This is a sponsored post. As always my opinions are my own.
Every mom at some point after having multiple children has to make a major decision. Minivan vs SUV.
Some people have a huge stigma with driving a minivan and think it is not cool and some people embrace it. I have had both a minivan and a SUV and love both for different reasons. If you are deciding which vehicle is right for you I will give you my pros and cons of driving both.
When my husband and I found out we were having twins we knew immediately that we would have to get rid of my little car. I had been wanting to be a mother for a long time and embraced the minivan. I was actually excited to get one because I had been wanting to join the mommy crew.
We bought a 2-year-old Honda Odyssey which is the most popular minivan in the preschool parking lots. It is super reliable and was an awesome car for me for 8 years. We trashed the heck out of it and it just kept on running. I said I was never getting rid of it but at over 150,000 miles and 10 years old my husband insisted that it was time to move on. I voted for a new minivan but he insisted that we test drive some large SUVs. We ended up purchasing a new Suburban. I have now driven this car for over a year and want to share the pros and cons.
Pros and Cons for Minivan versus SUV
Drive Style: Minivan is higher up than a car but not as high as the Suburban. I feel like I am king of the road in the big SUV.
Seating: They are very similar in seating arrangements. We have captains chairs in the Suburban. In the Odyssey we had an extra bonus seat we could add in between the captains chairs in the middle to have it seat 8 people that we actually used often. I miss having that extra little jump seat. You can get a Suburban to seat 8 if it has a bench seat in the middle but with the way my kids tackle each other to get into the car I knew they would be stepping on the seats to jump over and I wanted it to be easy for them to climb in even when they are 16 years old and adult size.
The minivan is so much easier when you have a child less than 5 years old. Especially when they are in the bucket snap-in seat. You can easily reach the seat to snap in a car seat or help your 3 year old buckle the straps whereas in a SUV you have to lift the heavy carrier up higher to get it to snap in properly.
It is car seat awareness week. If you notice the picture below there is a problem…do you see it?
It is that my 9-year-old son still needs a booster seat. No worries, he always rides in a booster. We were just taking this photo when I realized his booster was in our other car. I still have my daughter in a 5 point harness even though she is of the age and height for a high back booster but she still isn’t at the correct weight. She weighs herself once a week to see if she is 40 lbs yet to get a booster, but really I am fine if she stays in the 5 point harness longer.
Did you know that Cars.com not only has tons of information about cars but they also have information about car seat checks? In this article, Cars.com tells how they test various car seats.
The driver’s seat and passengers seat are more comfortable in the Suburban. I don’t know why there is a difference but there is. When I get back into my sister’s Odyssey her seat bottoms just aren’t as comfortable. If you drive on very long car trips this may be important to you.
Parking: This is where I miss my minivan so much! The Suburban is a beast to park. I have to back up and try several spots before I can find a place for us to fit. We also can not fit it into the garage! I told my husband when he first brought a Suburban home for me to test drive. That’s right, I make him deliver the cars to me to test drive. I refuse to go to the dealership with him after the last time he took me to one “just to look” and I sat there 8 months pregnant with twins for almost 4 hours . I took one look at it and said, “Does it fit in the garage?”. Parking in the garage was a deal breaker for me. He tried and tried and our garage is just an average 2 car version and it was too long to fit. I told him to take it back, that I did not want it….well, you can see how well that worked. 😉
Storage: This is where the SUV wins. A minivan has more storage than a regular size SUV (Tahoe or similar) but the Suburban has even more amazing storage space even with the 3rd row up. We always have the 3rd row up because we have 3 kids and a dog that travels with us often.
In this picture I have a tall outdoor chair laying on the left side. That is how long the cargo area is even when the 3rd row seat is being used. There is more room than just about any other SUV on the market.
If you will need the 3rd row seat up the majority of the time the smaller SUVs will not work for you. Especially if you still need a stroller. The minivan would work better for you or the larger SUV with extended cab.
Let me know if you have any questions. I would love to answer them if you are trying to decide between a minivan vs SUV.
The Winner
I really think it depends on the ages of your kids. When you have younger children the minivan wins hands down for convenience. Once the kids get a minimum of 5 years old the SUV is just as practical. I no longer have to help buckle them in their car seats so the SUV is just fine.
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I am a fan of big cars! The storage in the back for buggies is so helpful. Now my girls are getting older i prefer having space in the cabin for comfort. Great breakdown!
Some great points to consider! 🙂
I’ve never had a mini van but I think they are practical. We have a Tahoe and a Traverse. I think our Traverse drives nice and the Tahoe feels like a truck. Love the Tahoe and I’m considering a suburban next. I like the option to tow if we ever need to .
