Minivans...? Thoughts and comments wanted.

[ebinmaine 67,508]

Trina is putting some consideration into making her next vehicle a minivan.

 

We are looking for thoughts comments questions suggestions positives negatives whatever....

 

 

Do you have one? Have you had one? What was great? What would you have changed?

 

 

[ri702bill 8,323]

A lot of brand choices - you can get the "Soccer Mom" 4WD type, as we call it, no levers or buttons, the car chooses either 2WD or 4WD according to road conditions. Works great until it fails, not cheap to fix....

[squonk 41,118]

The biggest problem with mini vans:

 

Women can fill them with junk and never empty it!

 

Ignore the misconception about mini vans being for wimps

 

Biggest positive with mini vans:

 

Remove the seats and haul a tractor! 

[cleat 5,998]

Years ago I had a Ford Windstar.

Likely the most practical vehicle I have ever owned.

Because it had no center console I could put 10' lumber in and slide it between the seats all the way up to the dash then close the back door.

 

The only reason we sold it was because I bought it for a low price with some rust forming then it proceded to rust out.

Not the van's fault more due to years of abuse and neglect.

 

It was pretty good on fuel as well.

 

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,318]

  When our kids were little we went thru the mini-van stage. Ford Windstar is what we had. 
  Hands down the most comfy long haul vehicle ever! The captain seats up from with armrests were fantastic. I never hauled a tractor but having all that interior space was super handy. 
  They do have the soccer mom stigmatism, but once you haul your first tractor or take your first long distance drive in it you’ll forget all about that.  
  Are you planning to tow a trailer? Do your homework on tow capacities. Ours was a v6 but nowadays everything is a little 4 banger. 
 

[Mike'sHorseBarn 2,998]

53 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Trina is putting some consideration into making her next vehicle a minivan.

 

We are looking for thoughts comments questions suggestions positives negatives whatever....

 

 

Do you have one? Have you had one? What was great? What would you have changed?

 

 

 

I'm not sure if you're looking for new or used, but my mom has a 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan and the thing is a piece of junk. It is an absolute dog in my humble opinion, no power or acceleration whatsoever. The interior and everything about it just feels cheap. 

 

Now my uncle has a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica and it is super nice. Good power and acceleration, nice interior, feel like your driving something substantial. He had another one, the first year they came, but I forget what year and it had a very clunky transmission. It got to around 70,000 miles and he traded it because of that. The new one he has doesn't clunk and bang around in the transmission like the old one did. 

 

I know several people that have Toyota Sienna's and they all love them, though I have never been in one or drive one. Just my 2 cents!

[Handy Don 12,232]

We owned four Chrysler minivans and I concur with the comments above except the “cheap”.

Super comfortable for long distance, lots of interior room for hauling people or stuff, and reasonable fuel economy.

Our favorite had separately removable captain seats in the middle for very flexible seating/transport configurations and a full 48” between the wheel wells.

The last two had 6 cylinder engines and those are still available as is a hybrid or AWD. Our FWD never failed to get us through, but then I never asked it to do stupid stuff. (I do have memories of passing, with a big smile on my face, SUVs driven aggressively that had slid off snowy/icy roads and were stuck!)

We pulled a pop-up camper with one for a few years. Probably less than 2000 lbs.

We only stopped buying them when we no longer had children living at home and I’d not yet found my tractor hobby!

Other brands I’m not familiar with.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Handy Don

[squonk 41,118]

My wife has a 2007 Sienna with 167,000 with the 3.5 24 valve stump puller. Great acceleration and smooth. We had to put a rad in it about 4 yrs. ago when it split open. Rear plugs were a PITA as the wiper trans, windshield cowl and intake manifold had to come off. An o2 sensor and a LF strut and that's it. And for some reason rocks like the windshield. Not quite enough leg room for me as I need to fully extend my left knee from time to time. Van is been slowly rusting for the past 3 years.

[wallfish 17,000]

1 hour ago, squonk said:

Ignore the misconception about mini vans being for wimps

But driving one is like drinking out of a straw. It's almost impossible to look cool doing it.

[rmaynard 15,461]

Best mini-van I ever had was a Chevy Astro. My daughter and her husband still have a 2010 Toyota Sienna that is probably the best mini-van that I have ever seen. Running strong, and it switches from a work vehicle during the week to a travel vehicle on the weekends. My son and his wife had two Chrysler mini-vans in that time and I would consider them the worst. Just my opinion.

[SylvanLakeWH 25,562]

Honda Odyssey - 2 of them. Outstanding vehicles. Roomy, towing, great quality. 

 

Any Chrysler product - I would violate this site's policies to comment.

