An SUV Mom Comes Clean: “Just Get the Minivan.”

I am an aesthetics-driven person. I love beautiful things and will absolutely pay more for something prettier if it functions just as well as its plainer counterpart. I love a purely ornamental item. It sparks joy for me! Let me live my life!

OK, now that we’ve got that established, I am also going to tell you that I drive a minivan. I know! I thought for sure I would always be an SUV mom. The thing is that while I may prioritize form, when we’re talking about tools, it can’t come at the expense of function. And if we’re being very honest, most SUVs don’t come even close to offering the family-friends amenities of a minivan. It’s likely you don’t need the utility features that SUVs offer to idle in the pickup lane. 

A few years ago I was in the market for a new car for the first time in quite a while. I only have two kids, and they were out of car seats. In fact, we were sort of on the opposite end of the spectrum — my oldest was over 6 feet tall, and our current car was uncomfortable for him. His knees in the back of my seat wasn’t the greatest for me either. Between his height, team carpools with multiple kids his size, trips to the mall with as many friends as my daughter can pack in the car, I just assumed I was getting a full-size SUV.

Until I started a spreadsheet.

I was really concerned about comfort for everyone with this purchase. My two-row crossover I had been driving for a decade was actually OK size-wise, but I really wanted a usable third row. My husband drives a midsize three-row SUV, but the third row is almost always folded down to have usable cargo space. That row is tiny anyway — it’s a last resort for anyone to sit back there. I also wanted a comfortable ride for me. We’re at the stage of nonstop afterschool activities and club sports on the weekends, and we are clocking miles.

I also didn’t want to sacrifice a ton of cargo space for a third row. I needed room for both half the baseball team and their gear. (Bonus if I could fit catcher’s gear, too.) So I started a spreadsheet that listed:

• Cargo space with all three rows up, with the third row removed, and with both the third and second rows removed.
• The head and leg space of the first, second, and third rows.
• Overall length

Looking at the numbers, I started getting frustrated. I couldn’t get it to work the way that I wanted to, and it was getting expensive. The math simply wasn’t math-ing.

My husband suggested I plug in some minivan numbers. I glared at him, but humored him and put each number in its little cell. Joke’s on me — it’s exactly what I was looking for. Looking at the data, there really isn’t a better option than a minivan for comfortably carrying both people and cargo.

• It’s literally made with families in mind. 
• Being closer to ground-level makes getting kids in and out of car seats easier.
• Sliding doors are so much easier to get car seats in and out of, especially if you’re in a parking lot. Once the kids are getting in and out on their own, you aren’t stressing about them dinging doors.
• The third row isn’t an afterthought. A fully grown adult can sit comfortably in the third row of a minivan without having their knees under their chin.
• Easier driving and parking than a large SUV. Some SUVs do not fit in home garages. 
• Vans are often more affordable. You can get the top trim on a minivan for less than the base model of some full-size SUVs.
• Better gas mileage.

• Towing capacity
• Snowy road conditions (though some minivans do come with AWD)
• Aesthetics

In my opinion, this is the rare situation where vanity and high cost just aren’t worth it. Go buy a beautiful bag, a new rug, the fancy refrigerator you want to tickle your beauty bone. You’ll still probably come in under cost. 

I also want to be clear that while I love the functionality and wouldn’t trade it in at this stage of life, I will never love the way it looks. I’ve made peace with this because my life is easier every day because of it. But I look forward to the day I trade it in! Parenting is hard, but this choice isn’t. Just get the minivan.

This article originally published on Cubby. See it there: Just Get the Minivan.