Minivan life here we come! | Page 4 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Minivan life here we come!

jc100 said:
Our family car growing up was a Fiat 126, then a mini metro. How things have changed,
Click to expand...
A lady I used to work with had a Civic when she was pregnant ~50 years ago. She went in to give birth to her kid and two popped out (no routine ultrasounds in those days). No big deal, they both got tossed in the cardboard box in the back seat. A few blankets and they were ready to go. Modern car seats obviously provide better protection, but they are getting so damned large many/most are impinging on the drivers seat. With smaller cars, this makes the problem even worse.

Older cars also had much larger interior dimensions relative to exterior dimensions (less crash protection, less stupid design, less huge plastic trim).
 
Honestly if it wasn't for the MIL living/travelling with us I would've just kept the Rogue....served our family well for 7 years and only 110k...I'm sure it would do a lot more but...life has a way of throwing curves sometimes right?
Anyway hopefully picking it up tonight at 6pm so we will see how it goes. I'm a little sad about the Volt being gone, and the Rogue has a special place in my heart....but looking forward to all that glorious space!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5969.JPG
    IMG_5969.JPG
    129.8 KB · Views: 27
  • IMG_5970.JPG
    IMG_5970.JPG
    110.9 KB · Views: 26
@mimico_polak

Its funny, theres alot of parallels between your situation and mine.

4 door civic- second baby on the way. Mother-in-law lives with us. She says "with two baby seats, where will I sit?"

She doesn't drive...

Won't be long, and I'll be looking for a mini van.

That or a full sized truck for work. At least I can fit a couple seats in that.

The civic owes us nothing, and its cheap. Baby comes in three months, tuen a year of mat-leave. Gives me some time to figure it out.

You couldn't all fit in a Rogue? Its not that small.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk
 
mimico_polak said:
Honestly if it wasn't for the MIL living/travelling with us I would've just kept the Rogue....served our family well for 7 years and only 110k...I'm sure it would do a lot more but...life has a way of throwing curves sometimes right?
Anyway hopefully picking it up tonight at 6pm so we will see how it goes. I'm a little sad about the Volt being gone, and the Rogue has a special place in my heart....but looking forward to all that glorious space!
Click to expand...

Congrats, they are great vans, you will enjoy.
 
matt365 said:
@mimico_polak

Its funny, theres alot of parallels between your situation and mine.

4 door civic- second baby on the way. Mother-in-law lives with us. She says "with two baby seats, where will I sit?"

She doesn't drive...

Won't be long, and I'll be looking for a mini van.

That or a full sized truck for work. At least I can fit a couple seats in that.

The civic owes us nothing, and its cheap. Baby comes in three months, tuen a year of mat-leave. Gives me some time to figure it out.

You couldn't all fit in a Rogue? Its not that small.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
LoL very similar situation! But we had the same issue. Plus the fact that I work out of province 3/4 weeks in a month kinda helped push the Volt out as well. It's not being used, so not point in it just sitting there to be used for 300km/month (if that). I'd rather just rent a car/UBER for a day when I need it when I'm home. Our insurance went from $240/month down to $80/month with a car removed.

The 2012 Rogue is considerably smaller than the 2016+ (or whenever they updated the entire line) so that could be part of the issue. In addition, I literally sat my wife in the back seat 20min ago to see if we made the right call...and yes we did. After 5min she could barely move. I have a pic but will not be posting it here for the world to see! LoL

In 2018, Honda updated the entire Odyssey line...WAY more features, and WAY nicer on the inside. However when I found this one it was only a few more $k than an EXL, and when I tried to buy the 2017 Touring at Queensway Honda...well I bought a fully loaded 2018 Touring for maybe 3k more (I added the warranty)...the difference was so small I'd rather pay for the newer model.

We considered the 3-row SUVs but once you get in there (adults good luck) then there's almost zero room in the trunk (unless you go to Expedition or something similar), and the minivan just hit more checkmarks for our needs. I'll be putting a hitch on next rotation when I return and getting my dash cam installed as well at the time.

I'll put $ away for the time I'm still working out of province and then when I come back will buy another commuter...but a little sports car is still on the mind...
 
I’m not a minivan guy (who is right?) but you can’t knock an Odyssey. Comfortable, smooth, reliable, every feature in the world... just solid vehicles all the way around and super easy to live with. Congrats and personally I think you made the best choice out there. enjoy it.
 
Last edited:
Bump. What do you guys think about the diesel R320/R350? Not sure it even fits in the minivan thread.
 
daught said:
Bump. What do you guys think about the diesel R320/R350? Not sure it even fits in the minivan thread.
Click to expand...
I haven't looked recently, but I was shocked by the price years ago. I would put them firmly in the CUV, "looks big but wtf happened to all of the interior space" category, not as competition for a minivan.
 
Everytime I see this thread pop up, I think there's somebody who's selling their house and living in a van off-grid full-time.

Screenshot-2018-10-24-at-21.20.35-759x500.png


#vanlife #yolo
 
That's kinda the direction. I #vanlifed quite a bit with A4 wagon. I spent a few winter months with it in BC. Me and the gf started looking in to a sprinter, but we really dont need the space. Way too big and bad on fuel. I had a great experience driving a friends sienna so a minivan seemed like a better choice. Then there's the R320. Diesel, so no need for an auxiliary heater/ac(desert trips) since the fuel consumption at idle is very low for diesel. Lots of power compared to the sienna, and more fuel efficient. 2008-2010 they seem to cost the same. I enjoy DIYing on my cars just about anything. My only concern is the smaller online community compared to audi.
 
