Van or 3-row SUV????

lhhl

I am looking to trade in my station wagon for something with more room. I'm not sure what would be a better fit .. a van or 3-row seating SUV. I manly need the extra space when traveling and the extra leg room in the backseat. What are people's experiences with either?

adri77

I have a Lincoln Navigator with 3 rows.  While I loooove this car, the 3rd row is not practical.  The 2nd row middle seat folds over, so you can crawl back, or part of the 3rd row folds down so you can crawl through.  We took my car to a PSU game this weekend with 7 of us, it was kind of a pia.  I have a 3rd baby and really want a mini van but H is not on board!  Luckily 3 kids/carseats can fit in the 2nd row no problem, and we do not often travel with lots of other people. 

KKMMex

My children are ages 5 and 3.  We recently traded in a Volvo SUV w/3rd row for a Toyota Sienna minivan.  I'm much much happier with the Sienna. 

Because of car seat placement, it wasn't possible to conveniently use our Volvo's 3rd row without literally having children climb over the second row of seats.  I also adore the electronic sliding doors in my van because I no longer have to worry about the kids dinging the doors of the car beside me.  It makes loading and unloading children so convenient and easy.

The Volvo is a midsize SUV and it was beginning to feel a little tight, size-wise.  I like the Sienna because it feels much larger yet still gets decent gas mileage.  The "second row" is two nice-sized captain's chairs, and the 3rd row is easily accessed through the space between them.  There is still a load of cargo room in back. 

I participate in a carpool.  I purchased these booster seats and I can safely transport three additional children in my van with my 3rd row.

kmhunt11

Can't speak from experience, but my neighbor has a van.  She loves it because the doors open at the push of a button (big plus when juggling kids, stuff, groceries, etc), it is easy to access the 3rd row, and the gas mileage is way better than an suv.  It's lower to the ground than most SUVs so getting kids in and our of carseats, and getting the carseats in and out (she babysits a few kids sporadically) is easier, too.  

Brewtowngrl

We are done having kids so our honda pilot is perfect for us with 2 kids plus our 100lb dog.  We travel by car a lot in the summer.  We do have a cargo attachment for the trailer hitch, but I also bring all the gear (PnP, double stroller, toys,...).  With it the dog can have most of the back to himself. 

 

julygal

We went with the 2011 Honda Odyssey.  We love it, and we got a very basic package.

1.  Gas mileage was better than the SUVs we considered
2. Sliding doors are great in our tiny garage
3.  Easy access to 3rd row
4.  A lot of room to haul people and stuff
5.  Drives really well

NativeNyer

To each his own but I love my Kia minivan. 

RHitch

I have a Lincoln MKX and 2 car seats.  No complaints here.  I have no desire to ever get a minivan.

PhilsWife07

Van

kpips20

We currently have a Lexus GX with the 3rd row and it's fine with 2 kids. However, once we decide to have #3 we'll be trading it in for a minivan. The 3rd row is a PITA to access unless you climb over the 2nd row or crawl through the trunk, and it has zero leg room. We've looked into other SUVs with 2nd row captains chairs instead of a row but most seem incredibly expensive consider you can get the same thing with a van. We'll most likely go with a Honda minivan.

marriedchick06

We have a town and country and love it. It has the captain chairs and thats where the girls carseats are. When/if we have a 3rd I will put one of the captain chairs down (we have the stow and go) and 2 carseats will be in the back row. We have the buttons to open the doors and hatch. I love my mini van!

franciscaz

Will not get a van!  Just not my thing.  If that is the case get a 3 row SUV but if you don't mind embracing the van it is the simpler route.  I love my SUV though.  We are having the 3 kids only and so far we haven't had a room issue (even on trips).  They are small though.  I imagine as they grow we will get a bigger SUV.

akayf

My friend has a Chevy Traverse and loves it.   She got it with captain's seats in the 2nd row instead of a bench seat.   She has a 5 year old and 3 year old.   She said by getting the captain seat option, she lost a passenger(the bench seat holds 3 people so her passenger total went from 8 to 7) but now it is easy to get to the 3rd row.

JENandJEH

I swore I would never own a van and was dead set on the GMC Acadia until I test drove the Toyota Sienna.  DH couldn't get over the $15k price difference between the Acadia and Sienna for all of the features we wanted so he insisted that we at least test drive the van.  I love my van.  The sliding doors, the huge amount of cargo space even with the back row of seats up, the captains chairs, DVD player, etc.  I felt like the space between the captains chairs was bigger in the van than the SUV and the leg room for all of the seats just seemed to be more spacious in the van.  It gets much better gas mileage and has every single feature we wanted on the Acadia for quite a bit less. 

shellybird101

I went from a mid-size sedan to a Dodge Carvan and LOVE it.  The stow and go option is wonderful the back is roomy and I thought that I would not like a minivan but I LOVE it.

lite-bright

I'm 100% in the van camp. 

We haven't made the purchase yet, but we've rented both. The third-row SUV we rented was either a Tahoe or Explorer, and it was enormous. But the third row was hard to get to, and I couldn't imagine crawling back there to fasten car seat buckles. I also think I would've had a hard time maneuvering something that huge, although DH liked driving it.

For one of our trips back home, we rented a Chrysler minivan -- Town & Country. It probably won't be what we end up with ourselves (we're looking more at a Sienna), but I had serious mini-van envy. It was so easy to pop back to adjust one thing or another, I didn't have to worry about whether I could open the doors far enough on both sides to get each girl in & out of her seat, and it just seemed more open and spacious. 

I wish I had my minivan now, but it'll probably be awhile! 

Bride2bMO

I just came over to the darkside. Honda Odyssey. There's a reason it's a mom cliche...it makes life a little easier. And the gas mileage vs. a 3 row SUV is superior, so it's more afforable both in initial price and gas.