Who has downsized from a minivan and still has kids?

[monsterkitty]

We have a 2018 Highlander which has a lot more space than our 2008 did. I can easily fit a bari sax and quads in the back of the Highlander along with other miscellaneous instruments. If you don't get the captain seats in the second row, you can fit three people with plenty of room.

If you want peace and quite while hauling instruments and no kids, you can put two tubas, a bari sax, 2 bass clarinets, and a baritone along with smaller instruments if you fold the second row down as well.

 

[ljcrochet]

I went from a honda odyssey to a big SUV when my girls were 6. Then went back to a honda odyssey. I switched to an Acura MDX when that lease was up. I have been happy with it but I do miss the extra space of the mini van. My lease is up next spring. I'm all over the place in what I want to get to replace it. I also looking forward and thinking that whatever I get will be the main car my girls learn/practice driving in so that will come into my car thinking.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I didn't downsize out of my minivan but did switch to a VW Four Motion Atlas. It drives better in lousy weather than my Odyssey ever did and it's much more pleasant to drive than my minivan ever was. The Atlas is incredibly nimble for its size compared to my minivan and still has 3 rows. The only thing I miss from my minivan is the flip down mirror I used to spy on my kids.

We had a VW Atlas for a rental when we were in FL. Until then, I had never even heard of those. I was not the one driving it, but riding around in it, it seemed very comfortable and nice. It held all of us and our luggage with no problems.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

My parents had a Buick Enclave for a few years. It was great if you needed to haul stuff or people, but not both at the same time.

Unless you get a Suburban or similar large SUV, you are going to sacrifice space. And that might be fine if you don’t have kids that are in things with large equipment.

 

[cinnaminny]

I had a 2007 Odyssey, I could haul so much in that thing. Now one of my kids has it. He hauls his friends lol

We only have one kid left at home so no worries really size wise. Although we have one regular size vehicle and one HUGE suv.

 

[Klayfish]

For me, owning an SUV instead of a minivan isn't about being cool; it's about safety. Even when I had brand brake pads and brand new tires my minivan didn't handle well in bad weather. In fact, I got into a rather scary accident that wasn't my fault because of that. Even though my SUV isn't any smaller and is heavier, it has 4WD and handles much better in bad weather than my minivan ever did. My SUV has a much tighter turning radius so it's easier to park as well. I avoided driving certain places because it was so stressful to park the minivan there. Also, even though the back is smaller, the SUV is actually more flexible for hauling because, unlike my minivan, the second row folds flat. If I want to use whole back for hauling I had to physically remove the seats from the SUV. Doing so without help was doable but difficult and cumbersome. Putting them back was the same.

Sorry to hear about your accident. Much of what you're talking about will depend on the type of "SUV", because it has become a very broad category...for example the Kia Soul is often called an SUV, when IMO it's really a station wagon. But as a general rule of thumb, unless you're in a far outside the norm situation like a heavy blizzard, SUVs just aren't any safer than minivans. Vans are actually the overall safer place to be. I've seen it countless times.

 

[tvguy]

Sorry to hear about your accident. Much of what you're talking about will depend on the type of "SUV", because it has become a very broad category...for example the Kia Soul is often called an SUV, when IMO it's really a station wagon. But as a general rule of thumb, unless you're in a far outside the norm situation like a heavy blizzard, SUVs just aren't any safer than minivans. Vans are actually the overall safer place to be. I've seen it countless times.

LOL. The registration and title on my 1987 Suburban listed it as a "station wagon". That always cracked up the techs when I had took it in for it's bi-annual smog check.
And the 2018 Ford Flex I traded it in on is listed as a "truck" on the registration and title.

 

[MumziMom]

Sorry to hear about your accident. Much of what you're talking about will depend on the type of "SUV", because it has become a very broad category...for example the Kia Soul is often called an SUV, when IMO it's really a station wagon. But as a general rule of thumb, unless you're in a far outside the norm situation like a heavy blizzard, SUVs just aren't any safer than minivans. Vans are actually the overall safer place to be. I've seen it countless times.

