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Sliver · 11-05-2009, 03:33 PM

I'm going to chime in not with anything of too much value, but mostly because I love car threads here and wish there were more.

I have an 07 Sienna and I pull a 3500 tent trailer with it. It pulls awesome - I even had it to Shuswap and back this summer, in addition to shorter distances. These vehicles have 266 hp or something and will smoke most SUVs. Bang for buck, you pay about 25% more for a comparably equipped SUV over a minivan (according to my research). I believe margins are smaller for minivans because they are less sexy.

Before I bought the Sienna, I was looking at Toyota 4Runners and Ford Expeditions. I didn't like the quality of the Expedition and with two kids I knew I wasn't going to be offroading the 4Runner like I would have in my 20s. The additional cost for an SUV just didn't seem worth it, and the minivan is way more comfortable for adults, kids, animals and anything else you may want to bring with you. Plus I press a button and the doors open themselves. How pimp is that?!

Also, minivans are more fuel efficient than typical SUVs, which is an important consideration. My minivan is FWD, but they are availble in AWD. With winter tires, stability control and traction control, however, I think AWD is unnecessary and you pay more for it upfront, in maintenance, in fuel economy and in performance.

11-05-2009, 03:33 PM	#20
Sliver evil of fart Join Date: Sep 2009 Exp:	I'm going to chime in not with anything of too much value, but mostly because I love car threads here and wish there were more. I have an 07 Sienna and I pull a 3500 tent trailer with it. It pulls awesome - I even had it to Shuswap and back this summer, in addition to shorter distances. These vehicles have 266 hp or something and will smoke most SUVs. Bang for buck, you pay about 25% more for a comparably equipped SUV over a minivan (according to my research). I believe margins are smaller for minivans because they are less sexy. Before I bought the Sienna, I was looking at Toyota 4Runners and Ford Expeditions. I didn't like the quality of the Expedition and with two kids I knew I wasn't going to be offroading the 4Runner like I would have in my 20s. The additional cost for an SUV just didn't seem worth it, and the minivan is way more comfortable for adults, kids, animals and anything else you may want to bring with you. Plus I press a button and the doors open themselves. How pimp is that?! Also, minivans are more fuel efficient than typical SUVs, which is an important consideration. My minivan is FWD, but they are availble in AWD. With winter tires, stability control and traction control, however, I think AWD is unnecessary and you pay more for it upfront, in maintenance, in fuel economy and in performance.