Just get an old minivan. All of the useful without as much of the size.
EvanR wrote: The first-gen Transit Connect is shorter than a Camry by 9"
It's also dogE36 M3 slow and an all around miserable vehicle.
Just get an old minivan. All of the useful without as much of the size.
EvanR wrote: The first-gen Transit Connect is shorter than a Camry by 9"
It's also dogE36 M3 slow and an all around miserable vehicle.
mtn wrote: Two dogs right now and a wife who can't pack light. The smaller dog is a Samoyed/Aussie mix; the larger is a Great Pyrenees. No little humans yet, but the talk of them has sparked this discussion.
Coming from the very happy owner of a 2005 MPV, the possible future situation you describe would indicate Chevrolet Suburban.
1988RedT2 wrote:mtn wrote: Two dogs right now and a wife who can't pack light. The smaller dog is a Samoyed/Aussie mix; the larger is a Great Pyrenees. No little humans yet, but the talk of them has sparked this discussion.Coming from the very happy owner of a 2005 MPV, the possible future situation you describe would indicate Chevrolet Suburban.
Maybe a Tahoe. Maybe.
Really confused by this one as well.
If a Honda Element is too small and you are dead against the FAMILY ANSWER. Then I think you are looking at:
Then all I can think of are BIG crossovers Ford Explorer etc and SUV or maybe a Honda Ridgline with a cap on the bed for the animals. But then you are as big a minivan at that point.
Advan046 wrote: Really confused by this one as well. If a Honda Element is too small and you are dead against the FAMILY ANSWER. Then I think you are looking at: - Ford Transit Connect LWB - Mazda CX5 would be too small I think - Subaru Forester Then all I can think of are BIG crossovers Ford Explorer etc and SUV or maybe a Honda Ridgline with a cap on the bed for the animals. But then you are as big a minivan at that point.
Who said I was dead against the minivan? I'm just looking for the smaller ones, in the interest of keeping 3 cars in my 2.5 car garage.
We'll probably end up with a used Sienna/Oddity/Caravan though.
We had an element when it was just me, my wife, and two medium (70 lb) dogs. It was just the right size. Great for trips with the pups, could haul four people on a road trip, great for camping as a couple, but we sold it when we were expecting because getting a car seat in through the suicide doors is TOUGH.
For little kids in car seats (up until the age of 4, maybe 5) you WANT sliding doors. If you're serious about having kiddos, do future-you a favor and grab either a minivan or a city-van. Sure, you CAN put a kid in the back of a mustang or an accord coupe, but there's a world of difference between that, and a crossover, and then a minivan.
Your money will not go further than it will if you buy a 4th-gen Chrysler minivan. We went through a similar situation, needing a large vehicle that can haul SWMBO's business stuff around without taking up too much space.
120xxx miles. AWD. Towing package up to 3,800 lbs. Leather, heated seats. Rust free. 1 family owned.
$2,300
We don't even have kids. This thing is just awesome.
I'll jump in to say that I picked up a '09 Mazda5 off the board back in Feb.
I have a 3 y/o, a 6mo old and an 11 y/o 70lb shepherd mix.
The wife and I pack med-light (1 medium duffel for all clothes ~40L, 1 camera bag, 1 electronics bag, small pack-n-play, 1 soft-shell 10L cooler, and 1 grocery bag of food, plus dog food) and I'd say the 5 is at the edge of pulling off a week down at the in-laws (300miles away). If you want to stuff two parents, two kids, and two ~70lb dogs into a Mazda5, then you're going to be adding some kind of roof box.
The sliding doors are nice, though.
Ford Flex? Probably a bit big.
BMW or Mercedes wagon?
Mercedes R-series?
Chrysler Pacifica?
The SWB/LWB minivans died out when they were killing sales of full size vans and then people moved to SUV's instead, further causing the minivan market to shrink.
Just thinking outside of the box a bit: a set of car casters can help free up space for daily drivers by moving occasional or project cars out of the way much easier.
I can't talk, I haven't parked a daily in my garage for the entire decade I've lived in this house, so the wife's Highlander and my RS are parked in the driveway year round with any projects taking up the single remaining bay in my 2-car garage.
Outback?
Stefan wrote: The SWB/LWB minivans died out when they were killing sales of full size vans and then people moved to SUV's instead, further causing the minivan market to shrink.
Ford is still offering two different wheelbase versions of the Transit Connect
Hal wrote:Stefan wrote: The SWB/LWB minivans died out when they were killing sales of full size vans and then people moved to SUV's instead, further causing the minivan market to shrink.Ford is still offering two different wheelbase versions of the Transit Connect
That's driven more by the commercial side as they are often used for commercial use and are a bit more suited to that than a standard minivan.
The Sienna scoots. I'm a big fan of the 2GR-FE and it pulls around a handy vehicle. No regrets with my 2009. Check them out.
Outback is similar in volume to the forester I believe, its about a foot longer and has a roomier back seat.
Mazda5 is still bigger though for sure, better for loading a kid into. Even though it has 6 seats, its a minivan for a family of 4. You basically have no cargo room with the back seats up.
Not sure if you are into bringing bikes with you, but you also cant hang a bike rack off the back of a mazda5 because of the hatch design. You need roof rack or a hitch mounted solution.
1st gen Honda Odyssey is MUCH smaller than a 2nd gen MPV (I have both in my driveway). By a LOT in every dimension.
I've got a clean Oddy I'll sell very cheap (needs trans attention).
The MPV is bigger than the Element. The Oddy is smaller.
In reply to mtn:
I should have bolded the "IF" in my last post. Really a minivan is going to do it. The only other vehicle I can think would fit the job perfectly is a Kia Rondo but they sell them in Canada not the USA.
How about a Chevy Express awd (not sure if they made a short bus version)?
I think a Caravan/Town and Country might be a good option.
In reply to Advan046:
Not sure I'm reading this post right, because I've seen several of the older ones in Kentucky with not Canadian plates on them.
Chadeux wrote: In reply to Advan046: Not sure I'm reading this post right, because I've seen several of the older ones in Kentucky with not Canadian plates on them.
Yes they used to sell them in the USA. You can find those but there mpg was terrible and it was rather low end interior. The next gen launched with a definite improvement across all features but no longer sold in the USA.
Not sure you want to go this old but there was the.
Subaru Baja
I got to drive a Subaru Forester XT this weekend, a 2009 model. It was a ton of fun to drive and decently fast too with the turbo 2.5. This may become my next DD bad weather car. It even had good steering feel. I was impressed.
Tons of room inside (more than the 5 because it is wider), real doors, bulletproof reliability, incredibly versatile. Mine has been an excellent mini-minivan for 90,000 miles and still going strong.
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