Well I'm doing it - downsizing to a vehicle about 1/4 the size!!

[StaceyinLA]

I may be slightly exaggerating; could be 1/3 the size.

 

I've been debating about trading in my Yukon on something small now that my daughter and her husband (and 3 kids) have become a 2-car family (and yay for that after them sharing a car for 6 years). I have needed something big enough to carry her and her kids around, as well as travel with them, so I have been driving the beast.

 

Small SUVs are just so darn cute, and I was really wanting to downsize, so I went a drove a few from my short list, and brought home a Chevy Trax to test out. I'm going back this morning to make it official.

 

EEEKK! I am pretty nervous, excited, etc., but it's gonna be nice to have something brand new (I got a new 2016 because it had a 5,000 rebate), with all kinds of up-to-date goodies.

Edited December 2, 2016 by StaceyinLA

[Guest]

I went from driving a 15 passenger van to a Ford Fiesta tiny little thing. We joked that you could drive the Fiesta into the back of the van. Seriously think you could do it!

[DawnM]

I drove a Sequoia for years.  We still have it, but my new (to me) car is a Prius.  

 

I thought I would hate sitting down low, but I don't!  

[Sarah CB]

I'm so jealous! I've been driving a Dodge Grand Caravan for over ten years. Two years ago I almost went with a Honda Fit, but realized I was still in the mini-van stage of my life so I ended up with another Caravan. Someday...

[happypamama]

I went from driving a 15 passenger van to a Ford Fiesta tiny little thing. We joked that you could drive the Fiesta into the back of the van. Seriously think you could do it!

I frequently go between my 12 passenger Ford van and DH's tiny Ford Focus. It's a strange feeling. And I'm sure the van could haul the Focus.

[Happy]

I'm so jealous! I've been driving a Dodge Grand Caravan for over ten years. Two years ago I almost went with a Honda Fit, but realized I was still in the mini-van stage of my life so I ended up with another Caravan. Someday...

I was a minivan mama for 23 years. I bought a cute and clever Camry a few years ago. (Back up camera, blue tooth, and a sun roof!)

 

I love my Camry. I love the gas mileage, the great back seat room, and all the toys. What I miss is being able to go to Costco (Home Depot, Lowes or any other store) and buy the BIG thing and get it home. Or pack for a beach trip with room to spare. I miss that seriously. I also miss having seven seat belts for when the whole family gets here.

 

By this time next year (God willing) I will pass my car along to someone else in the family and get me an Edge or Explorer or a Highlander or....something will a little more cargo space. Maybe an F150 super cab if I'm feeling ornery enough.

 

What I want is a Tardis---small on the outside, expansive on the inside.

Edited December 2, 2016 by Happy

[Garga]

Oooo!  I dream of the day when I can buy little cars again.  I was always a little car person (because they are cheaper than big cars) and then had the kids and got the mini van.  

 

Don't get me wrong, the mini van is great.  Lots and lots of room.  Comfy.  The van I have is particularly well-made in regards to roominess inside.  But I still dream of having a small car that fits into all those little parallel parking spots. 

[Wheres Toto]

I went from driving a 15 passenger van to a Ford Fiesta tiny little thing. We joked that you could drive the Fiesta into the back of the van. Seriously think you could do it!

 

I'm pretty sure we could have driven our old Honda Civic into the back of our Suburban if we folded the mirrors in.  :laugh:

 

My mother is constantly worried about things fitting when we offer to move things for her.  She doesn't understand how big the Suburban actually is.  We can lay a full size mattress down flat and have room to spare.  We moved a love seat with the back closed.  We moved 6 foot x 4 foot garage cabinets with the back closed.

 

Sometimes it's great having a huge vehicle.  Other times (parking!) it stinks.

[Laura Corin]

I frequently go between my 12 passenger Ford van and DH's tiny Ford Focus. It's a strange feeling. And I'm sure the van could haul the Focus.

That makes me laugh. A Ford Focus Hatchback is a mid-sized family car in the UK. Nothing tiny about it.

