I have 3 children and a minivan. We bought the minivan not strictly because 3 carseats won't fit across the 2nd row of most reasonably large cars (there's a ni

I have 3 children and a minivan. We bought the minivan not strictly because 3 carseats won't fit across the 2nd row of most reasonably large cars (there's a niche market for narrow carseats, see Diono brand) but because: 1. with 3 kids we have to transport a whole lot of stuff when we travel and minivans have more weatherproof storage space than most other vehicles 2. a minivan is super functional for transporting things which aren't humans (it's effectively an 8 foot covered bed pickup with the rear seats removed). I brought a twin sized box spring home from the store inside the van *WITH* 2 kids in the middle row this past weekend, try that in most SUVs. 3. the sliding doors are SOOOO much nicer to use in tight parking spots for loading/unloading 4. minivans get as good or better fuel economy as compared to larger SUVs 5. minivans cost less than many SUVs to own and operate