My third row is usually half for the dog and the other half plus the behind third is for the luggage.

 

Yup, dog rides on the third row, that’s what’s hard to leave behind in the minivan is the much larger cargo area behind it

 

Every time I say “maybe we don’t need the third row anymore,” family comes in to town and we use it non-stop. It would be hard to give up.

 

I've thought many times about upgrading my next car to a minivan for the sole purpose of when we travel once a year and wife packs the car to the ceiling and still not enough room.

But I fear it will be harder for her to see when backing up and hit something.
The RX330 has great visibility all around so it will have to be something like that I'm afraid.

 

Yeah we will have a vehicle with 3 rows until the kids go away to college. Just too many situations where we need the third row. We have a lot of neighbor kids too and we’re always carpool sharing etc…

The minivan swallows a LOT of stuff. You don’t realize how much until you compare it. When we travel to Disney and rent an SUV, even a 3 row crossover and we load all the same stuff that came out of the Pacifica into that Crossover, the difference is immediately apparent. What fills the crossover all the way to the ceiling doesn’t even get above the windows in the minivan.

They’re actually very easy to drive. All the modern cameras and surround view cameras help a lot.

Its just ugly and no fun lol

 

For sure, the utility is there.
Buy if we're being honest does anyone feel "COOL" driving a mini van in any way? lol

 

When one needs need to transport a family, vacation-luggage, and pets, "COOL" is generally not an issue.

 

No lol

I don’t entirely agree. I enjoy cars, and I enjoy driving cars that I feel something for. I don’t feel anything for the minivan, if it was entirely up to me I would give up some utility to have a vehicle that I enjoy having and driving.

 

True, I hear ya mmarshall.
A mini van would solve all my needs.

Have the space a few times a year when needing to put something big in the back or lots of packing room for holiday travel.
The rest of the year I would have to drive it and look at it. lolol

If I had young kids to tow around a mini van may be in the driveway.
But i'd have to have a 2nd vehicle to keep my sanity

PS- plus if you have a mini van or truck you will always have friends that need you to help them move stuff.
Problem is they never show up when you need help, not often anyway... lol

 

My point, though, was that your increased enjoyment of the vehicle would, by your own admission, come at a cost of some utility. Besides, from what you tell us, the Pacifica is actually more of your wife's (and the kids') vehicle, and she drives it most of the time.

On the other hand, I have never agreed with the stigma that many auto-enthusiasts have placed on minivans, going back decades as far as the 1980s. They were never meant to be sports-cars or sport-oriented vehicles. They were developed and produced for a reason...and millions of families have been well-satisfied with them over the years, despite the unreliability of some of them.

And, speaking of unreliability, if you think your last Pacifica was unreliable, your problems with it were probably quite minor compared to the Chrysler minivans of the 80s and 90s....particularly the ones with the woefully-inadequate Ultradrive 4-speed automatic. Those trannies were replaced almost as often as filling your gas tank LOL.

 

LOL, got picked up in a 2022 Pacifica while taking Uber last week. Had a decent amount of luggage with us and both my wife and I were like "man, these things really do hold a lot of stuff and are so well laid out." Ride was smooth, 2nd row captains chairs were comfy with dual armrests on each... but it's still not enough to sell me. It checks all the boxes except one.... styling and overall approval factor. I just can't bring myself to do it!

 

She drives it most of the time, that’s why I said “if it was entirely up to me”…

 

I remember those old gen 1 Chrysler minivans would mostly end up blowing blue smoke after they aged a little bit.

 

But they were an undeniable changing force in the industry...

 

You married the wr.... J/K. I often feel lucky because my wife never asks for a van. The topic came up before but I talked her out of it.