‘Soccer mother’ minivans make major comeback as SUV – Business News
Much maligned as an embarrassing mom-mobile, the minivan is making a comeback.
The surge in minivan purchases comes as Americans enter a new period of larger car prices, with the average price of a new car hovering round $50,000.
Crucially, minivans fall nicely beneath that median, whereas SUVs are hovering far above it.
Minivans are roaring back into model, ditching their “mom-mobile” stigma for sensible perks like decrease prices and higher fuel economic system. Kyryl Gorlov – stock.adobe.com
Large SUVs now average $67,000+, and minivans begin round $40,000, a appreciable differential that’s more and more laborious for shoppers to disregard.
According to Yahoo News, minivan gross sales jumped 21% within the U.S. final 12 months, whereas the general auto market grew simply 2%.
Meanwhile, fuel costs proceed to soar, and people are looking for automobiles which might be both electric or fuel environment friendly, serving to minivans edge out their SUV competitors.
To that finish, minivan loyalists and converts cite space, fuel economic system, and price as causes to choose out of an SUV and into a van.
The Odyssey’s epic title and versatile inside appeal to oldsters and vacationers. jetcityimage – stock.adobe.com
On Reddit boards devoted to SUV vs. minivan comparisons, feedback sometimes skew in favor of the standard, sensible van.
“Everyone is going to be more comfortable in the van. Everything is going to fit better in the van,” mentioned one Redditor.
“I secretly take the minivan instead of my pickup truck a lot of times,” confessed one dad. “That thing is BITCHIN!” he added, noting that the sliding doorways make faculty drop-off seamless and loading canines and children a lot simpler.
“It kills me to say, but the minivan is just insanely practical. Not to mention, the number of features you get in a minivan for the price rivals luxury vehicles priced significantly higher,” theorized one other.
For these apprehensive in regards to the aesthetics, one other commenter got here appropriate with these laborious truths.
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“Since when were SUVs aesthetic? SUVs are popular like Olive Garden is popular. May as well paint every room in your house gray and put a live laugh love sign over your sink,”
So Reddit speaks, and the world listens.
According to Chris Heck, head coach at Jeff Wyler Superior Honda in Cincinnati, gross sales of the Honda Odyssey are on the rise.
“They’re up 30% over the last two years. We find that’s primarily due to the price segment of this vehicle and gas. The fuel economy on the vehicle is actually very, very good,” Heck instructed Scripps News, counting storage space as one other draw.
“The cargo volume, I think, is its biggest seller, honestly,” he mentioned.
Heck believes minivans are dropping each their social stigma and their repute for lethargic handling. Romvy – stock.adobe.com
He shared that the Odyssey’s epic title and versatile inside appeal to oldsters and vacationers, with a third row that folds flat into the ground and a center row that may be reconfigured between a bench and captain’s chairs.
“There’s a lot of configurations you can do with the vehicle,” Heck maintains.
Further, Heck believes minivans are dropping each their social stigma and their repute for lethargic handling.
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“They have a lower center of gravity. They drive like a car,” he mentioned.
Perhaps the best commercial for the magic of the minivan comes from this commenter: “You can pry my Pacifica keys out of my cold, dead fingers.”
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