Car Advice Needed

[lexi]

We have to upgrade to a passenger van now that we are expecting a new baby.

I’ve driven several different vans and like the ford transit the best.

 

There are two vans currently available in my area:

 

Both are 12 passenger vans and have similar features with just s few differences.

 

One is white and has the sliding door.

The other is silver and has the double doors that open instead of a sliding door.

 

I really would prefer anycolor except white because it looks so commercial. Yuck!

However, I thought I would prefer the sliding door.

 

My concern is that this door is huge and very heavy. It is hard to shut on an incline.

 

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the two door van. We’re going to test drive it tomorrow. I’m wondering if these doors would be easier for us. Plus I love that the van is not white. Will my kids be banging every car next to us when we park and open the door? Or will two smaller doors be better?

 

So, what does the hive think? Will I be sad I don’t have a sliding door on my van? Or will I hate how heavy the sliding door is?

 

Help me think this through!

 

We have to decide within a week because our old van has sold and is being picked up soon.

[ashfern]

We have the 12 passenger Chevy van with the sliding door. I prefer the slider. Yes, it's white which is my 2nd least favorite color for a vehicle. If we had one with doors I  know that my kids would fling the door open because that's what they do in the car.  :glare:  The only issue we have with the slider is the two youngest can't open it from the outside. The youngest is too short and the next kiddo isn't strong enough. They have no problems opening it from inside.

[Free Indeed]

I prefer the double doors on my big van. The opening and closing was never an issue- and I liked that I could use them as a “privacy shield†when a little one had to go to the bathroom- we carried a training potty in the van for emergencies and park usage when they were little.

[lexi]

I do worry about the sliding door. My kids found it hard to open from the inside and from the outside.

 

But I also worry about them flinging open the doors. Ugh!

 

We’ll be keeping his car for a very long time (hopefully) so I want to like it. 😬

[lexi]

We literally just got a new vehicle a few days ago. Vans were a maybe for us, but we ended up with a Pathfinder. Might want to consider other vehicles to expand your list?

I need a car to seat a minimum of 9 people. So passenger vans are really our only option. We’re looking at 12 passenger models. This will give us a seat for each of us and room for family or friends. We’ve already outgrown our 8 passenger mini van. So I’m pretty much stuck with a passenger van. Or maybe a small school bus! Lol

[lexi]

We have the 12 passenger Chevy van with the sliding door. I prefer the slider. Yes, it's white which is my 2nd least favorite color for a vehicle. If we had one with doors I know that my kids would fling the door open because that's what they do in the car. :glare: The only issue we have with the slider is the two youngest can't open it from the outside. The youngest is too short and the next kiddo isn't strong enough. They have no problems opening it from inside.

So I have to know your least favorite car color now! Curious minds want to know! Do tell!

 

I won’t drive a red or yellow car and I really really don’t like white cars. I prefer silver or gray because they look the least dirty with the snow and rain we get.

[ashfern]

So I have to know your least favorite car color now! Curious minds want to know! Do tell!

 

I won’t drive a red or yellow car and I really really don’t like white cars. I prefer silver or gray because they look the least dirty with the snow and rain we get.

 

Least favorite is black. The interiors get so hot in the summer and the exterior looks dirty almost as soon as it's washed. Second least favorite is white because they are so hard to keep clean. I love the metallic colors because when they are clean they are super shiny and when they are dirty they just look like a matte finish.

[Junie]

OP, I have a silver van nearly identical to the one you're describing.  :)

 

Our other choice was white and I hated it because I didn't want to drive a "commuter van".  We paid a few hundred extra to get the silver and I have never regretted it.

 

When we were buying our van, there were no vans with sliding doors available.  I think that I would have gone with the double doors because my kids would not have been able to open the slider or they would have closed it too fast and squished someone.