Any Minivan recommendations???

Hi! I always swore I would never drive a minivan and well with a toddler and twins plus 2 dogs - we are going to buy a minivan at the end of November. So any recommendations? We have pretty harsh snowy winters here so it needs to do well in weather. And if it could tow a small trailer that would be great. We are eyeing the Toyota Sienna but thought I would see what other twin moms think!!

Thanks,
Mary
Lindsey 2-18-04
Grant & Kelsey 9-18-06

 

Hi! I always swore I would never drive a minivan and well with a toddler and twins plus 2 dogs - we are going to buy a minivan at the end of November. So any recommendations? We have pretty harsh snowy winters here so it needs to do well in weather. And if it could tow a small trailer that would be great. We are eyeing the Toyota Sienna but thought I would see what other twin moms think!!

Thanks,
Mary
Lindsey 2-18-04
Grant & Kelsey 9-18-06

 

We have a Sienna....LOVE it!!

 

We have a Grand Caravan and I like it but its an older version and doesn't have Stow N Go seating. My sil has the Sienna and it is really nice too and has windows that go down, and my bf has the Odyssey and she likes it a lot too (except she doesn't have sliding doors, go figure????)

 

We just bought a new Dodge grand caravan a few months ago, we LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It has so much room.
~saundra~

 

We have a town and country! I love the stow and go and the DVD player, and the automatic tail gate and remote controlled doors, and the Navigation and the Satellie radio.

 

The Sienna is great. I have an 03 Mazda MPV and I love it. I'm not a minivan person at all, but it's actually a really good car. It rides really smooth (almost car-like) and has a good look to it.

 

We also have the sienna and we absolutely love it. we did a lot of research and this minivan was rated number one in it's class according to consumer reports on safety and many other important features. we got the most basic model, the CE and it has everything we need. the LE is i beleive the next one up and might be better in terms of coming with the snow package and a few extras but we were told that the LE does pretty well in the snow and so far so good. GL. You will ask yourself once you have a minivan why you didn't do it long ago. Enjoy your search.

 

Honda Odyssey is my fave. I have a 2000 model, but it still has everything I need! It has been the number one minivan on some poll or another since it came out.

 

We have the Honda Odessey w/ the DVD. Our toddler is in heaven & there is enough room for everyone (including our 2 dogs).
Good luck,

 

I have an 05 Kia Sedona and would not recommend it. The way the middle row of seats are designed make it almost impossible to get to the third row. We're also have a problem with the brakes which I've found out is pretty common on these vans. EVen tho it's covered by the warranty it's a PITA to have to get it fixed.

 

We have a 2004 Sienna and love it. DH swore he would never get a minivan, but it is so practical. It has so much room. Right now my twins are in the 2nd row bucket seats and my oldest has the 3rd row to herself. This was the year they redesigned it and made it larger. The bucket seats come out easily and the 3rd row folds down flat easily. There is a nice well in the back for storage or a stroller. The power side doors are awesome. We got the DVD package too, which for us was a must! I haven't had any problems with it in the snow. You can get AWD on it too. So far we have had no problems with it and love it. It is a very smooth ride.

 

I don't have one but test drove (and researched) a Grand Caravan and absolutely loved it...it'll be at least another year till I can afford to trade in my car and get one but it was a GREAT van! DH didn't care much for the Odyssey and we didn't look at Toyota's..

I also looked at a Ford Freestar - for a $30K vehicle it has about a $2 looking interior - very cheap looking and plain...

 

I always hated minivans (no offense to anyone) and was deadset against getting one. Then we took our first roadtrip with the twins, trying to change and feed them in the car in a rest area rather than take them into a bathroom off the NJTpke, and I looked at DH and said "so...why don't we like minivans again?"

So we bought an Odyssey, and I LOVE it. We had a Honda CRV before...and have owned Hondas and Toyotas in the past. Honda's reliability can't be beat, IMO; all they need is their routine maintenance and you're set. The Odyssey is often touted as being a "car driver's minivan," driving like a car as opposed to like a van. The ride is smooth and I love the bells and whistles (hey, it takes the sting out of getting a minivan, as DH says!) We only have the twins and we have the car seats in the second row; the third row seats stow SO easily. We haven't had need for them yet but I'm certain I'm going to get a lot of use, personally, out of the navigation system, and the DVD player will be a good thing to have down the road. So far, between the way it drives and the remote start abilities I'm in heaven (and I certainly never expected to enjoy driving a minivan!) We weren't interested in a minivan and so we were really not interested in having to shop around too much, but that was an easy decision (to just go to our Honda dealer and trade in our CRV) because we know how the Odyssey is rated; frankly, it's what we would have gotten no matter what.

