Topic: CD Article: 2007 Minivan Challenge

[frugal canadian]

Funny i just change lanes randomly and without signaling. Usually when i hear honking and see the middle finger salute i know it must have been close, whew! Isnt that the way MOST people drive now anyhow? It's the me first, get the hell out of my way mentality. Ah yes this IS the minivan challenge thread, no? I sure hope CD plans on testing a van that most Canadian families would buy, an entry level or mid level short or extended domestic brand. Obviously pricing is important as these vans, Dodge & GM specifically, outsell these high priced offshore vans by a large margin. While the Japenese and Korean vans are extemely well appointed and drive like Jesus himself built them because they ARE infallable in every sense. Consumers have spoken and made the domestic vans the top seller. Hey i'll test a van for CD, 4 kids (two in car seats) large dog ( golden retreiver) and my elderly parents live with us. I also tow up to 3500 lbs regularly. We have a 01 Pontiac Montana 8 passenger.160 000 kms Its been great to us, excellent mileage ( 10 L / per 100 KM)  around 20 MPG US this is overall mixed REAL driving gets as high as 25-26 hwy only and sinks to 18 city in winter. I know some will say we own a domestic peice of crap.( yes i had the intake manifold gasket repaired under warranty and the AC condensor cracked and leaked repaired by me, the wipers looked like they are an old Soviet design) and some of the more opinioned readers will say "a minivan is not neccessary for this family, they should buy a station wagon". ( I thought it was MY CHOICE), really what we need is a small school bus. GM should place the GM hybrid drive from a transit bus in a new Montana,( to appease the enviromenatlists) add the 8th seat, delete the turn signal option and i'd be set to rule the road. I'll remove my earbuds so i can hear all the horn honking as a veer across ALL those lanes..........darn blind spots what were those designers thinking........... 

[mdxtasy]

Funny i just change lanes randomly and without signaling. Usually when i hear honking and see the middle finger salute i know it must have been close, whew! Isnt that the way MOST people drive now anyhow? It's the me first, get the hell out of my way mentality. Ah yes this IS the minivan challenge thread, no? I sure hope CD plans on testing a van that most Canadian families would buy, an entry level or mid level short or extended domestic brand. Obviously pricing is important as these vans, Dodge & GM specifically, outsell these high priced offshore vans by a large margin. While the Japenese and Korean vans are extemely well appointed and drive like Jesus himself built them because they ARE infallable in every sense. Consumers have spoken and made the domestic vans the top seller. Hey i'll test a van for CD, 4 kids (two in car seats) large dog ( golden retreiver) and my elderly parents live with us. I also tow up to 3500 lbs regularly. We have a 01 Pontiac Montana 8 passenger.160 000 kms Its been great to us, excellent mileage ( 10 L / per 100 KM)  around 20 MPG US this is overall mixed REAL driving gets as high as 25-26 hwy only and sinks to 18 city in winter. I know some will say we own a domestic peice of crap.( yes i had the intake manifold gasket repaired under warranty and the AC condensor cracked and leaked repaired by me, the wipers looked like they are an old Soviet design) and some of the more opinioned readers will say "a minivan is not neccessary for this family, they should buy a station wagon". ( I thought it was MY CHOICE), really what we need is a small school bus. GM should place the GM hybrid drive from a transit bus in a new Montana,( to appease the enviromenatlists) add the 8th seat, delete the turn signal option and i'd be set to rule the road. I'll remove my earbuds so i can hear all the horn honking as a veer across ALL those lanes..........darn blind spots what were those designers thinking........... 

 

[1TSX]

lol @ frugal canadian's post 

[Arthur Dent]

haha - best first post ever   

[tpl]

I know him!    he drives on the part of the 401 I drive on together with his cousin   Slow  Canadian and his ancient Aunt   Blind Canadian.  I might have seen his father in law before he moved to Florida,  Caddy Canadian as well

[safristi]

YUP he has got that MINIVAN ridership thing down to a "T"........we are FAMI_LEE and we are a coming thru.......so fack_U.....down in tha back.....


 maybe he has watched "Little Miss Sunshine " too often.....

[wing]

haha - best first post ever   

Quoted for truth!  Welcome Frugal Canadian

[JBrill]

Looking forward to this shootout results. All the main competitors I'm considering are there.

I agree that the choice of family is questionable.  When we were just 2 kids and a dog, the Passat Wagon with cargo box is more than plenty.  Now with #3 and #4 on the way (lucky us, Twins!  ), I have no choice but to get a minivan.

Without having done any test driving yet, I'm leaning towards the Kia/Hyundai for price/options but personally prefer the Honda look/styling (but $10k difference for similarly equipped models may be hard to overcome).

Should be interesting what the final preference in minivans is but for this family, I'm sure they won't be converted as there is no need to get a minivan.

[safristi]

 How CHALLENGED do ya have ta be to drive a Mini_WAN.!!!

[Lou1919]

I find it amusing that people keep refering to these mini-vans as large vehicles in the articles and Posts. I must be too accustomed to full sized pickups. I find that they are great family vehicles. Lots of room, decent fuel economy, and with folding seats you have plenty of versatility. I am happy that I stumbled accross the link. I have a Dodge Grand Caravan and will be looking at a replacement soon. It hasn't been very reliable vehicle and now with 120,000 km is starting to cost me a fair bit to maintain.

