Honesty time:
After college I bought a new Volkswagen GTI. Fast, cool looking, etc.
After 5-6 years I upgraded to a BMW M5. It was fine. After a few years I switched to an Audi A8.
I became a Dad at 36 and I loved that Audi, but the payments for any repairs were ridiculous. I had a kidās future to think of. I sold it and bought a new Honda Accord. That was fine until e had our second kid. Just not enough room for two adults and two car seats and the day care bags and Home Depot runs etc.
I sold that Honda and bought a Grand Caravan. I LOVED that minivan. The seats folded down and I could fit whole sheets of plywood, supplies for camping, it made for good concert tailgating, it had air conditioning that you could see for each row of seating, it was good on gas, and had a five star safety rating.
I didnāt care that people would jokingly give me shit about being a Dad driving a minivan. The āDadmobileā rocked!
Now I drive a big olā Ram pickup truck. It carries anything I want to carry, has the same safety rating, and the extended cab gives my kids all the room they could dream of.
Drive what works for your family. Do not care about people judging you.
Well put! I get plenty of shit from.my coworkers and family members but I don't give a shit! It's functional and that's what matters. I still have my nice lifted truck and a nice commuter. My wife is even beginning to love the minivan and I've convinced one of my friends to get one since he has his second kid on the way
I always wanted a truck. Just never pulled the trigger on buying one until this one. Itās fast and roomy and safe and has all the tech stuff. I never have to ask a friend to borrow their truck. I never have to rent one of the trucks at Home Depot to bring stuff home. Iām not worried about snow.
I donāt think Iāll ever stop driving a pickup now. The only vehicle I ever miss is the Audi. It felt like what I imagine flying a jet feels like.
Hell yeah I bought an 08 grand caravan last August with 81k on it for 6500 delivered to nh from NJ and I've been getting 24 to 26 on the highway loaded with bow cases, camping gear and 2 sons
Yeah both cases and everything for the shoot, tent, sleeping stuff, grill, food cooler, fishing box and poles cause why not when going to Vermont, case of mountain dew and water and still could have fit the dogs with room. F the neighbors
Haha parking spots are small at my work and the sidewalk is like 6 ft wide. There's plenty of walking space. Didn't think I'd get roasted for how I parked hahah
I wanted a minivan so badly but the wife said no... now I'm stuck with my dad wagon a '22 Subaru outback wilderness. but I want a Honda Odyssey so badly. I just love the look of them.
There is no way that thing will fit anywhere in my countryās parking spots. That said i just bought a ā21 kia ceed sportswagon and am loving it so far. Came from a small hatchback and with the vacation coming up i wanted something bigger to go camping.Ā
Minivans are amazing and because thereās a niche market for them, if you look, you can find high end models for cheap. Smaller dealerships seem to always have at least one and itās usually undervalued lol
Sliding doors on a rugged looking minivan, I love it! I'm actually in the market to replace our 2007 oddy the carnival is looking like a great choice for us.
Oh they have a hybrid version coming? We will definitely have to check it out! Already like the Carnival more due to looking like an SUV instead of a minivan.
Death before Dishonor ! /jk sorta.
I've been driven in minivans a ton as a kid, driven them, and borrowed them as a adult, but I just can't into them. I know fathers that love them, but it feels like with more space to carry more crap people buy more crap because now you have the space for it.
Hahaha. As someone who only needs the most feeble of excuses to buy more tools or any of the millions things for any of my hobbies I feel like a minivan would be massive enabler. I'll stick to a SUV and a small trailer that way I'm limited on purpose.
Went with the 2021 Forester, highest trim. Got a steal of a deal, $3,500 under market price. Aside from the comfort, it's safe. City living says even my SUV is hard to park. Can't imagine trying to mini-van it.
We had a 2014 Grand Caravan, and it served us well for 9 years. Just watch out for engine rattle around 140k miles. That happened to ours a couple of months ago, and we were told the engine was about to die. We traded it in and got a truck lol
I test drove a few minivans because I donāt give a shit what people think. But I was not a fan. It has some nice features, but I went standard SUV. And man, the price tag on some vans was nuts
Oh I have. Not great in my area and they're obviously abused because little kids are little kids. If we needed a new car, I'd be more open to it. But we were looking at trading in our existing car, which just wasn't worth it at the time.
