Inside Line 2008 Comparison Test - Crossover vs. Minivan vs. SUV

38 messages, Last post on Mar 25, 2009 at 2:19 PM

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What is this discussion about? Honda Odyssey, GMC Acadia, Toyota Sequoia, Car Comparisons, SUV, Van

2008 Comparison Test: Crossover vs. Minivan vs. SUV - Put simply, neither the Sequoia nor the Acadia could touch the Odyssey's ability to swallow stuff, or its ease of loading and unloading passengers or cargo. (more)

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#29 of 38 Perfect Comparo w/ Personal Insights by brutus22 Mar 12, 2008 (12:07 pm)
Replying to: bobw3 (Mar 12, 2008 5:54 am) Hello, This comparo makes so much sense it is not even funny, not sure why people are busting on it. My family just bought the Saturn Outlook. We probably the exact people these cars are made for, we have 2 small children and have plans for a 3rd. I checked out the Honda Od, Toyota Sienna, Honda Pilot, Mazda CX-9, Toyota Highlander Hybrid and of course the Saturn Outlook. General reasons for going with one make over another (will not comment on driving characteristics just simple facts) -AWD....we live in NH get the idea? (If the Honda Od had it would of been a tough call with the Outlook but still probably lean towards the Outlook since the some of the facts below....why oh why is it not an option...I don't know) -Utility.... real 8 passenger seating (if you are going to buy one of these cars you should want to get the maximum benefits from the size, our friends who have a Sienna already ran into issue missing that 1 additional seat)....decent room behind the 3rd row along with the various folding seat options to meet your various needs. -Styling/Features inside.... Dual Sunroof (This was a huge thing that sold this car on my wife and son), Onstar+Integrated Phone (used onstar within 2 days of getting car having keys locked inside), split folding seats (Unbelievably the Highlander does not offer this and has a much smaller room behind 3rd row...just a glorified stationwagon IMO since you need to fold the entire 3 row...oh how I wanted the Hybrid, but oh no they lost it on a simple thing like this) -Styling/Features outside.... the Outlook is a very handsome vehicle and does not give that mommy look that so many do not like (such as my wife for example , but to each his own....available tow package for a decent real-world weight towing. We love it so far and if it was a Hybrid I would think it is the Perfect car. B. Replies to this message: bobw3 (Mar 13, 2008 11:17 am) bobber1 (Mar 13, 2008 11:46 am) bobw3 (Mar 14, 2008 6:40 am) and 2 more...
#30 of 38 Re: Perfect Comparo w/ Personal Insights [brutus22] by bobw3 Mar 13, 2008 (11:17 am)
Replying to: brutus22 (Mar 12, 2008 12:07 pm) If you have the 2nd row bench and 3 (potentially) small kids/infants, what's your plan for the 3 carseats? Granted if you went with a 7 passenger AWD Sienna you'd lose a seat, but then it would be a whole lot easier putting one of the toddlers in the 3rd row and another toddler & infant in the 2nd row. Or both toddlers in the 3rd row (separated) and you and your inant in the 2nd row. And you'd have double the cargo space behind the 3rd row of the Sienna as compared to the Outlook. You could put put the 2 toddlers in the 3rd row of the Outlook, but then you won't have much cargo space for all the stuff. Or put a toddler and infant in the 60 portion of the 60/40 2nd row and the other toddler in the 3rd row so you could fold 1/2 the 3rd row, but then you'll have the toddler and infant seats right beside each other, and the toddler in the 3rd row will have a pile of stuff beside them if you fold flat the other 1/2 of the 3rd row, which doesn't seem to safe. Of course you could put all three in the 2nd row, but I don't know if I'd want two toddlers with a new infant in the middle to "play" with! I Replies to this message: bobber1 (Mar 13, 2008 11:46 am) bobw3 (Mar 14, 2008 6:40 am) samfoodie (Apr 03, 2008 11:01 am) and 1 more...
#31 of 38 Re: Perfect Comparo w/ Personal Insights [bobw3] by bobber1 Mar 13, 2008 (11:46 am)
Replying to: bobw3 (Mar 13, 2008 11:17 am) The same thoughts floated through my head. I've got 3 young kids now and know how much space they eat up as well as misc. cargo. I looked at a Saturn and it will work fine for 3 kids in car seats. It's weak point relative to the minivan however will be storage space for the strollers etc. Replies to this message: bobw3 (Mar 14, 2008 6:40 am) samfoodie (Apr 03, 2008 11:01 am) hdfatboy (Apr 03, 2008 4:40 pm)
#32 of 38 Re: Great review by hosmann95 Mar 13, 2008 (12:01 pm)
