What Minivan Should We Buy?

Love my Toyota Sienna!!!! My friend owns a Honda Odyssey and she says my Toyota is a tad bit bigger for cargo and a little more quieter on the road than hers. But Either one is a great choice. Test drive both and see which one you prefer.

Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna if you MUST buy a minivan. My husband is a mechanic and has worked on all types of vehicles. We were just talking with his dad the other day about his Honda Odyssey and how great (reliable) it is. They also hold their value better which is a plus in todays economy.

I have a 2003 Honda Odessey and we love it! The new ones are beautiful. It is a good car and will last a long time.

Hey mama, I just bouht my very first brand new car- a 2007 Honda Odyssey. I did some research on minivans, and decided that it was the one that had the best all-around reviews. I traded in my 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan, as it needed its' 3rd transmission within 5 years!!! Honestly, I think that I liked the way my old car drove, and the space it took up better- but it's hard to say, since I may just still be getting used to the new one. Funny how we mamas LIVE in our cars SOOOOO muh that I may be suffering from separation anxiety.....Anyway, there's my review. The Dodge was only owned by me and my dad, and recieved perfect maintenance. They have a reputation for needing a new tranny at 100,000 miles, and my case it needed another at 125,000, and another at 150,000. So I went for the new option and the car payment. Hope I did the right thng! I really feel grown up now! Btw, I'm a midwife at Alma Midwifery- check us out on the web! Blessings~ M.

We just had our 2nd child 6 months ago and bought a Honda Odyssey. We LOVE it and got a great deal on it. We did all of our research online and found the price we would go with. Then my husband called the internet manager at local dealerships asked about what they had available and told them the price we wanted. A few called back and we ended up with a great car at our price. We chose the Odyssey because it has more room than the Sienna and dual sliding doors in the mid range model. It fits our double stroller okay when all three rows are intact. However, if you want to fit a double stroller plus groceries that may be difficult. The 3rd row does fold down partially (which I believe is a 60/40 split) so that one child can still sit in the third row and you can fold the rest of the seat down to accommodate groceries, etc...Also, the optional seat in the second row has been a lifesaver for us when the baby needs to be fed on long car trips. I can just jump into the back seat and give her a bottle. The second row has captain seats but the third row doesn't. I'm not sure if all captain seats are available. However, it's probably a custom feature that you could order.

Prior to our purchase we test drove the Sienna and a Chrysler Town and Country. We liked how the Sienna drove but weren't happy with the Town and Country's performance. Also, we have known people with Town and Country's and they've had to spend a lot in maintenance and repair over time.

Happy car hunting!

We bought a Honda Odyssey EX-L last October from Honda of Kirkland - ask for Bill Smith. He was wonderful and not overly pushy. We LOVE our van and since we purchased it, we've had several friends purchase one too. We can't say enough great things about the Odyssey. Spacious, drives like a car, great gas mileage, functional and looks good too! Oh, I should mention that I was totally against a minivan until I sat in one and drove it. I've driven SUVs all my life and thought I'd never switch but was won over by the performance, comfort and better gas mileage. I am a full time working mom of a 19 month old boy and expecting our second boy in 4 weeks. We have a black lab too and the van is perfect for long trips with our growing family.

Good Luck!

Well, I have 4 kids. You have 3. which means normally you have to use all the seats due to the 2 bucket seats in the middle can only carry two kids.
You want a stroller and to carry your grocerys. Now knowing moms with 3 or more kids you have alot of grocerys which cannot fit into the back of the minivan cause your using all of the seats.
I drove minivans for years... Went to a SUV for example a Durango with the 3rd seat option. and well you can fit all 3 kids in the middle with a bigger SUV and fold down the back seat for your grocerys and strollers and have no problems. I even carry 4x4's in it from home depo and the tailGate is closed.
BUT, in the long run... My opinion is you should just get a canopy...Trucks are alot safer than vans. You now what im talking about when your at a red light. You see where your truck lines up to the backend where your kids would sit. Just the glass is in the way of your bumper.