 

[Tonytoro416 1,034]

My mom had a Chevy venture minivan and it was absolutely helpless in the snow. For you that seems worth a thought

[Tonytoro416 1,034]

I had a 2wd s10 I thought was helpless but that van trumped them all

[Pullstart 62,889]

@Inspectorjoe hauls tractors in vans!  What do you have Joe, and how big a machine have you fit?

[OutdoorEnvy 1,522]

I grew up with a 89 Chevy Astro van as a kid.  I've had a 2015 Honda Odyssey for the main family vehicle for the last 5 years, has 88k on it currently.  I'll list a section for what I like and don't like about them.

 

Pros:  Lots of room for hauling people/stuff.  More fuel efficient than a V8 SUV.  Lower to the ground and easier to get in and out of for some folks, compared to large SUV.  Huge trunk space and easy fold down 3rd row seats.  Comfortable features for the most part.

 

Cons: This mainly pertains to my opinion of our 2015 Honda Odyssey.  I hate how it drives.  The computerized shifting/tuning is geared for fuel efficiency and no power.  It's always wanting to be in "Eco" mode and make it drive awful when you want pedal response.  It is very delayed and always wanting to be in higher gears.  It's a 5 speed and I swear it's always in either 2nd or OD.  If you want to accelerate quick or get the power you have to smash the pedal in the floor, wait 2-3 seconds and then the thing reluctantly lurches into lower gears for you.  I feel like it has the smallest drivers seat area of any minivan I've been in.  I'm 6'4 235lbs and I feel squished in it.  Seat should go back farther and the console is too wide by your legs making for narrow leg room for longer legged people.  I get leg and hip cramps after being in it for an hour and can't go more than two hours or so without having to get out.  I also have hit my head a lot on it getting in as the angle of the front is steep and makes it low.  The cruise control is awful if you live in hills.  It seems to have a +/- of 4mph before it corrects.  Which is very annoying to me when you're traveling on the interstate and you have the cruise on 70 and start up a hill and you will slow down to 66/67 without it speeding back up.  Never had another vehicle be that much.  Drives me nuts.  I've had some electrical issues with the radio and the air flow mode actuators going bad.  Mechanically it seems fine so far.  I will say most all the vehicles I have driven were either a manual or 4speed automatic with a throttle cable/wire to the pedal and intake, not computer sensors.  So I'm use to instant and smooth response from the pedal.  So depending on how you drive and what kind of response you like from your vehicle these may or may not bother you.  Just wanted to share though.        

[Ed Kennell 38,178]

Mrs. K bought a new Ford Windstar Minivan when they came out in 1994.   She drove it 150K and wanted a new one but they quit building them in 2003, so she bought a Dodge Grand Caravan that she still drives today with 140K on the meter.  Dodge has also discontinued building  these.    Both were 7 passenger  and could haul a 4x8 sheet of plywood.

The Dodge has the hide-away seats that fold and can easily create a flat floor for loading 4x8 sheets.   I believe Chrysler  is the only American company still making this type van.   Both the Windstar and the Grand Caravan were excellent  dependable trouble free transportation for people and cargo.   Handled snow and ice as well as my F-150 4WDs.     The rear wheels on an empty pick up have zero traction.    

[ebinmaine 67,508]

Absolutely awesome comments and information above !!

 

Keep em coming!

 

 

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,299]

1 hour ago, wallfish said:

But driving one is like drinking out of a straw. It's almost impossible to look cool doing it.

That is a reason ole goats drive pickup trucks. 2007 Silverado replaced my 1984 El Camino SS Choo Choo. Dang thing sits up too high for a 2-wheel drive or my legs are too short. 

[pfrederi 17,739]

One of my weekender neighbors has a Toyota Sienna van. He has gotten stuck a few times trying to drive around his mushy yard.  Van has very little ground clearance.  When he sinks in and gets stuck it is very hard (messy) to get underneath to hook to something solid to drag him out.  Last fall he was down so deep we wound up having to hook to the passenger side top engine mount.  There are no tow points or hook on the darn thing front or rear.  In most of Europe cars must have front and rear tow points.  Even the Porsche 944 we had had a big Eye bolt in the glove box that threaded into concealed holes fore and aft.

[cleat 5,998]

My wife put the Windstar into the ditch with the rear end sort of pointed out.

Luckily I had a hitch on it and just hooked a recovery sling to that and pulled her out with no issues.

 

 

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Ahhhhhhhhh—the minivan!

 

Almost like a forbidden cuss word for the average 20-30 year old American male🤔😅😂

 

However, as much as I hate to admit it, we have owned several of them and they are all around the most utilitarian vehicles that I’ve ever owned—and I’ve had my fair share!

 

Our Windstar was the first.  Put on about 150,000 miles before the rust became a problem as mentioned above.  Good vehicle overall for our family.