Guess I'll update the thread as well! LoL Odyssey is doing super fantastic! Wife loves it, I like it, roomy as hell, comfortable as hell, the Adaptive Cruise Control is out of this world awesome, really the only bad thing is the mileage in the city. Outside of that...absolutely zero complaints.

Still feels like a spaceship with all those buttons and sensors.
 
daught said:
That's kinda the direction. I #vanlifed quite a bit with A4 wagon. I spent a few winter months with it in BC. Me and the gf started looking in to a sprinter, but we really dont need the space. Way too big and bad on fuel. I had a great experience driving a friends sienna so a minivan seemed like a better choice. Then there's the R320. Diesel, so no need for an auxiliary heater/ac(desert trips) since the fuel consumption at idle is very low for diesel. Lots of power compared to the sienna, and more fuel efficient. 2008-2010 they seem to cost the same. I enjoy DIYing on my cars just about anything. My only concern is the smaller online community compared to audi.
Click to expand...
Those look like a great option, especially with the diesel motor.
 
blackcamaro said:
I’m not a minivan guy (who is right?) but you can’t knock an Odyssey. Comfortable, smooth, reliable, every feature in the world... just solid vehicles all the way around and super easy to live with. Congrats and personally I think you made the best choice out there. enjoy it.
Click to expand...
I miss having a minivan....
 
mimico_polak said:
Guess I'll update the thread as well! LoL Odyssey is doing super fantastic! Wife loves it, I like it, roomy as hell, comfortable as hell, the Adaptive Cruise Control is out of this world awesome, really the only bad thing is the mileage in the city. Outside of that...absolutely zero complaints.

Still feels like a spaceship with all those buttons and sensors.
Click to expand...
Bumping this thread as the wife's 16 CRV Touring lease is up soon. Baby #1 is due in a few weeks and if all goes well she wants a second soon after so we're shopping larger SUV but shes agreeable to a minivan which I think is the best route.
Pacifica and Odyssey both look good on first glance. We'll go mid-level, no AWD or hybrid and we don't commute or city-drive.
Any updated opinions on these or other models or good dealers (preferably between Peterborough-Toronto)?
 
Hardwrkr13 said:
Bumping this thread as the wife's 16 CRV Touring lease is up soon. Baby #1 is due in a few weeks and if all goes well she wants a second soon after so we're shopping larger SUV but shes agreeable to a minivan which I think is the best route.
Pacifica and Odyssey both look good on first glance. We'll go mid-level, no AWD or hybrid and we don't commute or city-drive.
Any updated opinions on these or other models or good dealers (preferably between Peterborough-Toronto)?
Click to expand...
I love our Odyssey more and more each week that I drive it. The absolute level of stuff I can fit into it is outstanding, do regular HD runs for 8ft lumber with minimal issues. Have hauled the 2 kids and a crap ton of stuff all over the GTA and the 2nd row allows a grown adult to sit b/w the baby seats.
If the kids are crying my wife can unbuckle, jump to the second row, and soothe them all while driving (I know I know) and she absolutely loves the car as well.
If they weren't so expensive I'd get a second one. Haven't towed anything with it yet, but the hitch is on it and ready to roll should the need arise.

I'd recommend the EX-L model as it gives you leather seats. We got the Touring because that's what the dealer had. We dealt with Oakville Honda and are very happy with them.
 
Hardwrkr13 said:
Bumping this thread as the wife's 16 CRV Touring lease is up soon. Baby #1 is due in a few weeks and if all goes well she wants a second soon after so we're shopping larger SUV but shes agreeable to a minivan which I think is the best route.
Pacifica and Odyssey both look good on first glance. We'll go mid-level, no AWD or hybrid and we don't commute or city-drive.
Any updated opinions on these or other models or good dealers (preferably between Peterborough-Toronto)?
Click to expand...

If you are buying new and can hang in there for a bit, the 2021 Toyota Sienna may be worthy of consideration ...


Vast improvement over the old one.
 
Brian P said:
If you are buying new and can hang in there for a bit, the 2021 Toyota Sienna may be worthy of consideration ...


Vast improvement over the old one.
Click to expand...
Waiting is a possibility as the 21 Pacifica is getting an update as well and if numbers work we could buy out the CRV. I'm not a big Toyota fan and find their styling looks ugly/dated quickly but it's the wife's call.
Right now the Pacifica is $6000 cheaper for a similar spec model vs Odyssey due to the Chrysler rebate so if we don't end up waiting this could be a huge decision maker.
 
Hardwrkr13 said:
Waiting is a possibility as the 21 Pacifica is getting an update as well and if numbers work we could buy out the CRV. I'm not a big Toyota fan and find their styling looks ugly/dated quickly but it's the wife's call.
Right now the Pacifica is $6000 cheaper for a similar spec model vs Odyssey due to the Chrysler rebate so if we don't end up waiting this could be a huge decision maker.
Click to expand...
How long do you keep vehicles? I would guess that the $6000 will be quickly obliterated by the resale difference between an Odyssey and Pacifica if you are switching before they are ready for the grave.
 
Pricing for the Sienna hasn't been announced, but I'm sure it won't be cheap. For $6k less, I'd go with the Pacifica, whether the styling-updated one or not. They still look good. I normally drive vehicles until their resale value is a rounding error.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom