Regular vs Max - Driveability vs Capacity???

[JasonH]

I bought one used car with the intention of driving it for a long time.

It got flooded one year later.

It was the last new car I ever bought after I saw the depreciation hit.

A wreck, a flood, sudden financial emergency...anything can make that depreciation all too real.

 

[byathread]

I went with a MAX with the captains chairs, drove a short one, it's still the same width/huge/etc. Turning radius is wicked on either coming from an Access Cab Tacoma. We didn't consider getting anything smaller w/4 kids. It holds plenty and pulls the shit out of the TT.

That being said, I put my wife, her mother, my 4 kids and my 2 nieces in our 2013 Odyssey this AM w/luggage, 2 coolers, 2 car seats, 1 booster, and a jogging stroller. It fits more people/crap than the MAX and preserves the rear view mirror sight-line. If I had a 8 passenger, the MAX would've needed a roof top carrier for a 3 night trip for that crew if you want to see what is in the rear view mirror - I'll concede it doesn't matter much in some cases, but, I still prefer seeing behind me in all the mirrors.

3 kids would fit comfortably across the 2nd row (carseats/booster/etc.) of a regular one and you'd have a huge amount of space with the 3rd row down. Just a pain in the ass getting them in and out as well as the door dings from some wind or kids being kids getting in and out in close quarters.
If you end up with 3+ kids/routinely use it for people moving/travel and don't opt for a sliding door minivan, it's your ego not going with the common sense solution there. I could've bought almost 3 brand new minivans for the price of this beast! At the end of the day, it is preference. YMMV.

Good luck/happy shopping!

 

[scottdm]

Not sure what minivan you're looking at, but my wife's Sienna is about $50k with AWD and all the options, so you can't buy 3 for the price of an Expedition. Agree that the minivans still have better interior space utilization. I opted for the Expedition due to it's powertrain, size, crash safety, and modern tech. We'll probably replace the Sienna with either another Expedition or an F150 crew cab when the times comes.

 

[Paddler]

I went with a MAX with the captains chairs, drove a short one, it's still the same width/huge/etc. Turning radius is wicked on either coming from an Access Cab Tacoma. We didn't consider getting anything smaller w/4 kids. It holds plenty and pulls the shit out of the TT.

That being said, I put my wife, her mother, my 4 kids and my 2 nieces in our 2013 Odyssey this AM w/luggage, 2 coolers, 2 car seats, 1 booster, and a jogging stroller. It fits more people/crap than the MAX and preserves the rear view mirror sight-line. If I had a 8 passenger, the MAX would've needed a roof top carrier for a 3 night trip for that crew if you want to see what is in the rear view mirror - I'll concede it doesn't matter much in some cases, but, I still prefer seeing behind me in all the mirrors.

3 kids would fit comfortably across the 2nd row (carseats/booster/etc.) of a regular one and you'd have a huge amount of space with the 3rd row down. Just a pain in the ass getting them in and out as well as the door dings from some wind or kids being kids getting in and out in close quarters.
If you end up with 3+ kids/routinely use it for people moving/travel and don't opt for a sliding door minivan, it's your ego not going with the common sense solution there. I could've bought almost 3 brand new minivans for the price of this beast! At the end of the day, it is preference. YMMV.

Good luck/happy shopping!

Pretty silly post. My Expy was $58.5K out the door, with taxes, license, etc, no trade in. It will tow almost three times what a Sienna will. I doubt the Sienna will hold more, too.

 

[scottdm]

Pretty silly post. My Expy was $58.5K out the door, with taxes, license, etc, no trade in. It will tow almost three times what a Sienna will. I doubt the Sienna will hold more, too.

