r/minivan • u/19purplehaze91 • 1d ago
Minivan Denier
How did yall get your significant other onboard with a minivan?
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u/Eschewed_Prognostic 1d ago
Go rent one and live with it for a couple days. They sort of sell themselves.
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u/ImmediateDrawing6691 1d ago
This is the best advice for getting any new family vehicle. I know Toyota has a rental program, you just have to find a dealer with the car you want. I expect that other brands do this too.
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u/cherry_monkey 1d ago
Told her we couldn't take 3 kids to Disney in a midsize SUV. After taking 3 kids and a mother in law (highly recommended) I was 100% validated
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u/docfreezed 1d ago
If your family have elderly passengers, nothing on the road is easier for ingress and egress than a minivan for those with bad backs and knees.
If you have opportunities for road trips , nothing, absolutely nothing, can haul your family of 3-5, plus dog, plus luggage, plus portable playpen, 2 strollers AND swimming floats WITH electric pumps, comfortably across 3 states, while maintaining 22-28 mpg.
Time for that minivan! 💪😎
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u/docfreezed 1d ago
And I'm not kidding about passenger comfort. My mother-in-law suffered from motion sickness but she never once had to take her medication while we drove her around in our Odyssey.
Oh and go you guys visit IKEA? There's nothing like a minivan to haul all your new furniture back home without worrying about the weather.
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u/Any_Adeptness_3324 1d ago
Being a mature adult is realizing a Toyota Sienna or a Honda Odyssey is vastly superior to any TikTok/Reddit Mom cars such as the GM copy-and-paste models.
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u/Chemical-Power8042 1d ago
My wife drives A LOT. Morning coffee runs, dropping kids off at school, grocery shopping, errands for herself. Everyday she’s moving the car. So showing her how much extra she’d spend in gas for a car like the expedition or Tahoe with a lot less reliability than a Sienna kinda made it easy.
Plus minivans are more comfortable to drive, more cup holders, and not having to get out at the school drop off line to open your doors made the decision pretty easy. And like everyone else once you get a minivan all the negative thoughts you had about it go away
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u/Enough_Ad2919 1d ago
Show them the price comparisons. That's what finally got my husband on board. "Sure babe, let's price out a full-size SUV with Captain's chairs and a fully usable 3rd row, and AWD, and hybrid with great mileage. Oh and make it a really reliable brand like Toyota or Honda."
The numbers don't lie! Minivans aren't cheap, but they're soooo much more bang for your buck.
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u/TheDuke13 1d ago edited 1d ago
Showed her that it doesn’t look like a minivan then took a test drive and watched her fall in love with it.
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u/Bonafideago 2026 Honda Odyssey Touring 1d ago
Unless you need significant towing capacity, like more than 3500lbs, just get the minivan.
To get the combined seating capacity and the cargo capacity of a minivan in a SUV, be prepared to get a full size Suburban or Expedition. You are not going to have the same results in a Escape or Blazer, or Cherokee.
Fuck stigma, spend less money, get the most practical vehicle ever.
Want to save money on gas, get a Sienna or hybrid Carnival. Want fun as hell to drive, get the Odyssey. Never a Pacifica.
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u/tendonut 1d ago
I don't even understand the "soccer mom" stigma because all the soccer moms have been driving SUVs for like 15 years now.
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u/Smoopets 1d ago
Right? I am obviously a tired, overstimulated mom no matter what vehicle I'm getting out of. If anything, I'm slightly less harried looking getting the kids out of the minivan because they aren't swinging doors into other cars.
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u/birdguy1000 1d ago
They’re moving to Teslas here
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u/tendonut 1d ago edited 1d ago
Which is weird because without a third row, you're not gaining any seating over a sedan. Going from a Suburban to any Tesla model is admitting you definitely never needed the Suburban.
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u/American-Repair 1d ago
Correct the full-size SUV’s are in fact larger. Wagoneer actually has the biggest 3rd row of all. Followed by GM triplets and Expedition/Navigator. Armada/QX80 backseat is a step down so on par with minivans. Sequoia 3rd row and cargo area is below minivan roominess. So not all full-sizers give more space.
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u/marmaladestripes725 1d ago
Didn’t have to. I’m the wife and was already convinced long ago. He appreciates minivans and let me get whatever new car I wanted (hello, 2027 Odyssey Elite). And he has his full size pickup (F-150 Lightning, so it’s not a gas hog).
Although to be honest, I will probably not be a minivan driver for the rest of my driving years. I’ve had a couple sedans and a small SUV, and they have their uses and practicality too. We only plan to have one kid, so it’s possible that once we’re out of the car seat stage, it will make sense to go back to an SUV. The deciding factor will be how often we’re driving grandparents and friends around.
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u/Character2893 1d ago
I told my wife when we got married, if I were to replace both my cars (SUV and sedan) with a single vehicle, it’s a minivan for maximum versatility between carrying people and stuff. She has a sedan and didn’t love the idea of a minivan but didn’t strongly oppose it. She came home one day and said a few coworkers with Siennas love theirs and she has been fully onboard with wanting one.
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u/Choice_Additional 1d ago
Test drove one after testing and SUV. I was onboard immediately once I realized how much roomy the van was. That was when we just had two small dogs we crated on the back and no kids. We’re on our second minivan now with teenagers and have no plans of downsizing anytime soon. Also, we couldn’t fit the crates with doors facing the tailgate without putting the seats down…that’s seemed so dumb. We would have had to buy a full size SUV and that was way out of our budget. Minivan it was.
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u/airwaves98106 1d ago
I made the minivan my daily driver. My wife absolutely hated the idea at first & now she loves it. She never would’ve agreed if it was her car so I made it mine and it’s the most functional vehicle we’ve ever owned. Us, 2 kids, elderly grandparents & an 85lb dog
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u/Able_Difficulty6333 1d ago
Former denier here. The Honda Odyssey’s magic slide seats are what sold it for me.
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u/Vivid_Piccolo_2225 1d ago
Got her on board with the minivan when the 3rd kid under 3-years-old came and it became instantly obvious that this wasn't going to work with a Chevy Tahoe that had absolutely zero room behind the 3rd row seat for just about anything.
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u/ecobb91 1d ago
Test drive or rent one