Thinking to get a minivan but the wife wants an suv. Wondering how hard I should push it. Anyone get a minivan and regret it? Everyone I know that gets one is like why didn’t I get one earlier.

If you have three or more kids, minivan is the way to go until the youngest is at least 5. The amount of room they have dwarfs all other vehicles except the suburbans of the world. And you’ll get almost 30 on the road with regular gas or even more with a hybrid. Personally, I’d get the sienna woodland and call it good for the next 15 years. Make your second car something cool

If the car will also be your wife’s daily, let her pick. This isn’t the battle you want to fight

My wife and I had the same argument while shopping for a 2nd car. We have two kids I wanted a mini van for the convenience but she wanted a SUV (mainly for looks). We finally went for a Honda Pilot. It drives great, looks good, will probably get a good re sale value but not comfortable at all. With the two car seats the third row is not easily accessible. When a 5th person travels with us we either have to remove one of the car seat or they have to get in through the trunk. She didn’t want the pilot seat as she wanted an option to sit with the kids in case they are cranky or get into a tiff etc. I didn’t fully agree but went in with whatever made her happy. We try to rent a mini van whenever we go on long drives 🙂

Nice. We just had a short drive with all 5 of us in the mdx and I was fantasizing about the fire tv, the sliding doors, the comfortable ride in the back. I think I’m gonna just get it.

Yeah we have an mdx now. It sort of works but is tight. Especially on road trips. We usually rent the expedition max when on vacation and that’s awesome just not practical for daily life. Yeah I sort of think with car values where they are I just get the Pacifica hybrid then I sell it if we hate it. Prob won’t lose much $

I LOVE my Kia Carnival. From the front it also has a bit more of an suv look which may help.

But agree that if it’s your wife’s car, I’d go with her preference in the end

I’m also on Team Minivan. The amount of people and gear I can fit in it is astounding.

We had an Odyssey it was awesome. Remote sliding doors. Tons of space. Actually drove well/comfortably. Could fit kids friends. Easy to park. The ONLY downside is the ego hit from driving one.

After 10 years we switched to an X5 which my wife loves but is not functional enough. I got a Q7 to get 7 seats (used it this weekend) but has zero storage in 7 mode.

Miss our minivan.

Yeah we have 3 the youngest is about to turn 3. The thing is we are rarely all in the car together and this would be my wife’s daily driver. We are looking at the pacifica plug in

Minivans are awesome for the convenience. Kids can get in/get out without worrying about door dings, tons of flexibility in the cabin as well with seating arrangements, etc.

Our kids are now 9,7 and 4 and my wife was over the minivan life so we just ordered an MDX. We drove a GX, a Tahoe, an XC90 and an X7 and this is the one she liked the best. Well, she really liked the X7 but neither of us could justify the extra $25k.

Compromise and get a VW atlas. They come with the captain seats. They’re still technically SUVs but aren’t as tall/big as Tahoes,etc.

Minivan is perfect for kids and also for hauling stuff around.

I have the 2018 gas only Pacifica. The thing I like the most about it is the fold and go seats. My understanding is that with the hybrid that is not possible since the batteries are stored where the middle set of seats would fold into the floor. The back ones still cold down though.

I've also fit 2 child seats and an infant seat across the middle row if you have a need for that.

And I love all the power sliding doors.

I was in the same predicament. My wife didn't want to feel like parents of four under 5 y/o who we are so she resisted the minivan. We evaluated all 7 seaters on the market at the time and ended up purchasing a 2021 Sienna Hybrid owner. Love it. Economically, it made so much more sense than a full-size SUV.

We needed a second vehicle shortly after and considered a Kia Carnival, but it was backordered for 6 months at the time. We concluded that we could also get away with a select few mid-size SUVs for our needs. We purchased a Buick Enclave, which has the largest trunk space of all mid-size SUVs.