Good Luck and have a great week

Being a M. of three always going in different directions, I really love my Chevy Astro All Wheel Drive Minivan. This is our 2nd one, started out with a 89 and now have a 97. It holds all the dogs, kids, bikes, F. stuff. When it snows, I put my studs on and I cant get the thing to slip. Granted it doesn't have all the fancy DVD players and GPS tracking, but you can add that yourself at car toys or get one that straps to the seat in front of the kids and its just as good. Good luck on the hunt for one, when we got our first one it was just as you said a truck was fine for a while and when I saw the Astro.......I fell in love. There is no difference really between the Chevy Astro and the GMC Safari both are really nice and I would buy another in a minute. Also I had read something that it does good in the crash tests, in the top 5 for safety and it only has the 1 slider which when you have one on each side it weakens the structure of the van.

We just researched a lot about mini vans and actually bought one yesterday. We had a VAN (95 GMC Sierra)...not so mini...but it hauls a ton of stuff and we loved it but ours was showing its age. We wanted a newer van and unfortunately they quit making The Sierras I think in 05 and they never had two sliding doors which we wanted. For your price you might want to look into a Dodge Caravan if you are thinking "typical" minivan..the Town and Country Chrysler is just a nicer version of the same thing and Toyota and Honda both make really nice minivans but they are much more expensive. Toyota is the only one which now makes new all wheel drive but they are REALLY expensive. We splurged and bought a 06 Honda Odyssey. It is wonderful but pretty pricey. Hope this helps!

I am a huge fan of the Chrysler Town and County and its counter part the new Dodge caravan. The new models have seats that can turn all the way around to face the rear seats. There is a table that comes up and that way kids can play, eat, whatever. Has tons of drink holders, USB ports, places to plug in DVD players, all kinds of new gadgets. Plus still has storage in the floor for a lot of stuff. The new design looks a little less mini vannish. They are great. All the seats are Captain I think. Check them out. I did at the car show and I am so impressed.

B.

The Chrysler Stow and Go van, is awesome... The seats all lay down when you need to haul things like feed, rabbit cages, or take things to the Good will. There isn't anything I don't like about my van and it's an '05. One of our agencies here in Moses Lake takes in cars that are used by a rental agency, they have about 15 thou miles on them and the price is decent.
Ours has 4 Captain sets and a bench seat for the last 3 seats. It is like the Dodge Grand Caravan extra long for good storage in the back. We lay one of the middle seats down which helps for leg room and groceries too!
Happy hunting C. C

Hello B.,
I would suggest going on enterprise.com. They sell used vehicles and they always have minivans. I have a 96 Dodge Grand Caravan SE. I have 175,000+ miles. I service it on a regular basis. Everyone has their favorite. I think Honda Odysey and Toyota Sienna are probably the best as Consumer Reports rated those two the top for safety and space and retail sales. They are more expensive, however, you can find the year you're looking for with enterprise.com and go from there. Most minivans seat 7, some 8. Some come with captains chairs and some come with a 3/4 seat for the middle. If you have the time to shop do so. Puyallup is suppose to have the best prices around.
Blessings, S. W

Kia makes a very nice minivan. I belive they are fairly inexpensive compaired to big name brands.

We took 6 adults from Portland to Reno one year, with suitcases, and bowling balls...very roomy!

Good Luck!

Minivans! Been there done that...twice!! I had 2 minivans, a Plymouth Voyager & Dodge Caravan. Loved the room in both of them, hated the transmissions. Most minivans you can get with captain's chairs in the middle, but a bench seat across the back. This is pretty much standard anymore. Some minivans come with the bench seat in the middle and back, those are hard to work with, especially with kids in carseats. Everytime we buy a car I do extensive research, and as much as I don't like the transmissions in the Dodge Caravan, it is the best car for the money. Stow and go seating, that folds into the floor. The new vans are much easier to work with in terms of seats. Our minivan, you had to pull them out, and it took two people and a good chiropractor. Dodge vehichles come with the extended powertrain warranty, which is a nice addition. I had to pay for ours, which is not cheap. They do have very good crash test ratings as well. Chevy Venture vans are also nice, very roomy, generally they don't have many issues with maintenance(I have a chevy SUV now), they also come with a extended powertrain warranty included. Try and stay away from Kia and Hyundai. They are made by the same manufacturer, and neither one of them are built well. Crash ratings are ok, but I have seen better. Also, working on those can be very expensive, and Kia has a tendency not to honor their warranties. One thing I can tell you, is if you are going to be taking any kind of road trips, get a DVD Player. What a god sin!!!!!! I bought a dual screen that hooks to the back of the headrests, best $150.00 I ever spent. When we bought our SUV, we made sure it came with the DVD. It actually makes road trips almost bearable!!!!!! Hope this helps. Happy car hunting!!!

