To the OP.

Have you done comparrisons between the SUVs and minivans?

The reason is the minivan is generally a lot cheaper than it's SUV counterpart, the minivan is bigger in size, most minivans now have 'stow and go' seating which essentially turns it into a cargo van, and they seat 7.

SUVs do drive nicer and if you have the money why not but for me and my family the minivan was the better choice.

Good luck with what you decide.

Which minivan do you have?
Just curious

That reminds me, wasn't there a big SUV that was "famed" for A pillars that bent and skewered the occupants to death during rollover crashes?

Its 2 people 95% of the time, they dont need to own a minivan. They may need to rent one occasionally...

Nicer than what? SUVs drive like trucks!

I have a (2010?) Dodge grand caravan.

It's actually a fantastic van, in my eyes there is a reason why it's the number one seller, it's not the prettiest and it handles like a tank but it is very pratical.

My wife drives the van whereas I drive a Kia Rio, if I can handle a Rio then anyone should be able to handle a Civic/Corolla.

Some people generally feel safer in a bigger vehicle, to me the benefits of a van far outweigh the benefits of an SUV I feel the SUV is more of an image purchase and I agree that SUVs aren't as nice to drive as a passanger car but it is a lot nicer than a van.

It depends on the SUV. Most have power steering, power breaks and automatic gearboxes, no sensation is transmitted to the driver at all; they're just like minivans but with a worse view out of the back. I agree that they're an image purchase but quite what image the owners intend to convey I can't imagine.

Fat wallet.

In terms of the driving I don't think any of the vans I test drove, drove better than any of the SUVs. My decision ended up being one of practicallity.

Maybe if it's a BMW or a Porsche but they could do that with one of the sportier models in those ranges and have something fun to drive. I don't get the SUV thing at all.

Just for info,

We brought a SUV when we first got here, when the second child arrived we had to change just to get the car seat in. We now have a Dodge mini van, Not our car of choice for style/looks however it does everything we need it too, from moving 3 kids now with all the gear that go's with that, up to being a furniture van as required.

Our other car is a Nissian Altima, and i cover about 40k a year in that travelling all over Northan Alberta, never had a day yet i could not get to where i needed to get to, passing many trucks and suv's in the ditches on bad days with the mistaken belief that 4x4 protects you form slipping off the road

What ever you get, do not skimp on maintenance, if you get stuck out in the middle of nowwhere you could wait all day before another car passes by.

The usual thing I think when passing an SUV is 'how did they manage to actually end up stuck on top of the crash barrier?'

Lol, many of the new ones are car based and drive pretty well, they won't be in the $15k range though.

Try a Cayenne sometime. It'll alter that perception.

Yes, of course, one can get around in many parts of Canada in a car with snow tires. Have to say, in this part of the world, I've been thankful for SUV with 4x4 on numerous occasions as I battle my way through drifting/blowing snow/monster potholes/ice accumulations etc. More to the point, I've been stuck in the Mrs's Kia Soul, complete with snow tires. So for us, a SUV, or for the next two years, a truck, seems like a neccessary thing.

BTW last weekend I drove 700km in a Dodge Caravan to get to an aiport that wasn't fogged in for days. It was OK, but I'dve rather been in my truck any day of the week.