Hi,
My dad needs to get a new vehicle, and for some reason he wants a van beecause he says that we'll need it for family trips or whenever the whole family needs to go somewhere, and that only happens once every few months. I keep telling him to just get a sedan, but he keeps insisting.

Well the thing is, he wants a 7-8 passenger vehicle. So i got to thinking, why not just get an SUV. When I was doing some research, i compared the prices, gas mileage, etc.

Toyota Sienna - LE, 8 passenger, $25k MSRP. V6 230 HP, torque 242@3600 rpm, gas mileage 19/26
Honda Odyssey - LX, 7 passenger, $25k MSRP, v6 255 HP, torque 250@5000 rpm, gas mileage 19/25

Toyota 4Runner - 2WD Sport Edition, 7 passenger , $29k MSRP, v6 245 HP, torque 282@3800 rpm, gas mileage 18/22
Honda Pilot - 7 passenger, EX, $30k MSRP, v6 255 HP, torque 250 @ 4500 RPM, gas mileaeg 17/22

There is also the Toyota Highlander, which also has a 3rd row seating option, ,but it has less power, but better gas mileage 19/25. the thing is this SUV doesn't look that great inside from the pictures online.

NOw comparing the SUV and the minivans, it seems like we could spend around $5k more and get a better looking vehicle by getting the SUV and more power.

It also looks like the gas mileage between any of the vans compared to the SUVs isn't that much better, about 1-2 mpg city, and about 3-4 mpg highway.

Now does anyone with actual personal experience with having both a minivan and an SUV at the same time (preferably relatively new models of SUV and van) know if the gas consumption is greatly affected by having an SUV, because we all know that gas prices are increasing like crazy, and they say SUV is a gas guzzler. That is why I am just researching only v6 model SUV and not v8.

One more question is, for the SUV that I have listed above, could anyone tell me what grade gas it uses? I am assuming it is 87 octane. I could not find that information anywhere.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advancee.

 

i have a 2004 v6 4runner sport; that 18mpg number is optimistic. the v6 isn't much better on gas than the v8 is. my sister has a 2005 toyota sienna and it gets much better mileage...more like 22 mpg average. minivans tend to be geared for better mileage whereas SUVs are geared for more torque...this makes minivans more fuel efficient usually.

 

i have an 04 highlander V6 and AWD. with a mix of street and highway, at best i average 19 mpg. road trips where most miles are highway, 21 mpg at best.

 

how is the interior on that car? from what i've seen on the toyota website, the interior doesn't look all that great, ,especcially the 3rd row seating for that car. the seats don't look like it would be that comfortable.

 

Another thing to factor in, do you have anything that you tow? My family could have gone with a minivan, but we tow a horse trailor that carries 2 horses, so the minivan was out of the picture.

Is the $5,000 more really worth it for "better looks"? I think some newer minivans look pretty nice, definately have more in the styling department then they did 10 years ago.

Those small increases in gas milage should be more then welcome too, gas is going up like crazy right now, so being able to be the most efficiant should be important.

I'm sort of biased though, even though we have an SUV, I think most people are better off with minivans, and many people can't drive SUVs. I'm not saying you can't, just letting you know how I feel.

 

My sister got a pilot because she wanted a 7 passanger vehicle and did NOT want a minivan. It does fit seven, not totally comfortable for people in the back row, but it works. On the other hand, my uncle has a sienna... so much fckn room!!! If its function, not fashion....go minivan, besides..it's your dad.

 

No we don't have to tow anything. Hey synth19, how is the gas mileage on the pilot, it says online that it gets around the same as the v6 4runner, how does it compare in real life? Hmmm...yeah maybe a minivan would probably be more economical.

 

I think the gas milage is pretty good onthe pilot, its pretty comparable to minivans, one of the reasons the sis got it

 

beauty is in the eye of the beholder...it's not ugly, nor is it beautifully luxurious. it just works. only thing you can do is to go check it out in person rather than on a website. the 3rd row seating is for kids or for a quick jolt across town if adults are sitting there. i would not recommend this as an option for lengthy excursions.