In preparation for baby #4, my husband and I knew it was time for a bigger vehicle. Now l will tell you, prior to having children and really all the way up until having child #3, I despised minivans. I did not think they looked very “cool” and this momma knew she was probably going to already be knocked down the cool ladder multiple steps after having my kiddos (although I like to think I am a hip mom!) and a minivan would be what sealed the deal.
Once we knew we wanted to expand the brood to add a fourth, we had no choice but to purchase a bigger vehicle. Our two-row SUV would simply not fit another child, and I was already at my wit’s end with the lack of space and closeness of the car seats.
Having kiddos in various activities and school, I had many opportunities to speak to other mommas on what third-row vehicles they preferred. Now prior to becoming a minivan mom, I learned something. If you speak to a third-row SUV momma, most of them despise the idea of getting a minivan. No offense to my SUV momma friends, but your opinions on minivans were fairly strong.
Now when you speak to a mom who has crossed over to the dark minivan side, they will have very passionate speeches on how it has been a life-changing vehicle. I was convinced to go for a test drive. Now my husband was already on the minivan bandwagon, so when we went to test drive our Honda Odyssey, he was already on board with making this purchase. By the time we finished looking at third-row SUV options and then test driving a minivan, I too was ready to go to the dark side. I fell in love.
Now the SUVs with third rows were nice, they looked appealing on the outside, but beyond that, we found that the minivan won in many other categories. The minivan, on average, was better for gas mileage, had more trunk space that could fit a double stroller and single at once plus baggage (we tested this!), had way more aisle space, many models had the ability to add a middle aisle seat or take it out for more space, cup holders galore, and some include the DVD player with wireless headphones, which won our children over quickly. The van we were looking at even had a sunroof. A tiny glimmer of my coolness would remain!
Of course, three-row SUVs can be found with some of these features, but test driving our vehicle was the first time I had witnessed all of these “necessities” bundled up in a package. It felt like and has been a game-changer for our family ever since. Putting it to the ultimate test, we went on our biggest family road trip ever this summer. Ten plus days traveling and seeing multiple states as well as Canada, we survived and even had a pretty good time in the minivan.
I cannot believe I am about to say this, but why did I not get a minivan sooner?!
Now, I did not write this post to bash my three-row-SUV-loving mommas out there. I say do what works for your fam or makes you happy! However, if you are someone on the fence, as I see many posts on FB pages from mommas asking for third-row vehicle recommendations, I say at least give a minivan a test drive. I promise that all of the benefits I mentioned above are worth it, and it makes it easier to cross over to the dark side. I mean, come on, and join the dark side. We have extra aisle space, extra seats, tons of legroom, great DVD player options, trunk space, decent gas mileage, and we are still pretty cool.
So what are your thoughts, to minivan or not? Did I mention how easy it is for me to sweep up crumbs and messes in my minivan? 😉
