The Never Ending Mom Toss up between a Minivan and SUV

Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would be driving around town in a minivan. Well it happened! The never ending mom dilemma is real guys! I asked you guys on Instagram whether you were team minivan or team SUV and so many of you chimed in. Many of you were pretty adamant that you would NEVER be a minivan mom and offered some great 3 row SUV options. And there were some of you that swore by the minivan and felt it would be best for us given the stage of life that we are in.

“I am NOT a minivan kind of mom!” Those are words that have been ingrained in me for many many years. Why? Honestly, there is no real good reason for it, other than it being an aesthetic thing. Let’s be serious here, minivans are in no shape or form cool looking and I am TOTALLY cool right? LOL. Perhaps it’s me, along with some other fellow moms, trying to hold on to a bit of our pre-kid self. This debate is something I dwelled on for many months, while visiting numerous dealerships trying to rationalized why an SUV was a better fit. I guess if I had to put forth this much effort in finding justification, then deep down inside I must have known what the best option was. A real heart versus head battle within the XO My Home body.

So here it is, I’m laying it all out for you why I made the leap in case you are ever in the same predicament as us:

1. Trunk space: Unless you are going for gas guzzling monster of an SUV, there is just not enough trunk space once you put up that third row for a third child. I consider myself quite the minimalist but once you throw a stroller in the mix, there just isn’t enough room for much else. We were only considering mid size SUVs.
2. Access: Getting in and out of a minivan is so much easier. It is lower to the ground yet taller so you don’t need to hurt yourself bending over to strap those 5 point harnesses in. The kids can hop on and off with little effort.  We looked at many SUVs searching for different mechanisms that would allow the boys to access the third row on their own. For the most part, it was too difficult or too heavy for the boys to move the second row seat themselves in order to get to their seat in the back. Some SUVs do have the option for captains chair in the second row and this does make it easier for kids to get in and out. However, for adults you would still have to crouch quite a bit.  If you have aging parents, this is something to note.
3. Sliding doors: This somewhat ties in with point number 2 and was actually not a deal breaker for me. However, I think it is worth mentioning here. The automatic sliding doors are quite amazing as you would never have to worry whether the car parked next to you left you enough room to get in and out. You’ll never be left frustrated and crying bloody murder as you squeeze yourself in between the two cars trying to strap your little one in. And in our case, the sliding doors are automatic and that is helpful for younger kids. They can let themselves into the car rather than waiting for you to pull on that heavy SUV door for them.
4. My kids love it. They voted for the minivan from the beginning as they think it is the coolest car ever. I am sure that will change at some point but in their eyes right now, I totally have Cool Mom status!
5. Energy Efficient: This may or may not apply to you. We opted for the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid as it allows us to reduce our energy consumption as a family. I love the idea that most of our day to day drive, we won’t be burning fuel, doing our small part in making this world a better and cleaner place for our children.
6. Last but not least, the aestethics. Yes minivans have come along way but there are some beautiful and sleek looking SUVs out there. However, I am choosing not to make it matter to me.  I absolutely want to be that mom that is chauffeuring my kids and their friends around town to different events and activities and the minivan just fit the bill. However, I’ll be doing it while rocking my cool mom graphic tees and designer handbags.

There you have it! I hope if you are ever debating wether you could become a minivan mom or not, that you find this helpful.

XO,

Kim