The Search For A New MPV: Step 3 - Narrowing The List

Establishing that a local Honda dealer had several of the cars on our list on their used car lot, we took a trip over there to see what we could see and maybe drive one or six of them...

"Have I got a deal for you!"

Right off the bat, we saw a bunch of cars that we were interested in. There was a salesman standing there with another couple who were obviously done and heading out. We hopped out of the our beloved MPV and made a move towards the cars for sale. He said hello and asked what we were looking for. We explained what we wanted and he pointed us towards several vehicles and said, "Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to help you out. I'll be right over there if you need me. Take all the time you need." The dude couldn't have been more congenial and laid back. It was great.

Besides the expected Honda Odysseys, they had the following on their lot; Subaru Forester, Honda Pilot, Acura MDX, Honda Element, Honda CR-V, Toyota Sienna, Kia Soul, Ford Escape, Honda Fit, Subaru Outback, Scion xB, BMW X3, GMC Acadia, GMC Terrain, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Veracruz, Mitsubishi Outlander and Toyota Highlander, as well as several other cars that helped move the discussion along.

A couple of things jumped right out; most of the vehicles had bumpers that were too high to clear comfortably. Our Mazda MPV's bumper is 21" off the ground and, with my hand-dandy tape measure, we could see right off the bat that many of the vehicles that we were looking at were well over that, especially the SUVs.

Side entry was also an issue, especially on vehicles where the seats folded down. That combined with conventional-opening doors made the space too narrow and awkward.

Several of the vehicles, like the Honda CR-V for example, were not bad but the interior volume of space would be just right but leave no stretch-out room. It was established that we didn't want to go backwards in that regard, even though it would most likely have meant better mpg and sportier handling.

The Honda Element was particularly interesting because it seemed to be a great compromise. But the more we played with the doors, the less we liked it. It seems that the market agrees with us, with the cancellation of this model, but for us it made the process of opening the doors too fiddly, with the worry that while we were messing with opening and closing the multiple parts we'd be increasing the odds of puppy escape and bad things ensuing.

So it kept coming back to the ultimate enclosed utility vehicles - the minivans. There's just no getting around the interior volume, basement level step-in height and seating flexibility. We have a winner...well, we've now established what we want. Now we've got to figure out which one!