Suburban Dad Vacation: The Family Vote

OK, we’ll let the passengers vote on the Sprinter using the categories we used last summer: looks, comfort, entertainment options and roominess. Here’s how it fared among the six family members voting:

Looks
I suspect that for most people, the Sprinter’s looks are polarizing. I liked the tall shape, the long lines and the interior. I suspect other people see it as a monolith. For me, I could appreciate the function over form, and I didn’t see it as boring or dull, which is often how these kinds of vans can be seen. I grew up driving a Ford 10-seater van, and I thought this was much more attractive. My kids liked the looks of it less: “They’re pretty awful-looking,” my daughter volunteered as she gave its looks a lowly, single point. Her mom and I each gave the Sprinter a 4 on looks.

Family vote: 19 out of 30 possible points (each person ranked on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being lowest and 5 being highest)

Suburban Dad Vacation: Is it Like Driving a Bus?

I have to admit, when I saw the Dodge Sprinter in my driveway I was intimidated by its size. In some ways it was smaller than the van I had been picturing in my mind, but in person it stood awfully tall and was verrryyy long. I asked myself, “What have you gotten yourself into?”

I needn’t have worried. The Sprinter is a more-than-capable travel van, one that took my family (and a couple of extended family members) to upstate New York and back in style and comfort. Sure, there were a few things we’d have changed, but all in all I wouldn’t hesitate to rent one of these for another long road trip.

Suburban Dad Vacation: Packing Up a Dodge Sprinter

Join Suburban Dad and family as they take a weeklong trip from the Chicago area to upstate New York and beyond. Can they fit eight people (including three adults, three teens and two small kids), plus all their luggage, drinks, snacks, games and more into a 2009 Dodge Sprinter as they head for a family reunion? Watch the video to see how quickly they make it happen, and. Then check back each day this week for updates on the trip.

2009 Kia Borrego: Spring Break Part 2

The 2009 Kia Borrego definitely had a big leg up in the technology department over my aging 2004 Sedona. Our spring break tester came with a navigation system and both USB and auxiliary input jacks for MP3 players. Given that I’m a true iPod nut, this was great news.

2009 Kia Borrego: Spring Break Part 1

In one of the Suburban Dad’s annual traditions, spring break is time for a family vacation. This year, we headed to Southern California for a week and lined up a brand-new 2009 Kia Borrego as our mode of ground transportation.

As a longtime Kia driver (I bought my Sedona back in 2004), I was eager to try out the 2009 Borrego and see how Kia’s entry in the three-row SUV segment compared to the Sedona as a family-hauler. The Borrego feels fresher in many ways, but in crucial areas my wife, kids and I definitely prefer the Sedona.

First off, I loved the look of the Borrego. Painted a dark blue, it says truck-based SUV in a way that will definitely appeal to a lot of men, though my wife liked it, too. Inside, the interior is attractive, with soft-touch surfaces in and around the dash. The leather seats were very comfortable and supportive, and visibility was great.

2010 Lincoln MKT vs. Ford Flex: Suburban Dad

I've been a fan of the Flex ever since it won top honors on our Vacation Blogging trip last summer. My family and I found it roomy, nicely appointed and filled with lots of tech features to make long drives more than bearable. That drove my interest in the Lincoln MKT, and I have to say that, for two cars that share the same platform, they sure look very different from each other.

Suburban Dad and the Econobox Invasion

As a dad of two teens, I'm always interested in new cars that may appeal to them. Here in L.A., Nissan and Kia rolled out two new versions of what we used to call, not so charitably, econoboxes. With all the safety advances now required, very few cars are true econoboxes today (just look at their MSRPs), but Nissan's Cube and Kia's Soul are built to take on Scion's xB, already in its second generation.

Of the two, I think I like the Kia better for my kids. (Full disclosure, I own a Kia Sedona). That doesn't mean I think it's necessarily the better of the two, but I think that, given the likely costs of each car, what they offer, and a comparison of features and interiors, the nod goes to the Kia.

Suburban Dad: And the Vacation Winner Is...

After more than 2,500 miles, the votes are in and tabulated. My wife and I, along with our three kids, have finished our 15 days on the road, going from Chicago to Rochester, N.Y., then Gettysburg, Pa.; Washington, D.C.; Burlington, N.C.; and home again. We made the journey in four three-row SUVs, including a Ford Flex, Dodge Journey, Mazda CX-9 and Honda Pilot, and each was as idiosyncratic as my kids.

First, we'll take a look at the stats from our trip, which seems a lot longer on paper than it did in person:

• 2,706 miles over 15 days
• 50 hours (more or less) behind the wheel
• 145 gallons of gas
• $568.75 spent on gas
• Average gas mileage of 18.67 mpg (which, frankly, is higher than I expected)
• $3.49 a gallon was the cheapest gas price we saw (and paid) on our trip, and that was in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
• $4.39 a gallon was the highest gas price we saw (and didn't pay, though it wasn’t far from the cheapest gas around) in Washington, D.C.

Now, here’s how each of the cars fared in different categories:

2009 Honda Pilot Packing and Gas Mileage

Now that Leg 4 of the trip is complete, and we can take a look at how the Pilot fared on mileage and packing. Here’s the damage for the 2009 Honda Pilot Touring:

• 882.9 miles of driving, the longest of the four legs
• 17 hours (split over five days)
• An average of 18.56 mpg
• Roughly 48 gallons of gas consumed
• Average cost of $3.84 a gallon
• Total fuel cost: $182.72
• Highest gas price seen on this leg: $4.05 a gallon in Bolingbrook, Ill. (suburban Chicago)
• Lowest gas price: $3.53 a gallon in Wyethville, Va.

That mileage number makes the Pilot competitive with the other three cars on our vacation, although it clearly had the biggest profile of all four. Only about 80 miles were driven in city traffic, so I didn’t break that mileage out.

Suburban Dad's Vacation Manifesto

A while back, I listed features that every new car should have. Now here’s a list of things that really frost me (and my family) during our trip.

1. Dishonest interstate signs. You know those gas/food/hotel signs that line every interstate in this country? OK, here’s the rule: If a gas station or restaurant wants to be displayed on one of those signs, it has to be no more than a mile in either direction from the exit. No more of that “3.2 miles to the right” baloney. If it can’t be seen from the end of the exit ramp, no dice. I’ve wasted too much gas trying to find these phantom stops.