
My wife's entire family went to the beach last week with us. We drove our Expedition, she drove her minivan. We carried our family of 4, plus 2 nephews. We only had to use the single seat in the 3rd row, allowing us to fold the other two down for storage. We carried a beach cart, cooler, 2 large suitcases, 2 small suitcases, 4 beach chairs, a beach tent, two umbrellas, and cases of drinks and boxes of food with us. None of the passengers were cramped or uncomfortable on the trip. My mother in law took two nieces and my brother and sister in law. She packed 3 large suitcases in the rear cargo area, and had to stow the spare tire and one suitcase in an overhead luggage container because nothing else would fit.
While there my son and I decided to buy a couple of deep sea fishing rods to do some fishing. The rods are 7 ft in length, so we simply tied those to the roof rack for the ride home. Everything else went right back in the way it came out.
I'm not sure I understand your point. The Chrysler with Stow and go gives you options to put only some of the seats down in the floor or all, in any combination you want. The rear seat has two parts. You can put on down or both. Same with the middle. Your mother in law could have put down the left part and had plenty of room for everything listed.
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