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

38 messages, Last post on Mar 25, 2009 at 1:19 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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#33 of 38 Re: Perfect Comparo w/ Personal Insights [bobber1] by bobw3 Mar 14, 2008 (5:40 am)
Replying to: bobber1 (Mar 13, 2008 10:46 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 10:01 am) hdfatboy (Apr 03, 2008 3:40 pm)
#34 of 38 Re: Crossover vs. Minivan vs. SUV by samfoodie Apr 03, 2008 (10:01 am)
Replying to: bobw3 (Mar 14, 2008 5:40 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 3:40 pm)
#35 of 38 Re: Crossover vs. Minivan vs. SUV [samfoodie] by hdfatboy Apr 03, 2008 (3:40 pm)
Replying to: samfoodie (Apr 03, 2008 10:01 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 (5:21 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 (1:24 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 (1:19 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.