Minivans Never Get Pulled Over, RIGHT?

Ha. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this quite yet, but we are buying a minivan. At first, when we knew we had to get one back around February and we were seeing 2 pink lines, I hated the idea. Mr. JuJu probably felt as though he would have to chop off his testicles and hand them to the dealership as we signed on the line, but here we are and there ya go. Three car seats in my Camry is just not going to work.

Thing is? As I was testing one out last night? I came to the realization that I actually didn't hate the thing. The more I drove? I was even sorta kinda liking it.

I know! What the?

So my question is for all of the MOMMYBLOGGERS (ahhhh!) out there who have a van and even the DADDYBLOGGERS (doubleahhhh!) who have some input for me. What kind of van do you drive? What do you like/dislike about it? What options could you not live without? Do you feel dorky when driving it? Can you still flirt and make eyes with the hot guy next to you at the red light, or are those days officially over?

Just kidding, Honey. I hardly ever do that anymore.

Also...do I have to get some of those baseball/soccerball/basketball magnets to adhere to the back? Is that required? What about those bumper stickers that say, "If this van's a rockin'...." Oh I am totally getting one of those!

Comments

[Kirsten]

Well, for the record, I do not have a minivan....my husband does :) I have a Jetta wagon, but the more I drive the van, the more, I (gulp) like it. I mean, so easy to get the kid in and out of.

We have a town and country with the bucket seats (a must for multiple kids!) in back with built in carseats.....we love that feature! I wish we had sprung for leather and the stow and go seats....Good luck, I feel your pain.

[Melissa]

I am a rebel, I have a VW Beetle. Try getting a newborn out of that thing. But I looooovvveeee it. And while we want another kid, I am officially waiting until Maya can sit in the front. ;)

We also have an SUV. So I am absolutly no help. But please don't put bumper stickers on it. We rented one on vacation once and I can see why people get them...it is so easy.

[Peeved Michelle]

My cousin's wife loves the Honda Odyssey she bought a few months ago. LOVES it.

[Peeved Michelle]

Oh, and I have a Volvo XC90 (SUV) and no kids but we don't plan to get a new car once we do have kids. We are pretty sure the Volvo will continue to meet our needs. It seats 7 and has a built in booster seat in the second row.

[ali]

i drive a dodge grand caravan.
i traded in my grand cherokee for a minivan...also when i was pregnant with #3...
i mourned over the loss of my baby, my first car, my SUV.

but, truth be told, the more i drive it, the more i love the convenience. it's so easy to get the kids in and out of it. there's so much space. the stow and go seats fold, with a flick of the writst, right into the floor. amazing!

so, yeah, i guess i love it.

[Mark]

I just gotta start by saying I truly have some of the largest non-elephantitis testicles in the known world, and I drive a minivan.

And I like it.

We have a Honda Odyssey that we bought used. It wasn't until a year or two after ours that Honda fixed the road noise problem. Also, and I hate being honest about this because we spent hard-earned money on it, the freakin' automatic door on the left side doesn't work at all anymore. Some minivan doors are easy to open and close in manual mode, but not ours. Very difficult, in fact. The engine and other major parts have given us no problems, however, and we're at about 115,000 miles. My in-laws bought a brand-new Odyssey a couple months ago, and they love it. It is much quieter than ours. So, there's my $0.02 on the Odyssey.

My brother's Chrysler Town and Country Minivan (he keeps his testicles big by driving a GMC Yukon on his own time) has doors that open very easily either way, but it has some fuel system problems.

[heathabee]

My parents just bought a 2006 Honda Odyssey and they LOVE it. Heck, *I* love it! It's seriously just like driving a car. We're big Honda people. My mom's last 4 cars have been Hondas - and she didn't turn them all in because they were falling apart or crap, she turned them in to upgrade, etc.

They got the Touring edition and it has a DVD player and a Navigational (GPS) system. Also, a camera on the back of the car above the license plate that turns on and shows you what you're backing up towards/over on the GPS screen. It has voice-activated controls to change the radio and turn on the A/C and heat and fan and it's overall pretty much the greatest vehicle ever. Go to your local Honda dealership and test drive one. You will love it, I'm POSITIVE.

And, you really won't regret it when you get a van. My parents are only 2 people and they have one because they travel down to Florida every year and nead the space; I'm sure you will love it once you get it! Oh! And try getting a van with a V6 engine - it will feel like a sports car!! :)

[Lori]

Well, just before Hailey was born(she's 14 months now) we purchased a Ford Windstar. So far, so very good. I love it. It is a 2003 and it came equipped with 4 bucket seats, Video cassette player A MUST HAVE, of course now it would be DVD, Cd, etc etc........ but the best thing: REAR SENSORS. I couldn't live without them now. I love it and for the record you most deffinitely can still flirt! I am not saying a Ford is the best one out there but I am saying a minivan is a must have with kids...especially 3!

[Shann]

Oh...I miss our van! I truly do! When we were in the market for a new car, I was absolutely outvoted (I don't drive, so apparently my opinion is worth crap...). I think my hubby was having a premature mid-life crisis and bought a Landrover Discovery. Don't get me wrong, nice vehicle, but not with three kids and a stroller. We have enough room after packing the kids to maybe cram in the diaper bag. I am jealous of all van owners. I keep hoping the Rover will be stolen and destroyed so we can buy a nice 8-seater van. (But don't tell Mark I said that!)

[TC]

Skip the mini go straight to a van, or a small bus. One day the little ones will have friends; you can take them camping, school and to the mall. Sure it is tough to park, but you will get used to it. Good luck at this juncture.

[dayment]

We rented the Chrysler Town & Country minivan in Chicago and it didn't impress us. I love our 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan - seats 7 with room in the back to boot.

[Chris]

I have no wisdom to offer you. No minivan in our driveway!

[Heather]

Minivans..hehe. I will personally never own one, but I do drive one for my job. I don't like it because when I'm parked next to some hot boys I totally can't make googly eyes at them. Plus I have four kids in the back. It doesn't work so well. One reason I need a new job.

[Jamie]

When I was married Mr. X insisted we get a minivan. Why? Between him and I we only had 2 kids, and they were over the age of 3 at the time. Anyways, we had a Mercury Villager. I only though it was cool when we took long road trips...that 3rd row really helps when you have to seperate kids.

The soccer sticker is a NO NO!!! Totally takes away from the coolness you're trying to maintain.

And YES you can still flirt with the guy next to you, and when he looks at the van, expecting to see an old married lady, and sees a HOT MOMMA what a fun reaction!

[Tina]

I have been driving one for about a year now and I would have to say remot sliding doors are great after going to the store. As far as flirting gose, I would have to say hell yes you can, and not only tha but the van makes you look better because they do not expect to find a hot chick driving.