 

http://www.whatcar.com/family

 

But I don't think I've ever seen a 12 seat van being used by a family here.

Edited December 2, 2016 by Laura Corin

[G5052]

I drive a Honda Odyssey. With our youngest graduating and going to school locally, we'll probably let her drive it to college and then help her buy her own at some point. It's a perfectly good vehicle, but has been a bit beat up inside and out.

 

I'm thinking of a Toyota RAV4. Not tiny, but still smaller. I need a 4-wheel drive vehicle periodically and will still be hauling stuff from Home Depot and Costco.

[gardenmom5]

it's not that small.

 

I would drive dh's miata after driving my mini-van - I felt like a bug that was squashed on the pavement.

[Lizzie in Ma]

I can't wait for that day! 

[MEmama]

 

But I don't think I've ever seen a 12 seat van being used by a family here.

I've lived in the US most of my life and I haven't either.

[Hilltopmom]

I just went from a 12 seater to a mini van & it feels tiny!

 

It is actually just enough space for us now, unless we road trip camping, then we need 2 cars.

 

I have a lot of friends with 12 seaters, but we all have 5--10 kids ;)

Edited December 3, 2016 by Hilltopmom

[StaceyinLA]

I see lots of 15-passenger vans around here. We know quite a few really large families.

 

I actually considered going back to a minivan just for the seating in case there would ever be a reason I needed to seat a dd and her kids or more of the grandkids at once, whatever, but I realized I just don't want to drive something every day that is a "just in case," vehicle. Unless I drove a 15-passenger van, we'd always have to take 2 cars somewhere if we went as a group anyway.

 

When I pulled up in it, my husband said, "I knew you wanted to go small, but I wasn't thinking THAT small." Of course I knew if I was going to downsize, I wanted it to be a noticeable difference in gas mileage/costs for sure, because that alone compensates for half the payment.

 

I also REALLY wanted all the tech gadgets. I am a geek about that stuff. I love that I have all those fun goodies, and I have that cool Chevy app that will remote start my vehicle, lock and unlock it, tell me when I need an oil change, if my tires need air, etc. I love all that useless stuff (well, not useless, but unnecessary). ;-p

 

She's a blast to drive! I have to come up with a good name for her. I always called my Yukon "The Beast," and I'm thinking she might have to be "The Barbie Car," but not quite sure yet. Any suggestions? LOL

Edited December 4, 2016 by StaceyinLA

[happypamama]

That makes me laugh. A Ford Focus Hatchback is a mid-sized family car in the UK. Nothing tiny about it.

 

http://www.whatcar.com/family

 

But I don't think I've ever seen a 12 seat van being used by a family here.

The Focus was our family car for a while. We couldn't go for the next size down because it would have been too cramped for my tall DH, plus when we got it, we needed to be able to put a booster, a toddler seat, and an infant seat across the back. The Focus does all of that quite well and is surprisingly roomy, although it has four doors (didn't want to mess with an infant and two doors). But when we had our fourth, we had to go to something else for the family, so we went minivan. And then when it died, DH really pushed for the 12 passenger van because we had five kids by then, so the minivan was already at capacity, and we are looking at having a bunch of tall teenage boys like DH, and for a week's trip, the minivan was really crammed full. I initially wasn't sure I wanted to drive something that big around just for the few times we really needed the capacity, but honestly? I'm glad we got it. It holds so much so easily, we can carry friends and family easily, and I only drive it about once a week, occasionally twice, so that helps with the gas hoggage. It scoffs at a week's worth of groceries for my crew. :P And now that baby number six is expected in a few months, I'm really glad we went with it because even though I know some minivans can hold eight, we will have a booster and three harnessed seats, and that would be rather tight on my tween and teen, especially since when we are in it, it's at least 15 miles anywhere. (Plus, the eight seater minivans were the same price -- they have more bells and whistles than my big van.). But it all depends on lifestyle -- we live rurally, long drives and no public transportation, and we see the full size vans pretty regularly.