I imagine you have probably had a ton of responses, but I am going to put mine in too. I have a Chrysler town and Country. I love it. It has all captain seats and is great because each of my kids has theier own seats and cant bother each other. Some models have the stow and Go seats so it leaves lots of room for storage. They have the remote sliding doors, which comes in handy for moms with thier hands full. Most minivans have that feature now though. We bought ours used, its a 2005 and I absolutly love it. It runs great, and we have only had one problem with it, but nothing mechanical wise. The O2 sensor clip broke. No big deal. Anyways Dodge or Chrysler is a good way to go.

I don't know what the prices are for the years you are interested in, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Honda Odyssey. The very back seats three - but we have a car seat by each window and leave the center area open. (Meaning that it's a toy storage area!) The middle row has two captain seats. The rear windows are tinted AND the center row has built in sun screens that you can pull over the center windows.

I have a Graco double stroller that fits just fine in the back and I can load the back with groceries, too.

The biggest features that attracted us to the Honda was its safety record. It does exceptionally well in every type of crash. It's also really reliable and holds its value very well. I can't think of anything I don't like about my Honda. It even gets good gas mileage! We bought ours new last year and we got the 2007 Touring model with all the bells and whistles. (I figure I'm going to be driving this darn thing for at least the next fifteen years, so I wanted something that would stand up to a whole lot of use.) It was pretty pricey - we've only just finished paying it off. (Debt terrifies me, so we busted our rears to pay it off early.)

Hi B.,
I have 3 kids (a 3yr old, 1 1/2yr old, and a 4 month old) and I know the feeling of needing space, so my husband and I got a Plymoth Grand Voyager and love it so much, even though the owners of the van before us didn't really know how to take care of a vehicle and also smoked inside of it which was hard for me to take at first since I've never been exposed to the smell much. We've noticed that it does better on gas than many other family member's vans about 20-26, even with all we've put it through these last few months, it could also be that my husband takes good care of the engine, I dunno, but yeah we love that van also for all the space. There is one slight downside to it though, it isn't that easy to get to the very back seat with the bucket seats, though it is nice when it comes to putting the two youngest in the van, I don't have to reach so far forward with a precious load, and my oldest can get herself into her seat, she just needs help getting out, so who knows maybe the bucket seats are actually a good thing too, they do also lift out of the way pretty easily. We do still have room for another child while keeping a good distance between them, and we too have a big double stroller that does fit in back, but if we need to with the groceries we'll put some of them on the floor in front of the bucket seats, if all don't fit in back. Our's also is a '96 and from what I can tell the newer models are even more spacious than our's.

We have had a Honda Odessey for the last several years and are really pleased with it. It has captain seats in back and the back bench seat folds down completely under the floor. It has also been very reliable. It is a 1998 so newer models are probably a little different. Good Luck.

We got a 2007 Honda Odyssey a few months ago and enjoy it. The newer Odyssey's seat 8, although the 8th seat doesn't rate high on comfort.
We enjoy it. The 3 2nd row seats can be repositioned so it allows for more or less separation as you need it. I know it is more expensive but the power doors that you can open with the key fob are great when holding a kid and packages.
Consumer reports rates HOnda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna well for newer and older models. Kia Sedona which is a little cheaper is only reliable in the 06 or newer models. Yes we rely on consumer reports.
edmunds.com or kbb.com are also helpful to know if you are paying a fair price.

Hi B.. I have a 2005 Chevy Uplander. It's all wheel drive which I love and from the front it really doesn't look like a mini-van. That was my whole thing!! I needed a minivan but didn't want it to look like one. As far as room goes it's fine. It has two captain seats in the back and then the 40/60 split in the way back. My kids would tell you that the best part is the built in DVD player. It keeps them quiet!! Good luck in your search.

