Here's Why Minivans are Actually the Best Vehicle to Buy

don't trust everything the media tells you nowadays people say that minivans are outdated and that Crossovers and SUVs are cooler and better but today I'll break on the facts so that you can see for yourself when the minivan wins categorically in many areas and why it's a better choice compared to Crossovers and SUVs [Music] [Applause] when a consumer buys a mid-size crossover or SUV for off-roading purposes that's a specific need so it's understandable but when a consumer buys one of these with the rationale that he needs a third row well that's just an excuse everyone knows that the Third Road in mid-size crossovers is too cramped for most adults and I'm talking about all Dimensions here very little leg room short headspace and row widths is tight too just try sitting in the third row of the Lexus RX 350l crossover versus the Toyota Sienna minivan and you'll see the huge difference not only that but the third row in a mid-size crossover also eats up valuable cargo space on the other hand minivans have lower floors so you get a deep cargo well behind the third row which means more cargo volume from the get-go plus the third row seats fold down or even pull out and you'll get even more room but let's be more specific I'll compare three specific cars as representative cars for each class and then you can see more clearly the advantages and disadvantages today I'm looking at the 2023 Toyota Sienna minivan versus the 2023 Toyota Highlander midsize crossover versus the 2023 Cadillac Escalade full-size SUV the Sienna minivan has 33.5 cubic feet of cargo space behind its third row seats I sold out more cargo space than the regular wheelbase Cadillac Escalade suv which offers only 25 and a half cubic feet and you don't have to pay the higher sticker prices on Escalade also it's more than two times the cargo space of the Highlander which offers just 16 cubic feet but let's say you fall down the third row seats in all three vehicles the Sienna will give you 75.2 cubic feet of cargo space where the Escalade gives you 72.9 cubic feet we're shut Highlander gives you 48.4 cubic feet so here again the minivan wins but now Let's Fold the second row seats I'm talking in the Press of a 101 cubic feet of cargo space in the Sienna but here's where the Escalade gives you more at 121 cubic feet again the loser here is a Highlander which only offers 84.3 cubic feet which is nowhere near the other two cars side note if you look at the long wheelbase Cadillac Escalade ESV you'll find the most cargo space across all combinations I'm talking 41.5 cubic feet of room behind the third row or 94.1 cubic feet with the third row folded down or 142.8 cubic feet with the second row folded down but that all comes at an extra price tag the high performance Escalade V starts at a whopping 149 195 bucks so if cargo space is your priority consider this the Sienna starting MSRP is just over 36 1100 where the Escalade V starts at around 149 200 in other words is that extra cargo space and a long wheelbase Escalade V worth an additional hundred and thirteen thousand one hundred dollars for the most part I'd say the answer is no bottom line to minivan's Cargo space should meet the average Americans need while keeping things in budget in fact believe it or not every 2023 minivan on the market right now is more cargo room than a Ford F-150 truck bed don't forget sliding doors you might think it feels outdated but you can't deny how functional and practical they are it just slides open automatically and effortless your kids can't scratch or bump the car next to you this is one of the Hallmark features of a minivan that you can't find in popular crossovers or SUVs but now let's talk about gas mileage an SUV especially a full-size one it's huge and it eats up a lot of gas the trade-off of having a bigger engine that outputs more power is that it requires more fuel to be burned don't even get me started on the gas mileage of the Cadillac Escalade a 2023 Cadillac Escalade with a turbo diesel three liter I6 lm2 powertrain has a gas mileage of just 20 miles a gallon in the city and 26 on the highway but here's even more shocking the Escalade V with a supercharged 6.2 liter V8 lt4 powertrain will get you a mere 11 miles a gallon in the city and 16 miles on the highway now a minivan on the other hand is lower to the ground and drives more like a car because of its engine the minivan usually has better gas mileage compared to an SUV and crossover competitors Toyota stopped offering gas Parts Sienna starting with the 2021 model onwards so for the 2023 Sienna minivan you'll see it comes exclusively in a hybrid powertrain the front wheel drive version has an EPA estimated gas mileage of 36 miles a gallon both in the city and on Highway if you want to compare that to a gas powered Toyota Highlander well the gas powered one gets just 21 miles a gallon the city and 29 on the highway so that puts it out of the race the hybrid four-wheel drive version offers 36 in the city and 35 in the highway so it's fairly comparable to the minivan the average minivan costs less than a three-row crossover Honda Odyssey Minivan for example starts at 37 500 which is three thousand six hundred dollars cheaper than the Honda Passport midsize crossover starting at forty one thousand one hundred dollars on the other hand the Toyota Sienna starts at 36135 which is just 300 bucks cheaper than the Highlander which starts at thirty six thousand four hundred and twenty dollars now let's talk about turbo charging a Turbocharger gives an engine extra power without sacrificing fuel efficiency usually turbochargers are added to smaller engines to improve performance basically a turbo compresses exhaust gas and then sends compressed air back into the engine this increased airflow sends more fuel to the engine which outputs more power the Highlander XLE trim comes with a 2.4 liter four-cylinder turbo engine the thing is typically a vehicle with a turbocharged engine is usually a bit more expensive than one with a naturally aspirated engine also many