I tell people this all the time and they probably think I'm nuts. But hey, I'm a 48 year old married dad. I'm no longer sporty and driving something else isn't going to fool anyone other than myself. The advantages over a truck or SUV: Better gas mileage, lower initial cost, lower property taxes, lower insurance, cheaper tires. They handle fine in bad weather and snow even without 4WD. You have a lower lift height when loading and unloading pins. I can carry two pins and more with no worries about rain or them getting messed with. Pinball is my business and a van fits my needs for my family and business better than anything I can imagine.

Interesting. Before getting my '13 Odyssey I drove a Caravan and one of my biggest complaints about it was how it shifted compared to my '02 Odyssey. The Caravan had more power than my '02 Odyssey and was quicker, but I could't get used to how it shifted when driving around town in the week that I drove it. I may have gotten used to it, and it wasn't the only thing that killed my interest in the Caravan, but it was a big point of consideration.

I know that even if the Odyssey and Pacifica have the same transmission, they could shift differently due to how the manufacturers program them, so it isn't a guarantee that they'd drive the similarly. But if the Pacifica shifted more like the Odyssey than the Caravan did it would be a bonus in my opinion.

I use my van for work too and I'll probably be looking for another next year. I currently have an EX-L and went with it for the same reasons you did. I use my phone for navigation and a DVD player was already old news in 2013 let alone 2018. My kids don't care about DVDs (or Blu-ray) anymore so no reason to spend the money on that option.

My kids are getting to the age that a van isn't as necessary as it was in 2013. So I was thinking I could go with something like a Transit that is more utilitarian and a lot cheaper. But I'm kind of concerned about the Transit's reliability compared to the Odyssey. My location owners have a Transit and it has given them a ton of problems with the transmission. I'd rather spend more for the Odyssey and know I can drive it for 6-10 years and it won't break.

I'm actually thinking next year I may go with an EX instead of an EX-L. If I'm not mistaken the EX doesn't have a moon roof. I never use the moon roof and I'd prefer it wan't there, so not having it is a bonus for me. I like the leather seats in the EX-L, but I could do without them. The main thing I'd really miss on the EX-L is the power liftgate. Man I love that. But for the price difference between the EX and the EX-L I could probably live without it. There is one company that makes an aftermarket power liftgate, but I'm not sure I'd want to trust it. Seems like things like that often don't work all that good.