Replying to: flanken (Mar 10, 2008 11:57 am) I have one child (4 y.o.) and bought a Mazda5 two years ago. I couldn't be happier. Of note, my other cars include a Porsche 911 Cabriolet, a Miata, and a Saab 9-5 Aero, so I'm a bit of a car nut... or at least just a nut with regards to the Saab. Anyway, I concur on the sliding doors. Loading my son in and out of his booster seat is so easy with this setup. With an SUV I'd have to lift him up into the car but with the "van" he can just walk in himself and I don't have to throw my back out trying to buckly him in as he's right at chest level. Best of all, the 5 was had with a manual transmission and is just really pleasant to drive and to live with on a daily basis of traffic, parking, loading/unloading, and just driving around town.
#33 of 38 Re: Perfect Comparo w/ Personal Insights [bobber1] by bobw3 Mar 14, 2008 (6:40 am)
Replying to: bobber1 (Mar 13, 2008 11:46 am) CUV are fine if your kids are out of carseats, or if you only have two kids. Once you get to 3 carseats, then it's minivan time, especially for all the strollers, diaper bags, and everything else. We have a 3month old and 3 year old. Right now we have an '05 Ford Freestyle. In the summer we had a lot of relatives over, so we needed a 3rd row that could hold adults, plus some cargo behind the 3rd row. I looked at the Mazda5 at the time, but it wouldn't have been available until the Fall '05 and we need it in the Spring '05, but we've been happy with the Freestyle. To me the biggest issue with the Mazda5 was lack of rear AC vents. Our Freestyle has 4 ceiling AC vents above the 2nd and 3rd rows and they're used all the time in summer road trips. Just this year the Mazda5 got vents for the 2nd row that will put the AC airflow at knee level, but the vents really need to be in the ceiling because it's your upper body that gets hot, not your knees. Also the real-world MPG of our Freestyle is from the low to upper 20s depending on suburb, mixed or all highway driving, and the Mazda5 doesn't seem much better. So I'm happy with our choice, but I do like a lot of the features of the Mazda 5. If the MPG was better and it had ceiling AC vents then I might reconsider it in the future. Replies to this message: samfoodie (Apr 03, 2008 11:01 am) hdfatboy (Apr 03, 2008 4:40 pm)
#34 of 38 Re: Crossover vs. Minivan vs. SUV by samfoodie Apr 03, 2008 (11:01 am)
Replying to: bobw3 (Mar 14, 2008 6:40 am) I'm curious: Since when did vehicles like Arcadia become a "crossover?" Construction considerations aside, Arcadia (and many others) look like an SUV - like Ford Explorer. Is "crossover" a term thought up by politicians who were trying to justify purchase of SUVs? Or, have crossovers simply grown up? Replies to this message: hdfatboy (Apr 03, 2008 4:40 pm)
#35 of 38 Re: Crossover vs. Minivan vs. SUV [samfoodie] by hdfatboy Apr 03, 2008 (4:40 pm)
Replying to: samfoodie (Apr 03, 2008 11:01 am) "Is "crossover" a term thought up by politicians who were trying to justify purchase of SUVs? Or, have crossovers simply grown up? " What a great question. I have no idea of the answer but I'd love to hear if there's an official definition vs one that is just politically expedient.
#36 of 38 Crossover vs. Minivan vs. SUV by rtribble Apr 04, 2008 (6:21 pm)
SUVs (sport utility vehicles) are based on and considered full size trucks and when one refers to their SUV they often refer to them as trucks. The "crossover" is the term given to smaller versions of the larger SUV and normally incorporate many characteristics found on passenger cars rather than full sized trucks. The are a cross between a car and a truck. If a larger size is not a requirement there are many advantages to the crossovers, Better gas mileage, ride, comfort etc. Each has its purpose and are good vehicles in their own right.
#37 of 38 SUV v. Crossover by jchan2 Apr 06, 2008 (2:24 pm)
The definition I use to separate the two is: SUV: based off of a truck platform (ex: Chevy Tahoe) Crossover: based off of a car platform (ex: Honda CR-V)
#38 of 38 Completely off the point by pscarspace Mar 25, 2009 (2:19 pm)
Last time I checked, the average American family wasn't 7 people. The average American familiy has 2-point something kids. Why is a 7 seat vehicle the basics of this comparison? Are there that many "soccer Moms" left? Isn't it just as silly to drive around a couple hundred extra pounds 2 extra feet of length and 6 inches extra width everywhere you go, as to pick a vehicle for occasional trailer towing? Seems more sensible to me to design a vehicle that would handle 4-6 people, like most American cars did up until 1970. From a real world American family viewpoint, I'm more impressed by the Scion boxy vanlette and the Honda CR-V than any of the "contenders" in this comparison.