I will always own an SUV. I learned to drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and going to a car after that was insane. I felt like I was on the ground! We had a Grand Cherokee for years after I got married, and then traded for a car, for the gas mileage…I hated every moment. Traded that for the SUV I have today, a Buick Rendezvous, and I honestly fell in love, and will only own Buick SUV’s from this day on.
I used to be so against minivans but now I love it! I tried many different SUV’s before finally becoming a minivan mom and I don’t think I can live without it.
It’s funny how people can be so against it and then buy every other product under the sun to make their life more convenient but won’t do it for their vehicle.
Such an interesting post! When our 4 kids were little we went with the minivan and never looked back. Now that they’re older I’m back in a sporty little car that I can zip around town in, but the minivan was perfect for us when they were little. Plus, we still have it for taking family vacations.
I have a Odyssey and love it! With four kiddos it’s spacious and roomy enough to accommodate my family. Plus I love the trunk space!
Depending on family size one may be better than the other for the family. A mini van can have a lot of room and great if you have a growing family.
Having had both as well – just not at the same time – I have to agree, both types of cars have their pros and cons. We had a van for a long time, simply because there are not just two kids but also two dogs (at that point) that needed to be driven around. Add Grandma and husband to the mix, and an SUV would not have done the job. Now it is a different story, so a SUV does just fine.
Blessings!
I was just thinking about this! I just gave birth to my third child and so we’ve out grown my sedan. I am not ready to be a soccer mom!! But the space will be amazing. Thanks for pointing out the pros and cons.
Great points. My husband wants to get an SUV but I love my minivan. I told him when our kids are older we can do an SUV. I even told him some of the same reasons you list, specifically parking and car seats.
I constantly go through this debate. We are on our second minivan and by the time we get a new car we won’t have the need for all the carseats, but I still will want the third row. Plus i hate that the sliding doors freeze in the winter.
Thanks for the comparison! I always said I never wanted a minivan, but now that I have one I don’t think I could ever go back! At least not while I have little ones, it’s just so convenient.
I have 2 kids, 4 year old and a 1 year old. I have never been a fan of Minivans, even though they are so easy with kids. My husband has been trying to convince me we need a Tahoe and I keep ignoring it though. I don’t like driving huge vehicles. For now I will stick with my Jeep renegade. Eventually I do plan on upgrading to the 4 door wrangler though.
I’m in the SUV or crossover camp, but I think it is only because as kid my family had a GIANT van (not a minivan) and so I was turned off by the beast of a machine. But my extended family loves minivans too!
Right now I have 3 kids ranging in age from 4 to 11. We have a minivan right now, but I could see getting an SUV in the near future.
I drive an SUV now and I love it. But, before that I had a minivan and I did love the sliding doors. I didn’t have to worry about my kids throwing their doors open and dinging the car next to me.
We had to make this decision recently in our family. SUV won, hands down, for me. I love how sporty it is, and how it doesn’t feel like “a mom car”…even though it totally is. 🙂
I definitely think the Suburban is the best of both worlds!
This is a fun post. I know a lot of moms who have had this debate in their families. It always works out for the best!
I drive an SUV and bought it before my kids were born. Now I really want a mini-van. Once you become the mom taxi you need space for all the kid gear and extra kids you pick up along the way.
For me the deciding factor in a car is safety and pickup. If it can’t go when I push the peddle down, it is a deal breaker. Momma needs her speed, safe speed, but still speed.
We love our suburban. We contemplated a minivan but the extra room on cargo and the snow abilities won us over (we have giant dogs and live up north!)
I have an Infiniti SUV and LOVE it. I do feel like I get all the comforts of the minivan without looking like my life is all about toting around kids. The SUV is very spacious and carries a lot (sports gear, furniture, clothes etc.). Would not trade it for the world.
Thrifting Diva
http://www.thriftingdiva.com
I grew up with both and have to say I always loved the SUVs more than the minivans. I will definitely be an SUV mom instead of a minivan mom!
I love my SUV because I am, uh, vertically challenged. I also find it easier to maneuver. But I am drooling over the cargo space in that Suburban!
I wanted a minivan so much when the kids were little. Now that they are teens, the Ford Focus we have is perfect for us.
I say the SUV. It seems more practical and you get to feel like “King of the Road”.
We have 1 toddler. I had a 2 door sports car for 9 years and I was devastated last year when we had to finally get rid of it. We have a small SUV now – we literally researched measurements on vehicles. Our “2 car” garage was built in 1950 when really it was probably a 1 car family. A large SUV would simply not fit and even the small SUV is such a tight fit alongside our second vehicle. Honestly, I can’t wait until she goes off to college and I can get a coupe again. Haha.