I respectfully disagree. I always felt safer driving in wind/snow with our Subaru Outback than I did with our Honda Odyssey. The Odyssey, with its high sides would be buffeted, while the Outback hugged the road. The Odyssey's transmission went at 114,500 or so, and we always had it dealer serviced, so was pleased to get a fairly ok trade in for the high-mileage Outback. We had the Outback for 5 years, and traded it in for a Prius Prime. While I like my "gas" mileage with the Prime (mostly electric!) I miss the Outback. If I had to choose between a brand new Outback and a brand new Odyssey, I'd take the Outback in a second. It is generally considered a crossover, many would call it a wagon. We have had to rent a minivan twice since retiring the Odyssey, for big college moves. But the daily drives with either the Outback or the Prime are much pleasanter - we had the top ends of all these cars too - we always have to do a lot of research into which cars will "fit" us as the heights between my husband and myself are so different. We need lots of leg room for him, but often what works for him is uncomfortable for me. Which is why we end up buying high mile cars with fully adjustable seats/mirrors with a lot of leg room.

 

[buzzrelly]

My 2008 Odyssey was totaled in 2010 and I decided to get a Subaru Outback instead. My kids were 9 and 7 at the time. I almost immediately regretted it and as soon as I could, I went back and got another Honda Odyssey. The Outback was nice but we were crammed and I hated that we couldn’t car pool or pack everyone up and take them to the beach with all our stuff. It was just too cramped. I learned my lesson and love my Odyssey more than ever.

 

[Klayfish]

I respectfully disagree. I always felt safer driving in wind/snow with our Subaru Outback than I did with our Honda Odyssey. The Odyssey, with its high sides would be buffeted, while the Outback hugged the road. The Odyssey's transmission went at 114,500 or so, and we always had it dealer serviced, so was pleased to get a fairly ok trade in for the high-mileage Outback. We had the Outback for 5 years, and traded it in for a Prius Prime. While I like my "gas" mileage with the Prime (mostly electric!) I miss the Outback. If I had to choose between a brand new Outback and a brand new Odyssey, I'd take the Outback in a second. It is generally considered a crossover, many would call it a wagon. We have had to rent a minivan twice since retiring the Odyssey, for big college moves. But the daily drives with either the Outback or the Prime are much pleasanter - we had the top ends of all these cars too - we always have to do a lot of research into which cars will "fit" us as the heights between my husband and myself are so different. We need lots of leg room for him, but often what works for him is uncomfortable for me. Which is why we end up buying high mile cars with fully adjustable seats/mirrors with a lot of leg room.

No debating how a certain car makes you "feel", which is what you're talking about. And if it made you feel safe, that's a great feeling. But actually being safer, not so much. For example, while you may have "felt" different about the Honda being buffeted by the wind more than the Outback, reality is that unless you were driving during a CAT2 hurricane it really is a negligible difference.

Stinks you had an issue with the Odyssey's transmission...I'm guessing it was a few years back. Some of the older generations had well known transmission issues.

 

[Momto2minniemice]

We had a Honda Van for many years and got rid of it once we no longer needed a car seat and stroller. We down sized to a Mid SUV. Within 18 months my oldest out grew the back seat. In addition I did not have room for everything. From Dance to Lacross. Now my oldest is in Marching Band as well. So happy we got a Pilot! Plenty of room for everything!

 

[Floridaman999]

We're starting to get grandkids now so we've recently purchased a minivan just to be sure we keep up.

 

[MumziMom]

No debating how a certain car makes you "feel", which is what you're talking about. And if it made you feel safe, that's a great feeling. But actually being safer, not so much.