Sienna and Expedition both have different advantages based on how they are used. Sienna has 150 ft3 behind the 1st row, and Expedition Max has 121.5 ft3 behind 1st row. Regular Expedition has 104.6 ft3 behind 1st row. Minivans have more interior space since they are closer to the ground, but obviously the Expedition will tow way more, etc. I have currently have both a Sienna AWD and Regular length Expedition. If I have to throw a bunch of stuff in the back, the van is easier with a lower load floor and has a much taller dimension from floor to ceiling for tall items. I prefer driving the Expedition due to power, road presence, visibility, etc. Minivans are very practical, but we'll still likely replace the Sienna with another Expedition when it's time.

 

[Ray r]

Van vs expy. Safety first if you can afford it.

 

[JExpedition07]

Van vs expy. Safety first if you can afford it.

After my last Expedition held up colliding hard with a RAM 2500/ drunk driver and allowed me to walk away with no injuries I went out and bought another one.

I will say a full size van like an older E-350 is probably pretty stout. These new transit vans are a joke.

 

[Deadman]

After my last Expedition held up colliding hard with a RAM 2500/ drunk driver and allowed me to walk away with no injuries I went out and bought another one.

I will say a full size van like an older E-350 is probably pretty stout. These new transit vans are a joke.

Uni-body = Tin Can!

 

[scottdm]

Uni-body = Tin Can!

Guess the Explorer is a tin can then? Seems a bit short sighted....

 

[Deadman]

Guess the Explorer is a tin can then? Seems a bit short sighted....

Its still Uni-body....... My opinion, yep, Tin Can! I own a few tin can's, but I know they aren't built with a frame under them......

 

[JasonH]

If you end up with 3+ kids/routinely use it for people moving/travel and don't opt for a sliding door minivan, it's your ego not going with the common sense solution there. I could've bought almost 3 brand new minivans for the price of this beast! At the end of the day, it is preference. YMMV.

Good luck/happy shopping!

I agree. Our Expedition EL replaced our minivan because we needed to tow. But it's tough to beat a minivan for packaging efficiency.

 

[JExpedition07]

Uni-body = Tin Can!

Nice beefy C-Channel frame on the E-Series vans along with 8 stud axles, no tin can unibody there lol

 

[Aspen03]

Having owned an expedition since only March I absolutely would get a Max/EL if buying new. We planned to purchase a 2012 EL but it turned out to be considerably less nice than the dealer let on. Ended up finding our 03 EB on the way home and the deal was good enough for now to overlook the loss of length. We will buy a 2nd Expy, an EL for sure probably first of the year or in the spring.

Having 4 kids we always use the 3rd row. The storage behind it is laughable for anything other than the basics. Our single stroller fits, if you slam the hatch on it and leaves room for a diaper bag and maybe a small bag from wherever you may be shopping. Fortunately we dont use the center middle seat and I have removed it for a walkway but it gives us a little extra space if needed. Even if we only had 2 kids I'm confident having the extra cargo room for whatever come up in life far outweighs the minimal difference in driveability. Even the "short" expy is a large vehicle and another couple feet is hardly noticeable, at least in the 2 I test drove. The full sized rear door, be it a small difference in width makes it a lot more natural for people to enter/exit from the 3rd row. Kids sometimes get tripped up by the hump there in the standard version.

 

[Joedirtyshirt]

I own a 2017 regular we had a Max for 2 weeks then bought my currant reg my wife thought we didn't need the max, which in FL. didn't have any problem piloting it any were, after owning reg for the second year about 19 times wished we had the max, I have a custom rack that we have used for extra cap. when needed, parking in a garage would be something to keep in mind other than that you could flip a coin which ever one turns you on when you drive it will make you happy, you will always say "I wish I had" either way, and by the way after 25,000 miles it still turns me on when ever I drive it

 

[Bill Schell]

I simply like the look of the MAX better. Also, being able to lay the back seats dead flat and have nearly 8 ft of space to use for an overnight sleep is a bonus.

 

[Deadman]

The regular length version looks neutered.... In my opinion.

 

[Shutterbug57]

The regular length version looks neutered.... In my opinion.

Remember the Gremlin ads???