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#1
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cars - sliding door v. regular door
We're still trying to decide between a minivan and a midsize SUV
(something like a Honda Pilot). One of the main differences that I think would effect us is the sliding doors of a minivan, or regular doors in an SUV - the automatic opening is great, but not fundamental, my bigger concern is ease of holding a door open and juggling kids in a potentially tight car park, which is something I really don't have to deal with right now, I haven't looked at the exact measurements but our current car is very narrow and I think the doors are shorter than in an SUV so they don't open out as far, but even so, I do find I have to hold the door open reasonably often, I really wish they had a locking position midway sometimes! There are a couple of places we go with tight spaces and on a slope, add in a wind and suddenly you're doing everything one handed to avoid damaging the next car! That is totally doable with the kids the age mine are, but if memory serves correctly, rather more frustrating with a baby! Originally I was just thinking minivan, but we just had lots of bad weather and were renting a minivan and it wasn't good! We've also had lots of people raving at us about certain SUVs, including that they are a lot more comfortable than minivans - to be honest, I'm not convinced on that one, we've hired both in the past couple of years and they have all been pretty good both to drive and to ride in! Cheers Anne |
#2
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cars - sliding door v. regular door
"Anne Rogers" wrote in message ... Originally I was just thinking minivan, but we just had lots of bad weather and were renting a minivan and it wasn't good! We've also had lots of people raving at us about certain SUVs, including that they are a lot more comfortable than minivans - to be honest, I'm not convinced on that one, we've hired both in the past couple of years and they have all been pretty good both to drive and to ride in! I'm a fan of the minivan. I find them more comfortable than the SUV, and the sliding door is a plus. My MIL didn't realize what a great thing a sliding door was, being that she had an SUV, up until we got into a tight space and she was able to get out easily. I think kids handle sliding doors better (especially if they are automatic), and they can get in the minivans more easily because minivans sit lower to the ground. |
#3
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cars - sliding door v. regular door
"Anne Rogers" wrote in message ... We're still trying to decide between a minivan and a midsize SUV (something like a Honda Pilot). One of the main differences that I think would effect us is the sliding doors of a minivan, or regular doors in an SUV - the automatic opening is great, but not fundamental, my bigger concern is ease of holding a door open and juggling kids in a potentially tight car park, which is something I really don't have to deal with right now, I haven't looked at the exact measurements but our current car is very narrow and I think the doors are shorter than in an SUV so they don't open out as far, but even so, I do find I have to hold the door open reasonably often, I really wish they had a locking position midway sometimes! There are a couple of places we go with tight spaces and on a slope, add in a wind and suddenly you're doing everything one handed to avoid damaging the next car! That is totally doable with the kids the age mine are, but if memory serves correctly, rather more frustrating with a baby! I have a mini van - it's a Dodge Caravan and it does have the dual sliding doors (which I feel are an absolute must for me to have the dual doors compared to just the one sliding door!) The one thing that you mentioned is the doors in something like an SUV. I've never had an issue with keeping doors open, but yes, the wind thing or similar and the fear of smashing someone's car beside you. One bonus with the sliding doors in a van is the car seat thing. My door open for my van needs only a couple of inches... I'd guess definitely not more than 3". The great thing about that and the baby in a car seat is if you want to remove the car seat from the van, the door is fully opened, and opened very wide, and is a snap to pull a car seat out, even in somewhat tight places. There's no worry about the door not opening wide enough, or balancing a baby seat and a door, to get the seat out, if that makes any sense? Both of my girls (they're 2 and 3) can get in and out of the van with no problem and can even get into their seats. I have the car seats built right in to the middle row, but I have been using the regular car seats lately as them falling asleep in the van's car seats means they sit more upright and flop over and with big, bulky winter jackets, I'm not as comfortable with the way the built-in seats tighten up... The regular car seats seem to have more control over how tight I can make the harness, even with big winter jackets. DS is just about 8 and can climb in the back row with no problem and deal with his own seat and belt, plus there's still extra seats for an infant car seat soon enough. Originally I was just thinking minivan, but we just had lots of bad weather and were renting a minivan and it wasn't good! We've also had lots of people