We test drove the new 09' Jetta Sportwagen over the weekend, I was impressed! You should check it out.

 

Drive a Sienna. My sister has had two, and my best friend has had one for about two years and they all love them. With taking out the seats, you have lots of room. My dream van, though, is a Sprinter. Mercedes diesel powered and good fuel economy. And simply huge inside with the right options.

 

Our other vehicle is an 06 Odyssey touring, we really didn't want another Minivan ( previous 99 odyssey) especially my wife as I mostly drive the MINI but once the wife got behind the wheel of the touring with NAV, triple climate control rear DVD, back up camera, voice recognition etc she no longer felt like she was driving a van, more like a luxo car, togther with 7 passenger hauling fold flat rear seat and ECO engine running 3 cylinders nothing really came close. I put on a set of 18" 07 MDX wheels and a custom grill it actually handles pretty well for a van. I put four winters on the stock wheels for going skiing up the mountain etc and never got stuck! 255hp moves pretty well too. Considering the price of gas and what the odyssey can do compared to SUV'S it's pretty hard to beat. Gotta admit it's such a luxury change from the JCW I enjoy driving too, both together make it the best of both worlds IMO



Note my old 02MCS in Garage!

 

odyesse is the king of minivans for sure. they are quite
luxurious inside too.

 

Ok Ok Ok Ok
I am going tomorow to drive a Odyssey Touring. Too many people tell me its the way to go.

 

Chris, this is what I drive now....

 

Come on, you gotta at least test drive the Hyundai. For real, the entire back of the Veracruz folds flat, and I think the Santa Fe does, too. I've been getting rave reviews from people I loan the Veracruz too from here, even at $4/gal. I steal one on the weekends when I want to buy stuff bigger than the MINI (got a new table/chairs and deck box last weekend). Me with the MINI and the bf with a motorcycle sometimes you have to make do, yanno.

 

misslindsey, I will check it out today. I promise. This is what I will be moving around http://www.almalasers.com/products.jsp
So I need to make sure these devices will fit.

 

Cool! Thanks for giving us a chance. And really, PM me if you're thinking about a Hyundai or Kia, I'll hook you up with a discount. All you have to trust me with is your name, address, and email (for Hyundai, I have to check for Kia, haven't done one of those yet, but it's not as good of a deal).
Looks like the evil things I get zapped with once every so often - ouch, but I'll be glad when I can ditch my razor. It'll prolly fit, but you would be wise to test. A Sedona might be taller, and with rear-seat DVD's.

 

Another thing about the Element. They have an owners forum that's a crazy as ours here.

http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/

Gromit's delivery day, escorted by Becky driving Ellie.


Two friends of ours in Ellie. Shows the room, and the iPod cable plugged into the AUX jack.


Becky getting a pack out of the back.


There's even a cabana tent you can attach to the rear of an Element, and all kinds of outdoor options.

The rear seats come completely out, or you can lay them flat, then they fold upwards to the side.

 

When the new Genesis Coupe becomes available I may strongly consider letting one join my wife's Santa Fe, but that's for another discussion and you'll get a PM from me later about that discount...

We'll be taking our Santa Fe on an 1100 mile trip this weekend while the Mini guards the garage.

 

Thanks Guys! Element-Mini Van- or Expedition are the rhree finalysts. The Hyundais were all too small. I did not look at the minivan there though.

 

I think they'll be pretty cool cars by the time they hit the market. The ones we have here are pretty rough, but we see potential. My coworker/friend just got back from Korea and said they look pretty sweet all painted red and pretty (not flat black and tape like ours).

 

If you aren't tied to buying new, the Mazda MPV is an awesome van. We've had an 02 since 04, and the van is a great family vehicle that has more than enough room for a family of four. Fold down the rear seat and theres plenty of cargo room. Plus, on the highway at the speed limit, it get 29mpg (I always check my mileage on trips). Around town it gets about 20mpg, way better than the Chrysler,Toyota and Honda vans.

Don't fall into the trap about only mommy's driving minivans. They actually drive better than SUV's, get better gas mileage and have more interior space and usability.

 

Oh yeah, the Element has a spray-n-wash interior. You can damn near hose it out.

 

I am going tomor to look at Element and odyssey. Should I look at the SC Element or the other model?

 

I would think that you should go for the SC, but not be opposed to other models. Also, you might look at a Pilot while you are there.

 

Look at all the Element models, and decide what you like.

 

Thanks, the new pilot is awesome. But 40k loaded and the Odyseey is more logical at that point