So when we went to Atlanta this past w/e, we rented a minivan. A minivan. Our friend in Atlanta suggested we rent one so the five adults and one child could all ride in the same car together. In comfort. So while looking for rentals, I searched and searched for a good size SUV that could hold all of us. My excuse was that minivan rentals were just ridiculously priced! But lo and behold, I found one from Thrifty Car Rental that was only $135. For four days. (of course, when we got there, the lady talked us into an upgrade - "you do want rear vents, don't you? you don't want your passengers to suffocate, do you? i'll give you the grand caravan." and when she raised the price to $199 (lies, lies, lies, it turned out to be $200.13) and saw my disappointment, she bumped us to the elite Chrysler Town & Country ... ooooo big whoop. Oh, and on top of that, they gypped us on four gallons of gas. Effers.)
ANYWAY - Ryan didn't like the van. But I did. Not driving it or anything. Cause come on, it's an American car and drove pretty crappy. But I LOVED the spaciousness of it. I loved that I could walk from the front seat to the middle row (which had two captain's chairs as opposed to an actual row) and from the middle row to the back row. The back row was adjusted so the backrest was leaned way back and it seemed like you were on a mission to mars type ride. We didn't get a chance to fix that, but it was ok, cause it gave you an excuse to lean waaaay back and close your eyes.
Ryan says that I liked it cause I am short. He's smart, that one. What else did he say? Oh yeah, that because I'm "small" (God bless his heart for that comment), that it probably felt like a luxury RV to me. Hardy har har. Eh, probably. It was definitely cool going from front to back and back with no problems. Owen didn't care one way or other, i think. Although it must have tickled him pink to see us in the back back row from his rear-facing seat in the middle row. Cute kid.
If you want to see some pics of the trip, Annie has them on her blog. And you can see just how damn cute Owen is. Ha!
But that being said, I don't think we'll be purchasing a minivan anytime soon. Hey, it's just the three of us. I think our Camry will do us just fine for now.
Yeah, the kid is cute. I took over 90 pictures of the little booger last weekend. I *know* how cute he is. Thank God he looks like me!
Yeah, I had a REAL hard transition to my MV. But we like it. With Scott's fussiness (ie, the front seat has to be reclined to a 20 degree angle) we cannot fit both carseats in his sedan. I mean, *I* can drive with Sami (front-facing) behind me, and Katie (rear-facing) behind passenger. But if he's in the car, feggataboutit.
Hey there...I'm with you on some of the benefits of minivans but I think they only make good rental cars. I would never own one. I like my 3 kids in my SUV. It works out just fine for us :). I still can't believe sometimes I have 3 little rugrats...LOL. Though when Katy was here I drove her Honda Minivan and it wasn't a bad drive but alas I prefer my SUV....
Annie:
YOU took 90 pics of the booger?! lol. i don't think i took as many as you did.
Christine:
Scott's just a space hog. LOL.
Char:
My neighbor has the Honda Odyssey and she loves it.
All:
If I went the MV route, I'd look for one that looked like an SUV. But I don't quite need that space yet!
acb: that's why we went the 2004 Nissan Quest route. (the 03s look MVish) As I recall, you thought it was the Murano! ;)