My mom wanted an SUV but I tricked her...

[skydragoness]

My mom has a 98 Camry LE .. wooo wow, yes i know. Anyhow, she was dead-set on her bandwagon thinking that she *needs* an SUV to get her through the snow we get here in DE (its not bad, its just that the state doesn't like to plow in the early morning hours). So this is what she thinks she needs even though she's made it FINE to work (hospital) for the 5 years that she's owned it, and before that she had another fwd car too (Prizm) and was fine. Anyhow, so her other arguement to me is that she needs an SUV for more space and for hauling more than 4 people. So I mentioned why not just get a minivan? So there. She finally stopped wanting one.

My question is, what vans are better? She thinks the Toyota Sienna (boooOring) is the end-all-be-all. I think I'd rather see a Honda Odyssey or a Mazda MPV in the driveway. I know the Honda is good, but I know nothing about the MPV. What's the reliability like? I hear they have good power and excellent handling (thank you Mazda) but I don't know how they are holding up long-term and if they're worth the money you save from not getting the Honda. I really like the MPV's styling though, it's kind of like the minivan that doesn't want to be a 'minivan'.

Your thoughts please.

p.s. i've already told her that she could just try getting a snow tire/wheel set and i could put it on for her. she'd be shocked when the camry turns into a snowmobile.

[Rex]

Nissan Murano or FX35 (AWD) would be really nice and there should be some coming of 2 & 3 yr leases about now.

[skydragoness]

My move LOVES the Murano but can't afford them. Not even used I bet. Plus they don't have the seating capacity she wants .. maybe like 6 or something I dunno. My younger sister is pregnant so she's expecting to have to haul people around in it.

[Repo Man]

I'm not really a big minivan guy, but the Odyssey is really the cat's a**. The Nissan Quest has ALWAYS been a solid choice as well. My mom had a Mercury Villager (twin to the Quest and Nissan-powered) and was trucking right along when it got totaled at 230k miles.

Good to see you visit us here in the Others forum, Sky!

repo

[Red coupe]

My question is, what vans are better? She thinks the Toyota Sienna (boooOring) is the end-all-be-all.

I think Toyota puts drugs in the AC because they are defiantly doing a mind job on there customers some how. My mom had a Camry too. She was thinking about a new car for a while and I had her strongly considering a G35...we were talking about going and test driving more cars when she came home one day and said she was going to buy an Avalon, and refused to even test drive any other car then a Toyota...

She bought the Avalon like 2 days later because she couldn't find a used g35 that was less then 30k.(looked at ONE FRIGGEN LOT ) she paid enough to get a slightly used G EASY stupid Toyota propaganda...

[/RANT ON TOYOTA MARKETING]

Honda Odissy, Ive heard nothing but good about it. For a reliable comfortable transporter I gota say Honda for the win...

[Mr1der]

Subaru?

[The Mic]

Nice job on bullying your mom into a sedan

[skydragoness]

Well I don't think I can convince her to stick w/ cars for the people carrying capacity.

Mr1der: Subaru, been down that road. Before she got the Camry she really wanted the Forester, now when the time is right and used Foresters are in her range, she thinks 'they're ugly' and 'not roomy enough'

Repoman: The Nissan Quest I did not consider, maybe i can push the earlier 2000-04 models on her. Does the current Quest have CVT? Cause I heard the CVT was having issues in the Murano.

Thanks for the inputs. I was expecting Jesda to answer with some gleaming reviews for the Mazda.

RedCoupe: I don't know what it is about Toyota, they appeal to boring people. Yes, there must be some kind of subliminal stuff in the a/c since she thinks the Sienna is the best mini van ever.

[PantherRacer]

QUEST QUEST QUEST QUEST! If not go odyssey

and in toyota's defense:Supra TTCorolla 86 levin/TruenoCelica GT-4chaseraltezza(wit a 2JZ that iz)they just lost their focus in more recent times....that's all lol

[Red coupe]

hell even the boxy 90's Camry's were way better then the current. plus they had all wheel drive I wonder how much All Track Camry's go for, Ive never seen one for sale to find out...

[MinisterofDOOM]

Quest or Odyssey. Haven't driven the new MPV, but they're too small for me...maybe you don't dislike small cars like I do though.

Personally, I'd rather drive just about anything than a minivan though.

What SUVs has she been looking at? If you could talk her into a VQ-powered QX4 or a recent Pahtfinder you woulndn't be doing badly at all.

Also, the murano is only 3k less than the Quest for base models....Maybe she'd rather have a murano S instead of a Quest...

I hate that "I need 4wd for snow" thing. My aunt thought that (this woman could not even put the car in 4wd--hell she couldn't even fill her own wiper fluid...so maybe your mom's not this bad...) and she bought a Suzuki Grand Retardo...I mean Vitara. WORST RIDE EVER. And she NEVER, NOT ONCE, put it in 4wd. So instead she made thigs WORSE by getting a squirelly, short wheelbase RWD with terrible suspension.

Convince her into a sedan. Trust me--we get TERRIBLE snow here in Utah--more than the plows can keep up with, and my Maxima has never had any problem in it. The Ram is awesome in it, in 4wd (and fun as hell in RWD!) but for going anywhere on normal roads, the Maxima has yet to let me down (except on the mountain neighborhoods where it's steep).

I completely agree with red coupe about Toyotas marketing. Drugs in the water. Aerosols in the AC...The Sienna is poo.

So your mom's an Avalon buyer...Eh, I'm sorry. Still reminds me of that guy who was laughing at me because I drive a 2004 Maxima. "Ha...Maxima...I drove one and went straight to the Toyota dealership to pick up an Avalon--like I'm going to spend 35k on a car without voice recognition!" Stupid Toyota and their brainwashed loyalists.

[Repo Man]

Sky, I don't know if the Quest has CVT or not. I haven't really paid attention. I think she could get a really good buy on a four or five year old Quest and have a great vehicle.

[574-240sx]

My mom loves driving her Odyssey. I can say maintenance is dam expensive. The bad thing about the honda is it has the same trans with the accord and they tend to go out early, I'm not sure about the new ones. They had a recall on them. My moms trans went out just over 100K and had been maintained by honda her warrantee ended at 60K and they still replaced it free of charge.

[Jesda]

The Quest frightens me. The Odyssey has transmission issues. The MPV is the best-handling minivan on the market, but its comparatively small (but also a lot cheaper). Automobile Mag did a long-term test and liked it plenty.

[skydragoness]

Ah ha! Thanks Jesda. I figured the MPV (new one) looks fun to drive, despite it being a minivan, and it will have the seatin capacity she wants and be in a good price range probably. Besides the MPV I think i'll push a Quest on her (not the current gen) because I had a friend in high school who's mom had one for the longest time, and put close to 200k on it before she traded it in for a Murano.

[Mr1der]

I'd personally love to have a current gen Quest, and a Max 6 speed and a GReddy turbokit...

[PantherRacer]

slammed and bosozuku style with all the negative camber in the world?

or just slammed?

[Jesda]

I really liked the old Quest/Villager. It was smooth, quiet, comfy, and easy to drive.