The #1 most important thing to us was that the carseat would fit rear-facing. The American Association of Pediatrics just released a recommendation to keep children rear-facing until the age of 2. (Though this is not the law where I live.) My daughter will be 2 in March and we could not fit the carseat in the rear-facing position in my faithful (and paid for) Ford Focus. Yes, we could have bought a new carseat for less money, but we chose to add a second vehicle to our fleet.

Number two was a desire for leather. Trent–trust me here–baby vomit, juice, raisins, etc are MUCH, MUCH, MUCH easier to clean off leather than cloth.

@36 — Europeans also typically don’t have three children. Their birth rate is less than the US, so yeah, with high fuel costs, more crowded streets, higher taxes to own a vehicle, better public transit, more expensive licensing fees and so on, of course they would buy a smaller car. Look at how the demand for small cars went up when gas ran up to $4 here. But in the US, the financial difference between 20 and 25 MPG isn’t as large.

@73 — I learned to drive in a Suburban, so they always hold a special place in my heart. Physics does play a part in a collision between a small and large vehicle, to be sure, but the Civic also stops faster, corners better and has far less of a chance of a roll-over taking place. It’s also highly likely a minivan is “safer” than the Suburban, as well, since minivans are aimed squarely at the family segment, where safely is a big sell. I do like it when I get an occasion to drive a Suburban, though, I feel like I’m in “24″.

As for Volvo, manufacturers have largely caught up on the “safety” thing — especially in the minivan space, where the market they are selling to puts safety as one of the most important reasons for choosing the vehicle they do. The 240 was a great car, ahead of it’s time in terms of safety (I had a ’83). I will agree that the seats are amazingly comfortable — even from back then. Now there are plenty of choices out there that cost far less money than the Volvo brand does — that also deliver the goods when it comes to safety. Volvo is much more Ford’s European luxury brand than it is their safety brand anymore.

All that said, we have the Sienna with AWD as our other car. It is an amazing vehicle at accomplishing it’s mission. Ours can hold 7 (2wd models can hold 8), the interior is very spacious, the ride is quiet, the engine is powerful, the AWD system works very well, and you can likely get a decently equipped LE model for $25K, new, with some negotiation (IMHO the CE is too stripped down and the XLE has too much crap). The fuel economy is also quite good for a vehicle of this class, as well — around 20 MPG. A Subaru wagon is going to get you maybe 25 (and not hold as much), and if you go SUV/Crossover it’s going to be the same (or worse). Going up the scale for something like a Mercedes diesel will get you into somewhere like $50K, which is pretty insane.

The only reason the Odyssey wasn’t considered was that it did not offer AWD. This was a non-negotiable point.

Best wishes on your detective hunt for a safe, reliable family vehicle. After you choose one, I’ll be interested in your recommendations. Not only as a car owner, but also as an occasional rental-car customer.

Those of us who sometimes rent vehicles for large groups are as concerned about safety, reliability and customer service as buyers. Your research may serve as a guide for a large population.

I focus on sensibility and sensibility only when buying a new car.

And you cared, why? So much that you let it affect you as an adult? Just who are these people that you are letting influence you? Where are they in life? Do you have any respect for them, for people who are so petty that they would make fun you for the vehicle you drove?

I learned long ago that petty people of any age are not people I care to let influence me.

I’ve become everyone’s best friend too…

I drive a Ford Explorer.

It technically only seats 5, but those 5 are really comfortable. And there’s a ton of room in the back for book bags, shoes, etc.

*********************

Same here. Though once in a blue moon, there would be eight people who all suddenly needed a ride to one place and I was instantly everyone’s best friend for the duration of the trip. Also worth noting was that it was one of the old vastly underpowered 4 cylinder Caravans which was scary enough that I’d end up praying I wouldn’t get hit most of the time when I had to make a left turn in even moderate traffic.

If you don’t need space for three care seats, station wagons really are a good SUV alternative- as much useful storage space, safer, and frequently significantly better gas mileage than the big beasts. I love my ’06 Outback. Comfy for people in the front seats on long car trips, crashes most excellently, and I’ve come to really appreciate the all wheel drive capabilities during Florida’s monsoon-like thunderstorms. Even the heated seats, which I originally mocked for being useless down here are great- I can use them instead of the heater in winter, and I no longer have to deal with hot air blasting into my eyes and drying them out on cold days.

I seriously think they’re the new, though slightly less fancy, Volvo wagon and it was easy to discover why so many Subie buyers drive them into the ground instead of selling them after a couple of years.

Financially, it was a stupid move to buy the car. We offered up a perfectly nice, largely paid for Toyota Corolla in trade for a down payment on it. But we’re normally buy and hold car buyers, and I’m seriously going to enjoy 10-12 years driving the Subie when the Corolla was the car I always just kind of tolerated.

I currently drive a minivan. It is old, paid-off, and (more or less) reliable, and has been a good and faithful car for me. For what Trent needs, I think a minivan is a good choice.

But when this car dies, I will not be getting a new(er) minivan. As handy as it is, it’s overkill for a single person. And more to the point, after 10+ years of driving one, I want a car that is attractive; one that I like looking at and will be proud to own for the next 10+ years. So yes–after reliability/good gas mileage, looks are *definitely* a factor. Any good car should get me from point A to point B, obviously. But if I have the option (and obviously not everyone does), I don’t see anything wrong in considering something that’s beautiful (or at the very least, good-looking), as well as functional.

My parents had one (Ford Aerostar, probably ’95-ish) when my brother and I were kids, and it definitely preserved the peace on road trips because my brother and I could each have our own row. At 16 I took my road test in that beast, in backwoods Wisconsin, in February, and aced everything except the parallel parking (nerves–I’d been able to do it perfectly on either side of the street until the minute the examiner got in the vehicle). I still brag about that. My brother hauled all sorts of sound equipment in it when the band was gigging around town. Only thing I didn’t like was that the center of gravity felt a little high, which is a bit scary when you’re spinning around on an icy street, but I suspect that today’s models sit a little lower.

Oh, and the dog liked the van, too. :-)