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Comment by zetazzed | Hacker News Reader

When my wife and I were discussing whether to have a third kid, the "we can justify a minivan now" argument was a big push in favor!

If you think it's uncool, just remember -- if you buy a sports car, there is always someone out there with a cooler sports car. But you can buy THE BEST minivan in the world for ~$40k. Minivans also tend to go heavy on tech and comfort features relative to their price point. Yes, they suck to parallel park in the city, but 360 cameras and ultrasonics have made that much easier than it used to be. Really recommended!

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My problem with minivans (as opposed to good sports cars) is that they drive like crap. I have never encountered (or heard of) a van that drove well with one exception [1]

[1] I remember reading about a volkswagen bus that had been modified heavily with Porsche components to the point it could drive and accelerate better than any van had a right to.

The Alphard V6 really isn’t that bad to drive. We’re not talking Porsche of course (and why would we? Topic is carrying kids safely), but it is a really pleasant drive.

Have you driven a recent one? It's not hard to get a test drive. Try holding the Odyssey over 6000 rpm in sport-manual and see if it's a boring van.

Odyssey is pretty good. Have you tried it?

I had a VW Vanagon and thought it handled well. Nearly perfect 50:50 weight distribution on front and rear wheels and a super tight turning radius. That thing could do a U-turn on a two-lane road. Power was pretty pathetic though. It would do 70mph, maybe 72 on the highway.

My parents had a '68 VW bus. Sorry, it was a death trap. I have no idea how we survived several trips across the US in it.

1. no seat belts in the back, no headrests

2. poor brakes (especially if you were seduced by the size of the cargo area and loaded a bunch of weight in it)

3. inadequate power (could barely to 65)

4. would tip over if turned too sharply

5. don't even think about hitting anything head on, just a bit of sheetmetal there

6. highly susceptible to cross-winds

On the plus side, it was inexpensive to maintain and ran for decades. I finally sold it for my dad, and he asked me if I was nostalgic for it. I said no, I was just happy we never had an accident in it. My dad gets the credit for that, he was an unusually careful driver. Never hit anything in 70 years of driving.

I know times have changed, and what was acceptable in the 60's wrt car safety has changed a lot, but still...

Minivans drive perfectly well, beyond the limits of what is responsible on a public road. The point of a minivan is everyday practicality, not lap times.

If you want to drive something that drives like a sports car, get a sports car for the weekends.

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