We picked the options we wanted finding one that even has TV screens for passengers in the back. The ride was smooth, and the seats comfortable enough for a long road trip. While a larger vehicle, it sat low to the ground and handled like a regular car. So, we headed to the dealer to take one for a spin. And considering how we’ll use the van to take cargo from Nebraska to Oklahoma, it only made sense to buy the vehicle that allows us to take our seats, as well. In the Odyssey, you have to remove the seats to make room for cargo. In the Chrysler Pacifica, you can fold the seats into the floor to make room for cargo, so the seats stay in the van. Here’s a 16-second video to show you how it works. ![]() But the Pacifica had one feature the Odyssey doesn’t that we couldn’t live without: Stow ‘n’ Go seating. In addition, they both offered all the bells and whistles we’d ever want for our long road trips. The Chrysler Pacifica and the Honda Odyssey each had great reviews. We began looking at the different vans available and found two options that rose above the rest. In addition, minivans get about 28 miles per gallon on the highway and the cost was far less than that of a house (or an SUV). They had tons of cargo space, room for seven people to sit comfortably, and they were super easy to get in and out of. The photo below is from our Nebraska road trip with Steve’s parents in 2017.īut the more we looked for a vehicle for travel, the more we saw that minivans offered everything we wanted. My parents have a mini van for goodness sake. We’re empty nest travel bloggers and way too young and hip (or does using the word hip make us not hip?) to have a minivan. Our daughter is all grown up now and we don’t have little ones to take to school or soccer practice. Honestly, we have never thought of ourselves as minivan people. So we crossed off crossovers on our hunt for a good vehicle for travel. While they were less expensive and got better gas mileage than the SUVs, we really wanted more space. And if we did use the third row, there was often no cargo space at all for suitcases. While a few of the crossovers we considered did offer a third row of seating, it wasn’t necessarily easy to use. We can pack a lot in the back of our Lexus RX but there’s not much space for extra passengers. ![]() Being crossover owners already, we felt we knew the category pretty well. The sticker on the Suburban we saw showed a price higher than what Ann paid for her first house! For us, an SUV was out. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the sticker prices were shocking. ![]() In addition, it honestly didn’t have a lot of storage space with the third row of seats up. The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk only gets 13 mpg and the Tahoe wasn’t much better at 15-22 mpg. In addition, the gas mileage was terrible. These things are huge! Turns out, the SUVs were just as high up off the ground as my truck and getting in an out was not easy for Ann. We visited our local car dealership and looked at a few SUVs. Ann, (who is 5’4″), has a lot of joint pain and climbing into the truck wasn’t easy for her. One reason we decided to sell the truck is that it was pretty high up off the ground. Would an SUV be a good vehicle for travel for us? In any event, we knew we had to do some digging and answer some questions. One person even suggested a MINI Cooper which sounded like a lot of fun but seemed a wrong step on the size scale. Still others suggested a minivan, swearing that they loved theirs. Others suggested crossovers like the Forester or Equinox. Some folks suggested an SUV like a Tahoe, Suburban or Explorer. Immediately, we received lots of ideas for a new vehicle for travel. Have plenty of cargo space for suitcases and a cooler.What we wanted in a new vehicle for travel ![]() As a part of our research, this time we asked readers of our blog for suggestions and laid out our priorities. We do some investigating, budget well in advance, and seek online reviews as well as recommendations from others. You should know that whenever we make a large purchase, we like to move slowly. It worked out fine for our road trip through North Dakota this summer, but we often found ourselves saying it would nice to have more room. On top of that, it’s a little smaller than what we want for long road trips, especially when it’s more than just Ann and me. Our other vehicle, a 2012 Lexus RX350 crossover, has about 150,000 miles on it and has been starting to need some repairs. However, besides an occasional trip to the dump with recycling and helping friends move furniture, we really weren’t driving it a ton. I have loved having a mid-sized pick up truck. Earlier this summer, we decided it was probably time to trade in our 2015 Chevy Colorado for a new vehicle for travel.
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