Minivans???

[WoodsRider]

My trusty '92 Toyota 4x4 p/u turned 190k over the weekend. I've never kept a vehicle this long and I'm getting concerned about how much longer it'll keep going without a major repair.

Anyway, with a little Woods on the way, the Mrs. and I have discussed buying another vehicle. Of course I'd like to have a brand new full-size Toyota Tundra or a Dodge Ram with the Cummins, but neither is practical for our needs. We're looking at, heaven forbid, minivans for Mrs. Woods and I'll end up driving our '95 4Runner.

I'd like some input from everyone that's had either good or bad experiences with the current crop of minivans being sold. It won't be the primary bike hauler, but will occasionally pull a small trailer with bike, so it has to have some horsepower.

[MTRHEAD]

We've had our Dodge GC/EX for about a month now and we are really happy with it.

The 3.8L motor makes more torque ( 245 ft/lbs ) than HP so you knew it was going to drive well and feels like it wouldn't have any problem with an average sized enclosed trailer.

The ride is great too. Very comfy and smooth. Hey, my mom even thinks it riders good and if you knew my mother you'd understand the significance here. :rolleyes:

We had that "heaven forbid" feeling too, but that went away after the test drive. After that, "I" wanted it. With all the creature features, ride and the nice drivable motor, I was thinking "this thing's pretty cool." Besides, I'm 40 years old, married with two kids, I can get away with driving a minivan if I want and feel proud about it. :D

[Dave.Smtih]

From Jan '01 Consumer Reports:
All are rated for about 3500 lbs. towing capacity
Rank Make / Model Reliability
1 Honda Odyssey average recommended
2 Toyota Sienna very good recommended
3 Dodge Grand Caravan new promising
4 Mazda MPV average recommended
5 Chevrolet Venture below average
6 Ford Windstar poor
7 Mercury Villager average

I just realized I've never driven a minivan - passenger yes, driver no.

[KaliTude]

I noticed in the above post the Chevy Astro wasn't listed. We have a couple friends that have them and trailer fairly decent size trailers with them (pretty heavy campers) with very good results. The 4.3 Vortec is an awesome engine, you can get them with a 3.42 or 3.73 axle ratio and a tow package and 4 speed automatic with tow/haul mode. It is a much better option than the above mentioned mini vans that are made as pure passenger vans. It is also less expensive than most of the minivans out there.

To be fair I don't know about other vans in the same class as the Astro (the above vans are in a smaller class) but I considered the 4.3liter Silverado after talking to people with the Astro Van. The Astro has the same engine and tranny as the Silverado. Unlike many other minivans, the Astro is VERY similar to the Chevy truck line, and less similar to the car line, making it a bit better tow vehicle IMOP than other smaller vans.

[Dave.Smtih]

The Astro is in a class by itself (rear wheel drive) now that the Aerostar is gone. They are quite capable when it comes to towing AND carrying a decent load. CR doesn't think too much of them as they have a truck like ride and below average reliability. My brother has had three over the past eleven years. The drive trains have been bullet proof but, the hardware (hinges, latches, steering wheel, suspension parts, etc) has been troublesome.

[WoodsRider]

dirt.tech - Thanks for the CR info. So far I'm leaning towards either the Toyota (had very good luck with the three that I've owned) or the Dodge (die-hard Mopar fan here). We do live in snow country, so front-wheel drive is mandatory. Rear-wheel drive is better for towing, but if I'm going to purchase a vehicle specifically for towing, it wouldn't be a minivan. I know the Astro came with all-wheel drive for a while. A friend owns one and ever since it turned 100k miles it spends about six to eight weeks in the shop each year. Together, both Toyota's that we own have almost 300k miles combined and have spent a total of three days in the shop.

[GP]

Go with experience, stick with a Toyota, van or truck. I've had several, and they seem to have consistant quality and hold up great at high milage, unlike the others. I had an Astro AWD van, it ran good and was powerful, but rattled, broke, and the paint peeled before it was 2 years old. Many problems, never buy another GM. My '94 Ford Ranger was much better, but started to nickel and dime me to death and left me stranded several times after it hit 140K. Consumer reports have been fairly accurate, IMO.

I need a 4X4 truck for more than hauling bikes. I got a '01 Tunda extracab 4X4 V8 back in Feb, awesome truck. I'm also married with a 2 year old son, a pitbull, and a Lab Retriever mix and we can all fit for the occasional trip together. Wife, kid, bikes, and gear to the races are no problem. My wife even loves to drive it, it rides like a big, firm, car. Also check out the Tacoma crew cab, less bed space but like a small 4 door car inside. You can still fit a bike in the back with the tailgate down.