re: Minivan - yay or nay?

A man driving a minivan is the ultimate sign that you've given up and have settled into a sad, depressing suburbanite hell. My condolences.

I have three kids, and the wife's van is great. I drive a Silverado, but on a few occasions I have taken the van up to the camp for two reasons 1) gas and 2) more dry space on wet weekends. SUV is for hauling boats, vans are for hauling kids. If your manhood is tied to the family vehicle maybe you need to reevaluate your life.

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Logic would dictate that a guy with a minivan full of kids is probably not experiencing problems in that department.

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You don't know too many suburban dads, do you?

They have so much room for activities.

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We like the Honda Odyssey and Chrysler Pacifica

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I really liked the Pacifica until I sat in the back seats. Even though I won't be sitting in the back, the "foldability" of seats make them very uncomfortable due to the lack of cushion.

The GAYYYYYY-type response to mini-vans is just a reflex created by marketing campaigns for other vehicles that are more lucrative for manufacturers.

Nothing in the personal automobile inventory really beats the covered carrying capacity of a large mini-van or it's sliding doors (the most kid-friendly of any option, anywhere). Features such as stow and go seating are also peerless and a high-end model has all the bells and whistles of the vast majority of luxury trims. Many mini-vans are classified in the light truck category and the one I own has a 300 hp motor - so there's that.

All that said, they're not for everyone: depending on the model, they can be bit like driving a box truck at times and other drivers on the road often resent them for a variety of reasons (from they can't see around them to 'I'm not going to let that GAYYYYY car beat me!'), which can invite some overly aggressive maneuvers on the highway.

The Pacifica - a bit smaller and more car-like vehicle than the T&C it has replaced - has sensor technology available that can make it almost crash proof, as long as the driver is simply awake and paying attention...

We gave up fighting the damn suburban/yukon and bought a minivan for my wife. We looked at the Honda, Toyota, and Kia - we finally settled on the Kia because of the Warranty. Fit and finish, the Toyota was nicer, but at the end of the day I couldn't see spending that much extra on bells and whistles. I have a 17,13,3 and 1.5 y.o. The 6 of us, along with my Mother, have taken it to Disney and Tennessee and have it's been more than comfortable. On the Chrysler, a mechanic friend of mine warned me against them, for what it's worth.

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Get a toyota or Honda. Buy used. My sienna was like 20K with less than 30K miles and had leather.

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Same here. My wife was driving an older Accord. We bought her a Highlander. She loved it, but the first week or so of carpool with our oldest in Kindergarten, struggling to shut the door all the way, my wife wanted the power sliding doors. We only had the Highlander a year or so. Traded it in 2013 on a 2011 Sienna with under 20k miles. I think the van was around $20k. Leather, both power sliding doors, all that. It isn't the fully loaded model, but the only thing it is really missing is a sunroof, fog lights, nav, and some trim.

Four years later, she is considering another crossover SUV. Our son will be in K5 in a couple of years, and we don't plan on having any more. After he's in 1st grade, we'll be done with our van phase. But for 6-7 years when the kids are small, they are hard to beat. Plus I can stow the 3rd row and take the 2nd row seats out and stack drywall or plywood in the thing.

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The sienna has more road noise.

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Have to disagree there. We went to test drive a used Odyssey. She had her heart set on it. Took them both out, and the Sienna was much quieter. We drove at least 2-3 of each because they had them all on the lot, and each of the Honda's was louder. The drive was much smoother too. Plus it has a 3.5L V6 that has around 250-270 HP. It will straight up haul on the interstates on trips. I have to use cruise because if I don't I find myself going 85.

With 3 or more rug rats, a van is a nice functional thing to have as long as your wife doesn't bitch about the stigma of being a van driver. There will reach a point when your kids get older (like ours did) when you are going to want the enhanced space of a suburban.

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The GAYYYYYY-type response to mini-vans is just a reflex created by marketing campaigns for other vehicles that are more lucrative for manufacturers.

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That, and the fact that they're gay.