We LOVE our 2005 Chrysler Town and Country. Stow and Go is a MUST, where all the rear seats go into the floor, to make a cargo type van. They are so much cheaper than the Honda Odyssey, and just as comfy. Another option I couldn't live without is the automatic rear doors. As I am lugging my son and 3 bags of stuff, I can open all the doors from the key fob, including the rear hatch. The middle seats are captains seats, and the rear is long, but folds 60/40 so you can still carry a long item, and seat 5 people.

We have a Dodge Grand Caravan and really like it, but wish we could have purchased a Honda or Mazda MPV. Both of those vehicles, even used, are a little spendy, but will save you a ton of $$$ in the long run with repairs and problems. Take a look online at vehicle guides.

Hi B.

I am a single mom of 4 (23, 21, 10 and 5) with an 8wk old grandchild. I recently purchased a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan, something I never thought I’d do. I’d driven an Explorer for the last 6 years, and even considered staying with the Ford Explorer, because of the Alaska roads and the 4wheel drive, but with my growing family and rising gas prices I needed a bigger bang for my buck.

Caravan vs Grand Caravan – the only real difference is the rear cargo space. Both are 7 passenger vehicles.

My 04 does not have the stow-n-go seats, something I would definitely consider if I were to buy another van. The rear cargo area is large enough for the stroller and/or groceries. Separation of siblings and additional space for another offspring; with easy access to rear seating.

Mine has bucket seats (2nd row) and bench (3rd row) seating 5 in addition to the two bucket seats in front. All three of the rear seats are completely removable for hauling lumber, furniture, whatever.

Gas mileage: I am averaging 15-16 mpg (in town) now that I am not letting my car idle for winter warm up (0 – 20 degree weather) at which I was only getting 13-14 mpg.

I am looking forward to doing more driving (camping, fishing, etc.) this summer and all the added room will be wonderful. However, next winter will be a different story. I have to keep an open mind as the front wheel drive is much different than 4 wheel on the snow and ice. If you are a lead foot and like to get up and go, you may find yourself struggling with this adjustment. I certainly did, but learned to put the transmission in either 3rd gear at lights or in low at lights on hills or where there was a definite incline.

I believe that Toyota is the only one that makes all-wheel drive in their minivans. The Ford Freestar is a comparable vehicle but I found the Dodge to have a little bit more room in the cargo area.

Good luck
D.

I have 3 kids and I have to say Honda Odyssey all the way. Reliable, good safety record, nice features, handles very well, did I mention reliable? :-) Might cost a bit more upfront but when you consider that it is not breaking down on you and holds it's value better than other vans it more than pays for it self. We are on our second upgrade in the Odyssey and I'm sure it will be our third "car" as well.Currently I have one of my second row seats out and it makes a perfect staging/diaper changeing area. I just have a regular house type of rug over the chair latches to keep everything cleaner and softer. And it has plenty of room for any doula stuff you might need. Love it!!!!

With our third baby on the way, we recently bought an 06 Honda Odyssey and I love it, like previous responsders have also said. It drives so comfortably, my kids can climb in and out on their own, we have lots of room around us for stuff that we need while we drive, and I love being able to get up and down and help the kids out if they need it on longer drives. It's a great minivan.

That said, after having a Subaru Outback, and all the space that it had in the back, the amount of "back" space in a minivan has been a bit of an adjustment for me. It is less with the third row set up, or at least seems less as it's laid out differently. The advantage with the Odyssey (and maybe the Sienna and Kia vans are the same, I don't know)is that you have many options for how you have your seats laid out. You can have three across or just two, next to each other or split apart in the center row. The back can be three across, or 2, or 1 or none. And the seats are all fairly easy to move around and pop up or down. I'd suggest that you visit a dealership and try one out, even take your stroller with you and put it in to envision how you'd use the space. I'm still playing around with mine to figure out what works best for me.

Good luck, and congrats on your new little one!

