Minivans

Has anyone bitten the bullet? Need something that can still handle a hitch-mount 4-bike rack.

Leaning toward the Chrysler Pacifica or Honda Odyssey.

Any comments or recommendations are appreciated.

We're in the market, test drove a couple and then a Ford Flex, leaning towards the Flex - seats 7, almost as much room as a minivan and better satisfies my love for station wagons.  That being said, the hybrid pacifica is pretty nice, just not sure about long term durability of the drive train as it is a fairly new model.

The Flex does look interesting.

Our challenge is: young kids that like to swing open doors and our garage isn't terribly huge.

Our Santa Fe is pretty well the tallest things we can put in there, so most larger SUVs are non-starters.

Mini vans make a whole lot of sense, nice to drive and more stable than a short wheelbase/high CG SUV on the highway. I would also look at toyota,   definatley look at the CU reports or lemonaid on which ones break the most, I don't think Chrysler products come off that well in the reapir dept

Flex is low to the ground, not a tall vehicle at all - wide though, plus the Limited trim level comes with 4wd and is rated for a class 4 hitch (they also depreciate stupidly fast so if you're willing to buy a year or two used, you can get 40%-50% off the original sticker on the upper end trim levels).  We live close to the North Shore auto mall so all of our test drives have included a drive home to see how well the car fits in our underground parking, which has proven very useful - highly recommend.

I feel like minivans are the most neglected vehicle around.. maintenance wise, if buying used definitely get the one with a fat stack of receipts.

They look handy and practical but I just can't do it.  My wife and I made a pact that we would never get one and with only one kid, we just might pull it off.

They are very useful. Lots of cargo room & versatile. Easy to get in & out of if you are a senior or maybe if you have elderly  parents. That said, wife & I also said we would never own one. We can't do it either.

I ran one in the frozen narth for a season or 2 , shit happens slower with the long WB, good traction with front wheel, good mpg, lots of room & comfortable to drive

actualy better for the highway than the 4runer that replaced it

2 in the front, 5 in the rear

and that's when the wheels fell off

Chrysler....BAD!

Look at the Toyota or Honda.

Large minivans take a two inch hitch and can easily handle four bikes.

Highway mileage is OK, but city mileage isn't great as they are heavy vehicles.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

The Toyota is awesome with AWD, but other than that, it really needs a refresh and the delivery is months out.

Honda - haven't had a chance to drive this. The downside to Honda is that you can't really customize options - its either package A, B or C. And unfortunately, there isn't an option package that the boss really likes.

Pacifica - just so happens that pretty well the perfect vehicle (custom order) just landed at the dealership after the original buyer reneged (and forfeited their deposit). They seem quite motivated to sell, so we may be moving faster than planned so as to take advantage of the month-end. The risk is if things are better/worse on financing and factory rebates as of Aug 1.