The Right Car for Me: Minivan Conundrum

Minivan Conundrum

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Looking to get a minivan to haul around my family ( wife + 2kids) .I need a vehicle with alot of interior space that is usuable for not only day trips but also cross country road trips. Up until the recent mistake of buying a volkswagen, I have always been a toyota or honda driver. However, I have noticed that not only are the Kia and Chrylser cheaper, the manufacturers offer at times some handsome incentives. Long term reliability and durability is a priority for me and one of the things I worry about when I hear the name Chrysler and to a lesser extent Kia. The one must have feature is leather seats, my wife will not compromise on this one. And with leather seats I know that those trim levels tend have a decent amount of features as opposed to a bare bones model. Outside of that there is no must have feature on my wishlist, just a very practical minivan which is comfortable during long trips and has room to spare. I would like to get some feedback especially from those who live with these types of vehicles. For what it's worth, I have driven the current and previous gen Odyssey and the current gen Sienna and found both quite nice. I'm not even going to pretend to entertain the thought of buying a crossover that tries to do what a minivan does better. I would be willing to buy a gently used version but I also acknowledge that some of these models hold their value so well that there isnt really too much of a discount in buying used.

Priorities: Reliability & durability / Materials & workmanship / Rear seat room & comfort

Need minimum of 7 seats

Will consider new cars only

Maximum price: US $ 36000

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The Sienna will probably be the most reliable. The Odyssey is the next most reliable, and everything else behind that. I think the Kia Sedona (2015 and newer) would be worth a look. Kia makes some of the best mainstream cars now, but still depreciate more than many brands. You should be able to get a Sedona for much cheaper than a Sienna or Odyssey especially. I wouldn't buy the Sedona new unless I got a good deal on it.

The Odyssey is usually more enjoyable to drive while the Sienna is more refined. If you were buying new, Toyota probably has more deals than Honda since the Sienna is getting old and Honda doesn't usually do incentives. That said, the Odyssey is a much cooler minivan because of how new it feels (redesigned last year compared to 2011 for the Sienna). Because of that, I'd get a 2019 Odyssey EX-L. Toyota is expected to debut the next Sienna next year.It was spotted testing this week.

Minivans do almost everything better than SUVs, but if you were to look at an SUV, the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade are some of the best attempts of an SUV trying to be a minivan. They are seriously getting top marks across the board, which is rare for SUVs it seems like.

If it weren't for Chrysler's lame reliability, the Pacifica would probably be the best minivan, especially the Plug-In Hybrid.

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You are wise to be looking at minivans rather than a crossover for your family.

Overall Lectrofuel's advice is excellent. In terms of utility any of the 3 mentioned vans would serve a family of 4 well. It boils down to what is most important to you in terms of features, feel, and looks. If you anticipate keeping this vehicle longer than 5 years then I think the Kia gets bonus points with its 10 yr drive train warranty & depreciation becomes less of an issue. As Lectofuel correctly stated: "Kia makes some of the best mainstream cars now".

Would love to hear what you end up with and why.

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Where to Next?

Minivan Conundrum

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Response from LectroFuel

2:34 am July 31, 2019

Response from Sea-Dan

10:48 pm August 1, 2019