Throw in my 2 cents worth...just bought a 2008 chrysler town and country and I think it's the best thing since sliced bread! We got the Stow and Go. Plus, I think it's important to buy American and 75% of the parts were made here and assembled here...food for thought. Also, they and the caravan have a lifetime powertrain warranty, so, if your engine blows up or falls out they will give you a brand new engine. Theoretically, you could drive it forever.

Well I can tell you that I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Honda Minivan. It has some wonderful safety features and plenty of room but you don't feel like you are driving a boat. For me the one con is that you can only fit 2 car seats in the front row. Only a issue when family visits because we end up putting the car seats in a row in the way back row with the Adults in the front row a little inconvient to get the kids in and out. But I love the versitiliaty of the seating arrangments you can move the capitan chairs in the front and there is a "disapearing" middle seat that can also be used as a tray, drink holder for the older kids. My sister has the Toyota minivan and you can get 3 car seats on the front row. About the same gas milage, about the same cargo room, about the same features, The Honda has a better display pannel and the toyota has better stock stereo. My best advice is go to all the major cariers and testdrive each type that is the only way you will get a feel for the type of van that will work for you. Good luck

I have an 05 Town and Country. Let me tell you what I love about it. Stow and Go seating. My husband works away three weeks at a time, and it allows me to easily convery the seating for the need. If that would be important to you, keep that in mind as a priority.

Also, I should let you know that I have had 4 carseats, and 3 adults in the car at once, and as long as the adult in the back is moderately sized, it's comfortable.

Also, when looking at consumer reports, the Toyota, nad Honda were rated the best, but price was also an issue for us. We chose to look at the Chrystler and Dodge models. and have been ver pleased with what we have.

Good luck on your search.

Hi B.,
My husband and I just purchased a Honda Odyssey. They are pricey and hard to find used because they hold their value so well. They really are good vans. I love ours and you can separate the middle seats or put them together. Some other nice features are the side windows roll down, not so in other mini-vans, and there is lots of cargo space. The back seats also fold up and stow easily. We have a rack on top of ours so we can carry our Thule box. I never even wanted a mini-van, just a little too "soccer-mom" for me. but now that I have ours I would never go back. I LOVE it! It is so easy to get the kids in and out. Love it! Good luck!
L
by the way, I'm a birth junkie too! I am just entering my doula work, 3 births under my belt, other than my own. We had our second baby at home in the water and it was amazing! Anyway, if you ever want to talk birth, send me a message! :)

We used to have a Ford AeroStar, it had 2 middle seats with built in car seats, it had a bench seat in back with three sets of seat belts, and room in the back for groceries. It was an extended version with all wheel drive. They don't make that version after a certain date, though. It was great when the kids were little.
We now have a Honda Odyssey- LOVE IT! I have seen one around here for sale in that price range, but it had high mileage. We test drove the Toyota Sienna and the KIA - not enough horse power to get up the mountains in Colorado- but lower priced. I'd pay the extra to have the comfort and reliability of the Honda.
Good luck!

We own an 02' Honda Odyssey and love it! The middle seats are captains chairs and the third row is a bench seat. You could put the baby and one of the other two in those chairs. Then the third one could sit back in the third row! Our van is in the shop right now so the loaner we have is an 06' Chrysler Town and Country. It's really nice too! It has about 38,000 miles on it (which isn't bad for an 06'). I'm not sure what the dealership is asking, but it's at Korum Suzuki in the used car area. Whatever you decide, life is easier if you look for Stow and Go seating, power side doors that can be controlled with the alarm and we love our DVD player! I hope that this helps at least a little. Oh yeah, I have two little ones and a double stroller. It fits great in both of these minivans. That's why I suggest Stow and Go seating: it gives you a deeper back end to fit a double stroller and whatever else you might need. Good Luck! I'll keep mu eyes peeled for you. Try Toyota of Puyallup too (River Road in Puyallup, it's worth the drive for you). Ask for Danny Loomis. He is an awesome sales person and really listens to what you need and want. He will not try to sell you anything that you can't afford or do not need. Our family has already purchased at least 3 cars from him!! Tell him that T. Saez sent you!

