ipp

OMG! Have you seen what that car looks like?

Bambi

No thanks. Thanks for your advice anyway.

narvselius

My wife is also talking about a minivan/SUV... With two small children (3 and 7 months) it's not a small football team we are moving but... Oh, and sometimes her parents come and visit us and then we need to be 6 in the car.

To drive two cars in those rare occasions (her parents lives in another country quite far away) hasn't really sunked in yet.

Funny enough, the first car she liked was the X5. When I explained the price tag, she opted for a Renault Espace. Smart looking car, but still the size of a big boat, comparable to the QM II. I mean, why drive around carrying a lot of air with you?

ro11dice

i have 2 little ones also and my wifey hates minivans....i, on the other hand, actually prefer the minivan. esp with the two car seats. sliding doors help put the kids in/out of their seats. i had the sienna and odyssey in sights but was trumped by an SUV. i don't think you'll go wrong with either the sienna or odyssey.

don't forget to post some vid links of your supercharger and quad exhaust.

sideeffects

I second the R class, its the only decent looking mini-van out there IMHO

bigfddi

I looked at the R Class when getting my wife what she has now 2007 ML 500, the R isn't a MiniVan just based on the fact that it has 2 back doors. One of my friends just got an R 350... that thing has the most insanely large back doors on the planet. I would say its the best back seat I have ever seen (outside of the Maybach)

Bambi

The R is only a fusion of sedan and SUV. It only offers 1 row of back seat which is not what my wife wants.

lawguy

I can speak with some authority here, as we're the "proud" (if there is such a thing...) owner of a Toyota Sienna. We opted for the XLE version, with most of the options except AWD, reverse camera & nav. Otherwise, I think we have most of the bling bling.

As background, we have 3 kids - ages 8, 5, and 20 mos. The wife had a Ford Explorer previously, and we wanted a mini-van for the ease in getting kids in and out. Let me tell you - its marvelous for hte kids. The power - slide open side doors (and a power rear door) with power remote control are a godsend. The kids are usually in the car themselves (without help) and seatbelted before we even arrive at hte car ourselves. With captains chairs in the 2nd row, its very easy to reach the back seat, which folds flat into the floor for extra space when you need it. The DVD with wireless headphones is the greatest option money can buy.

I like the car - I was more of a Honda fan beforehand, but liked the Sienna more than the Odessy - not sure why, other than we got a better price on the Toyota. I think the Honda has 20 HP more, which wouldnt be a bad thing, but it certainly wasnt enough to consider otherwise.

Trust me, while its anything but cool - its the definition of ease, which for right now, matters most of all to us.

When its truly pimped out, it felt like a nice Lexus on the inside.

Let me know if there is anything else you want me to discuss on the subject.

- Pete