Dodge Durango?? like It or Dont? vs a Mini Van

I don't know anything about the Dodge. but I LOVE my Odyssey and would be happy to talk to you about it! Good luck.

My two cents...

Do the Odyssey! In the long run, you'll enjoy the actual space a whole lot more...and the ease of being able to get in and out of the van with all the kids and baggage. :)

Good luck!

I too was torn between SUV and Mini Van. However, I grew up with full sized trucks and could not bring myself to be a mini van mom. I ended up with a Mercury Mountaineer (same as the Ford Explorer). I really wanted that 3rd row of seats, so that made the search even harder. I also considered Durangos, but the Mountaineer was slightly lower to the ground which is more "mini van" like and was a selling point for me. It's hard enough to lift a baby seat up into an SUV, so the slightly lower Mountaineer seemed like a good compromise. However, if you're strong and don't mind lifting kids up high, then I think the Durango would be great. Just make sure you have the vehicle THOROUGHLY checked out by an independent mechanic. The dealer tried to sell us our Mountaineer with $1000 worth of rear end tune ups needed. Our mechanic caught it and the dealer paid for all the work. Also, we bought with cash and held our ground on the price. We were able to get the dealership down $1000!! So be firm. Also, bring your husband (or a guy friend). It's been proven that guys get the better deal at car dealership for whatever reason.

I am going to tell you that if you have 3 young children - you will be most comfortable in a minivan. I know, I know - it is a minivan!! I have 3 kids - and we had a minivan for 10 years - (well 2 of them) - I am NOT a minivan lover!

We were in need of a new vehicle last summer - and I knew it would NOT be a minivan - we were looking at an suv or crossover. We looked at the Honda Pilot, The GMC Acadia (which we thought we would get), the Nissan Pathfinder, the Toyota Highlander, the Buick Enclave, the Suzuki XL7, the Saturn Outlook, the Ford Explorer.... anyway - We got a Volvo XC90 - crossover. Now I will tell you my kids knew they would be sacrificing space - they can all fit comfortably in the middle row - or can split and sit 2 in the third row - but it is smaller and at times we still wish we had the minivan for many reasons!!!

I love it - I do miss the minivan at times - and if I had younger kids - I would not even consider anything else!

My co-worker is on her 2nd Durango--she loves it. She has 2 boys.
Don't go the mini-van route! It's like saying "uncle"! LOL

I have a 2001 Dodge Durango and love it. It's never given us any major mechanical issues. It's comfy. I only have two kiddos, but we often carpool for play dates. Four kids fit easily with room to spare for all the "stuff" that goes with kids. And five kids fit too, it's just more of a squeeze. My friend has a 2005 Durango and raves about it.

My family is now on our 3rd Dodge Durango, but read on... a Durango is AWESOME for 2 kids. I loved my 2000 so much we traded up to a 2004. Then we had child #3.

Durango - not so nice anymore. To access the third row you have to fold a 2nd row seat down. Not very easy with 2 car seats installed in the 2nd row. You also have to climb up over the seat to get into the third row or fold it all the way up. Not so fun either. It's actually a pain in the butt.

I, like the other 'truck liking mama', cannot imagine driving a mini-van. It's just not for me. So when the GMC Acadia came out I was jumping for joy - finally! A 'mini-van'-like SUV!!! Hurray! It's a crossover.

I can tell you that it is the absolute BEST option (if you just can't bring yourself to drive a minivan) for carting around 3+ kids. (mine are 6,4, and almost 2). If price is an issue, check the Chevy Traverse. It's the same exact vehicle as the Acadia, and also the Buick Enclave. Look around for a pre-owned to save some $$ too.

The 2nd row comes with the option of captain's chairs or a bench. Clearly look for the captian's chairs, which gives you a little 'walkway' between the seats and very very easy access to that 3rd row. Both captain's chairs slide forward and back to give the 3rd row more or less leg room. It is also equipped with side air bags (in addition to front) that run the whole length of the vehicle.
Bottom line, go check out one of the 3 crossovers I've mentioned and you'll see why I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Acadia!!!!!

oh- the 3rd Durango is a used one that my husband bought when he sold his commute car and we moved. So now we still have a Durango (that's HIS) and MY Acadia! :)