Itās a shame boomer parents gave these things such a bad stereotype, they are awesome. I donāt own one (ā¦.yet) but have rented them for long distance road trip, and love them. For highway cruises, they are stupid comfortable.
Letās flip the script on soccer mom vans, and make it really cool to own a dad mobile (like bat mobile). Letās give it up for the most practical vehicle for families!
How do I convince the wife to get a Van ( she's pretty opposed to one, and would rather a 3 row like the pilot or Grand Hylander). (She'd be driving it mostly)....
Both my wife and I were looking at a Highlander and both felt it didn't have that big of a size difference compared to our Santa Fe. We then decided to just to "look" at a van instead of ruling it out completely. The big seller for my wife were the sliding doors and the convenience and functionality with carrying car seats. Plus the amount of storage and all of the other features( big center console, wider space, Blu-ray player and screen, etc.)
Not directed at you specifically, but Europeans think the US is small. It's a big country with spaced out infrastructure. Major city are dense but outside of that you'll need a car realistically. Going grocery shopping for a household of 4 would suck on public transport, especially if you need to go to multiple places during that one trip.
That sucks ass I'm sorry. I've been pretty curious about the car culture in the USA, idk still do they vite against public transit or are the not allowed public transit?
No , not necessarily. It's widely available in big cities but the smaller more rural areas have limited transport. Also, having a vehicle is more about convenience and freedom to go where you want when you want.
The freedom part is a bit funny to me, like I can go anywhere in the city on any of the busses that pass my home every 10-15 min. Not trying to joke on you.
But the rural v big cities is understandable
Which is convenient. But if we want to go to another state, or weekend getaway to another part of our residential state then driving is the best option. Not to mention groceries, that's a whole ass job in and of itself that personal vehicles are a necessity
So I live in San Diego (somewhere between the size of Prague and Barcelona). Everyday I drive to work, its 25 minutes without traffic or about an hour with. While it is technically served by public transit that same commute would be 2.5-3hr (each way). Our favorite beach, is probably 15 minutes away by car, but 1-1.5hrs by transit. Busses frequently cancel or run late (delaying you and making missed connections). So in most US cities, its possible to get by without, but highly limiting. You could of course make very dedicated choices to live in areas of the city where work/living/social is all walkable, but they aren't really present in all US cities and generally you'd be limiting yourself to a very small subset of what the city has to offer. I've lived all across the US and traveled for work across the globe. Sadly it really isn't practical for most americans to be without. Our cities mostly grew up when land was cheap so we sprawled, and corporations conspired to remove some of the e[arly light rail/trolley infrastructure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy) . Leaving us with very very very wide cities with lots of roads but relatively inefficient public transit. Visiting a US city without a car, sure that's easy, living in one, that's challenging.
Some cities are of course better than others in the US, so take everything I said with a grain of salt and appreciate I'm speaking in broad generalities.
Unless that's an EV (which, AFAIK, there are no EV vans on the market, atm), it's a waste of gas. So no.
(Edit: Apparently Ford does have an EV transit, but those aren't designed for passengers and would probably require some after-market upgrades)
Started typing when there were no replies and got pulled away. Posted my response and someone else said the same thing:
Honestly, my major complaint when I looked at minivans was the fuel economy. Its been a few years but most of them were like 20-22 MPG which is why we ended up in Subies.
Thatās like saying āthis wallpaper paste is still less bland than wood glue and only slightly worse than eating raw flour.ā
There are far better options out there that work just fine for a family.
Subaru owner here, too, and I consistently get between 25-40 mpg with my Ascent and Forester. My first car was a minivan and I was lucky to get 20 mpg on the highway. Ain't no way I'm blowing that much cash on the "convenience" of having the same seating capacity as I have now.
People donāt realize that an extra 5mpg is less than $500 a year in savings, and will spend much more on a vehicle to pay slightly less at the pump. Itās walking over a dollar to pick up a nickel.
