Suggestions for a family of 6

of course. the same advice i give to friends that reach out to me with professional questions. :smiley:

We did get the high roof (9.5 ft tall), only the low roof would fit in a parking garage and even then it would be tight.

We had captains chairs added in the second row by Happy Vans, it’s great. They also attach to the existing seat rails so no safety concerns. I wouldn’t add extra seats to a crew or cargo van, especially for my kids to sit in.

The pax van comes with a decent sound deadening already, we added extra plus insulation (wool) to the doors, headliner, etc. Really quiets it down and helps maintain temps in that huge cavern.

The great thing about the sprinter is the ability to take the back row out, have >200 cubic ft of storage, and still have seats for 8-9.

The new Kia Sedona is coming in 2021 and looks (I think) pretty awesome! although it wouldnt meet the AWD requirement AND you’d have to actually interact with a Kia dealer…ugh

1 Like

That does look really nice. Wonder if the engineering is up to par this time?? Current gen Sedona isn’t anywhere close to Ody/Sienna

They tried to bridge the gap between minivan and suv - if you see other angles they have of it, you will see what I mean.

It’s looks like a home-run for people looking for a minivan. Judging at how the Telluride/Palisade/GV80 releases went though, I doubt it will be LH-worthy.

1 Like

The new Carnival does look nice. Coming out soon in Korea and some other countries. There are some videos on YouTube with reviews and walksarounds. It does look nice and to me, resembles the current Range Rover.
Unfortunately, late 2021 is too long of a wait for us.

4 row minivan jeesh. Figured out what that Florida Mom needed.

2 Likes

@mooshoofooie FWIW, I am currently looking for something similar. I didn’t see this mentioned before, so I thought I’d add on:

2021 Pacifica (non-hybrid) is the only current minivan out there with mechanical AWD. 2021 Sienna has eAWD as an option, but it isn’t mechanical so you may look at it a bit differently (and seems to be much harder to find).

Have you thought about a VW Atlas? How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas? | News | Cars.com Love that Cars.com does carseat checks and rates each vehicle they test!

Also I just watched Motormouth’s review on the new Sienna AWD Hybrid. I’d watch it first especially with all that mountain driving you do- sounds like they are worried about the power when fully loaded. https://youtu.be/NS1xnpR6la0

there is the new Durango SRT Hellcat… I bet my wife would be so happy if I came home with that. My new home would be the dog house.

1 Like

The 2021 Pacifica is definitely on my list. They’re just hitting dealers now. I really wish the hybrid and AWD came together though. I assume it may be a space/placement issue for the AWD and batteries? IDK. The hybrid has federal and state tax credits… but after going to Mt Hood yesterday and seeing other FWD cars struggle just to get into the parking lot makes me think twice about not having at least AWD.

That is definitely a concern for me, especially since it has lower HP and torque too?
I don’t drive fast, but definitely like to have it on tap when I need it.

I will definitely check out those 2 links.

Haha I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t touch one myself. But Alex On Autos reviews always raves about the car as being jack of all trades

Since FWD is the only option, just get snow tires.

Highly recommend X7, will comfortably seat 6 adults with captain’s chairs.

1 Like

Having both a '19 Pacifica and '21 X7, both with captain’s chairs, I can say if you need to haul crap around with 6 people, unless you want a roof box, the Pacifica is the better bet for functionality. With the third row up in the X7 there is some space for about 5-6 grocery bags, but that’s it, forget any kind of more than travel size luggage. Sorry @vampiresquid137 I am with you unless this is you only road trip option.

3 Likes

Doug Demuro has a good review on the Durango Hellcat. I’ll have to live vicariously through him for this one.

1 Like

Too many quirks and features for you?

6 Likes

For me, getting to the third row is a big deal. That is probably one of the biggest reasons people get minivans. The second and third being trunk space and third row leg room.

Having to direct traffic or have a kid squeeze in front of a kid to get to the third row day in and day out is asking for arguments.

I think all kids love minivans. I remember putting blankets out for road trips and just having fun. What a Pacifica has that others don’t is the panoramic sunroof and a third row sun roof. That’s pretty nice, though the kids will probably never use it after a month.