Why? We don't have 10 children its true, we don't own a transport business either. So why would a family with 3 kids want a 12 passenger van?
Well, we have plans to travel with our family in the next year and having the space for bags or other friends or family to come with us was something we wanted. We are also out a few times a week in our ministry and always have other people with us. We are always taking family or friends with us as well. The mini van (Honda Odyssey) was getting cramped quickly!! So the next size up was a full size van. Those options are small we had the choices of a Ford Transit, Nissan NV 3500, Mercedes Sprinter or Chevy Express (GMC Savana).
 |
| Mercedes Sprinter |
 |
| Ford Transit |
 |
| Chevy Express |
Our requirements were few: Leather interior, V8 engine and not overly expensive.
The leather was a MUST! I know from experience that cloth seats would be trashed in a short time and we didn't want that. The V8 was a bit of a back and forth, V6 for the MPG or V8 for the better towing capacity? The V8 won! The research we did was helpful in pointing us to the V8 for our future needs. (more on that later).
The price was HUGE deal, I am a bargain hunter. There was no way I was going to let us pay more per month then we were with the Honda Odyssey.
That negotiation process is worthy of another post.
So the comparisons I am doing below were for our needs more then anything else, maybe you can relate to it when shopping for a passenger van.
Price: When you look at the rundown on 'starts at price' the Mercedes was the winner/looser for that category. No surprise right? They were the most expensive for sure! So that brought us to 3. Chevy, Ford, Nissan. All in the $30k region for starting price. Most people think "bigger car, bigger price" but not this time. Considering the Honda Odyssey we drove was starting price of $37,000 before options.
V8 Engine: So now you are looking at us thinking, "V8 really? Horrible MPG! Why would you do that to yourself?"
Valid point, we heard you... Our Odyssey did get 20+ MPG on a daily basis so even the thought of 12-18 MPG sounds like suffering and woe for anyone. But here is the thing, we had a GMC Yukon XL before the Odyssey and personally we liked the pep and go those engines had. If you needed to pull onto the highway into traffic there was no doubt it would get you there and not let you down. A V8 will allow you to pull pop up trailer, a luggage trailer or just about anything! The idea of a V6 in a large vehicle full of people and luggage or trailers just sounds like you are straining the little 6 cylinder engine unnecessarily. The power out weighted the MPG in our mind.
I'm not going to throw a bunch or stats and engine sizes at you here, if you want to know specifics you can google it :) But it happened that we had driven a Ford Explorer with the same size engine as the Ford Transit could come with (they offer Diesel but we didn't want that) on our trip to PA. As it was a rental car my husband wanted to see what kind of guts it had an tried to punch it as one point. FAIL! A gutless little engine that took forever to get up to speed and no real pep at all! This was in a smaller SUV not in a full size van. Once we realized that, the Ford was off the table. No guts, no Ford.
Then there were 2... Chevy Vs. Nissan
Leather interior: This was a no brainier for us! Chevy (GMC) did not offer leather in any trim level! Really Chevy? Really? Not even the GMC version! Ok no way am I getting the dealer to leather cover 12 seats nope, not happening. So the clear winner was....
Nissan NV 3500 passenger van (Nissan NVP)
This baby had it all! Decent price, V8 engine and leather interior with the SL trim.
So there you are, the new vehicle in the family and for many many years to come.
I will be doing a You Tube video review of it soon and also a post on how I got the best deal on a brand new one.
If you have any questions on the Nissan NV 3500 just message me below!
Hi. We are soon to be a family with three kids in March. Older kids being three in July and two in September. We have been vehicle shopping and have narrowed it down to the Nissan NV and a Yukon XL or suburban with a bench middle seat. We want something that can pull a trailer, room for extra people, lots of cargo space and I wanted an empty seat beside the baby so that means the three year old going in the third row. I’ve done a lot of researcher on the NV and you are the only other mom of three I can find. I was wondering if you ever find the NV being to big with just three kids? Getting around the city? Parking? This is going to be my only vehicle. We will fit on other vehicles but that is going to mean flipping seats to get kids in and out, going side to side to get everyone in and buckled up, and kids not being as accessible as in the NV. In a few years that won’t be much of problem and ill have this big van. Or I’m still going to love the extra room the NV gives me with older kids to?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your time
Becky
Hi Becky! We have 3 kids as well and baby #4 coming in March. So we have had the NV for a bit over 2yrs now and I can say without blinking an eye that this is the best vehicle we have ever had. Is it perfect? No of course not but it's done a fantastic job of being durable, reliable, fantastic for the family, awesome at towing and the big safe beast that it looks like it is.
DeleteWhat weight is your trailer? We have a 7000 pound dry weight travel trailer that we have the Big Blue Beast pull with and it has done fantastic on flat roads and mountains. This van definitely has a lot of pep and power and even when we were going up treacherous mountain roads with steep inclines it didn't hesitate to pull us and the trailer.
We actually had a Yukon XL before we had the Honda Odyssey and then we eventually got the Nissan NV. The Yukon XL always seemed to have this kind of lumbering sluggish feel to it even though it had a large V8 engine. The Nissan has a lot more get up and go we feel like.
In regards to cargo space that's one area you may not like as much with a Nissan, if you take out a seat or two you definitely have a lot of cargo space. Especially if you don't need all 12 seats it's no big deal. Even with all 12 seats in I can still have a large double jogging stroller in the back as well as other miscellaneous kid stuff, I go grocery shopping but the groceries end up being on the third or fourth row floor. We just went on a cruise and took out 2 seats from the back row, had all 10 seats filled and the back area along with the empty space where the seats were filled with luggage and everyone sat comfortably with room to spare.
We love all the extra room! We always have family or friends with us and the full size seats are roomy and comfortable for everyone. With the 2 older boys being in the 3rd row and having the younger ones in the second row it gives less chance for fights and those annoying "He is poking me" comments haha! With growing kids, gear, extra people and wanting to tow you can't go wrong with the Nissan NV. Also they are cheaper then the Yukon XL unless you get a way older one ;)
Please let me know if you have any more questions!