Another Minivan or a Suburban? WWYD

[ATex7239]

We had a Yukon XL and 21 Sienna and I’d pick the current generation Sienna all day long unless towing is a priority. But that is our use case. It fits our family’s needs and budget better. That said if you just like and want the Surb more then get it.

But don’t underestimate the current gen Sienna’s ability to protect in an accident. We now have 23 Sienna because the 21 was totaled in an accident. Hit and run situation with a full sized truck. Don’t know how the other vehicle faired because they didn’t stick around. No injuries sustained. The machine did its job just fine and protected the people inside of it.

 

[KrisZ]

Minivans for the win!!!

Yes, that's a full french door fridge and a dolly in there.

 

[JHZR2]

Late model suburbans aren’t the highway gas pigs that they used to be, and minivans don’t always do great. We can hit 30 in our odyssey but everything needs to be right. I’ve seen 28 in a later model suburban. A suburban will still be worse around town.

No way I’d get the Toyota though. Way more quality issues than same age Odysseys IMO. We saw it with our odyssey vs our friends Sienna, and family members’ other Toyota models have had issues too. But the main reason is poorer safety.

2017 Toyota Sienna Minivan

2017 Toyota Sienna Minivan - minivan

www.iihs.org

A late model suburban will be a good option based upon interior space. But sometimes the sliding doors are superior. I’d feel out a few options.

 

[LDB]

I love my CR-V but I wish I could have afforded an Odyssey. Sigh, if only I'd been born rich instead of so good looking.

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

I have a popular car buying service called '48 Hours And A Used Car' on Facebook. I also co-developed the Long-Term Quality Index which contains nearly five million vehicles that have been inspected and appraised by mechanics all over the country.

Your search really boils down to three questions.

1) Do I need AWD?

If you do, you've already picked two solid choices.

2) Am I willing to deal with lower fuel economy and, potentially, lower reliability?

The peak reliability period for the Suburban was about 15 years ago when they offered the 5.3 Liter. There have been some issues with their AFM engines that feature cylinder deactivation. One other issue you'll have with the Suburban is higher repair costs for the powertrain. Toyota used the 3.5 Liter engine for a very long time and they're pretty much indestructible.

3) Can you swallow the stiff price premium?

If you don't plan on towing anything substantial and are fine without AWD, I would look at a very low mileage version of the Nissan Quest instead. They're incredibly nice even in a base configuration. If you remember to change the transmission fluid every 50k (which few people do) they can last a very long time. I sell a lot of those to prep schools throughout the northeast because they hold up and cost nowhere near as much as the Siennas (and Odysseys) at the wholesale dealer auctions.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me. Good luck!

So we needed the AWD sienna with our old property we owned to get up the driveway in winter, if we did another sienna I would only get a fwd. Simpler, better mileage and we really don't need awd anymore. Now im not opposed to buying a rwd suburban, but my wife doesn't like that idea and I can already see if we go to try to sell it no one will want to buy it, especially where we live because we get a little snow each year and people think they need a 4wd truck for 6 inches of snow.

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

A late model suburban will be a good option based upon interior space. But sometimes the sliding doors are superior. I’d feel out a few options.

I completely agree. After dealing with the junk sliding doors on our sienna I'm about over them though. Nothing but trouble and I maintained them.

Honestly while the suburban is big, the minivan is bigger, how does a Sienna have better middle row legroom lol it's amazing. Plus loading bikes in back of sienna plenty of room, in the suburban not so much.

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

Now the issue is she wants one woth a blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic detection, lane departure ect, so that brings it above what I'm comfortable on spending so I guess we will just fox what we habe amd continue to drive it. It has none of those driver assists so I'm not sure why we need all of that all of the sudden but that's the way it goes I guess lol

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

Minivans for the win!!!

Yes, that's a full french door fridge and a dolly in there.

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I completely agree, our sienna has hauled countless sheets of plywood, lumber moved several houses, towed 3500lb trailers, they really are very versatile

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Do they still have major transmission issues? The Transit, not the Focus (Which, also has transmission issues)

No.

The Transit Connect doesn't have any major transmission issues. It's the full-size Transit that has those problems.

Ford actually used a regular automatic on the Transit Connect, not the DCT from the Focus.

 

[CKN]

Do not get a 2017 Sienna. That seems to be the worst year of that generation.



Another option is the 4-cylinder Sienna they offered in 2011 and 2012. TCCN hates on the 4-cylinder Sienna, but there is nothing wrong with it. It has 190 hp, which is enough.

The Transit Connect is definitely worth your consideration.

If you still desire a V6 minivan, there's the Nissan Quest. Even though it's a CVT, the fluid is very easy to change on them. If the example you buy shifts good, just give it regular fluid changes, and you won't have any transmission problems.