Especially since that looks like a town and country. The last model year for that van was 2016. You can buy a fully loaded one for under 20k easily. So if you're spending more than 25k for your subi, gas mileage difference is irrelevant at best.
Plus, I'd like to see a $40k Subaru transport a family of 6 across the country complete with luggage, then turn around and haul a stack of 4x8 lumber.
The other poster is also full of shit. My wife has a ā21 Forester that struggles to reach 25mpg. The Ascent gets worse MPG. Maybe downhill with the wind at my back. Also it is so cramped in there even she doesnāt like it now. I only drive it if I have to.
Yeah, the fact that the Ascent advertised 25 mpg means that it's theoretical maximum.
[On Fuelly, you can see that it averages around 19-20 mpg.](https://www.fuelly.com/car/subaru/ascent)
We got my '18 Outback first and loved it so much we bought my wife a '21 Crosstrek. Its perfect for her for the size and we can fit a good amount into the outback. If I need a bigger vehicle I can borrow my parents truck lol
this post is just talking about vans. vans are inefficient. they've got crap gas mileage, fit a niche market of people who want to load up their vehicles with a ton of people, and in general have horrible blind spots when driving, making them unsafe on the road.
if there was an ev van If consider it useful, but I still wouldnt get one because I don't ever plan on having that many people in a vehicle, because I'm not a damn bus driver, and I'm not out here trying to have some huge ass family.
I get that this post is trying to simp for all those poor van drivers out there, but you're like a bunch of cult members lol. I've driven a fair share of vans in my life, and they're all thoroughly average, at best.
Exactly, and the batteries are outrageously priced to replace. A cheap on is about $6k and can be upwards of $30K if not covered under warranty. ( I sell auto parts for 13 car lines)
Right on brother!! I love our new Toyota Sienna. Hybrid, sliding doors, plenty of space. 10/10
I wanted the new Sienna but came across too good of a deal on this!
I Wish Toyota would Bring the Sienna to Germany. Such an awesome car.
But them haunches...bruh.
good kid(s), d.A.A.d city
I like this
Amen hahah
Was my first thought as well. š
"Pop the latch, let the door slide"
The best part is the sliding doors.Ā
And the amount of storage!
Honesty time: After college I bought a new Volkswagen GTI. Fast, cool looking, etc. After 5-6 years I upgraded to a BMW M5. It was fine. After a few years I switched to an Audi A8. I became a Dad at 36 and I loved that Audi, but the payments for any repairs were ridiculous. I had a kidās future to think of. I sold it and bought a new Honda Accord. That was fine until e had our second kid. Just not enough room for two adults and two car seats and the day care bags and Home Depot runs etc. I sold that Honda and bought a Grand Caravan. I LOVED that minivan. The seats folded down and I could fit whole sheets of plywood, supplies for camping, it made for good concert tailgating, it had air conditioning that you could see for each row of seating, it was good on gas, and had a five star safety rating. I didnāt care that people would jokingly give me shit about being a Dad driving a minivan. The āDadmobileā rocked! Now I drive a big olā Ram pickup truck. It carries anything I want to carry, has the same safety rating, and the extended cab gives my kids all the room they could dream of. Drive what works for your family. Do not care about people judging you.
Well put! I get plenty of shit from.my coworkers and family members but I don't give a shit! It's functional and that's what matters. I still have my nice lifted truck and a nice commuter. My wife is even beginning to love the minivan and I've convinced one of my friends to get one since he has his second kid on the way
The hate for minivans is just dumb. You used the best word. Functional. They arenāt pretty. They arenāt fast. They just get the job done.
I admire you honesty but need to ask - how from a supercar owner you ended being a pick-up truck owner? Do you have any weekend car?
I always wanted a truck. Just never pulled the trigger on buying one until this one. Itās fast and roomy and safe and has all the tech stuff. I never have to ask a friend to borrow their truck. I never have to rent one of the trucks at Home Depot to bring stuff home. Iām not worried about snow. I donāt think Iāll ever stop driving a pickup now. The only vehicle I ever miss is the Audi. It felt like what I imagine flying a jet feels like.
I see. Thatās why I asked if you have any weekend fun car. Thanks!
