Suggestions For Family Vehicle

[Estil | 1,261]

3 hours ago, Tulpa said:

My dad's 88 T-bird and my aunt's 88 or 89 Buick Somerset had digital gauges. They look neat, but I'm not the biggest fan of them for speedometers and tachs.

The trend I see nowadays is analog speed and tach, digital everything else (fuel, temp, battery, etc.) Some cars even set it up where you can rotate the digital gauges with a switch on the steering wheel.

Of course, Tesla had to take it to extremes.

Yeah I know (or rather I don't know; I don't drive and I very seldom get to go on car rides; half the time I can't figure out how to open the door from the inside!!) they're kinda becoming like the inside of a Batmoblile or something...I wonder if we'll ever something like cockpit glass.

Still it just seems like future predicting/imagining is nowhere near as interesting now as it was back when 2000 was still "the future".   Or maybe it's just me...still I can think of one possible successor to today's smartphones (hey I mostly got the successor to CD's right!  I predicted back in the day the music would come on tiny cartridges).  How about some sort of special contact lens or some sort of eye implant that gives you some kind of HUD?  Maybe some special chips/upgrades you can implant into your head like a cartridge to increase your memory or something?

Or best of all, how about like in the Star Trek Next Generation universe, where they somehow figure out a way that you never have to go #1 or #2 again!  

 

[Tulpa | 3,488]

6 minutes ago, Estil said:

..I wonder if we'll ever something like cockpit glass.

 

You mean an HUD? They already have those. You can actually have them added to just about any car.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Tulpa

[Estil | 1,261]

Oh great...and let me guess they've had them for the past ten years at least?

Yeah some wide eyed nine year old "the future in BttF2 is amazing!" and "the future time [2019] in COPS (cartoon)" I grew up to be...  

[Tulpa | 3,488]

1 minute ago, Estil said:

Oh great...and let me guess they've had them for the past ten years at least?

 

Thirty. The Cutlass Supreme had it in 1988.

[Estil | 1,261]

6 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

Thirty. The Cutlass Supreme had it in 1988.

Not your father's Oldsmobile indeed...

 

[CMR | 519]

I would go with Toyota.  Hondas have had some issues in recent years.

 

The longterm reliability index on Dashboard Light has become my favorite web site.

http://www.dashboard-light.com/

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

We might look at the new 2021 Toyota Sienna. It’s a hybrid with AWD available. I am a bit concerned that they got rid of the V6 engine though. 
 

My wife really wants AWD. Here in Chicago, it’s not that critical, but if we move to New England it would be more needed.

[Tulpa | 3,488]

2 minutes ago, ICrappedMyPants said:

We might look at the new 2021 Toyota Sienna. It’s a hybrid with AWD available. I am a bit concerned that they got rid of the V6 engine though. 

Toyota's been doing the hybrid thing for some time, I wouldn't be too concerned. The electric motors+AWD will give some good umph, too.

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

So, it was only six months later, but I ended up buying a new 2021 Honda Odyssey before the year ended.

We decided on a minivan for the space, especially the ease of getting out of the third row. I actually was planning on getting the 2021, redesigned Toyota Sienna. It’s a hybrid and AWD. I liked the Sienna interior better than the Odyssey, but my wife had doubts when we learned that the material is faux leather. The kids have super sensitive skin and react to various rubbers and plastics.

So, after spending half of the day at the Toyota dealership, and taking the van home for my wife to test drive, I went to the Honda dealership and went home with my first new vehicle ever. Here’s to hoping for 200k+ miles and 10+ years before I have to replace this thing.

Now, we’re all set for our third child’s arrival in a month or so.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

1 hour ago, ICrappedMyPants said:

So, it was only six months later, but I ended up buying a new 2021 Honda Odyssey before the year ended.

We decided on a minivan for the space, especially the ease of getting out of the third row. I actually was planning on getting the 2021, redesigned Toyota Sienna. It’s a hybrid and AWD. I liked the Sienna interior better than the Odyssey, but my wife had doubts when we learned that the material is faux leather. The kids have super sensitive skin and react to various rubbers and plastics.

So, after spending half of the day at the Toyota dealership, and taking the van home for my wife to test drive, I went to the Honda dealership and went home with my first new vehicle ever. Here’s to hoping for 200k+ miles and 10+ years before I have to replace this thing.