Minivans are the best when you need a lot of space. The Suburban is twice the size on the outside but has no more space inside

Modern minivans are quite large despite the name "mini" van. The only exception is the Transit Connect. If those stil don't have enough space, you need a full-size van

Mercedes made the Metris, but the seats don't fold at all! However, they are removable. The Metris is RWD, larger than a Sienna but smaller than a full-size van like the Sprinter.

I know we don't always check crash ratings when recommending vehicles-but the Quest Crash ratings are abysmal.

 

[CKN]

Late model suburbans aren’t the highway gas pigs that they used to be, and minivans don’t always do great. We can hit 30 in our odyssey but everything needs to be right. I’ve seen 28 in a later model suburban. A suburban will still be worse around town.

No way I’d get the Toyota though. Way more quality issues than same age Odysseys IMO. We saw it with our odyssey vs our friends Sienna, and family members’ other Toyota models have had issues too. But the main reason is poorer safety.

2017 Toyota Sienna Minivan

2017 Toyota Sienna Minivan - minivan

www.iihs.org

A late model suburban will be a good option based upon interior space. But sometimes the sliding doors are superior. I’d feel out a few options.

14 mpg to 16mpg-around town-no highway.

 

[JHZR2]

I completely agree. After dealing with the junk sliding doors on our sienna I'm about over them though. Nothing but trouble and I maintained them.

Honestly while the suburban is big, the minivan is bigger, how does a Sienna have better middle row legroom lol it's amazing. Plus loading bikes in back of sienna plenty of room, in the suburban not so much.

Sorry but I attribute some of that at least in some cases lack of concern and care.

I’ve seen vans with failed doors, and I know the folks who caused it. And their kids are… rougher on stuff than I’d let my kids be. I clean the tracks and lube stuff. We turn off the auto doors/electronic when there’s a chance of ice and snow.

And again, late model Toyota. Most of the failed ones in our peer group were Toyotas. Granted there was one odyssey with 286k miles that my friend did a DIY repair. Some of that could be the connection to the door, but it could also be how fast/strong the setup is designed to pull.

Regardless, it doesn’t always happen, and it doesn’t always happen at a young age/mileage.

 

[JHZR2]

14 mpg to 16mpg-around town-no highway.

Yeah but when my wife drives the odyssey solely around town, VCM off, we will see 18-ish. So again, not a huge difference (and surprisingly lower than epa).

 

[LDB]

Now the issue is she wants one woth a blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic detection, lane departure ect, so that brings it above what I'm comfortable on spending so I guess we will just fox what we habe amd continue to drive it. It has none of those driver assists so I'm not sure why we need all of that all of the sudden but that's the way it goes I guess lol

Because she has decided so. What other reasoning does one need or is there?

 

[Tahoe4Life]

IMO the Suburban is the best all around vehicle in the USA for many reasons. So I vote for the Burb.

I agree 100% with that!

 

[svtrit]

The Suburban is massive compared to a minivan. We are in the same boat, but will go with a van next, as the Burb is too fat considering what little space you gain inside. My luck with Chevy products isn’t all that great and the Expedition XL is also too fat.

I’m leaning towards Honda for our next van. I’ve always been a Chrysler van person, but the Pacifica is too unreliable to consider, and no one seems to like the Sienna. Plus the Sienna is ugly.

 

[vwmaniaman]

Our 05 Yukon hauls our clan around but I was looking for a Dodge/Chrysler mini-van. We moved almost an entire houseful of furniture in our 06 Chrysler T&C. Had a U-Haul only for wife;s long arm quilter at 12.5 feet long. Mini is more maneuverable.. We are over the Yukon. Mopar Mini-van for us with the sto-and-go. Now I just need to find the right one

 

[M1Accord]

A Kia Carnival is the best minivan I have seen. If they can manage to copy Odyssey’s trick to hide the sliding door rail,it would be a SUV with sliding doors. They just need to increase ride hight by 2 inches as a $2000 adventure option like Subaru and it would be a ideal option for most people.

 

[Pew]

If you get the suburban, you'll get the inevitable "can I use your truck for xxxxxx".

 

[macarose]

Now the issue is she wants one woth a blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic detection, lane departure ect, so that brings it above what I'm comfortable on spending so I guess we will just fox what we habe amd continue to drive it. It has none of those driver assists so I'm not sure why we need all of that all of the sudden but that's the way it goes I guess lol

For less than $500 you can add a panoramic rear view camera and small side mirrors to the regular side mirrors.

That's what I did for both of my young adults older vehicles and they have excellent visibility.

All the other stuff you absolutely don't need given that the both of you are already comfortable driving Siennas.