I have an 04 Durango Limited with the Hemi engine. We ordered it while I was pregnant - and the only options that we added were: leather interior, DVD system, 3rd row seat and tow package. LOVE IT!. My car now has 140,000+ miles on it and still going strong. I don't know that the 3rd row seat was worth the extra $ as I never have it set up -since it's usually just the 3 of us, and on the occasion when I could have actually used the 3rd row, the resulting smaller cargo area was too small to accommodate the stuff that we were bringing with the extra people. The only problems that I have had with the car - I truly believe were caused by a dealership in Orlando that serviced the car last year. It was absolutely ludicrous that we took the car there anyway since my husband has a shop and builds race cars and is fully capable of doing anything that the car could need. We spent $1200 on "maintenance" issues, and tune up, oil change, tire rotation, a/c check, spark plug check, new brakes, and all kinds of stuff. Well, we declined to change the spark plug wires - based on their recommendation of "based on mileage but not necessarily the age or wear of these particular items". Same goes for the rear A/C. Miraculously - the rear a/c went out almost immediately after getting it back, and when it rains - the car runs a little rough - due to my husband saying that the spark plug wires now need to be changed. Also - the airbag light comes on now . Interestingly enough - the service manager that took my car ( a small time customer of my husbands) told me that he "found cds under the passenger seat". I told him - yea - "that's where I keep them, because I can reach them, and they aren't flying all over the car" etc. (I also keep a lint roller there because I wear alot of black and own a fluffy dog) When I got the car back - the lint roller was on the leather seat which made for a nasty mess for me to clean off the leather, and the airbag light is on intermittently. The sensor for that happens to be under the seat. We never had an issue before hand, so was it coincidence or sabotage? I don't know. My daughter is an only child, so her car seat is dead center in the middle of the back seat - which is very convenient. It not only is the safest spot - but I have a backpack of DVDs next to her car seat, and she can now reach the dvd player and remote and can change her own movies, play games etc.. Overall....I love the Durango. The only problems that I've had have been minor - and most of them I truly think that my husband could/should have taken care of them, and the others were caused by the dealership looking for more $. If you have the opportunity - I would say go with leather interior. It is so easy to keep clean - especially with kids. We eat in our car alot due to traveling for my husband's business and towing race cars so often. I haven't had one thing yet that I wasn't able to easily wipe or clean right up. Oh yea - one more thing - part of our $1200 deal at the dealership was replacing a cracked manifold. Was told at the time that it was common and they almost all have it - but the replacement was re-engineered and doesn't have that problem. So ask about that on your potentials - and check it out! Good luck!
PS: re: my 3rd row seat comments - my daughter's stroller would have still fit back there - and did on a couple of occasions, but we were going to go overnight with my family of 3, and my best friend with her 2 daughters - and it was the luggage that wasn't going to work out so well. Other than that - it was great. The middle seat is split - so getting to the rear with the car seat in the middle still isn't a problem.
PSS: geez - every time I post - I read another response and remember one more thing. Right after we got ours - the Durango came out with "select cylender deactivation" - which shuts down a few cylenders for better mileage when you are cruising down the highway and not city driving or passing etc.. Kind of wish we had that since it is a thirsty car with that Hemi - but it does tow like there is nothing behind us!

3 or more kids minivan or one of those huge SUV"S like the suburban. Most of the SUv's out there are not comfortable for 3 or more small children and all their stuff.

We got an EnvoyXL back in 2003 after test driving every SUV with a 3rd row seat available, including the Durango. We LOVED it. In fact, when that SUV was in a car accident last summer and we had to buy a new vehicle, we went with another EnvoyXL - after test driving every SUV out there with a 3rd row seat to see how things have changed.

The Durango was at the bottom of my list... smaller cargo space (about half the amount of room behind the 3rd row) and it was a literally a pain in the butt to be in the backseat. I mean, did YOU sit down in the 3rd row? It's small and cramped - and the seat is very uncomfortable. My son complained about that. It's too small for adults - I'm only 5'4" and my head touched the ceiling! You may think you'll never had adults back there, but you probably will. With grandparents, aunts and uncles going with us out to eat or whatever, we often do. Not to mention when we carpool for out-of-state ice hockey games. I love that I can get 6 teammates in there with me to split the gas/driving! :-)

I have 3 kids. I don't like minivans. My parents have one and I driving it (it's a Dodge) because it feels big and not very responsive. My SUV is about the same size, has a tighter turning radius, more pickup power and more responsive for turns and stuff. I have the carseat in 2nd row behind driver, 5 year old in booster in 2nd row behind passenger and the 8 year old is in the back. He usually just climbs over the seat but it only takes a second to slide the booster down to the floor, flip the seatback down so he can get in and put it back again.

We had a 2003 Durango which was the last year for the older style. The 3rd row was really half a seat while the back had enough room for the stroller. Once Dodge changed the style they took room from the storage in the back in order to make the 3rd row a full seat. The stroller then had to be leaned, there wasn't enough room for the stoller to lay down let alone putting anything else back there. We ended up going with the minivan and loved it for all of the space ..we had the sto-n-go. Unfortunately we have since outgrown the minivan and now need a suburban. We love the suburban. It's a 2005 and fits us perfectly...we have grown to a family of 7 now. I would recommend the minivan for you mostly because you have a little one on the way and you'll need the space for your baby gear.

I love the doge Durango! I fit all my baby stuff in it just fine except for the double stroller. It fits, its just takes some manuvering to fit it in. I love it and wouldn't hesitate to buy another, especially fully loaded and less expensive.

No matter what vehicle you decide to get, make sure to get it checked out.

I'm thinking that since this Durango is fully loaded, it's got the 3rd row seating.

My personal opinion, save the $3k and go with the Durango.

i love my dodge durango

i have 3 kids
18 months twins with convertible car seat,7 year old and all 3 goes in the second row seats and i have a lot of space with the 3 row seats and is very easy to drive it very comfortable, i love it love it...

i have had the same motor in my jeep that is in the dodge durango's and we have had to change the motor twice!! i would go with the minivan!

We bought our 2004 Durango at the end of 2007. It had 60,000 miles on it when we got it, and it just hit 100,000 and we have had NO problems with it whatsoever. I love the height, I am expecting baby #2 in October and am so glad that we are ready with this car. I keep the third row of seats folded down most of the time, for strollers, shopping etc. Its so nice to have the option of a third row to seat a total of 7 people, it has come in handy many times! Overall, we love our car, we expect to get a ton more miles on it!

I have a 2005 Dodge Durango. I really like it and has been great with my 3 kids and taking camping trips, groceries, etc. My kids are older. Car seats might be easier in a mini van. The only complaint I have about the Durango is gas mileage, but I also have 5.7L Hemi.