 

Next up a Toyota Sienna. Bulletproof.  Did everything the windstar did but better.  Drove it up to nearly 300,000 trouble free miles before we started to have issues with the sliding door tracks being shot. Kelli was afraid one of the doors would fall off or get stuck open/closed.  Price to fix was nearly $3K and we decided it was time for something newer.

 

Most recently Honda Odyssey. Ditto the Sienna, except this vehicle is a touring model. More plush.  Stow and go rear seating is an awesome bonus of the last two vans and I echo the sentiments of all above who talk of the great cargo hauling ability.  
 

We are raising a family of four with the minivans and I can’t see doing it with a different vehicle although I know it is possible.  All of our vans have had v-6’s.  Current one has 250ish HP—never feels doggy yet gets about 22 mpg.  We just turned 227K with it and are having a few electrical glitches but that is due to the over abundance of “doo-dads”.  A more basic model would have less of those issues.

 

Yes—as much as I hate to admit it—minivans work great for their designed purpose. I doubt my wife will ever want anything different😅

[Handy Don 12,232]

2 minutes ago, PeacemakerJack said:

I doubt my wife will ever want anything different

That's the main reason we had three more after the first one. There is some current lobbying to get another. Reason? Grandchildren.

Should note that we’ve always had a small sedan or hatchback as a second car for commuting and errands.

[squonk 41,118]

28 minutes ago, PeacemakerJack said:

sliding door tracks being shot.  one of the doors would fall off

I remember being at the dealer auction in Waverly PA. I was at one end of the building and I heard a crash. At the opposite end of the shop was a guy picking a sliding door off the ground as the van was driving away! 

[wh500special 2,184]

We are on our second van.  The first was a 2006 Mercury Monterey (Ford Freestar clone), the current is a 2016 Honda Odyssey.  After having a van and enjoying the conveniences it offers, I can't imagine ever NOT having one.

 

There isn't much "mini" about a modern minivan.  They are sizeable vehicles.  Impossibly, they seem bigger on the inside than they do on the outside.  They drive very car like and can get good fuel economy considering their size.  My Ody averages around 23 mpg on my wife's normal routine and has never gotten less than a true (calculated by dividing miles driven by gallons used) 27 mpg on a long trip.  And that's hauling 4-6 people.

 

They have a cavernous amount of cargo space in them.  Vacations or trips to the big box stores require virtually no planning or tetris to make things fit.  We've yet to encounter something we cared to haul in it that doesn't fit.

 

I haven't had a tractor in the Ody but the Merc' did carry a Suburban behind the second row with my kids safely buckled in their child seats.  Only Chrysler has the fold-in-floor second row seats, but all vans today have a third row that disappears into the floor.  Even with the seat deployed, there is still a tremendous amount of cargo space in the well behind it and you can stack it high.

 

People space is great too.  Front wheel drive means they have no transmission hump so the floor is big and wide and long and flat.  You can move around the thing when on the roll of you absolutely needed to.  Second and third row seats on some models have a low-ish seat cushion that won't work for everybody, but we've taken a lot of trips in our vans with extended family and there was never a complaint about comfort or space.  None.  But nobody in my family is 6'4"/235 lb either...

 

I travel and rent cars quite a bit and for a while Enterprise kept "upgrading" me to Escalades and Yukons.  While gigantic and imposing, they do not have the usable space in them that a van does and they lack the little cubbies and pockets all over the place that prove to be so useful.  i would assume the extended Suburban and Expeditions are bigger inside than a van, but it's probably closer than you'd think and you take up one heck of a footprint getting there.  And they use a ton of fuel in comparison.

 

Believe it or not, payload (weight carrying) capacity of a lot of vans is remarkably high.  Higher than a lot of full size half ton trucks.  I've never towed with my Odyssey but I have no reason to suspect it wouldn't be completely acceptable right up to its rated limit and probably even beyond (although I'm not sure I'd recommend towing the triple axle Airstream like shown in the photo).  My Ridgeline pickup is fundamentally the same vehicle as the current Odyssey and it does just fine towing anything reasonable.

 

It seems that several on this thread have taken their vans places that it wasn't suited to, but if you stay on improved roads I can't imagine ever running out of traction.

 

I don't find our Ody compromised at all for power.  It will roast the front tires if you want it to and in a drag race will outrun a lot of cars that seemed powerful in our youths.  I will admit that the transmission feels weird in my Honda and I attribute that to Honda automatics (until recently) being a sliding gear gearbox just like a manual that results in odd shift feel at times.

 

I don't understand the insecurity some have with vans.  If you have the need for space, comfort, practicality, and reasonable economy they are a smart choice. 

 

I assume when we are done with this van that we'll get another one.  I would guess it will be another Honda and I hoping by then it will be a PHEV.  I am not a Chrysler guy, but I do like the Pacifica PHEV. 

 

Get a van!

 

Steve

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by wh500special

[ri702bill 8,323]

KEVIN !!!!