You can subscribe to Consumerreports.org for I think around $5 for a month. They have reviews of used as well as new vehicles. We're not ready for a minivan yet, we only have one child so far, but we just bought another Honda because of their proven track record. They consistently get high marks for reliability, overall cost of ownership, performance and safety. Not sure if the Odyssey has it, but our CR-V has a "conversation mirror" which lets you keep an eye on the back seat!

I never pictures myself driving a minivan either. We are pregnant with baby #3. Recently, after weighing the options we decided to get a Toyota Sienna. It is very roomy and comfortable. It is made for a family. The seats fold and unfold easily when we want to take our dogs with us. The rear is roomy and sunk in so groceries/stroller/what-not do not go sliding around the vehicle. There is storage galore. I also like all the safety features. I really am happy with it. We ended up leasing as well and after figuring it out on paper, we will be saving alot of money this way. Good luck.

We just got a minivan this past summer since we were having our third. Our oldest is also 4 1/2. We really wanted to do a newer used, under 10k as well. The Dodge Grand Caravan is probably your best "bang for the buck". But we found it is a bit smaller in dimension. We ended up biting the bullet and getting a new Honda Odyssey. It is more expensive, but we figured that we'd use it for at least 10 years. It is the safest and most reliable of the minivans with a very good reputation. Our 2007 seats 8. The 8th seat is a removable seat in the middle of the 2 captains chairs in the middle row (making a bench when installed...goes in and out very easily). Also, Hondas retain their value better than most used vehicles so we figured we'd be able to get more out of it if/when we end up selling it in the future. We have been VERY VERY happy with our Odyssey!! Good luck in your minivan search. We researched for about 6 months before making our purchase so I understand what a tough decision it is!

We purchased a Kia Sedona. Love it! Two sliding doors, one on each side. Back seat folds down flat to floor. Kids can't reach each other when in carseats. Great!

Good Luck.

M.

I wrecked our car and took that as a sign that it was time to start looking for something bigger. My hub wanted and SUV but i wasnt so convinced. We went to look at a few cars one day and never made it out of the first dealership. The first car we looked at was a Honda Odyssey. I love it!!! We have two boys and one on the way. I recommend leather seats with kids and the odyssey has tons of space!!! and if you dont need the back seat it folds down and you have soooo much room and the trunk is big regaurdless if the back seat is up or not!! i have only had it about two months and wouldnt get rid of it for the world. it does seem a bit big to drive when it is just me though i will say that. but my 2003 still gets just about 300 miles to a tank whichis what my honda accord was getting before i got into my accident!! good luck!!

I see that a lot of people love the Honda Odyssey! I agree accept for the price. Is that van really worth 3 times the price of other vans? You would have a hard time finding an '02 to '04 for under 10K. I looked into used ones recently because we had our third child and needed the space. The '03 and earlier Odysseys have major transmission issues. We ended up with a 2000 Oldsmobile silhouette. We only paid $4500 for it, and it is an awesome van. Less known, but VERY reliable. The last model they made of it was in 2004. It doesn't have captains seats, but the bench is large and my 2 year old can't reach the baby even though their carseats are both on the bench. The room in the back is not huge, but better than most vans. Definitely look into it! Bonus: This van has better gas mileage than most (20 mpg city, 25 mpg highway)

Hey!
I have a Ford Windstar and my brother has the Honda Odessy. I really like his. I had to get all of the knick nacks out of the Ford and it came with dollar signs. It runs great now... but the Honda has given him no trobles. It does have the captain seats so that you can separate the two and the rear storage has pleanty of room.
I would definitely recommend the Honda. I never imagined myself in a minivan either until had three blessings from heaven.
good luck.

Everyone seems to love the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna. But I love my Dodge Grand Caravan. It's a 2004, and we've had ZERO problems with it. The stow-and-go is AWESOME for extra storage capacity. Ours seats 7 - two middle bucket seats and a bench in back.

Hi B.,

I am in the same world. I have 2yr old twin boys and a 17yr old. We had a Honda Odyssey. Although mine was a 2006. It had the captains chairs and room in the back for a double stroller. The 3rd was a 60/40 split so you could fold down part of the back seat for more room. Also my stroller (Graco duo glider)was able to fit in the cubby compartment in the back so you could pack things ontop of it. It had the dual sliding doors as well. The second row captains chairs are able to keep separate or you can slide them together if you take the center console out as we did.

