Earlier this summer, we decided it was probably time to trade in our 2015 Chevy Colorado for a new vehicle for travel. I have loved having a mid-sized pick up truck. However, besides an occasional trip to the dump with recycling and helping friends move furniture, we really weren’t driving it a ton.
Our other vehicle, a 2012 Lexus RX350 crossover, has about 150,000 miles on it and has been starting to need some repairs. On top of that, it’s a little smaller than what we want for long road trips, especially when it’s more than just Ann and me. It worked out fine for our road trip through North Dakota this summer, but we often found ourselves saying it would nice to have more room.
You should know that whenever we make a large purchase, we like to move slowly. We do some investigating, budget well in advance, and seek online reviews as well as recommendations from others. As a part of our research, this time we asked readers of our blog for suggestions and laid out our priorities.
What we wanted in a new vehicle for travel
Our new vehicle for travel needed to:
- Be able to seat six people comfortably
- Have plenty of cargo space for suitcases and a cooler
- Get good gas mileage (25+ mpg)
- Be easy to get in and out of
- Cost less than a small house
Immediately, we received lots of ideas for a new vehicle for travel. Some folks suggested an SUV like a Tahoe, Suburban or Explorer. Others suggested crossovers like the Forester or Equinox. Still others suggested a minivan, swearing that they loved theirs. One person even suggested a MINI Cooper which sounded like a lot of fun but seemed a wrong step on the size scale. In any event, we knew we had to do some digging and answer some questions.
Would an SUV be a good vehicle for travel for us?
One reason we decided to sell the truck is that it was pretty high up off the ground. Ann, (who is 5’4″), has a lot of joint pain and climbing into the truck wasn’t easy for her. We visited our local car dealership and looked at a few SUVs.
These things are huge! Turns out, the SUVs were just as high up off the ground as my truck and getting in an out was not easy for Ann. In addition, the gas mileage was terrible. The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk only gets 13 mpg and the Tahoe wasn’t much better at 15-22 mpg. In addition, it honestly didn’t have a lot of storage space with the third row of seats up. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the sticker prices were shocking.
The sticker on the Suburban we saw showed a price higher than what Ann paid for her first house! For us, an SUV was out.
Could a crossover work?
Next, we considered crossovers. Being crossover owners already, we felt we knew the category pretty well. We can pack a lot in the back of our Lexus RX but there’s not much space for extra passengers.
While a few of the crossovers we considered did offer a third row of seating, it wasn’t necessarily easy to use. And if we did use the third row, there was often no cargo space at all for suitcases. While they were less expensive and got better gas mileage than the SUVs, we really wanted more space. So we crossed off crossovers on our hunt for a good vehicle for travel.
What about a minivan?
Honestly, we have never thought of ourselves as minivan people. Our daughter is all grown up now and we don’t have little ones to take to school or soccer practice. We’re empty nest travel bloggers and way too young and hip (or does using the word hip make us not hip?) to have a minivan. My parents have a mini van for goodness sake. It wasn’t for us. The photo below is from our Nebraska road trip with Steve’s parents in 2017.
But the more we looked for a vehicle for travel, the more we saw that minivans offered everything we wanted. They had tons of cargo space, room for seven people to sit comfortably, and they were super easy to get in and out of. In addition, minivans get about 28 miles per gallon on the highway and the cost was far less than that of a house (or an SUV).
So, which minivan would it be?
We began looking at the different vans available and found two options that rose above the rest. The Chrysler Pacifica and the Honda Odyssey each had great reviews. In addition, they both offered all the bells and whistles we’d ever want for our long road trips. But the Pacifica had one feature the Odyssey doesn’t that we couldn’t live without: Stow ‘n’ Go seating. Here’s a 16-second video to show you how it works.
In the Chrysler Pacifica, you can fold the seats into the floor to make room for cargo, so the seats stay in the van. In the Odyssey, you have to remove the seats to make room for cargo. And considering how we’ll use the van to take cargo from Nebraska to Oklahoma, it only made sense to buy the vehicle that allows us to take our seats, as well.
Our new vehicle for travel
So, we headed to the dealer to take one for a spin. While a larger vehicle, it sat low to the ground and handled like a regular car. The ride was smooth, and the seats comfortable enough for a long road trip.
We picked the options we wanted finding one that even has TV screens for passengers in the back. And before you laugh, you should know that Ann and Meghan have already watched a movie on one of our trips.
The van also offers three climate zones, USB ports galore, cup holders, and even a 110v plug in. Yes, it has an honest-to-goodness plug – perfect for charging a computer and blogging while on the road.
And look how much space it has for cargo with the seats stowed in the floor! We spent several days thinking about it, reviewing our budget, and negotiating a fair price. By the end of the week, we bought a minivan. Well, actually, we like to say we bought a Pacifica. And we love it!
Since we didn’t pay the price of a house for the vehicle, we spent an extra $20 to get a vanity license plate. Now we have “GO PLCES” and “C THINGS” on our two vehicles so we can share travel advice as we head down the road.
