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Seriously though, his post reeks of desperation and a ticking clock to get a woman pregnant and start a family. That's not a turn on for anyone. And picking his vehicle (one that comes with a certain stigma no matter how you slice it) based on getting said pregnant woman long before that's even a topic of converstion in a relationship is creepy.
Yeah, if he was a mobile dog groomer or dog walker, it would make sense, but picking it expressly for the purpose of finding a girl and starting a family is not about avoiding superficial women and goes straight to avoiding intelligent women, too, as most will be creeped out by that mentality.
Those are reasonable reasons to call him creepy. The minivan has nothing to do with that.
Previously, I was leaning Subaru Outback. It looks stylish and practical. I'm fine with their not so fancy interiors, but I am not sure how reliable they are.
I own a current generation 6 cylinder Outback. It's a lifted Legacy station wagon rather than a crossover so you have the same Subaru Legacy seating position. Subaru has seen some design flaw issues over the years. A well known head gasket problem 10 years ago. An oil consumption problem on cars that weren't broken in properly 5 years ago. The new ones haven't shown any issues. You can expect most of them to go 125,000 to 150,000 miles without anything expensive going wrong. Follow the maintenance schedule and tires & brakes occasionally. In 2017, that's "average".
An Outback holds four 6'2" adults comfortably with a ton of room behind the rear seat. I have a receiver hitch on mine. I can rent an enclosed 5x8 U Haul cargo trailer for $20/day or an open 5x8 for a bit less. Why would I ever need a minivan?
If you haven't driven one since the current generation came out in 2015, the interior is much improved. Softer materials instead of hard plastic. In the Limited trim level, the leather is adequate. The 2018 model refresh is supposed to address some wind noise issues with smaller side mirrors and upgraded glass. The car has some body roll but that's easily fixed with upgraded rear sway bars and you can negotiate that as part of the sale. The car is practical but I personally don't think it's stylish.
In my opinion, a car with a receiver hitch is the best option for most people. Harbor Freight sells a 4x8 trailer that folds in half and stores upright in a garage for cheap money. That handles your Home Depot and trash/yard debris runs in suburbia. I had VW GTIs as my daily driver for years. With the rear seat folded down, that holds a ton. A receiver hitch and you can handle the occasional sheet of plywood or load of mulch. I'd be researching hatchbacks and towing capacity since there are so few station wagons. In Europe, you see that all the time. People go on vacation with their subcompact towing a little cargo trailer. Why pay for the fuel burn and expense of a much larger minivan?
I'm a middle age guy who lives alone. I'm moving from a large city with good public transportation to a small city in the middle of nowhere. The fun part of driving is just not there anymore for my age. If I had the option, I would rather let someone else do the driving, or just utilize the public transportation.
Since practicality is the only consideration I have. Is minivan the best type of vehicle for me? I have zero need for off road, a SUV just doesn't make sense. A minivan allows me to carry bikes, mattresses, small furnitures and up to 6 passengers. I had owned Accord, Mazda 3 and Saturn L200 in the past. There's nothing wrong with sedans, but I'm thinking of getting married and raising kids within two years, which justifies the purchase of a minivan. However, it could be a little bit too extravagant since I won't have kids in the first year or even two. But I'll need a vehicle anyway.
Any thought?
Also, I'm primarily interested in Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey.
Thanks
I have the same Ody since i bought it new in 2006. I dont drive a lot so my mileage is under 40k...
I love that van.
Pack it with a huge amount of camping gear off you go. Take out the rear seats, BOOM an 8x4 sheet of ply fits right in. It has a big enough engine drive fully loaded long distance with comfort and ease.
Handles very well for a van, even when in laws and family are all aboard with luggage too!
There is the obvious social issue in that it is not cool, but i am secure enough in myself and have enough money to not need to show it off. I am middle aged and my van is getting old it is a 2006 and while i hate to part with it safety standards are rising and when i can buy something that parks in tight spaces, warns and brakes i guess i will have too.
I use it for taking junk to the dump, i use it for late season snow trips. I did not like the OEM tires and swapped them out at 20k. I have a winter tires on rims that my dealer changes over during service no extra charge and $15 to put the all season tires back on in spring.
Looking at pure practicality standpoint (ignoring luxury etc), nothing beats a minivan for our family of 5. The sliding doors, low lift height, seating, space, rear hatch.. make a world of difference in day to day use. We don't even have a "nice' minivan (barebones). My wife still prefers it. She overlooks the areas it lacks because it is simply so useful. We have several cars in our driveway. The minivan gets the most use (not counting my commuters)
When I was single, I would have said compact pickup or full sized if my work commute was short enough.
Oh... when I suggested it after our first child, my wife refused to be the "minivan mom". We got a crossover... it wasn't sufficient when we had two more children. She admits that we should have bought the minivan from the getgo.
I swear half of the parking lot dents on people's doors are from people struggling to strap their kids in the car seat while trying to keep the door for hitting the next vehicle... OR... toddlers/little kids who open the doors and dont' know any better. Not a problem with sliding doors.