raving at us about certain SUVs, including that they are a lot more comfortable than minivans - to be honest, I'm not convinced on that one, we've hired both in the past couple of years and they have all been pretty good both to drive and to ride in! I'm not a fan of the SUVs. I find they're not as comfortable as a mini van. I also find there's a fair bit more leg room in a mini van than your average mid-sized SUV. They also seem to be a little narrower than a mini van, but higher up to get in, in comparison. If given an unlimited amount of cash for a new vehicle, my second choice would be a mini van (and that would most likely be either the Dodge Caravan or Mazda's MPV), even though my first choice would definitely be a sporty little 2-seater with NO back seat for the kids and no trunk space for strollers, leather interior and I'm sure I'd make it a convertible lol Cheers Anne |
#4
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cars - sliding door v. regular door
Hi --
We have a minivan with two sliding doors and are happy with it. The big disadvantage is that the windows don't open on the sliding doors. Now, our van is 10 years old, so that might not be an issue these days. (The other issue is that the mpg is really lousy, but that will be the same in an SUV.) --Beth Kevles -THE-COM-HERE http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner. NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the GMAIL one if you would like me to reply. |
#5
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cars - sliding door v. regular door
Anne Rogers wrote:
We're still trying to decide between a minivan and a midsize SUV (something like a Honda Pilot). One of the main differences that I think would effect us is the sliding doors of a minivan, or regular doors in an SUV First off - the people I know with a Honda Pilot rave about them. Their kids are older. I'd love love love the sliding door feature. The wind that you mention is an issue here too. The tight parking is an issue. The kids old enough to do the door themselves but to young to really take care of the car next to it is an issue. I'd also love the wider door opening offered by a minivan. I do not have a minivan - only dreaming, lol. I have a car and dh has an old SUV. The SUV is easy enough to get the kids in and out of. I hate driving it in bad weather because it does not have front wheel drive but 4 wheel drive. I don't even know how to use four wheel drive. If it is that bad I just stay home I much prefer my front wheel drive. I don't know if minivans are front wheel drive or not but they do make some that are 4 wheel drive. -- Nikki |
#6
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cars - sliding door v. regular door
"Nikki" wrote in message ... Anne Rogers wrote: We're still trying to decide between a minivan and a midsize SUV (something like a Honda Pilot). One of the main differences that I think would effect us is the sliding doors of a minivan, or regular doors in an SUV First off - the people I know with a Honda Pilot rave about them. Their kids are older. I'd love love love the sliding door feature. The wind that you mention is an issue here too. The tight parking is an issue. The kids old enough to do the door themselves but to young to really take care of the car next to it is an issue. I'd also love the wider door opening offered by a minivan. I do not have a minivan - only dreaming, lol. I have a car and dh has an old SUV. The SUV is easy enough to get the kids in and out of. I hate driving it in bad weather because it does not have front wheel drive but 4 wheel drive. I don't even know how to use four wheel drive. If it is that bad I just stay home I much prefer my front wheel drive. I don't know if minivans are front wheel drive or not but they do make some that are 4 wheel drive. I believe many come FWD, RWD and even AWD. I think it depends. Vehicles seem custom made now based on what a person wants/needs! |
#7
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cars - sliding door v. regular door
"Nikki" wrote in message ... Anne Rogers wrote: We're still trying to decide between a minivan and a midsize SUV (something like a Honda Pilot). One of the main differences that I think would effect us is the sliding doors of a minivan, or regular doors in an SUV First off - the people I know with a Honda Pilot rave about them. Their kids are older. I'd love love love the sliding door feature. The wind that you mention is an issue here too. The tight parking is an issue. The kids old enough to do the door themselves but to young to really take care of the car next to it is an issue. I'd also love the wider door opening offered by a minivan. I do not have a minivan - only dreaming, lol. I have a car and dh has an old SUV. The SUV is easy enough to get the kids in and out of. I hate driving it in bad weather because it does not have front wheel drive but 4 wheel drive. I don't even know how to use four wheel drive. If it is that bad I just stay home I much prefer my front wheel drive. I don't know if minivans are front wheel drive or not but they do make some that are 4 wheel drive. Minivans are either front-wheel drive or full-time AWD, which isn't the same as 4-wheel drive. AWD decreases mpg significantly. Hardly any cars are rear-wheel drive anymore, mostly imported sports cars or muscle-type cars. |
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