This ain't your mother's van!

[CHICO2003]

Alright... not tryin to be a dick here or anything but... GUYS!! it's a freakin minivan!!! has everyones nuts fallen off or something? I only got through the first few "way to go on the minivan bro" posts before I just couldn't take it anymore!

Don't get me wrong... there's nothing wrong with owning a minivan. (I guess) I mean, if you have a family and can't afford an SUV or think they guzzle too much gas than I suppose it's the right way to go. But to me... owning a minivan is sort've like owning an appliance. not a "cool" appliance like a blender or a toaster oven (lol) but... you know, a freakin washing machine or some s***. All I know is... if I got myself a brand spankin new whirlpool XD45-35 washing machine with syncho-action washing power (YEAH!!) I wouldn't be goin into work on Monday braggin about it!

Alright... maybe that was harsh. Congrats on the... minivan dude!!! I know I should STFU because I'll totally be where you're at one day (the whole wife and kids and a minivan to send em off a cliff... I mean go on vacation in... thing!) Enjoy!

 

[Black Majik MSP]

CONGRATS on the new vehicle...check out mpvclub.com if you want to mod it.

 

[CHICO2003]

I must've missed the "minivan's are cool now" memo! No way in hell I'm hoppin on this bandwagon... but dont' take any offense to what I said. You don't live in my neigborhood so I won't throw rotten tomatoes at you as you drive the kids to soccer practice.

Someone posted a thread about "sleepers". Trick this b**** and you'll have yourself the most ridiculous sleeper around. I know a lot of guys (douches) that would kill themselves if they got beat by a minivan. Do us and the world a favor and make that happen.

 

[luvmyprotege5]

Is it just me or do the tail lights look like they would fit perfectly onto a P5?? I never mesured or anything but just seeing them around I always thought "I wonder if I could get those on my P5" (shrug) (scratch) (dunno) I like those tail lights alot though. If I got a van it would be this one. WAY BETTER then the old MPV's.

 

[msubullyfan]

I must've missed the "minivan's are cool now" memo! No way in hell I'm hoppin on this bandwagon... but dont' take any offense to what I said. You don't live in my neigborhood so I won't throw rotten tomatoes at you as you drive the kids to soccer practice.

Someone posted a thread about "sleepers". Trick this b**** and you'll have yourself the most ridiculous sleeper around. I know a lot of guys (douches) that would kill themselves if they got beat by a minivan. Do us and the world a favor and make that happen.

CHICO2003 -->(nuts) <-- Me

Just kidding. I completely understand your point -- my wife and said we'd never, never, never, never, never, EVER own a minivan. However, after 6 months of getting a car seat and infant out of the rear seat of an SUV, we were sick of it already.

Here's the steps toward when you'll buy a minivan one day, just so you'll recognize them as they occur.

1 - You meet a woman that you care about more than you ever thought you could

2 - You marry this woman

3 - You make the "never a minivan" pledge with the woman and buy her the sedan/coupe/SUV of her choice

4 - You get this woman pregnant

5 - She has one or more babies

6 - You put the kid(s) in and out of your vehicles, banging them on every piece of trim and panel work that exists between the point they're resting and the point where they exit the vehicle

7 - The kid(s) wake up from sleeping and cry for extended periods of time

8 - The kid(s) outgrow infant carriers, thereby requiring a rear-facing car seat

9 - In addition to #7, every time you try to lift the kid in or out of the car seat, you bang his/her/their head(s) on the ceiling of the vehicle

10 - Your wife throws the keys from her cherished vehicle (that she picked out) at you and says, "You have got to get me a vehicle that I can get Jr. in and out of better than this."



11 - You begin shopping at new vehicles.

11.1 - You start off by looking at what you think is coolest (Mazda6 5-door, etc.)


11.2 - You begin to realize that it doesn't have enough room to be the "family" vehicle



11.3 - You start to look at SUVs

11.3.1 - You see that they get 13 mpg, compared to the 30 that you're used to getting, which by your calculations will cost $950 per year in additional gas at $2.10 per gallon


11.3.2 - You look at the sticker and see that Edmunds.com TMV value for any large SUV is $32,000.

11.3.3 - You test drive the SUV and see that it rides like a wagonn with a few spokes missing from one wheel. You also think that it's going to roll over every time you make a curve in it.

​

11.4 - You go to a Mazda dealer and see a minivan sitting over there. You stroll over to it to see what it's like.


11.5 - You see that it gets 24 mpg and has a sticker price of $29,900. However, Mazda is offering $3k cash back and with the S-Plan pricing that you're eligible for, you can drive it off the lot for $24,100.

11.6 - Your wife sees that the minivan has leather, 6-CD changer w/ 9 speakers and subwoofer, and sunroof. She is the first to go back on her vow by saying, "This might not be so bad. Let's drive it."

11.7 - You drive the van, and it feels like a car. It has plenty of pep, corners smoothly, and is quiet.

11.8 - Your wife looks at the power sliding side doors that don't stick out in parking lots and sees that she can step straight into the vehicle, sit down and lift Jr. into the car seat without bumping his/her head on anything.

11.9 - This cute, sweet wife (who vowed in Step #2 to never, never, never, never, EVER own a minivan) says, "This would be so much better for us. I think we should get the minivan."

​

12 - After you recover from your shock, you drive it home, leaving your SUV sitting on the used car lot.


PM me when you get to Step 11. I'll offer you advice on which minivans to look at. (yes)

 

[msubullyfan]

that is indeed very nice.
i have a Q though
from outside, it looks smaller than lets say a dodge caravan or toyota sienna

but, now that you have one, is it pretty spacious from inside?
and how about gas mileage?

It is smaller than some of the other minis, but we looked at that as a plus. It isn't hard to park and still has plenty of room to seat 7 people. With the 3rd row seat folded flat into the floor, it's got plenty of room for 4 people and lots of cargo space.

Honestly, we drove a Honday Odyssey and thought it was TOO big. Only once in a blue moon would we need any more cargo space, assuming that we bought a 36" TV or something like that. For use even on extended trips, the MPV seemed like a better fit.

Oh, and another thing -- the ride on most other minivans we drove doesn't even compare to the MPV. It feels more like a car and corners better than anything else on the market.

Can't comment on gas mileage too much. We've only got about 550 miles on it right now. However, the calculation I did on one tank with all city driving was right around 21 mpg, which I thought was pretty good!