If you’d never consider a van over an SUV, what Rutledge Wood says really cuts to the core of the issue.
When you come across new parents shopping for their first family vehicle, a phrase that often comes up is, “Anything but a van,” “You’ll never see me in a van,” and the like.
With oftentimes more interior space, a low loading floor, and huge sliding doors, vans are objectively easier to live with compared to SUVs when you’ve got to schlep around kids and their stuff.
But, why all the clichés and defaulting to SUVs?
What I recently heard from racing auto analyst and TV show Rutledge Wood really puts it into perspective.
Wood was recently on The Smoking Tire podcast and the topic segued into vans, how awesome they are, and how underrated it is as a family vehicle.
Wood is no stranger to vans and is unabashedly a proponent of them, his latest family vehicle being a Toyota Sienna.
“I got three kids, Wood says. “…(and) there’s room for everybody. I’ve had three Siennas, and we had an Odyssey in 2008.”
“Mine, I put 20-inch bronze wheels on it, changed the trim, tinted the windows, and dude, it feels like a Lexus.”
Here’s Woods van below.
Only @RutledgeWood would own a #Sienna this cool. #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/51EvZWMBbB
— Toyota Racing (@ToyotaRacing) March 30, 2022
Then, what Wood said next re Vans vs SUVs really stuck with me.
“I love having that minivan versus SUV talk with people because it’s so simple to me. It really boils down to, do you actually care what your neighbor thinks about what you drive because if you don’t, it’s a non-starter.”
“If you’ve got two kids, get a minivan and never look back.”
Co-Host Zack Klapman added in an important exception to the Vans vs. SUVs debate.
“If you go camping or do any light off-roading frequently, because that’s the only advantage is the ground clearance…”
Klapman also brings up a good point that,
“(or) is it just that, when we were kids, the image of someone driving something practical was offensive. The same way, there’s a generation that won’t drive wagons, but they’ll drive crossovers (a lifted wagon)…We look at our parents, boring parents had minivans. We didn’t think they were cool. Ever.”
Both Wood and Klapman, I think, sums up what’s underneath why 80 percent of people default to SUVs.
They don’t want to be seen as one of those boring parents who’s stereotypically “given up” on life and, instead, wants to be portrayed as independent, adventurous, and spontaneous. And, oh, they happen to have kids, too.
Also, deep down, they may think vans are just…boring simply because their parents drove them.
If what Wood and Klapman said resonates with you, it’s worth giving vans a chance.
You’ll probably find they’re infinitely better living with day-to-day if you’ve got kids and, if you can put aside not wanting to become your parents, you’ll realize why your parents got a van to begin with; vans have superior utility.
