True, LOL. This past winter my Jeep was the only vehicle able to get out of the driveway as well as the only vehicle which didn’t suffer a mishap other than fishtailing on 128 when I hit a patch of ice the road crew had somehow missed.
Had I had a car as opposed to a SUV I never would have been able to get to work during that entire period. One of my housemates ate up all her days off because she literally couldn’t move her older model CRV. My husband’s c. 1999 Avalon remained under a snowdrift for the better part of a month. Even when we finally unearthed it he still couldn’t move it without great difficulty, and he’s what I call a very knowldable knows-how-to-drive-in-any-weather driver.
And it’s worth noting that the basic structure of an MPV (3 rows of seating, usually sliding doors) can be built on any size platform, ranging from B-segment (Honda Fit Shuttle, for example), all the way up to the big daddy full size MPVs. In America we only get the big ones, the only exception being the Mazda5, but in the rest of the world there’s all different sizes of MPVs to choose from. I think a lot of CUV buyers would probably be better served by one of these smaller minivans but automakers are reluctant to import them because they don’t sell well and probably don’t make them as much money.
Wolfpup, when you referred to Aesthetics and comfort being low on your priority list does that include ergonomics, generally? I’ve learned that comfort is more than just heated steering wheels. For doing distance driving (really , almost any driving an hour or more) , it becomes particularity important that your cabin is a good place to be in. 10+ hours of driving cossetted with comfortable seats, cruise, a quiet cabin and decent HVAC is way safer than a loud, shitty visibility cockpit with an offcenter steering wheel and seats that don’t adjust. I’ve done both.
We’re getting some other smaller ones now, too. Ford is now selling the C-Max in the US, though only in hybrid form. It’s worth noting that most small MPVs don’t offer third row seating, though. They’re mostly just tall hatchbacks (the C-Max is basically a Focus with a high roof).
Snow tires make all the difference in the world. My all-wheel-drive Subaru WRX isn’t anything to write home about on snow when wearing the stock summer (not all-season, but summer-only) performance tires. The AWD would make up for the improper tire to some extent, but when I put dedicated winter tires on it, it’s basically unstoppable on snow/ice. Similarly, I’ve run snow tires on RWD sports sedans like the BMW M3 that normally don’t “seem like” a great winter car, and it was a very, very solid performer in snow.
In really bad conditions, snow tires make a bigger difference than anything else. AWD without proper tires just means four tires are spinning instead of two. That said, snow tires PLUS all-wheel-drive is a thing of absolute beauty. I look forward to heavy snowfall instead of dreading it because it’s such a blast to drive in with confidence.
In that case it’s not inconceivable for families to have multiple cars. It’s quite common in Michigan, and as far as I know throughout much of the United States. Because my SUV uses a lot of fuel and is fairly old, I tend to keep it in the garage most of the time and drive something more comfortable as a daily driver. When I go camping, pull a trailer, when it’s expected to snow heavily, or when I merely feel like I’d like to drive it, it comes out of the garage.
(Actually right now the SUV is my only car, and it’s parked in the garage while I’m on my current assignment here.)
I know that multiple vehicles can be a hardship for some families, but for those with enough disposable income having them can cover all use cases (or at least substantially more).
Yeah, I know this is a zombie, but I wondered if any thinking on SUVs vs minivans had changed in the last 5 years.
My wife and I were recently discussing plans for retirement (likely w/in next 5 years.) We currently own 2 small wagons (Subaru Impreza and Golf GTI). Both very low mileage. The only shortcoming is that they are not overlarge when we pack for extended trips (with our dog). And we could not use them for travel w/ 4 people (such as if our kids come in to town and we drive to a local family place.)
When I retire, I imagine we will take more road trips, maybe for extended stays. I thought that - should we choose to replace our cars, we might go w/ a small electric for in-town, and a minivan for roadtrips. I cannot imagine how an SUV would serve us better than the minivan.
Everything I see shows that SUVs continue to be WAY more popular than minivans. I think Edmunds listed only 3 minivans, but more than 50 SUVs. I really don’t get it. Is it just that image trumps practicality (for the vast majority of folk who rarely/never take their vehicle offroad)?
And yes, I realize we could rent a minivan - or SUV - for the relatively few instances that we need the space. I just continue to find this trend confounding.
We went with a full size truck for our kid towing needs. We can fit 3 full sized carseats across in the back which is one more than we could in the grand Cherokee. It’s amazing how much room our family has now with the crew cab and short bed. One of my buddies showed me his several years ago and you have to get into the mammoth SUVs before you get more room and then you lose out on hauling capacity from the bed.
The sliding doors on minivans are nice for parking lots where trucks or suvs need more room to swing open their giant doors. My truck is also lifted and it is so much easier on my wife and myself getting the kids into their seats since they are at waist level. We’ve only taken three 200 mile+ trips in the month we’ve had it so we’re still figuring out its road tripping capabilities and how we’re going to load the dogs.
I remember when we were picking up a washer/dryer. Couldn’t believe how cavernous that sucker was w/ the seats removed. Or another time we and my wife’s sister helped MIL move. Our 2 minivans were almost panel trucks!
This a.m. as I was walking the dog, I was noticing the long hoods on the large SUVs. As I recalled, I loved the lack of a protruding front end when parking either parallel or pull-in.
If your priority is carrying people and stuff, a minivan is 100x better than an SUV. The SUV is only better for towing and off-roading.
Why do men have to be such snowflakes? Drive the flippin’ minivan, your man parts will not fall off. Besides, it’s not like the man is going to take the minivan to drive when he’s out by himself right? Its the family hauler! Is your ego so precious you can’t be seen taking care of transporting your family in a minivan? People are so weird.
Dinsdale, I think minivans are just about perfect, and are a better choice than an SUV for anything except towing very heavy trailers or driving in absurd offroad situations. I have an older Toyota Sienna minivan, and love it, but am intrigued by the newly redesigned 2021 model. It’s a hybrid, gets 36 mpg city and highway, can tow 3,500 pounds, has about 250 hp, and is available as AWD, at the cost of 1 mpg. AWD is accomplished with just an electric motor on the rear wheels, so there’s no transfer case or other mechanical complications.
About the only complaint I have with the 2021 model is that the second row of seats are not removable, due to integrated side impact air bags. They can be slid/folded forward to make space, but that’s not as good as being removable. Apparently a 4x8 sheet of plywood can still fit inside, but only at a weird diagonal angle, sliding between the two second row seats. Still, I think you’d have trouble fitting a 4x8 sheet into nearly any SUV.
Overall, I think minivans are the best in so many ways- ease of entry/exit, interior space and usability, comfort, practicality. Test drive one today!