We’ve had our Pacifica for a couple months now and are still very happy with the choice we made for a new vehicle for travel. We’ve already put more than 4,000 miles on it and have a big road trip across the south planned for this fall. Can’t wait to hit the road and take her for a spin.
Have you been new car shopping recently? What are your must haves in your next car?
Loved reading & seeing the many ways you use your Chrysler Van.
My 2018 Chrysler Pacifica replaced a Dodge Caravan. It was important for us to have sliding doors & also to have seats that could be stowed easily ( not have to leave behind on a trip) & use later. I am now thinking of buying a 2023 Chrysler Pacifica for safety features. If the Hybrid came with stole away seats I would think of buying.
Looking forward in reading your next story.
Thanks so much! Glad you found this helpful.
When doing research did you run into bad reliability reviews?
Hey folks! I’m so happy you love your Pacifica! I’m a carpenter and am hoping to purchase a minivan for my work, Sienna, Odyssey, or Pacifica. Specifically because of the stow n’ go seating the pacifica is an easy top choice for me. Not only for its incredible cargo capacity, but being able to hide my tool bags in the stow cargo while the seats are still up is huge too. I live in the city and its a bother having to bring my daily tools in and out of the house every day for fear of theft. BUT man oh man have I seen so many terrible reliability ratings for the pacifica! It seems that that hasn’t been an issue for y’all. But did you run into the same thing when deciding what car to go with? And if you did, what made you choose the pacifica anyway? Thank you!
We saw some of those reviews, but others that were good. And we also talked to some Pacifica owners who were very happy with their vehicle. The stow ‘n go seating is great, especially with the ability to hide things in the floor.
Your road trip post encouraged us to take a test drive. We are picking up our new Pacifica today. Thank you! We are super fans of road trips and our car must be road trip friendly. Your tips for the luggage loo is also a game changer!! We have 3 littles and hate gas station restrooms.
Keep posting road trip tips please.
How comfortable are the seats for driver and passenger in the front. My wife has a bad back and can’t sit for long in passenger.
We think the seats are pretty comfortable. The drivers’ seat (in our model, at least) can be adjusted a lot of ways including lumbar support. The passenger seat has it, as well. Keep in mind that ours is a 2019 model–there may have been some changes since then in the new 2022 models.
Kudos and congrats to you and your wife on your new minivan. We just bought a new minivan for our family as well. It was very much the same logic you wrote. Large SUVs that can do the same as minivans are way overpriced. Smaller SUVs lack of trunk space for hauling both people and luggage. Engine of 5L V8 is now too big and no one will take it in 5-10 years from now.
Great points, Mark, especially about the potential difficulty in selling the large V-8 powered vehicles. Thanks for sharing.
Toyota sienna is hands down the best minivan available with the most options. You either didn’t look or this is paid advertising considering they’re both made by the same manufacturer.
This post was not paid advertising. If it were, we would have clearly stated that. We did look at multiple vehicles. As far as we could tell the third row of the 2019 Sienna could be stowed in the floor, but the second row had to be removed. We liked that in the 2019 Chrysler, both rows could be stowed in the floor as that worked best for us.
“Best car” is subjective. According to US News, in 2019 the “Best” minivan was the Honda Odyssey, followed by the Chrysler, then a tie between the Sedona and the Sienna. That’s why we started by saying this was “our pick for the best vehicle.” It was the vehicle that seemed to be best for us. We are very happy with the options we have. Best of all, two years and 40,000 miles later, we have no regrets.
I really wanted to like the Toyota Sienna but after researching the top 5 recommended from various sites, sadly the Sienna came out a distant 5th. Value for the money in comparing features, engine powertrain performance, and especially gas mileage were all sub-par for the Sienna.
And with the cost of cars these days, it’s important to really do research and no just go with your gut. It’s interesting how it all shakes out.
At 36 mpg city and highway the Sienna is head and shoulders the best mpg of any minivan. We have a 2017 Pacifica with 90,000 miles we totally love for its versatility. However, when it’s time we will likely get a Sienna AWD and get 35 mpg all the time. The middle seats fold away so it’s not a big loss from stow and go. It’s a hybrid so basically a big Prius.We also have a 2016 Prius with 141,000 miles that runs like new so we feel like the engine and transmission are proven to be more robust.
The Pacifica also comes in a plug-in hybrid version that gets better gas mileage than our 2019. Indeed, we’re looking at that for our next vehicle. The first 36 miles or so are all electric. Then, the V6 kicks in offering about 30 mpg. But for us in our town, we won’t use any gas at all.
I’ve had my Dodge Grand Caravan for going on 190k miles now, driving from California to Georgia several times over the years, (I hate flying…or rather I hate airports) and it’s coming time to drive back again. But I think as much as I love my Dodge for Home Depot runs and grocery shopping, I don’t think it will make the trip this time, so was looking to get a new mini-van and your story really helped me decide between my 3 possibles, the Pacifica, Odyssey or Sienna. So Thank you for the wonderful help and me and my Pacifica will be hitting the road to visit family in Georgia this summer 👍
So glad we could be of help in that selection process! We hope you love you Pacifica as much as we love ours…now nearly 40,000 miles worth of love! 😊