So! We finally bought a mini-van! Yay!
Some backstory: Our commuter car finally died a spectacular death and as much as we love (still love)
the Swiss army knife that is our 5 we've completely outgrown it. With the addition of a 3rd kid (and carseat) all of a sudden there was no room for anything else. And with a couple of big road trips coming up?
IT WAS FINALLY TIME!
See I love me a minivan. I seriously do not get all of the backlash against them. It's a tool to do a job. Saying that you hate minivans is the same as saying that you hate a Phillips head screwdriver. I mean sure you can use a flat head to get the job done. And you can certainly haul kids in a mega-suv. But it's not nearly as easy as using the tool specifically - and stylishly- designed for the task at hand. And the tool designed for transporting a family of 5? Obviously a minivan.
But! I do understand the whole not wanting to be the same as everyone else thing. Everywhere I go there are minivans and mega-suv's.
Little boxes on the highway
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes in the pick-up line
Little boxes all the same
So you know how you stand out in the sea of boxes? You buy a bright red one:
 |
| Hello, gorgeous. |
I love this car.
The kids love it as well. My daughter immediately named it "Buckey" after
the Buccaneer - the pirate ship in Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Because it's as big as a ship and holds all of our Mateys. And we can take it on many adventures. YES.
We have literally test driven every minivan on the market in the last 2 years. All of them. And this is the best one:
 |
| Chrysler Town and Country. |
Because the
Town and Country (and also the Dodge Grand Caravan - they are built on the same platform) has something that blows all of the competition away:
Stow and go seats. The middle captains chairs literally fold completely into the floor. Which means that when they are in use there is cavernous storage space hidden underneath the floor of the van. I can keep extra diapers! and coats! and changes of clothes for the kids just in case! Without junking up my entire car! It's phenomenal. I am literally planning on putting the kids suitcases down there when we travel. AMAZING!
I love the styling as well:
Super sleek.
And I'm not going to lie - the automatic sliding doors have changed my life. Combine that with remote start and I can, while getting the baby dressed, warm up the car and then tell the big kids to go get in. Without leaving my house. Without doing the MANY trips out to the car to get the car warm and everyone in thing that I had been doing. LIFE. CHANGING.
The other feature that makes my heart sing is the automatic pedals. As a short person I'm faced with the problem of having to sit on top of the steering wheel to be able to reach everything. Not with the automatic pedals! They adjust so that I can sit where a normal person sits. I had them in the
Maxx car and let me tell you it's a feature I never want to go without ever again. SO AMAZING.
My other must have for a minivan was the rear backup camera. We have a very tight driveway. Like 2 inches of clearance on either side when pulling out of the gate tight. And we live on a main road. The rear camera? Makes all of that no problem at all. Also I'm happy about the added safety with 3 small kids running around. YAY!
And finally - this was the feature that Matt really wanted - the van has leather seats. I didn't get why it was worth it at first. Seemed like an unnecessary expense. Yeah a couple of weeks later and I am SOLD. You know what happens when the kids get mud on the leather when climbing into their carseats? I wipe it off. Simple as that. It doesn't get crusted into the fabric, it doesn't stain, it's not a big deal anymore
at all. I keep a towel in the car for just this purpose. Easy!
Overall I am SO happy with this car. Of course the big test will be on our upcoming Epic Road Trip. But I think Buckey is up to the task. Yo Ho Mateys Away!
All we need now is a pirate flag!
