The Minivan
It’s been a long time coming but we are finally ready to take the plunge and move our little family from an SUV to a minivan.
When my husband and I were dating, one of our very first fights began with a disagreement about how someday, I would drive our future children in a family minivan. I’m embarrassed to say that I was appalled at the thought. I would NEVER drive a minivan!
Now, here I am, almost a decade later about to happily transition into what might just be the ultimate family vehicle, the minivan. I have to admit, the choice to make this transition was not hard. There are just so many things that are appealing about owning a minivan when you have small children. From the amazing entertainment systems, to the safety features, and many options for carseats you really can’t go wrong with a minivan when it comes to your family’s ride.
While the decision to make the switch was not hard, deciding which van to choose was much, much harder. During some of our shopping trips it was a little tough to keep all of the information organized. That’s when I came up with a few versions of my minivan shopping guide and comparison charts!
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Our Shopping Experience
Our shopping experience started out a bit slow. The biggest challenge when it came to shopping for our new minivan was determining which van had the features that would best fit our family’s needs.
We had three minivans in mind to check out: the Honda Odyssey, the Chrysler Pacifica, and the Toyota Sienna. Narrowing it down and making the right choice for our family was becoming a bit overwhelming.
We went back and forth during our discussions trying to compare them. Which one had the vacuum? Which one had the remote start? It was all too hard to keep straight. We really needed an easier way and we needed to get organized.
First: A Wish List
The first thing we did was make a wish list of everything we needed, wanted, and did not want in a minivan. My main “want” item for our new minivan was a vacuum. If it didn’t have a vacuum I didn’t even consider it. My kid’s greatest mission in life is to crush crackers into the floorboards, so the vacuum was a must. Some other things we really wanted were a great entertainment system and plenty of latch anchors.
A quick list of what we wanted and did not want in a minivan.
Second: Notes
Next, we brought our notes pages along to each dealer with us. We made a record at each stop of the things we loved, the things we would improve, any extra information or thoughts, and most importantly the price.
Our notes from looking at the Chrysler Pacifica.
Third: Comparison Charts
Third and finally, we filled in our comparison charts. I originally made a chart to compare three minivans. But after seeing the Toyota Sienna we knew that one was not for us. In the end we only needed to compare the Honda Odyssey and the Chrysler Pacifica.
Different features are important to different people so I won’t get into the details of the minivans too much since what is important to our family may not be important to yours. Through comparison we found out that these two vans had a lot of great features. In fact, what set them apart from each other, at least for us, was their look, and their entertainment features.
Our initial comparison chart between our 3 options
Our final comparison chart.
Our Choice
The Honda Odyssey and the Chrysler Pacifica were both amazing choices. I would have been thankful to own either one. But for us, there was one clear winner that had everything we wanted and more!
Both minivans had amazing safety features and plenty of latch anchors. The distinguishing factors that swung our choice were the power stow and go seats, dual entertainment system for the kids, and panoramic moon roof. Everything about this minivan exceeds our expectations, is more than I have ever dreamed of, and I cannot believe that it’s ours!
So who was the winner? CHRYSLER PACIFICA!
The Chrysler Pacifica won us over!
