Image aside, minivans are hard to beat as family haulers
Life is full of compromises — even more so if yours is filled with three or four kids.
With two kids, many cars — even the sportier ones — can work for a family, but add that third child and suddenly that sedan or compact crossover just won't cut it.
That's when families begin considering three-row vehicles — SUVs, crossovers and minivans — and discover that these family-haulers come with their own compromises. Let's look at the options:
Minivans are known for their family-hauling prowess, but the stigma attached to driving one repels some parents from even considering them. When it comes to carting larger families around, many minivans win in the categories of fuel economy, third-row legroom and cargo area behind that third row. And then there's the awesomeness of sliding doors.
With minivans, some shoppers may argue the inherent compromise is on style and possibly their internal cool factor.
After compiling and comparing specs for the minivan class, the Honda Odyssey comes out on top with first- or second-place finishes in each category. The Odyssey's V-6 engine gets 19 miles per gallon in the city, 28 mpg on the highway and 22 mpg overall.
But what's life without choices? Maybe you just can't drive a minivan because it brings up too many childhood memories of riding in the back of one, or maybe you like the way you look in a three-row crossover or SUV. We crunched numbers to find out if any crossovers or SUVs can beat the Odyssey's and Sienna's family-friendly specs. To keep it an apples-to-apples comparison, we looked only at vehicles with a standard third row and specs for V-6 engines. This means we didn't include the Mazda5 because it only has a four-cylinder engine. In some cases, we had to include V-8 engines.
In a popularity contest, large crossovers beat minivans every time. According to Automotive News, the Ford Explorer was 2014's best-selling three-row crossover with 209,994 sold, including police units; the Chrysler Town & Country was the best-selling minivan in 2014 with 138,040 sold.
However, crossovers fall short when it comes to meeting or exceeding some of those minivan numbers. The GM siblings — Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia — top the third-row legroom category for crossovers with 33.2 inches, which falls short of the Odyssey's 42.2 inches. The Ford Explorer also has 33.2 inches, and the Mazda CX-9, which hasn't been redesigned for nine years, has 32.4 inches of rear legroom.
Three crossovers beat the minivan lineup with their fuel-economy numbers: The Infiniti QX60 gets 21/27/23 mpg from its 3.5-liter V-6, the Acura MDX garners 20/28/23 mpg from its 3.5-liter V-6 and the Mitsubishi Outlander also gets 20/28/23 mpg from its 3.0-liter V-6. However, these three fuel-sippers have cramped third rows and cargo areas.
Just how does a shopper get those spacious minivan interior specs from anything but a minivan? By compromising on fuel economy and going big. Really big.
The Ford Expedition EL and its sibling, the Lincoln Navigator L, clock in with 37.7 inches of third-row legroom, which beats the Sienna's 36.3 inches. On the cargo front, they beat the Odyssey and Sienna with 42.6 cubic feet of space to haul nearly every item your family owns.
The Expedition EL's fuel economy is 15/21/17 mpg, and the Navigator L gets 15/20/17 mpg; both use the twin-turbo V-6. GM has another set of siblings that deserve a look in this category: the Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL.