Has your family started to cram into the old sedan like a pack

of sardines? Have members of the neighborhood car pool begun to

look suspiciously at your battered station wagon? Perhaps it’s

time to retire the old family car and move up to a bigger

vehicle. Often, the choice for a more spacious family vehicle

is a toss-up between a sport utility vehicle (SUV) and a

minivan. Both offer flexible passenger and cargo areas,

comfortable seating for five to eight persons, and rear-seat

entertainment systems. Although the SUV has a slightly higher

risk for rollovers than minivans do, both are equipped with

similar safety features, such as air bags and anti-lock brake

systems. So, which one deserves to park in your family garage?

To come up with the right choice, you need to look at how the

vehicle’s styling, fuel economy, passenger and cargo space,

towing capacity, and safety will suit your family’s needs and

lifestyle.

Styling

More than a matter of need, a vehicle’s styling is a matter of

personal preference. The SUV usually wins out over the minivan

when it comes to appearance. With its rugged, sporty styling,

an SUV oozes urban cool, unlike the minivan, which is

perpetually associated with soccer moms and suburban

neighborhood carpools. Most men would recoil at the thought of

driving a minivan, so if your husband would be sharing driving

duties, you might have to talk it out with him. Likewise, many

teenagers wouldn’t be caught dead stepping out of a minivan, so

if you’d be using the vehicle mainly to drop off and pick up

your adolescent children from school, you’d have to consider

their preferences, too.

Fuel economy

Minivans give better mileage than SUVs, which have a reputation

for being gas guzzlers. If you want to squeeze more miles out of

the gasoline tank, then a minivan would make a more economic

choice than an SUV. Other ownership costs, such as maintenance

and insurance, also tend to be higher for SUVs than minivans.

Unless you’re willing to pay the price for being cool and

stylish, the practical minivan is the way to go.

Passenger and cargo space

Sport utility vehicles and minivans have comparable passenger

and cargo space, but the roomy interiors of a minivan can be a

delight to young kids. Unlike SUVs, minivans also have a low

step-in height, so they’re easier for kids to climb into.

Minivans’ large picture windows afford young passengers a

better view of the passing scenery, therefore keeping your

impatient young ones amused for a good part of the ride.

Towing capacity

If you own a boat and like to take the entire brood for weekend

sailing retreats, then an SUV would make an appropriate choice.

SUVs have superior towing capacities, enabling them to pull

practically anything between a trailer and a small boat.

Otherwise, if you’re only schlepping groceries and your kid’s

soccer team, then there’s no reason to overlook the minivan.

Safety

Although both have comparable safety features, SUVs have a

higher rollover risk than minivans. SUV devotees counter this

by pointing out that rollovers account for only three percent

of all traffic accidents and claiming that SUVs offer excellent

passenger protection in two-car collisions. It remains to be

seen whether this supposed collision safety factor outweighs

the risk of rollovers. If the threat of rollover accidents

keeps you awake at night, then a minivan could give you a

little peace of mind.