[LucyStoner]

One of my best friends grew up with a 12 passenger van. They only had 4 kids but got it because they often had 4+ extra kids riding along. Also, the mom said she liked being able to put them each in their own row so they weren't bugging each other. And it was apparently cheaper than a minivan was back in the very early days of minivans.

 

That van saw a lot, including hauling me and my friends to camp. Later on when we were all young adults it was parked out front and it moved every one of us more than once. We also used it for a Santa mobile when delivering a lot of gift baskets to families.

 

When that van finally died, we nearly held a memorial service. 😂

[Jenny in Florida]

That makes me laugh. A Ford Focus Hatchback is a mid-sized family car in the UK. Nothing tiny about it.

 

I'm amused, too.

 

The "small SUV" looks huge to me. My mom car, which I got specifically for the purpose of being able to haul around my two teens and their adult-sized friends, was a Scion xB.

 

Now that I'm done with that phase of my life, I treated myself to a cute just-for-me car, a Chevy Spark. It has four doors and seats four, although I wouldn't want to put two adults I actually liked in the back seat for more than running around town. It also has the fun, techy goodies the larger vehicles have. Powerful it isn't, but it's zippy enough for the to and from work commuting and errands I spend most of my driving time doing. So far, I really love it.

 

I'm always a bit surprised at how surprised others are by its size. I've had more than one person since I bought it tell me they "could never drive anything that tiny." My favorite example of that was at the gas station the other day. The clerk commented on how she would "feel like she was in a go-cart" in a car that small. I just smiled and pre-paid the $15 to fill the tank.

[fraidycat]

I frequently go between my 12 passenger Ford van and DH's tiny Ford Focus. It's a strange feeling. And I'm sure the van could haul the Focus.

It does feel weird! I drive an Expedition, Dh drives a C-Max for commuting. When I have to drive the C-max, I feel like I'm dragging my butt on the street. Lol

Edited December 4, 2016 by fraidycat

[StaceyinLA]

What I like about the Trax is that it is a bit higher than a car. It's basically a Chevy Cruze jacked up. ;-p

 

I don't think I could go to a car because I like not dropping down into the seat, but the Trax is a really good height for me. It's not quite as "level" as getting into my dd's van, but I don't drop down into the seat like I would in a car. I still get the feel of being a little higher.

 

I like the compact and subcompact SUVs, although I feel like a lot of the compacts are really pretty good sized; maybe that's why they're making subcompacts.

[Guest]

I just went from a 12 seater to a mini van & it feels tiny!

 

It is actually just enough space for us now, unless we road trip camping, then we need 2 cars.

 

I have a lot of friends with 12 seaters, but we all have 5--10 kids ;)

Ditto. It's really common around here compared to when I lived in Southern California, at least :)

 

Even though we have a big old Nissan NV and an only slightly smaller suburban, my husband drives a tiny Saturn and has for years, so when we drive in that it always feels a lot smaller. I prefer the smaller cars whenever we can swing it but it's rare we travel apart when the kids are home so I'm usually stuck with the mommy van.

Edited December 5, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[Hilltopmom]

Ditto. It's really common around here compared to when I lived in Southern California, at least :)

 

Even though we have a big old Nissan NV and an only slightly smaller suburban, my husband drives a tiny Saturn and has for years, so when we drive in that it always feels a lot smaller. I prefer the smaller cars whenever we can swing it but it's rare we travel apart when the kids are home so I'm usually stuck with the mommy van.

Yeah, we just sold our NV... I kinda miss, but yet don't miss it ;). I can't drive carpool anymore though. My own kids mostly fill the minivan.

[StaceyinLA]

Well it's definitely gonna take a little getting used to. My grandson and I went to Trader Joe's yesterday, and I was wondering if all my groceries would fit in the back.

 

I'm pleased to say that it appears the cargo area will hold appx 8 filled TJs/Whole Foods bags. On Costco days, we may have to take my daughter's Yukon. ;-p