Actually, not true. Many of the minivans I've had (through my parents) and looked at don't get any better gas mileage than a small SUV (both tend to get low to mid twenties), and they're actually not as safe as a lot of people think (that isn't to say they're unsafe, but they aren't the stalwarts of family safety that people think they are). Minivans don't have 4 wheel drive, and most of them have undersized wheels for a full complement of passengers. Every time I've driven a minivan it's been full of kids, and I don't like the boaty/swaying feel they have when there's a lot of people in the car.

For MPG comparison, the 2009 Ford Escape (not Hybrid) rates at 22/28 (city/highway) and the 2009 Honda CR-V rates at 20/27. A 2009 Grand Caravan rates at 17/23. 2009 Honda Odyssey, 17/25. 2009 Toyota Sienna, 17/23, which is even under the 2009 Toyota Highlander at 20/27.

We aren't going to buy a brand new vehicle, but the preponderance of evidence points to the suv size we're looking at being a better mileage vehicle than the minivans. I can't find a "small" minivan to do a true apples to apples comparison, and I know something like the Ford Expedition, which possibly is more comparable in terms of interior space, might be a better comparison for the sake of fairness, but we're looking at our needs at this point, so hey.

I'm opposed to the idea of getting a sedan because we already have one. I don't want to have two of essentially the same car, because part of the benefit of multiple vehicles is multi-use. We've looked at a few wagons already that are okay, but haven't blown me away.