Minivans Make Great Family Vehicles

2011 Toyota Sienna photographed in Clarksville, Maryland, USA. 
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I think minivans are the best family vehicles available.  Actually, I think they're the best all-around vehicles - even now that our kids are all grown up, and we could conceivably get by with some other kind of vehicle.  We might look at some other kind of car when it's time to purchase the next one, but we'll also be looking at minivans, and it's going to take a lot to convince me that I don't want another one.

Why do I think minivans are the best family vehicles and the best all-around?

1. You can haul a lot of people in a minivan, 7 or 8 depending on the seat configuration.   This is especially handy if you have a big family.  Or if your kids have a lot of friends.  Or if you take turns with the other moms on your daughter's basketball team picking up everybody after practice, or at least the ones who live in the same neighborhood.
2. With the seats folded down or removed, a minivan can haul a lot of stuff.  It may not hold as much as a pickup truck, but it does a great job hauling everything from lumber for that home improvement project to groceries.  Unless you're hauling big or dirty items on a regular basis, a minivan is more practical than a pickup truck for the average family - because with a truck, you can haul the stuff, but not always the people.
3. You can not only haul your family in the minivan, but you can also haul their stuff - at the same time.  This is important!  A lot of people drive SUVs or Crossover vehicles.   Those vehicles can haul quite a few passengers, just like the minivans, but have you ever looked behind the third row of seats in an SUV?  There is not much room at all for any stuff.  On short trips that might be fine.  The basketball players can hold their backpacks and sports equipment on their laps.  But what about a longer trip, maybe to visit family for a weekend or a week?  The luggage needs to go somewhere, and in a minivan there is room to put that stuff even when all the seats are filled.  It's still a good idea for everyone to pack light, but they don't have to leave quite as many things at home as they'd have to if the family vehicle was an SUV.

To recap:  A minivan makes a great family vehicle because you can haul people, and you can haul stuff, and you can haul people and stuff at the same time.