Now, we’re all set for our third child’s arrival in a month or so.

Was late to seeing this thread, but my contribution would be that I currently have my parents' old 2007 Honda Odyssey, running well, at the 197,000 mile mark - and my other coworker with a minivan (a Toyota Sienna from within the last couple of years) regrets not getting a Honda Odyssey instead, now that he has had a few years with it.

Before I took this one off my mom's hands, I was planning to get a Kia Sedona, since I like what they do with their middle seats when you want to maximize cargo space -- but now I'm seriously considering a Honda Odyssey, instead, when this one finally dies.

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

20 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

Was late to seeing this thread, but my contribution would be that I currently have my parents' old 2007 Honda Odyssey, running well, at the 197,000 mile mark - and my other coworker with a minivan (a Toyota Sienna from within the last couple of years) regrets not getting a Honda Odyssey instead, now that he has had a few years with it.

Before I took this one off my mom's hands, I was planning to get a Kia Sedona, since I like what they do with their middle seats when you want to maximize cargo space -- but now I'm seriously considering a Honda Odyssey, instead, when this one finally dies.

For what it’s worth, my parents had a 2005 Odyssey that had 374K miles on it, so their reliability is really great. The drive on the Odyssey is much smoother and more comfortable than the Sienna. I also like the extra cargo space as new Sienna seats can’t come out because of airbags in them. I also like the V6 engine and 10 speed transmission. It feels a lot easier to accelerate in it. After driving 4 cylinders for the past 13 plus years, I forgot how nice a V6 is to drive. I’m not a car guy at all, but I feel much more comfortable driving and enjoy having an easy and smooth acceleration. The Sienna hybrid lacked that smoothness. I can’t speak to the Kia as I did not consider it. 

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

2 minutes ago, ICrappedMyPants said:

For what it’s worth, my parents had a 2005 Odyssey that had 374K miles on it, so their reliability is really great. The drive on the Odyssey is much smoother and more comfortable than the Sienna.

That's certainly encouraging.  I plan to get as much mileage out of this one as I can, since I suspect we're well past the point of bothering with a trade in or private party sale, and every mile I put on this thing is a mile I don't put on a future vehicle.

Getting around 30mpg on road trips is nice, too.  We were getting nearly 35 in our Kia Soul, but for big trips, I lost at least 10% of that with a rooftop box, and frankly the seats are just not good for more than a couple hours at a time, versus the Odyssey with comparatively "all day" seats.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

For you Odyssey peeps- how easy is it to get the seats in and out if you need to remove them for cargo?

Stow n Go is the main reason I'm a fan of the Chrysler T&C/Pacifica; can whip those bitches into the floor with ease to load up for video game conventions.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

5 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

For you Odyssey peeps- how easy is it to get the seats in and out if you need to remove them for cargo?

Stow n Go is the main reason I'm a fan of the Chrysler T&C/Pacifica; can whip those bitches into the floor with ease to load up for video game conventions.

Well, the rear seats fold into the rear well -- so that is basically the same as stow-and-go, and unlocks probably 65% of the potential maximum cargo volume.

The middle seats are pretty easy to extract, though, as long as you have a place to put them. And they're easy to get seated on the anchors when they clip back into place.

The trade off with the stow-and-go, is that you can have more comfortable middle seats in the Odyssey, since they don't have to collapse into the floor well.

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

13 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

For you Odyssey peeps- how easy is it to get the seats in and out if you need to remove them for cargo?

Stow n Go is the main reason I'm a fan of the Chrysler T&C/Pacifica; can whip those bitches into the floor with ease to load up for video game conventions.

I think that they’re pretty easy to remove and put back in. I have a pretty high threshold though when it comes to moving things.

[MiamiSlice | 3,089]

I love my Honda Odyssey. Super comfortable, spacious, well designed. 

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

2 hours ago, arch_8ngel said:

Well, the rear seats fold into the rear well -- so that is basically the same as stow-and-go, and unlocks probably 65% of the potential maximum cargo volume.

The middle seats are pretty easy to extract, though, as long as you have a place to put them. And they're easy to get seated on the anchors when they clip back into place.

The trade off with the stow-and-go, is that you can have more comfortable middle seats in the Odyssey, since they don't have to collapse into the floor well.

