Minivan or 3Rd Row Seating Suv?

MINIVAN MINIVAN MINIVAN!!! We had a Mazda CX9 which was "sexy" but a) way more money and b) way too tight to manuever around. We now have a Honda Odyssey, used and old but it is GREAT!

I have a GMC Acadia, it looks like an SUV, drives like a car and seats like a mini-van.

Love it!!

I cried the day I realized, after all my research, that a minivan would just make the most sense and be most convenient for three kids under four -- our old Honda Civic just wouldn't work when #3 arrived.

I think there are a couple more options now than when I was looking last year, but those SUVs with the 3rd row are not very adult-friendly, because you have to climb over the 2nd row, bent over, to get kids situated in the (very tight) 3rd row.

I hate the fact that I have a minivan. But I do love it for the space. It's also tall, so I don't need to crouch way over when I'm buckling the 2 year old into her carseat, helping the 4 year old with her seatbelt, or lifting the baby in his carseat. And the kids are all far enough away from each other to avoid the inevitable pushing and shoving when sitting in the car for longer than 5 minutes. :)

Look into the Ford Flex. Not as high as an SUV, but just as much room as a minivan. Super comfortable and different/quirky. We love ours.

Minivan. I have an SUV with 3 rows of seats and there's no way I could comfortably fit four car seats. Most SUVs that have third rows are very hard to get in and out of in the back row, especially if you have to strap a child in. You'd basically be climbing halfway into the car, lunging over a second row car seat to get to the third row, and then having to climb back out again. Totally do-able on random occasions, but not daily (in my opinion).

Definitely a minivan for kids that young. Little kids can't climb into an SUV, and you don't want to be swinging open doors in a parking lot. The sliding doors ar huge, as are the low step-up height, flexible configuration, and ample cargo room behind the 3rd row that a minivan offers. I have a 2005 Odyssey and I like it so much that I prefer driving that to our other car, which is an Infiniti sedan. Go with the van - you won't regret it!

Honda Odyssey - love it (used). Though, I've never been one of those people who have anything against a minivan, so I've never tried finding something else...hopefully someone else with have some ideas!

I was given my first minivan at age 22 (I didn't have kids yet), but hey - it was free....and it turned out that I LOVED it!! I've now got 3 kids and wouldn't drive anything else. My favourite thing about it is that we've removed one of the second-row seats so that there's a little space for maneuvering and I'm able to reach all 3 carseats without breaking my back reaching over a seat.

Plus.....DVD system! lol

Minivan.

We have a 3rd Row Crossover, and are pregnant with our 3rd child. This means that our oldest will have to be moved to the 3rd row. How we will get him in there, and in his car seat, has yet to be figured out. We still have 2.5 years left to pay on this thing too...ugh.

I am 29 and finally caved and got a minivan when I was just under 28...to ease the psychological blow we got a VW Routan, which is pretty much identical to the Chrysler Town & Country, but SOOO much more hip because it is VW ;-)

Yesterday I was able to load boxes from IKEA into the rear in the middle of torrential rains. I didn't get a drop on me, as I was able to stand under the tailgate, and then after I loaded the boxes I was able to walk all the way from the 3rd row to my driver's seat without getting out of the car (and I'm plus sized). Now THAT is impressive! I have 3 carseats in mine, but it could definitely handle 4.

Well , I agree with the others that a minivan is really what you need BUT if you absolutely can't do it, there are other options. You need an SUV that seats 7 and has captain's chairs in the 2nd row . This is important since you will need to have easy access to the 3rd row to help w/car/booster seats. Having a bench in the 2nd row(most SUV's) would make this far more complicated. That should help you narrow your choices. The GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave(LOVE), Toyota Highlander(available in Hybrid) are a few that come to mind. They are pricey though.

Yeah, I think when you buy a minivan, you're announcing to the world that you have no game. I drive a Ford Expedition, Eddie Bauer edition, 9 years old with 165K miles on it. My husband wanted to buy me a new one last year, but I just really love this car. I swear I'll drive it until it dies. (Which it shows no signs of doing.) The only thing I'd change is to get captain seats in the 2nd row. That would do two things: 1) separate my kids from each other, and 2) make the 3rd row easier to get into.

Look into the Chevy Traverse. We have had ours for over a year and love it.

I had a mini-van, I am 22, and I LOVED it. But for mechanical reasons, I had to get rid of it. Now I have a #rd row seat SUV. and because Ive had both, I can say the SUV has WAYYY more room. I miss the van because of how it rides, But the SUV is much bigger on the inside.

I had a Honda Pilot and when my youngest of 4 was born, we bought a Yukon. The Pilot was great, but the third row was very tight and hard to get to because the second row was a bench seat. My Yukon has captain seats, so the third row is easy to get to. The third row is very roomy- I have sat back there and been comfortable (I'm 5'9"). The only thing I regret is not getting the XL because we have very little cargo room.
I'm with you on the whole minivan thing! I'm 30 now, but had four kids by 27 and I just couldn't bring myself to get a van. When my Yukon dies, we'll get a Yukon XL or the Escalade ESV.

I thought I would NEVER drive a minivan, but I love my Honda Odyssey. I had a SUV and loved it, but it was not practical with two car seats because we could not get to the back seats. The Honda fits all of us with room to spare and is so comfortable to drive. We can get 7 people in the van with no problem with room in the back for tons of things. Auto doors, built in sun screens, bluetooth, DVD, navigation, heated seats, rear back up camera, and the auto back hatch. It makes my life easier.

Best choices are a minivan, a Suburban, an Expedition EL, Yukon XL, or the Lincoln Navigator. We looked at all the crossovers and they are too cramped with just 3 carseats/boosters, plus there's no room for groceries, luggage for 5, etc. etc.
The large suv's are expensive (new) but there are plenty of used ones out there. I love our minivan. My husband wants a change but I am perfectly happy with my van.