We slid on ice much less with the Outback than the Odyssey. A lot of the feeling safe I had was because of living in the Northeast and having lots of snow/ice in winter - I drove through heavy snowstorms with the Outback that I would never attempt with the Odyssey. I don't feel as safe in the Prius as I did in the Outback, for the same reason. If I could afford it, and if I had a lot of kids/stuff to haul, I'd buy a Subaru Ascent with Eyesight. It has a third row, can seat up to 8, all-wheel drive, up to 27 mpg (I would miss the low mileage of the Prius!) and Eyesight. In my fantasy, it is a plug in (hahaha).

 

[clh2]

Only have 1 child, we got rid of the minivan when she was in about 7th or 8th grade. Went to a Ford Escape, and loved it. Was still able to tow stuff.

When DD went to college, we rented a Town and Country van. Cost about $100 for the weekend. A fully loaded minivan was about 10K more than the fully loaded Escape.

 

[MarBee]

I did, and I regret it. Minivan to a Buick Enclave. I miss sitting up high, automatic doors, easily having the kids’ friends move in and out, etc.

 

[Summer2018]

I never wanted to drive a minivan. I survived driving a VW Jetta, but I only have one daughter, and she played the flute. She attended a performing arts school, and we had no problems transporting wardrobe and makeup in the roomy trunk. The VW that she rode around in from the time she was 4 became her first vehicle at 16. DH bought a Ford Edge for more room, which feels like you are driving an ocean liner. I bought a Ford Fiesta for myself. When the VW was on it’s last legs, DD got the Fiesta, and I bought a Ford Escape. I really need 4-wheel drive in the northeast. I really love driving my Escape. I can’t imagine driving anything else.

 

[Searc]

We bought a new Sienna last year, and the salesman told us that he sells a lot of them to grandparents. They start out thinking that they want to downsize, but then they want room to tote the grandkids and their stuff around.

Personally, I'll be in a minivan for the foreseeable future. I really don't like SUVs, even mid-sized ones. I like the versatility of the minivan--you can haul stuff (4'x8' sheets of plywood lie flat with the seats out of the way), or you can haul people. Or both, even.

You think you can't do the same with a SUV? LOL

 

[Searc]

Went from a Sienna to a CRV last July. Crv is a great car, but I miss the room the minvan had. My kids are 14 and 16. I figured I would not need all the extra room, wrong. There are times I wish I had a minivan. A minivan is more versatile. You can load up the kids and their band,sports gear and go. I have been in a Pathfinder, MDX, Highlander and Pilot and find in my opinion the third row seat only good for children. They don'y fit adults comfortably. And with the seats up you lose cargo room. Although my kids are 14 and 16 they don't fit comfortably in the mentioned SUV third row. Also why would some SUV's have captain's chairs in the middle row? I have fit many items in my minivan large flat screen TV's, dish washer, thread mill, 125 gallon fish tank to name a few.

Those captain's chairs more than likely lay flat. Ours do.

 

[cvjw]

Downsized from a Honda Odyssey to a Ford Explorer.

Needed more room, so upsized to a Toyota Sienna.

Hated that minivan, so downsized to a Nissan Pathfinder.

Needed more room, and had to lemon it out, so went back to a Honda Odyssey.

Bottom line, my kids are 23 and 19 and we still need the space of the minivan.

Between moving them to college and driving on vacation, it is still great to have the Odyssey

Just a quick update. Last week, DH said we should get rid of the Odyssey because we didn’t really need it anymore. We just purchased a 2019 Honda Pilot elite. Wow, is that suv nice. For anyone considering going from a minivan to an suv, the Pilot is basically the Odyssey with a more stylish exterior. It feels exactly the same on the inside

 

[mjkacmom]

Just a quick update. Last week, DH said we should get rid of the Odyssey because we didn’t really need it anymore. We just purchased a 2019 Honda Pilot elite. Wow, is that suv nice. For anyone considering going from a minivan to an suv, the Pilot is basically the Odyssey with a more stylish exterior. It feels exactly the same on the inside

What it’s missing is the cargo space of the odyssey. I’ve been researching both options, but with 2 in college in the fall, and 2 more in 2 years, I want the space. Having moved kids in and out of dorms several times, even with the odyssey it’s tight. They are very similar though.