I was one of those people who never wanted a minivan. In fact, I told everyone I knew that I would never ever ever get one. I'm eating those words now, as I'm on my 2nd Ford Windstar, and I love it! When I was pregnant with our 3rd child, my husband's car died completely, so we were forced into getting a new car. After shopping around a bit, we went to see my husband's uncle who sells Fords, with the intent of getting an Explorer. Uncle Steve convinced us to try the Windstar instead, and that was it. I initially loved the ride, and liked the thought of the extra room it had compared to an SUV. After 2 years the lease was up, so we traded it in last January for a 2000, and I'm even happier than I was before.

We looked at other minivans (before settling on the Explorer, lol), and what I love most about the Fords is the amount of space between the far back seat and the back bumper. In some that I looked at, it seemed only a couple inches separated my child and the car behind him. That made me nervous. But in the Ford, with the back seat all the way back, I can still lay down my large stroller without hitting the hatch. I also like that both back seats slide forward and backward, allowing for lots of different leg room choices. The 2000 has a couple new features too, like the automatic sliding door. It opens from your keys, from a button inside the door, and also from a button at the drivers seat. This has come in handier than I ever expected it to. Another neat feature is that by using headphones in the back, you and your kids can listen to two different medias, like a radio station for you and the CD player for your kids. I can't wait to use this on vacation! It has a large gas tank (26 gallons) and dual controls for the air conditioning. And there is tons of room for all our sports and music equipment.

I highly recommend this van for any family, especially those whose kids are involved in any kind of activity.