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Minivan Shopping -DOH!


cygnusx1

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Have you seen the 2008 Ford Taurus X? You gan get it AWD with all the options you liked about the Toyota for a little bit less. And I think before you say something like "no Fords" you should be open to all your options and take a moment to go to your local dealer and test drive it. The new V6 engine that it has is really nice. And I would rather drive that than a minivan.

 

If when you drive it you like it let me know... I might even be able to get you a number so you get employee pricing ;)

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I don't know how much interior room your looking for, but if your talking about enough room for your wife and kids plus plenty of room for bulky stuff then I'd look into getting a midsize truck like the new 4 door Frontier or Tacoma

 

1. These new "midsize trucks" are bigger than ever.

2. 4x4 plus all terain tires

3. Towing capacity.

4. Truck bed plus a roof rack, anything goes.

5. easy drivability.

6. It's a truck! super versital

 

I convinced my parents to get an 07 Frontier last winter and since we've had it the whole family, friends, relitives love it. We do alot of boating/fishing, snowboarding, shooting, ect. and it's very handy.

 

Just to give you an idea of pricing, we got a 4 door, 4x4, Nismo package, with all the good stuff for 20K used. Still has the powertain warenty, but I do all the maintanence and it's a breeze.

 

if your interested let me know I can show you some pictures and give you some info.

 

Oh, doesn't buying a new car suck?

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Another vote for the Odyssey. We have an 04 Honda Odyssey and it is much better than the Grand Caravan we had before it. That Dodge sucked, and was nothing but trouble! The Honda was our favorite Whe we were looking for a new one. The traction control system works well in the winter too.

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My parents have an 04' Sienna XLE AWD, and its awesome. Gas mileage isn't great for a 3.3 liter. But it hauls ass. I think it was advertised as 0-60 in 8 seconds, in a minivan. Its got a nice sound system too, with a 12" subwoofer. Back seats fold down to the floor, and the middle seats roll foward, almost as if you have a truck bed. You get used to the ride. And snow, with the traction control and AWD it drives like a dream. Traction control is even great for donuts. If you find deep snow, cut the wheel, and punch it, it does perfect circles......but I don't know this from experiance....

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How much more room do you need?

 

There's always the Subaru Forestor (especially the XT with the turbo WRX drivetrain).

i didnt read everything, but i second the forester. a member of another forum had one and loved it. if i remember correctly, he said it was pretty roomy too, since that seems to be what youre after.
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We drove an 07 Odyssey tonight and it feels much more like a car than the Sienna did. My wife really liked it. It also feels, and probably is, a bit smaller than the Sienna. The dealer showed us an EX model which is second in the lineup. The sticker said MSRP 29,500 and without even haggling they offered it to us for $24,600. I still need to shop but it seems like a good deal.

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We own a 2004 Sienna LE, certified used. No issues at all. Decent power, good space utilization for the wife and our four girls.

 

I would also strongly, strongly recommend you check out a used Previa. They come in 4wd as well. We had one and all we replaced was over 140K was the radiator, starter and the rubber doughnuts on the accesory shaft. If they had more power and more airbags (we had the non-supercharged model) I wouldnt trade it for anything. The are more spacious then all of the minivans sold today in my opinion. When we were looking for our first minivan years ago the Previa was at the bottom of my list. After test driving and viewing what seemed like 20-30 vans, the Previa came out far ahead of all the rest. They were built in Japan only and the build quality shows. 91-94 were NA and 95 offered an optional S/C and 96-97 were all S/C. Even with all three rows up there is a lot of space behind the third row. 3rd row seats fold up and even though the 2008 Chryslers are bragging about their 180 degree turning 2nd row seats, the Previa had them back in 1991! If you get the feeling that I love Previas, you are would be correct. Only reason it was replaced was due to all the saftey features in newer minivans. Previa over a SUV for me all the time.

 

Minivan for life.

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We drove an 07 Odyssey tonight and it feels much more like a car than the Sienna did. My wife really liked it. It also feels, and probably is, a bit smaller than the Sienna. The dealer showed us an EX model which is second in the lineup. The sticker said MSRP 29,500 and without even haggling they offered it to us for $24,600. I still need to shop but it seems like a good deal.

 

They are dropping prices on the 07 models because the 08 models are out soon. If you buy an 07 it becomes a 1 year old used vehicle the minute you drive it away. This can be a great way to get a new car and let the dealer take the depreciation.

 

 

I know the Sienna feels bigger but you can't fit a sheet of 4'x8' drywall in the back of it and you can in the Honda.

 

Check the specs on cargo space and lots of other goodies here:

 

http://tinyurl.com/2zpm68

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We drove an 07 Odyssey tonight and it feels much more like a car than the Sienna did. My wife really liked it. It also feels, and probably is, a bit smaller than the Sienna. The dealer showed us an EX model which is second in the lineup. The sticker said MSRP 29,500 and without even haggling they offered it to us for $24,600. I still need to shop but it seems like a good deal.

 

 

Bump!

 

So what did you decide?

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Drumroll Please.....

 

We bought a 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L. Nimbus Gray Metallic with, light gray leather. So that's what it's like to fly first class! 7 big cushy leather seats with a zillion cup holders and compartments. It is such a cool extension of my living room. It's actually only about 21" longer than our Subaru Legacy Wagon (for sale) but has more interior cubic feet than a Chevy Suburban!

 

I will take some photos tomorrow. The dealer had at least 50 Odyssey's hidden out in their back lot. They are desparate to move them out. We took this one for almost $6000 less than MSRP.

 

It had 7 miles on it when we test drove it. Now it has about 50 :wink:

 

240hp and 19/26 MPG. 0-60 in about 7.5 seconds!

 

This is a stock photo of what our interior looks like:

interior-header.jpg

 

Thanks for all the advice. Based on the way it runs and drives, we made the right choice. Depreciation is also minimized just because it's a leftover and it's a Honda.

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Congrats on the purchase. I am sure you will enjoy it. The gas mileage ratings are pretty good. We get about 24 mpg on the hwy at 70-75 mph with the A/C on. Around town we get around 15-16 with the A/C. and 17-19 without the A/C. The best we have gotten was 27 on the hwy. It gets better mileage when my wife drives it. No surprise there.

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