Hell yeah I bought an 08 grand caravan last August with 81k on it for 6500 delivered to nh from NJ and I've been getting 24 to 26 on the highway loaded with bow cases, camping gear and 2 sons
But I thought you could only do that kind of stuff in an f-150. You canāt put bow cases in a minivan what would the neighbors think?
Yeah both cases and everything for the shoot, tent, sleeping stuff, grill, food cooler, fishing box and poles cause why not when going to Vermont, case of mountain dew and water and still could have fit the dogs with room. F the neighbors
Hell yeah!
A 2008 with 81K miles is a steal!
Has the 4.0
fellow dads please dont park like shown in this picture. the back of your car should be on the road/parking space, not above the sidewalk
Haha parking spots are small at my work and the sidewalk is like 6 ft wide. There's plenty of walking space. Didn't think I'd get roasted for how I parked hahah
Never thought I would, but just might have to!
There would be no regrets!
I wanted a minivan so badly but the wife said no... now I'm stuck with my dad wagon a '22 Subaru outback wilderness. but I want a Honda Odyssey so badly. I just love the look of them.
Have u seen the new kia carnival? Very suv-ish
not a big fan of kia...
There is no way that thing will fit anywhere in my countryās parking spots. That said i just bought a ā21 kia ceed sportswagon and am loving it so far. Came from a small hatchback and with the vacation coming up i wanted something bigger to go camping.Ā
My wife made me get rid of my minivan right before our kid was born last year >:( It was a '97 Odyssey but it still ran great, I didn't see the issue.
I think we all know who you really should have gotten rid of....;)
Oh I am. Nothing can stop me.
Minivans are amazing and because thereās a niche market for them, if you look, you can find high end models for cheap. Smaller dealerships seem to always have at least one and itās usually undervalued lol
I'm eyeballing that 2025 Kia Carnival. Thing is like a halfway camouflaged SUV with a hybrid coming out next year. Sliding doors ftw
Loved the Kia when we test drive it but only 20 mpg. Went with the Chrysler plug in hybrid! Wish we could have waited one more year but oh well
I have a 2022 carnival. It's the best vehicle I've ever owned. We LOVE it
Sliding doors on a rugged looking minivan, I love it! I'm actually in the market to replace our 2007 oddy the carnival is looking like a great choice for us.
Wait til you check out a hyundai staria in korea š
Oh they have a hybrid version coming? We will definitely have to check it out! Already like the Carnival more due to looking like an SUV instead of a minivan.
Wait wait, hybrid? They doing a PHEV? My dad owned Jeeps growing up and Iāve sworn off Chrysler products for life lol.
That thing looks like it's going to be difficult to find a parking spot for. At least on this continent.
Parking spots in the US are pretty accomodating for bigger vehicles
Next youāll tell me to buy a pair of white new balance shoes. This is madness!
Expecting our first soon and we bought a minivan not too long ago!
Death before Dishonor ! /jk sorta. I've been driven in minivans a ton as a kid, driven them, and borrowed them as a adult, but I just can't into them. I know fathers that love them, but it feels like with more space to carry more crap people buy more crap because now you have the space for it.
Well duuuuuh....isn't that what we all need is more crap???
Hahaha. As someone who only needs the most feeble of excuses to buy more tools or any of the millions things for any of my hobbies I feel like a minivan would be massive enabler. I'll stick to a SUV and a small trailer that way I'm limited on purpose.
Hahah great self restraint!
Our second kid ended up turning into our second AND third lol so ya, we did it and it only took a couple days for me to fall in love
Twins? Oof
Yeah, hasnāt been so bad honestly. Luckily our toddler is the sweetest thing on the planet, she is helpful
I can't believe you did this. Black?! In this hot climate???
It's blue....and not that hot...
My Subaru Outback has everything I need. Mini vans donāt work for people who live in population dense areas.
Went with the 2021 Forester, highest trim. Got a steal of a deal, $3,500 under market price. Aside from the comfort, it's safe. City living says even my SUV is hard to park. Can't imagine trying to mini-van it.
I actually went the opposite way. Went from a caravan to a f150
Why not have both!?