Actually the body on frame SUV is also superior in cargo capacity when all of the seats are in place, which is how the vehicles were designed to be used.
Here are some specs (I am using my Expedition vs my mother in law's minivan)
Comparing a minivan and oversized SUV (Expedition, Suburban/YukonXL, Armada/QX, Navigator) isn't a fair comparison.
Practicality depends on the individual. For my family a minivan would never work. But for your purposes it could work just fine.
Agreed.
Two things. The Forester was bought back in 2002 which was a time when I was doing a lot of field world, collecting samples, putting them in coolers in the back. A minivan might be able to do that job, too, but I saw an SUV working better.
Secondly, when my brother was married, I think they drove around in a Honda Pilot (2006). It looked like a great family car with Mom & Dad up front, three kids amidships, cargo and big dog aft...except for one little thing. That big dog in its cage stuck in a space that didn't allow him any view didn't seem to me like such a great deal for him. (in my family, I'm more of the animal person)
Depends on the person, depends on what picture they are seeing.
cargo and big dog aft...except for one little thing. That big dog in its cage stuck in a space that didn't allow him any view didn't seem to me like such a great deal for him. (in my family, I'm more of the animal person)
During a drive, that was the safest place for a big dog to be for him and everyone else in the family...like putting a child in a car seat in the rear instead of holding her in your arms in the front.
Seems those electric doors usually need repairs, eventually. That and I didn't like the idea of smelling trash while driving to the transfer station. And I really wanted some sort of four wheel drive, as we have weather around here, along with dirt roads. And traverse V engines usually are a pain to work on.
But otherwise... a minivan would probably fit the bill for us. Remove the third row and we'd have storage space. Mild towing capability, decent road manners.
But I'd rather not commute every day in one. Not that I care what others think of me, but since I do >20k as a single occupant vehicle, I wanted a sedan, for the mpg (and size). At that point... why not a crew cab truck? I put a cap over the 6.5' bed and have all that I wanted. I call it my overgrown station wagon. [Then again, some days I wouldn't mind going to a minivan. The travel trailer seems out of the question now, the truck is pretty high off the ground, the 4WD system is primitive, and a minivan would offer a slight mpg improvement. Oh well.]
I used to have a Jetta station wagon, which I loved, but ultimately as a compact we did out grow it.
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I have one of those HF 4x8 utility trailers. They do work well for moving stuff. I still think my next trailer will be enclosed though, that way weather doesn't matter when moving things (assuming I keep aforementioned truck).
If it works for you get one. Is middle age 30 nowadays? Oh jeez..I'm 30 this year and currently drive a 2 seater but will eventually get kids, pretty close haha.
A mini van is practical for kids I'll admit that. The only reason why I can't get it is, 1) The girl will slap me. 2) It's not fun to drive/cool looking
For me, a SUV/crossover would be the best. Right now I'm deciding with the Acura MDX or CX-9. It's based on my lifestyle, which I like outdoors (camping/snow trips/etc), there's a 3rd row for kids, and doesn't look like a mini van (no offense)
The Tesla Model X is nice but I can't afford that toy. I only mention it because recently it's the safest SUV out in the market, perfect if you have kids.
As long as you're happy with what you get, it's all that matters. My friend is 30 and has 2 kids and drives a Sienna. He likes it but he's a real simple guy.
If it works for you get one. Is middle age 30 nowadays? Oh jeez..I'm 30 this year and currently drive a 2 seater but will eventually get kids, pretty close haha.
A mini van is practical for kids I'll admit that. The only reason why I can't get it is, 1) The girl will slap me. 2) It's not fun to drive/cool looking
For me, a SUV/crossover would be the best. Right now I'm deciding with the Acura MDX or CX-9. It's based on my lifestyle, which I like outdoors (camping/snow trips/etc), there's a 3rd row for kids, and doesn't look like a mini van (no offense)
The Tesla Model X is nice but I can't afford that toy. I only mention it because recently it's the safest SUV out in the market, perfect if you have kids.
As long as you're happy with what you get, it's all that matters. My friend is 30 and has 2 kids and drives a Sienna. He likes it but he's a real simple guy.
Totally agree (except the wretched Tesla bit) however a word of caution with 3 row SUVs and kids...they are practically useless if your kids are in car seats. Try getting in the 3rd row with the second row full of car seats. It's nearly impossible. Try strapping a kid in a 3 row car seat and you'll be adding a chiropractor visit to your list of errands.
They were intended to help sell the wife on a SUV vs a minivan knowing very well nobody brings their 3 car seats on a test drive. It's not till you get home you realize you should have swallowed your pride and accepted and embraced your fate as a minivan family.
Up to two kids, you're good to go with any SUV. Three kids equals minivan.
3 row seat SUVs are ok if you want an emergency jump seat for a couple other nimble passengers for short distances.
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