[safristi]

120,000 and it's facked..nuff SAD SAID...........ye we know they are family haulers...but ONLY in N America...the rest of the World seems to get bye with 95% Less of them...........Discuss amongst yerselves.............

[Lou1919]

Try traveliing 800 - 1000 km in a day with a 3 and 5 yr. old and 2 big dogs plus food and camping gear. It can be done in a smaller vehicle but not in a comfortable fashion.Unless you are into sedating all your passengers..... The previous posts also talk about car seats taking up alot of space (which they do). I chose a minivan over a smaller car or station wagon because of packing alot of gear and 80lb. dogs. When you have kids it is convenient to be able to transport friends as well. There are more choices now available with crossover's and small SUVs. They still don't offer the cargo capacity and versatility of a mini van. I also don't require four wheel drive capacity . If the roads are bad enough to require four wheel drive one should keep one's family home where it's safe.

[safristi]

..so Lou yer in the 5% that "NEEDS" them.......how many 1,000 Km trips do ya do DAILY?,,,,,,,,,,maybe RENT one fer the Holidaze......how often is the MiniVan snugged Up with the FULL CIRCUS CREW?

[gottarondo]

I think they make a large impression because they were a lot smaller when first introduced, relative to a full-sized van.  But it hasn't only happened to minivans.  I saw a vehicle I didn't quite recognize from the side the other day, an older one, and wondered what it was... sort of a hatchback boxy thing sitting up a little higher than usual.  When I pulled away, I saw first the Toyota name and then... sure enough, an old Rav4.  The thing's tiny!  Compare with today's Rav4 - woulda called it a monster truck in comparison. 

And hey, I don't think most people would haul that amount of capacity around if they didn't need it with reasonable regularity (well, some people would, but not people expecting twins (congrats!)).  It is starting to cost serious money to just drive it around.

[JBrill]

1the rest of the World seems to get bye with 95% Less of them...........Discuss amongst yerselves.............

I know where you coming from.  Most European families with 3 kids still go the way of an "estate" car (Wagon in N. America) and I wondered how they do it.  The answer is in car seat laws and standards.  For the most part, European child seats would not meet N. American ANSI/CSA standards as they are too flimsy.  As for the rest of the world, I imagine folks just don't travel like N. Americans do.

Also, N. America still "benefits"? from cheap gas prices making the ownership of larger vehicles less prohibitive.  I'm sure if gas prices in Europe were in line with N. America, we'd see more larger vehicles...

JB

[Rolling]

I’m not sure what the criteria’s are for this Minivan Challenge, but it seems to be dependant on a certain price range, and not a comparison of Minivans comparably equipped with the same options/features.

It seems that Dave and Carolyn are unaware that their current ride, the Sienna LE is a middle of the line model, and their previous Entourage GLS was the top model. I’ve read their complaints about features they find missing on the Sienna that they had with the Entourage.

The fact that these options/features are available on the Sienna, and are not being mentioned or clarified is very interesting.

Will the rest of the Contenders/Models in this Minivan challenge be compared similarly? Will they be compared on price range or for feature for feature, and compare which manufacture puts them together better?

It would be interesting to see what Dave and Carolyn comments would be right now if they started with a Sienna XLE Limited and went to a Entourage GL Comfort??

[Turbo Bob]

For the most part, European child seats would not meet N. American ANSI/CSA standards as they are too flimsy.
JB

Do you have any evidence to back up that ridiculous statement? 

[JBrill]

For the most part, European child seats would not meet N. American ANSI/CSA standards as they are too flimsy.
JB

Do you have any evidence to back up that ridiculous statement? 

Evidence?  When we were in France, it was quite legal to use a nacelle/car bed/lit auto for infants.  This is generally a bassinet that you put the seatbelt over.  There is not harness or other type of device to keep the infant in the seat.  Additionally, I was amazed at the number of car seats available without chest clips.

Ok, maybe my statement was a bit harsh.  Some European car seats do appear to be very well built and some EU standards with regards to side impact appear to be greater than NA standards, but, technically, are illegal in North America until approved by the appropriate regulating bodies and are very hard to import unless you know someone who can ship it to you or you go yourself to get.

So, for the most part, we are stuck with NA standard car seats which are generally too large to fit 3 across in most cars.

JB

[k]

About this car seat thing...last winter my wife and I took a neighbour and her two kids to the hospital in our /07 Ford Escape. The two kids were in car seats and the mother were all in the back seat and weren't squished in. I'd say the mother is an averaged sized person. I don't doubt I could fit three car seats in the back if we had to.
   We bought the Escape because I was getting tired of pulling my wife's /97 Toyota Corolla out of the snow when it got stuck. We get that kind of weather here in rural SW Ontario.

   About turning the A/C on and off...maybe those guys should moderate the icy blast from the vents by turning the heat up a bit. It would likely save the A/C compressor clutch from getting problems prematurely.

[Arthur Dent]

Minivans small? Doubt it. Our is massive. Here seen with the frame of my other car inside it (oh and I didn't even have to take off the front suspension).