by Tina Haapala

Created on: September 12, 2009   Last Updated: November 04, 2009

The lease is up on my car soon, so I need to decide the next step. My husband and I live in a small city. His twin boys stay with us on weekends and a good chunk of the summertime. Over the past few years, we've taken to traveling quite a bit. We've taken two-day road trips to get to Florida the last few summers with the boys. We also take road trips by ourselves.

My husband asked me to consider a van for my next vehicle.

"It would be great for our road trips," he said.

Now, looking at the 2010 Honda Odyssey, I'm not sure if it's for me:

Size: 90% of the time I wouldn't have a passenger. Seating for up to eight would be excessive. And, I hate to be a clich, but backing into a parking space is challenging enough in my car. Yes, the Touring model has back-up sensors, but that model would be out of my price range, anyway.

V6 engine: I don't need something that powerful to drag me and my groceries around. Besides, I've been spoiled with the great fuel savings of a smaller engine. For highway, it's not bad, but I would be usually using it for short trips.

The Soccer Mom factor: No, it's not clunky or ugly by any means. And yes, many other thirty-somethings would think it was perfect. It would be for them, if they had kids living at home. "There's no baby seat in that van, that's odd," I imagine people saying.

My husband says I would get used to the size and come to enjoy the ride and the space, especially on those road trips. That may be the case. When I get past the researching online to the actual test drives, I may take one around the block. It would be nice not to have to limit my vacation wardrobe because of the constricting trunk space. And, anything to keep the kids happy on nine hour treks (like three movies in a row on the DVD players!) would be wonderful.

This van, and similar ones, like the Toyota Sienna, would be good for people who transport many people often. It has space and features that would be great for parents driving their kids and their kids' friends around. I'm not sure if my occasional summer trips with my "tween-aged" step kids justifies the luxury a van like this would provide. I would like to stay close to the same payment I've had with the lease the past four years. A slightly cramped travel experience a few times a year is not worth the additional expense every month for me.

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