turbocharged engines require premium gas a turbocharged engine isn't always as reliable as a naturally aspirated engine just think the more parts of an engine the more can go wrong turbocharged engine usually requires more routine maintenance because turbochargers stress the engine and its parts if you're planning on hauling heavy loads a turbo boosted smaller engine is not the best way to go in most cases it's just better to get a bigger engine now the Toyota Sienna does not come with the turbo option but honestly speaking when it comes to a minivan while it is possible to server charger minivan there's really no need to and that saves you a world of trouble in the long run many events will also save you money on car insurance actually there are a few reasons why it's generally cheaper to insure a minivan as opposed to an SUV first of all statistically speaking minivans aren't in as many accidents the average minivan driver is usually a lot more cautious on the road compared to other drivers private comes down to the fact that there are children in the back but it's awesome because the average minivan driver is demographically older and are more experienced drivers and owners of SUVs who are usually younger and less experienced as a group another reason why car insurance costs are low for minivans is because vehicle theft and vandalism is uncommon with minivans here you have the advantage of the minivans being less popular than Crossovers and SUVs what's popular means you're not on the top of the list among vehicle thieves and that translates into low insurance claim risk minivans also have higher safety ratings and that translates to lower insurance premiums last but not least minivans have been around for decades and I read their comments so if you need to repair replace a part the parts are typically accessible and easy to source so parts replacement costs are much lower compared to crossovers or SUVs car insurance companies like that if car part is easily accessible less expensive to repair that vehicle has a lower cost risk to the company and that's why you enjoy lower insurance premiums here's another advantage to minivans car washing costs many car washes charge more for larger vehicles in many cases it's cheaper to get your minivan washed compared to a full-sized SUV but let's shift gears and talk about safety when it comes to driving visibility is an important fact obviously the more you can see ad on each side and the rear the better especially when you're changing lanes merge into a highway or even maneuvering into a parking spot the minivan offers better visibility for the driver compared to the SUVs part of the reason is the lower ride height of the minivan whereas SUVs are taller ride higher and have more ground clearance higher hoods and higher bumpers did you know that back in 2009 one study found that children were less likely to be killed or injured in a crash if they're riding in the mid event as opposed to an SUV researchers looked at fatal and injury-causing crashes between 2000 and 2006 and they found that children and minivans are 35 percent less likely to be hurt than children than SUV and in fatal crashes there was a 24 percent greater chance of a child being killed in an SUV than in a minivan in that same study a whopping 66 percent of SUV fatalities involved a rollover while only 37 percent of the minivan fatalities involved a rollover now it's true that the study was done a while ago and SUVs have improved since then nevertheless even today many events still have a lower rollover risk compared to SUVs so that's another safety Factor you may want to keep in mind that said when it comes to SUVs it's large size and heavy weight as both a safety advantage and disadvantage a blessing and a curse the average SUV weighs between 5400 to 6 000 pounds in some ways SUVs can provide better protection to its passenger inside than to a minivan which weighs less for example SUVs generally have more reinforcement than a minivan and the heavy front bumpers function as crumple zones to absorb the energy from an impact almost acting like a cushion so to speak on the flip side it's wired size heavyweight tall height relatively low visibility are collectively also what causes more fatality to pedestrians and drivers and other cars when SUVs are involved in a collision by the way I have a separate video that talks more about how SUVs are killing us here in America so check it out anyway in conclusion minivans went categorically in most of the Practical aspects that I addressed today they just offer way more than Crossovers and SUVs in certain aspects well everything except the coolness Factor but how important is the coolness Factor anyway all in all we should learn to be content with minivans it's tried and true and steady the thing is in the past mothers help make minivans popular in its day but most moms care about looks and they like to follow fashion mothers today don't want to be associated with the stigma that exists around minivans that's why in recent times moms have been preferring the more popular cooler Crossovers and SUVs they want cool mom mobiles consider this too the fact that the car industry is electrifying and that includes Crossovers and SUVs but my guess is large electric SUVs like the Hummer EV will never offer good range because they're just too heavy they're also prohibitively expensive for the average American Consumer here's my prediction unless car makers can figure out better battery technology for electric Crossovers and SUVs I think that electric minivans will be the future for American families but now you tell me do you agree that minivans offer way more than Crossovers and SUVs in most aspects other than the coolest Factor does a lack of coolness Factor deter you from getting a minivan please share by commenting below if you like this video please like share 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Channel: Scotty Kilmer

Views: 1,219,308

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Id: T8OP8BLXy6k

Length: 11min 6sec (666 seconds)

Published: Sun May 14 2023