But I also want to say that since I am really not a minivan person. I used to call myself a "minivan mama". We went out and purchase a new chevy suburban. I still needed the all the space of the minivan. The suburban works out great but it sits a little taller than the minivans do, so you need to take that into consideration. Also mine has the second row captains seats but they are not able to slide together as mine did in the minivan. There are small pros and cons to each. Oh Yea, suburbans eat up alot of gas!!! Good Luck

Congrats to you! I have a Ford Freestar and need a different van too. (So don't go with the Freestar) We have looked at the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna. They are pricey, but will hold their value and are very safe. The seat configuration is great! Good luck!

We love our 2002 Chrysler Town & Country (same as Dodge Grand Caravan), which is high rated. Has more room in the back than Caravan or Voyager. It's much more reasonably priced than other models, and has all the features one could want. You can check out reviews for all vehicles at edmunds.com or epinions.com. It gets great mileage too (26mpg on a recent trip, usually 20mpg around town), which is more than any SUV can offer.

I sent you a message but read through your responses again and see that most people admit you can't get everything you need behind a third row of any kind. One woman mentioned a yukon xl. Since you're used to driving a ford truck I'd check out the expedition el (extra long). That's what I'd get if we add to our brood, space for kids and tons of stuff, which I definitely need!

I swore I'd never own a minivan, but my pre-baby job demanded it, so I bought a Honda Odyssey. I've absolutely loved it! It has amazing cargo room (I can get my jogging stroller in without collapsing it) and still have tons of room for just about everything else. It's also nice to drive...I never feel like I'm steering a barge down the road. My only complaint is that it's pretty noisy in the cab, but I have a 2003 model, and I think the new model has addressed that issue.

A minivan? Eee...

We rented a minivan once and it was horrible. ZERO room. The carseats/boosters did not all fit in a row. Climbing all the way into the back to buckle everyone wasn't thrilling. A stroller & groceries...HA!

I drive an Acura MDX with a 3rd row. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! All 3 carseats/boosters fit perfectly in the middle row, which leaves the back available for all the extras.

Siblings pinch and poke. It is all apart of growing up.

Prior to purchasing my Acura, we looked at the Saturn Outlook. Very nice, very spacious and reasonibly priced. If I didn't love my Acura so much we would have purchased the Saturn Outlook.

We drive a Toyota Sienna and LOVE it! They have such long lives, are reliable and drive so well. I can't suggest it more strongly! Ours is an '05 and the bluebook for it is around $15K. It's a quiet, smooth ride, the seats are comfortable and you can have as many as 8 seats in the vehicle, but if you want captains seats the most you'd have is 7. :) The back row of seats in our van can be stowed flat into the floor very simply to a point where I do it almost every day. Even when the far back row is in use there is a lot of room in the trunk- enough for a double stroller, grocery bags etc. I honestly couldn't give you a down side to the Sienna.

A girlfriend of mine who already had a Honda Odyssey said that when she her husband went to buy a 2nd minivan they found that when you buy them new that the Sienna and Odyssey are tit for tat, but that when you buy used the Toyota is a much better value. I had the opportunity to use her vehicle for a couple days when my hubby was out of town with our van and I really preferred our Sienna!

Good luck!

Hi B.,

I do understand how you are feeling. We bought a minivan for our kids and other children that we also raised. We thought the minivan would help but it didn't. We already had an expedition and even that didn't have enough room for strollers and things. It had enough seats, was able to separate the kids but not enough room for strollers. bags, groceries, and other stuff. So we went ahead and purchase a GMC yukonXL and it had plenty of room. It seats 7-8 depending which one you purchase. It comes with the entertainment system or without. We love our YukonXL. We got rid of the van and the Expedition and purchase another bigger vehicle which is a Cheverolet Suburban. So we now have a YukonXL and a Suburban. You would be waisting your money on the minivan. Check the Yukon and the Suburban out. The space helps out a lot. They also comes with captain seats too. Hope this helps.