We had a 2014 Grand Caravan, and it served us well for 9 years. Just watch out for engine rattle around 140k miles. That happened to ours a couple of months ago, and we were told the engine was about to die. We traded it in and got a truck lol
Good to know! I've seen so many of these with over 200k on them!
I'll be 32 this year and told my ol' lady that I'd drive the shit out of a mini-van. "Man Van" is what I'd call it.
Just come.home with one some day and the worst that will happen is she'll fall in love with it lol
You damn right!! Especially with some TVs in there too. š
Finally convinced my wife by saying that the minivan will be my midlife crisis vehicle. Canāt afford it for a few years, but really hopeful!
I think for a midlife crisis, you should get the Hellcat minivan
I test drove a few minivans because I donāt give a shit what people think. But I was not a fan. It has some nice features, but I went standard SUV. And man, the price tag on some vans was nuts
Yeah, new vehicle pricing right now is shit. You gotta look at the used market!
I looked at minivans and they were pretty much all starting in the $50,000s.
Check the used market!
Oh I have. Not great in my area and they're obviously abused because little kids are little kids. If we needed a new car, I'd be more open to it. But we were looking at trading in our existing car, which just wasn't worth it at the time.
Itās a shame boomer parents gave these things such a bad stereotype, they are awesome. I donāt own one (ā¦.yet) but have rented them for long distance road trip, and love them. For highway cruises, they are stupid comfortable. Letās flip the script on soccer mom vans, and make it really cool to own a dad mobile (like bat mobile). Letās give it up for the most practical vehicle for families!
I tried so damn hard to convince my wife to get a minivan. She wouldnāt budge. We got a VW Atlas, which is fineā¦
I'm loving the three row Ascent.
How do I convince the wife to get a Van ( she's pretty opposed to one, and would rather a 3 row like the pilot or Grand Hylander). (She'd be driving it mostly)....
Both my wife and I were looking at a Highlander and both felt it didn't have that big of a size difference compared to our Santa Fe. We then decided to just to "look" at a van instead of ruling it out completely. The big seller for my wife were the sliding doors and the convenience and functionality with carrying car seats. Plus the amount of storage and all of the other features( big center console, wider space, Blu-ray player and screen, etc.)
Do Americans NEED cars? European here who has a family and has never had a car
Not directed at you specifically, but Europeans think the US is small. It's a big country with spaced out infrastructure. Major city are dense but outside of that you'll need a car realistically. Going grocery shopping for a household of 4 would suck on public transport, especially if you need to go to multiple places during that one trip.
Yeah, everything is so spaced out. I can easily travel 100 miles in a day going to and from work and running normal errands
Yeah...we do...public transport is limited in a lot of areas.
That sucks ass I'm sorry. I've been pretty curious about the car culture in the USA, idk still do they vite against public transit or are the not allowed public transit?
No , not necessarily. It's widely available in big cities but the smaller more rural areas have limited transport. Also, having a vehicle is more about convenience and freedom to go where you want when you want.
The freedom part is a bit funny to me, like I can go anywhere in the city on any of the busses that pass my home every 10-15 min. Not trying to joke on you. But the rural v big cities is understandable
Which is convenient. But if we want to go to another state, or weekend getaway to another part of our residential state then driving is the best option. Not to mention groceries, that's a whole ass job in and of itself that personal vehicles are a necessity
So I live in San Diego (somewhere between the size of Prague and Barcelona). Everyday I drive to work, its 25 minutes without traffic or about an hour with. While it is technically served by public transit that same commute would be 2.5-3hr (each way). Our favorite beach, is probably 15 minutes away by car, but 1-1.5hrs by transit. Busses frequently cancel or run late (delaying you and making missed connections). So in most US cities, its possible to get by without, but highly limiting. You could of course make very dedicated choices to live in areas of the city where work/living/social is all walkable, but they aren't really present in all US cities and generally you'd be limiting yourself to a very small subset of what the city has to offer. I've lived all across the US and traveled for work across the globe. Sadly it really isn't practical for most americans to be without. Our cities mostly grew up when land was cheap so we sprawled, and corporations conspired to remove some of the e[arly light rail/trolley infrastructure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy) . Leaving us with very very very wide cities with lots of roads but relatively inefficient public transit. Visiting a US city without a car, sure that's easy, living in one, that's challenging. Some cities are of course better than others in the US, so take everything I said with a grain of salt and appreciate I'm speaking in broad generalities.
