From my own experiences with two kids..... I had a minivan when each of them were in the baby and toddler stage. It's simply the most practical vehicle when it came to dealing with family stuff. We also had a sedan that had a separate baby seat of its own. But, we were always drawn to the minivan despite having lower gas mileage and higher fuel costs. For us, the practicality was more important than fuel costs.

But, different people have different priorities. So, I speak only for me.