Hauling my little Goblins in the 5

[superbike7]

Took the kids and one of their friends out for some early trick or treating at an event they do at my local zoo called "Boo in the Zoo". Had all four seats filled and a small stroller in the back. I can't see why we would ever need a full size minvan...

 

[thaxman]

Agreed about the true "mini"van. But I figured out why our cars are the disdain of true minivan owners. Parked next to a 1st generatoin Toyota Sienna yesterday & looked inside (Sienna windows are never tinted dark enough to obscure vision) and realized that just like the 5, its a passenger vehicle. It has 3 rows and seats 7, but they are basic benches just like in some boring full-size commuter van. With the next generation of course they went like Honda and Chrysler did and made it more like a living room & that's what Americans are looking for apparantly - I guess its too much to ask for nowaday for passengers to just ride in a vehicle to get somewhere. Now they need to be in 1st class with all sorts of built in entertainment. I'll keep my 24 mpg city and no distractions thank you vs 16 mpg and zombie children.

 

[flcruising]

I don't see any goblins, just cute kids in cute costumes.

Growing (waistline) Americans do have a hard time fitting in the Mz5, so there's another motivation to keep the weight off!

We'll be even happier with this vehicle once our kids move out of boosters and car seats, because they're legs won't stick out straight and kick the seat in front of 'em.

 

[superbike7]

"I guess its too much to ask for nowaday for passengers to just ride in a vehicle to get somewhere. Now they need to be in 1st class with all sorts of built in entertainment. I'll keep my 24 mpg city and no distractions thank you vs 16 mpg and zombie children."

+1. My work vehicle is a crew cab full size pickup(Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab). It seats five adults comfortably, and can fit one more person if need be. I routinely get 16-17 MPG around town and 20MPG on the highway. It can haul over two thousand pounds and tow around four thousand. What's the point? It gets the same gas mileage as a "minivan" but has way more utility. Just try taking the whole family to Lowes or Home depot and hauling back 4x8 piece of sheetrock. Not a problem in a truck. I am surprised crew cab pickups haven't replaced the minivan.

 

[flcruising]

If those mpg figures sound good to you, then I'd stick with your quad cab. Hauling sheet rock is a rare occurrence around here, but that's where a small pickup or trailer are nice to have on standby. Nobody buys a Mz5 as a work vehicle, so the comparison is somewhat irrelevant. A minivan can haul 7-8 adults and a week or two of groceries, but the 6 seats in the Mz5 is adequate for our needs, so I'll take my 28+ hwy mpg to your 20 mpg any day. Load up your quad cab with stuff to haul, and you aren't going to achieve these mpg figures anyways.

 

[superbike7]

Very true, but have you ever tried putting 7-8 American adults comfortably in a Sienna or Odyssey ? Not too mention how often do that many people adults actually travel together? And you sure aren't going to get the same MPG's in a minivan loaded with 7 adults in it. Also you can get a cover for the truck bed and now you have a 6.5 foot trunk. And is it really better to have another truck to maintain and insure as a go getter? Why not just get it all in one vehicle. Anyhow I think it has alot to do with where you live. In the city trucks can be cumbersome to drive and hard to park. I'm originally from NYC and couldn't imagine having a truck there. I think most any place else in the country a truck is better, but I know that's probably not the most popular opinion.

As for the 5 it is the perfect vehicle for our family as well. Put one of the back seats down and you have plenty of room for groceries. Alot of people run out and get a minivan after they have one kid, and we didn't even consider the 5 until we had our third. My wife loves having the manual transmission, and I love the gas mileage. Especially after driving my truck all day....

 

[flcruising]

My mother's Odyssey was loaded with 6 adults and 2 kids in car seats last Thanksgiving going to see Christmas lights. Yes, it's rare, but I've still yet to need to carry a large piece of sheet rock at any time, just not my need. Her mpg isn't as good as the 5, but 23-25 mpg hwy is still respectable with all those passengers. Don't get me wrong, I do like the idea of a pickup, but having an empty bed (trunk) 95% of the time is hardly motivational to purchase one. We used to own an extended cab S10, and fully loaded the bed with luggage and no cover we achieved 29 mpg on a trip to Chicago. This was before kids, but I could purchase a truck and drive it <3000 miles per year and come up alot cheaper than replacing the Mz5 with a full size quad cab.

The side-by-side comparison on fueleconomy.gov between a Ram 1500 with a 4.7l V-8 and the Mz5 shows about a $1000 per year difference in just fuel. Our Mz5 achieves the EPA mpg rating, but your 1500 is getting better than advertised on the hwy so keep up the driving technique.