Love AJ

I say the Honda Odyssey! I have one, and I have several friends with one, and those years especially can't be beat. I don't think the other styles are as nice as the Honda for those years - I know a lot of the others' back seats don't fold flat and that's a great option! Mine is a 2002 and it's still running great! Look too at this article and see how well this van handled a head on accident - my friend is friends with the mom and they are all fine. http://www.komotv.com/news/17125041.html

Good luck!

My suggestion would be the Toyota Sienna. The family absolutely loves it!!! The best purchase we have ever made! After we purchased it, we took a road trip to Yellowstone. We have 3 kids, and there still were plenty of room to move around inside the car to take care of crying babies while my husband drove. I have a Volvo S80, and never did I think I would ever be the van owner. We love our van so much, we decided to name him Steve during our road trip.

We have a Burley double stroller which also doubles as a bike trailer. It's fairly bulky and my daughter still has alot of room to maneuver around in the back row, plus plenty of room for groceries and soccer equiptments!

If you are ever in the Renton area, we purchased ours at Bob Bridge in renton. We dealt via internet, got a great deal with great rates for financing, in and out of the dealership in 15 minutes!!! Looking for cars with kids is not a pleasant experience, which made the internet transaction much more appealing. We went away with a great vehicle, and no hassle of dealing back and forth with car salesmen.

I totally didn't want to go the minivan route, but we finally did. It was the best thing we ever did. They are so convenient and are great for camping or long trips. We have the Honda Odyssey. It is awesome!

Hi! I would have preferred a Honda over my old 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan, but money just wasn't there. I was in the same boat, prego with the third and time to move up from my Subaru Outback (that I had a hard time parting with). We found the grand caravan in the paper and bought it from the original owners. I just sold it for 5,500 and it had 98,000 miles on it with almost new 80,000 mile tires. It was a great van: lots of space(plenty for the double stroller plus groceries), built in 5 point harness in mid row that came in REALLY handy when towing around extra kiddos for carpool or the kids' friends, (ours didn't have the captain chairs), rear air conditioning, . It got around 20-25 mpg, MUCH better than the Chevy Suburban we just bought that only gets 10-12! I didn't realize how much the gas difference would be when it came to the end of the month gas bill. If money is not an option, go with the big one (SUV), but if you would like decent gas mileage, go with the minivan. I think almost all of them these days have tinted windows which surprisingly really does make a difference in internal temp during the summer. Our Dodge had a few quirks(the driver side window sometimes would not go up the first time after putting it down if you pushed the button all the way down and the heat/air only worked on low or high but not the in between settings), but nothing ever wrong with the motor. One perk I really liked was that you could move the back row seat into the middle row and seat 3 across and have the whole back open which we did for a couple road trips to Montana to see the inlaws as well as for camping along the coast several times. You could lay the back seat down flat but it didn't have the stow n go or 60/40 split. I think most of the newer ones come standard with one or the other nowadays? I am sure the power doors would have been nice, but I functioned on a daily basis loading and unloading 3, sometimes 4 babies without the luxury. Plus, we just figured it was one extra thing to have some kind of malfuntion that we had read about. Good luck! Enjoy your mini AND the gas mileage cuz I dread my fillups with my '99 burb! :)

Hey there! We bought a Honda Odyssey a few years ago. It was a brand new 2004. We have absolutely loved it. Ours does not have the 60/40 split third row, but it is very comfortable. I like the captains chairs for the second row, so the kids are seperated, but close enought to share things if needed. But, I have friends who have Kias and have loved those as well. Start researching what you want on the net and look at prices! Good Luck. Mini-vans are great and easy to get in and out and buckle the kiddos!

Hi B.. I just looked at Consumer Reports on this a few days ago (I'm in the market myself). Interestingly, they only gave "top pick" awards to Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna. All minivans are quite safe and many of them are comfortable; what pushes Honda and Toyota over the edge is maintenance (less need of, to be specific) and owner satisfaction.

Now if one of these manufacturers would make a hybrid/diesel van, wouldn't that be perfect?

Good luck.

This question just came up on my moms club board, and the overwhelming majority all recommended the Honda Odyssey. Also, I have a friend who just bought the Saturn minivan/SUV crossover (I can't think of what it's called) and absolutely loves it. Happy shopping!