I'm officially a family man...

[lswhitecivic]

So my wife and I had our first baby back in October. My wife came from a family that always had a minivan, so I caved and joined the minivan brigade.

2020 Honda Odyssey Elite




There really isn't any enjoyment in driving it obviously, but it's super comfortable and allows us to carry a crap load more stuff. I thought my wife's 2015 CRV would be fine, but the trunk in that thing quickly is filled after having a baby and the crap we travel with. Also test drove Pacifica and Sienna and didn't care for either.

We initially started looked for one back before the covid crap started, but I'm glad we waited. We were originally looking to pay cash for a used 2019, but they've held their value quite well and since no one has been buying cars, the deals for new 2020s were hard not to pass up. 0.9% financing for 60 months through Honda as well as an additional $1000 off since we have a 2010 or newer Honda as well. Costco is also doing a special to get a $500 Costco card with the purchase of several new Honda models.

Out the door was right at $45k which includes $2.7k in TTL for Texas. I could pay cash, but couldn't pass up the financing offer and leave the cash in a high yield account.

 

[reckedracing]

Congrats on the baby, and the minivan.
Remember when we used to be cool?
You'll spend the next 20+ years telling the kiddo.

 

[Briansol]

Congrats on the family.

 

[BigJ]

Congrats on the family and baby hauler. We traded the wife's BMW for the CX-9. Ugh. But she loves it.


We def fill ours up easy. Especially when we have the 85lb lab with us.

 

[TurboMirage]

Wuuuu! Good luck!

 

[D16Civic]

Congrats on the baby. Not the minivan. We had one for a minute about 10 years ago. Got a crew cab truck instead.

 

[lswhitecivic]

Hah! Thanks guys. Yeah you don't feel cool driving around in a giant box.

I've got a Q5 for myself right now, but pickup is definitely an option for my next dd vehicle. Only hard thing is I'm not sure it would fit in the garage and we get hail storms here in Texas.

 

[99sidude]

Good choice. I helped design that beast!

 

[invisibledemon]

aside from the ride height, it doesnt look much different than most crossovers and suvs nowadays, looks good. Congrats on the kid.

 

[BrutalB83]

Congrats!

 

[lswhitecivic]

Good choice. I helped design that beast!

Well you did a good job. The Odyssey drives and feels way better than any other minivan on the market. I also agree with invisibledemon that it does look pretty good and has a lot of nice features. I just had to go into the buying process knowing that none of them were going to really be fun to drive, but that's not really the point of one hah.

 

[CAFROG]

Congrats on the baby. As your child grows, you won't need so much crap when you travel. I do remember needing too much stuff. But, if you have more children, you'll continue to need the soccer van. My friend has an older one and they are comfortable.

 

[E_SolSi]

As much as your friends will make fun of you/it, those things are fucking perfect when a pack of adults need to get to the bar or casino or race track or whatever else. Comfortable with enough room for everyone. And there is nothing quite like a pack of drunken morons in a minivan

 

[99sidude]

The funny thing is that men are buying and driving vans as much or more than women. Men don't GAF about the stigma and see the benefits.

 

[lswhitecivic]

That's interesting cause I'd never consider buying one on my own. I do like the aesthetics of the Odyssey, but if I were buying something for me to haul stuff it'd be a truck.

 

[awptickes]

I want an AWD Odessy, but nope... They don't make one yet in the US.

 

[lswhitecivic]

Yeah...unfortunately the only AWD minivan is the Sienna, but the 2020 model looks the same to me as the 2010 model and inside just looks old and dated.

The Odyssey does have the SNOW button...not entirely sure what it does yet.

 

[BigJ]

That's interesting cause I'd never consider buying one on my own. I do like the aesthetics of the Odyssey, but if I were buying something for me to haul stuff it'd be a truck.

My wife is so opposed to a mini-van. I thought it'd be more practical but she HATED the idea even when I barely mumbled it. Yet she has a glorified mini-van now....

I have a F-150 Supercrew. Thing can hold a ton. Most the time I have hard tonneau cover but it folds up easy. I probably use the bed 1-2 times a week on average if you look at ALL the trips a year its got somethign in it. Yesterday wife found a plastic slide for the kid on buy nothing and I went and picked it up in like 10 minutes without having to borrow one from a friend or show up with tools to take apart to wedge into a car or her SUV. Love it.

 

[Jeef]

Nice van, I still can't bring myself to buy one.

How much stuff are you guys taking with you? My grand cherokee fits a lot of crap when we go away. I have a 2 and a 4 year old. We go to our beach cottage like every weekend and fit everything. Only thing is if I have to pick up something big I have to bring my trailer or grab my truck.

 

[lswhitecivic]

Let me just say that my wife is a classic overpacker, so that has to play in. If we go somewhere for a long weekend, she generally needs a roller bag suitcase along with a weekend duffle bag, plus a tote. So when it comes to the baby, we need the stroller, pack n play, highchair or booster seat, bjorn chair, bath stuff, clothes, toys, etc.

The back of the CRV or my Q5 gets full pretty quick with all that in there. Honestly the stroller takes up a large chunk in both of our trunks. Pretty soon though we'll be able to use a smaller stroller so that will help.