Livin' Large with a Minivan

Most minivans may deserve their bad rap but I'm here to recommend the Honda Odyssey. 250 horsepower, 25 miles per gallon. You're not going to get that out of an SUV. It has room for seven passengers and tons of storage behind the backseat (SUVs usually lack that when they have a third seat).

My impulse would be to never buy a minivan but my dad offered to trade us straight across for our coupe. Now I'm convinced there is no better car for us while the kids are small. The kids like it, too. We got a portable DVD player. I'll be surprised if they ever cry again. When we were driving the van home we stopped for gas in Nevada, a cholo pulled up in a convertible right next to us. Ethan popped out of the door and immediately announced, "We have a van." The guy just stared at him. I told Ethan the guy didn't care.

Someone I work with is having a third kid in few months and wanted to buy a new car. I told him, "Get an Odyssey." He frowned. He ended up getting a Suzuki SUV that I don't even know the name of. I'm sure it can't match the power, reliability or the mileage of the van but he seems to be proud that he avoided becoming one of those typical family guys who drives a minivan. I'm sure the girls are all over him now and are heart broken when they peer inside his untinted windows (Odyssey comes standard with tint) at the stadium of carseats within. When I was young I didn't like to push the stroller for my younger half-sisters cause I thought it would make me look uncool. If you have kids you should put them ahead of your own pride, you're a parent now. Eleanor struggles a little because she holds on to all of these specific restrictions she created when she was a teenager: I promised myself I would never drive a minivan. I promised myself I would never drive a Hyundai (I haven't tried to make her but apparently Hyundai is a bad word in our household). She cracks me up.

So if a Honda Oyssey is right for you, just get one. If the idea of driving a minivan would completely destroy you as a person then you may have more serious problems than merely deciding what kind of car to use. I promise a van will not prevent your dreams from coming true.