Minivan ok for Gatlinburg Mtns?
 

In late Oct we are driving from Florida to Gatlinburg. There will be 4 adults-two are senior citizens and we want them to have leg room. Considering renting a minivan 7 passenger,6 cylinder. Will this have trouble climbing mountains with 4 adults in it? Would it be better to rent a luxury car? 8cyl? Live in FLorida so don't know much about mountain driving. Appreciate your advice-rented a cabin on Roaring Fork Rd. Is that a nice area? Thanks for your time.

You'll be fine in a 6 cylinder car. Even a 4 cylinder would be okay since speed limit in the Smokies is 45 mph. With all the leaf peepers you'll be lucky to do that. I'd go for the extra leg room. Have fun!

My wife and I were in that area in the fall of 04 with a 4 cylinder Caravan and had no problems. Can not help with the cabin, as we spend the nights in cheap hotels.

You'll be fine with the minivan. Have a great time!

You would even be OK in the Rockies. These are not huge mountains any more.

Jeff, I agree you will be fine with the minivan or any car but remember do not drive on your breaks for too long when driving down. If you feel you need to drive very slowly, just stop at any pull-offs to let others pass you. Have a great trip!

All the soccer moms in the area drive daily without any problems.

Thank you all for your help. Will get a minivan and pull over if slowing people down. In Florida, we have "Snowbirds" so am familiar with how driving slow in front of the locals can be hard to handle-:)

We rented a cabin on Roaring Fork Rd last October. The road is windy and goes straight up a mountain but it is a great location because you are in the woods. Your cabin may not be as far up the mountain as ours was so you may not have to deal with the windy road as much. Some cabins were definitely nicer than others but the views and location was nice. Better than staying in one of the 1960's type hotels directly in Gatlinburg I think because it is more private and you can enjoy the surroundings and get away from all the people in Gatlinburg. The mountains are beautiful. There were several of us and we used a van to get around and didn't have any problems. The Smokey Mtns NP is full of families in vans. By the way, if you plan on going out instead of cooking at your cabin make sure you make reservations for dinner or else you may find yourself with a 2 hour wait.

Thanks for the tips, never would have thought about the restaurant reservations.

The main road (441) (also called Newfound Gap Road) through the mountains is not real steep, just real curvy. Even for steeper roads, 6 cyl is going to be enough power. A tip for driving in the mountains, to avoid a lot of stress on your brakes when going down a mountain, shift to a lower gear. If it has a four speed transmission, shift from D to 3 or 2 depending on the steepness/size of the hill. Or it is it a 3 speed, shift from D to 2. This is for a automatic transmission. You can do this while you are moving, just be under 40-45 mph when you do it. This way the lower gear helps slow you down and you are not relying on totally on your brakes. Usually a sign will tell you before you get to a downhill, to switch to a lower gear.

My kids zoom around in little 4 cylinder Civics all the time with no problems - probably often over passenger capacity, but some things we're better off not knowing!:)

You'll be fine as long as you stick to the paved roads.

Thanks again for the driving tips

the mountains in the smokys are big, but not THAT big. you'd be fine in any kind of car/van

We were in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg mountains a few years ago, with a mini van. We had no problems. We had a great time. Hope you have fun.