BUYING GUIDE to New Minivans

Overview

Minivans are the epitome of the suburban family lifestyle. Able to carry the kids to baseball or cheerleading practice, these people movers provide all the right conveniences for the busy family. They offer good gas mileage and a plethora of safety options to satisfy the most practical concerns. They come at a cheaper price than most SUVs and provide better handling. Many are even equipped with high tech entertainment systems to entertain the passengers on longer trips and ample storage spaces for any knickknack. Even though this car class has seen drops in sales due to the popularity of SUVs, thanks to raising gas prices, better minivan styling, and the often impracticality of SUVs, the minivan is finding its way back into the garages of family car buyers everywhere.

Price Range: $17,635-$28,595

Models

The Buick Terraza and its other GM family, the Chevrolet Uplander and Saturn Relay, see some changes in 2007. The Terraza will no longer be available in all-wheel-drive and the OnStar Navigation and Communication system is now standard. Internally, all three vehicles get a new 240hp 3.9L V6 engine and a A FlexFuel variant of the engine designed to run on E85 ethanol will also be available in late 2007.

Car and Driver talks about the Uplander saying, "...its real edge lies in its array of electronic entertainment options, including a standard rear DVD system and the...PhatNoise multimedia system, powered by a 40-gigabyte hard-drive."The Chrysler Town and Country remains largely unchanged this year. At $36,255 in its most expensive trim, Canadian Driver says, "there is no mini van more opulent -- or expensive... than the Chrysler Town and Country."

Dodge plans to fully redesign their minivan lineup in 2008, so this year’s Caravan and Grand Caravan are largely carry over models. NewCarTestDrive hails the Caravan as the "king of minivans" and Woman Motorist said they, "tried to find something to complain about…and couldn't." 2007 marks the last year of the Ford Freestar. It is available in 3.9 liter V6 and 4.2 liter V-6 that allows it to have the largest torque output in the minivan class. All trim levels will also come with the third-row tailgate bench seat this year. Continuing to be one of the best in its class the Honda Odyssey carries over from 2006. It receives one more safety feature, a tire pressure monitor, adding to the multiple airbags, anti-lock brakes, and traction control. The Odyssey comes with a 244-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 that in more expensive trims is equipped with Variable Cylinder Management that shuts down cylinders when they are not needed. Mazda continues production of their Mazda5 which receives a Grand Touring trim level that adds leather-trimmed heated seats, HID headlights and blacked out light bezels. However, the MPV is no longer available in 2007.

The Mercury Monterey gets no new major changes for this year. It still features a parking sensor that warns you as you get close to obstacles and a third row of seats that folds into the floor to provide more cargo room. NewCarTestDrive reviews the Monterey as having a very quiet ride on par with the Toyota Sienna. Nissan’s Quest gets a good amount of 2007 changes. The main gauge cluster that was previously placed in the center console has been moved back in front of the steering wheel. The third row now folds flat to provide more cargo room. Cars.com calls the Quest, "a minivan for minivan-haters" because of its non-conventional redesign in 2004.

Minivan Safety Guide

As family hauling is its central purpose, most minivans provide integrated child booster seats that are built right into the rear seat and take the place of store-bought seats. Other standard features include dual front airbags, and in many cases, side airbags, which serve as protection to occupants against side-impact collisions.

More advanced features are standard in higher priced models and include anti-lock braking systems and traction control, which stops the spin of a wheel, and in turn insures maximum contact between your tires and the road. A back-up sensing system is an option that's commonly offered on these models, which is a series of sensors along the rear bumper that alerts the driver to people and/or objects in his blind spot.