 

2 hours ago, ICrappedMyPants said:

I think that they’re pretty easy to remove and put back in. I have a pretty high threshold though when it comes to moving things.

 

Thanks!  While I'm not due for a replacement vehicle for a while, I was thinking of getting either a Pilot or an Odyssey next round and was wondering about that.

I have my convention stuff pretty condensed at this point, so I could likely just fold the rears into the well and be good.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

11 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

 

 

Thanks!  While I'm not due for a replacement vehicle for a while, I was thinking of getting either a Pilot or an Odyssey next round and was wondering about that.

I have my convention stuff pretty condensed at this point, so I could likely just fold the rears into the well and be good.

If you're used to the cargo capabilities of a minivan, an SUV is going to feel pretty cramped in that department - even if you can fit it all in the rear 60% of the minivan. (just from the form-factor difference and the inconvenience of not having a single large space to work with)

 

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

5 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

If you're used to the cargo capabilities of a minivan, an SUV is going to feel pretty cramped in that department - even if you can fit it all in the rear 60% of the minivan. (just from the form-factor difference and the inconvenience of not having a single large space to work with)

 

This is so true. We had minivans growing up and I was disappointed the few times that I rented a 3rd row SUV. They just can’t haul as much. The Odyssey also either the most or close to the most storage space out of all the minivans.

[TDIRunner | 2,725]

6 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

If you're used to the cargo capabilities of a minivan, an SUV is going to feel pretty cramped in that department - even if you can fit it all in the rear 60% of the minivan. (just from the form-factor difference and the inconvenience of not having a single large space to work with)

 

I agree with this tremendously.  Crossovers and SUVs are pretty impractical for the way most people use them.  There are exceptions to this for some of the larger crossovers and SUVs, such as larger towing capacity and better off road capabilities, but the vast majority of owners never use these features.  The practicality of the minivan blows the crossover and SUV out of the water.  The only major downside of a minivan compared to a crossover or SUV is simply the lack of the "cool factor."  And at this point, crossovers and SUVs are barely a step above the minivan in terms of "cool factor."  

[MiamiSlice | 3,089]

29 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

Thanks!  While I'm not due for a replacement vehicle for a while, I was thinking of getting either a Pilot or an Odyssey next round and was wondering about that.

I have my convention stuff pretty condensed at this point, so I could likely just fold the rears into the well and be good.

When I was shopping around for a family vehicle I tried both the Pilot and the Odyssey. They are very different. Pilot is pretty spacious for an SUV but nowhere near as spacious as the Odyssey. A minivan being lower to the ground means it's also much easier for kids or a pregnant mom to get in and out of. And space you have in the rear with the seats lowered is much bigger with the minivan. Plus being lower to the ground means much easier to load and unload. Etc. etc. 

I know SUVs are cooler but for practicality the minivan is much better. 

p.s. Aside from the Odyssey I drive an Atlas which is bigger than a Pilot

Edited January 19, 2021 by MiamiSlice

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

18 minutes ago, MiamiSlice said:

I know SUVs are cooler but for practicality the minivan is much better. 

I wouldn't take that as fact

[TDIRunner | 2,725]

22 minutes ago, MiamiSlice said:

I know SUVs are cooler but for practicality the minivan is much better. 

 

 

2 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

I wouldn't take that as fact 

 

 

That's sort of what I was getting at earlier.  I would argue that crossovers are still "cooler" than minivans, but not by much.  Any time I see any model of crossover, I just see a "soccer mom minivan" without sliding doors.  

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

51 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

If you're used to the cargo capabilities of a minivan, an SUV is going to feel pretty cramped in that department - even if you can fit it all in the rear 60% of the minivan. (just from the form-factor difference and the inconvenience of not having a single large space to work with)

 

I'm thinking more of my daily use for it than the few times a year road trips.    

Although if my kiddos end up anywhere near my size I'll be wanting a minivan to tote them around anyway.   My 10 year old is already way taller than I was at his age.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

16 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

I'm thinking more of my daily use for it than the few times a year road trips.    

Although if my kiddos end up anywhere near my size I'll be wanting a minivan to tote them around anyway.   My 10 year old is already way taller than I was at his age.

Yeah, you can't really beat the passenger leg room of middle row captain's chairs.

And for daily use the minivan will get better gas mileage and be a more comfortable ride than the SUV anyway.