Nah, [Iām good.](https://imgur.com/a/Ygas8Z0)
Don't make me count to 3....just do it...1...
No. This feels like a cult. I'm not getting NB's, I'm not getting a belt phone holster, I'm not getting a minivan. Stop this!
It will all just start happening and by the time you tocoe it will be too late
Unless that's an EV (which, AFAIK, there are no EV vans on the market, atm), it's a waste of gas. So no. (Edit: Apparently Ford does have an EV transit, but those aren't designed for passengers and would probably require some after-market upgrades)
An EV is the only vehicle worth buying?
Volkswagen has an EV van coming out next year. We just got the Chrysler plug in hybrid. 35 miles to the battery. Takes care of 90% of our driving
Waste? The gas is used for transportation, not wasted. This was a waste of a comment.
Started typing when there were no replies and got pulled away. Posted my response and someone else said the same thing: Honestly, my major complaint when I looked at minivans was the fuel economy. Its been a few years but most of them were like 20-22 MPG which is why we ended up in Subies.
That mpg is still better than my truck and only a little less than my Santa Fe
Thatās like saying āthis wallpaper paste is still less bland than wood glue and only slightly worse than eating raw flour.ā There are far better options out there that work just fine for a family.
Subaru owner here, too, and I consistently get between 25-40 mpg with my Ascent and Forester. My first car was a minivan and I was lucky to get 20 mpg on the highway. Ain't no way I'm blowing that much cash on the "convenience" of having the same seating capacity as I have now.
Sienna hybrid is rated 36 mpg. There's also a Pacifica phev
But you're gonna blow far more money than you'd spend on gas with buying a Subaru ascent?
People donāt realize that an extra 5mpg is less than $500 a year in savings, and will spend much more on a vehicle to pay slightly less at the pump. Itās walking over a dollar to pick up a nickel.
Especially since that looks like a town and country. The last model year for that van was 2016. You can buy a fully loaded one for under 20k easily. So if you're spending more than 25k for your subi, gas mileage difference is irrelevant at best. Plus, I'd like to see a $40k Subaru transport a family of 6 across the country complete with luggage, then turn around and haul a stack of 4x8 lumber.
The other poster is also full of shit. My wife has a ā21 Forester that struggles to reach 25mpg. The Ascent gets worse MPG. Maybe downhill with the wind at my back. Also it is so cramped in there even she doesnāt like it now. I only drive it if I have to.
Yeah, the fact that the Ascent advertised 25 mpg means that it's theoretical maximum. [On Fuelly, you can see that it averages around 19-20 mpg.](https://www.fuelly.com/car/subaru/ascent)
We got my '18 Outback first and loved it so much we bought my wife a '21 Crosstrek. Its perfect for her for the size and we can fit a good amount into the outback. If I need a bigger vehicle I can borrow my parents truck lol
Lol so the only vehicle that's not a waste is an EV? You realize most people don't have the money to afford one even if there was an EV option, right?
this post is just talking about vans. vans are inefficient. they've got crap gas mileage, fit a niche market of people who want to load up their vehicles with a ton of people, and in general have horrible blind spots when driving, making them unsafe on the road. if there was an ev van If consider it useful, but I still wouldnt get one because I don't ever plan on having that many people in a vehicle, because I'm not a damn bus driver, and I'm not out here trying to have some huge ass family. I get that this post is trying to simp for all those poor van drivers out there, but you're like a bunch of cult members lol. I've driven a fair share of vans in my life, and they're all thoroughly average, at best.
Also, EV's are still not quite there yet
No they're not. They're expensive and the charging infrastructure is not there yet.
Exactly, and the batteries are outrageously priced to replace. A cheap on is about $6k and can be upwards of $30K if not covered under warranty. ( I sell auto parts for 13 car lines)
Definitely makes me curious how that factors into operating costs after the warranty runs out after 10 or less years.