Whatever you end up getting..enjoy it!

 

I have a 2004 Odyssey and I love it. My family has always had hondas and we love them,several accords, a civic and an element. The Odyssey is great and like a pp, my oldest has the rear seat to herself and the twins are in the second row. I couldn't recommend anything better.


Cat

 

Most of our friends have the Odyssey or Sienna. Both are ranked highest in safety and reliability.

We chose the Sienna. (we just got it last week). We LOVE it. FYI our main reason for the Sienna (versus others). 0% APR. Can't beat that deal!

 

We have the Mazda 5. It's a smaller, more sporty wagon/van. Love it!

 

We have the Nissan Quest...love it here!

 

We test drove them all back in May and ended up buying the Odyssey touring model. It has everything-we esp.love the dvd and the power liftgate. I have always driven cars and it was the easiest for me to drive. We also liked the Sienna but were able to get a better deal on the Odyssey at the time.

Angela

 

We also said that we would NEVER own a minivan, but ended up getting the 2006 Odyssey one week after the girls were born. We absolutely love it. I am a first-time mom and felt really funny getting into it at first (such a 'mom' vehicle!) But once I got in and started driving, all I could say was - I love my van! We also put the girls in the second row bucket seats. There is plenty of room for me to sit between them when I can, and that center seat removes easily and stores in the floor board when they no longer need me back there The center console in the front also drops down so you can walk between the two front seats to get to the second row. Enough room to pack the DuoGlider double stroller and still have the large section of the third row up. Lots of little conveniences! Wow, I really DO love my van! Good luck with your choice - sounds like there are alot of good ones out there.

 

I like my Dodge Grand Caravan. The stow and go is wonderful!

 

We love our Honda Odyssey Touring model. It is wonderful. I drove it for several months before the twins were born and loved it then too. My husband test drove several models and this was his favorite. Good luck deciding!

 

We have the Dodge Grand Caravan with Stow & Go, and we really like it. However, the van before this one was also a Grand Caravan without stow & go seating... Now that we have 3 kids, we never stow the seats other than 1/2 of the back bench. In comparison, Dodge made some comfort and convenience cuts to allow for the stow & go without jacking up the price. Things such as they now have: less comfortable seats, more road noise, no light in the glove compartment, etc. Minor, but annoying enough when we had those things in the old van. Especially considering how little we fold the seats into the floor (not at all since the twins were born).

We have looked at other vans lately, and our favorite and next purchase will definitely be the Honda Odyssey. It is hands down the best minivan, IMO. So ask yourself if you plan to use the stow & go feature that much before buying it for that reason.

 

we have a buick Terraza and love it. It is all wheel drive. It is hard to find mini vans that are 4X4 or AWD.

Anyhow, after trying many different configurations, we have put the twins in the 3rd row seat and put our toddler in a bucket seat in the second row (behind the passenger seat) and we took out the 2nd bucket seat in the second row (the seat behind the driver.) This way, I can open the automatic door right behind my driver's seat and I can easily access all three kids. I use the empty spot to store diaper bags and change diapers if necessary. it works great this way.

 

We are loving the odyssey!! We bought a subaru forrester before they were born and it is not even close to big enough!! So we went out and traded in our Acura for the minivan! The minivan is just great. Better gas milage than an SUV, and sooo roomy. I love it!! The subaru is nice to, but just not that spacious.

 

quote:
Originally posted by AmynTony:
I don't have one but test drove (and researched) a Grand Caravan and absolutely loved it...it'll be at least another year till I can afford to trade in my car and get one but it was a GREAT van! DH didn't care much for the Odyssey and we didn't look at Toyota's..

I also looked at a Ford Freestar - for a $30K vehicle it has about a $2 looking interior - very cheap looking and plain...


Hi, I just posted the following to some one else but I thought you might be intrested to know that you can find 05's at used lots with good prices and finance like we did.

"Hi
Did you get a van yet?
I did lots of pricing and comparing different makes of used mini vans yesterday and bought a wonderful doge grand caravan 05 for just over 12,000. For us safety, space and unfortunately money made the choice for us. Most reviews say a Honda tests slightly better then a caravan in some things, but the caravan is nearly as good with more storage space and a better price.

To all those that need maximum storage like me (I have 5 boys), all the different brands with the extended trunk seemed to have the same amount of room, just enough for a double stroller and a few groceries. The “stow’n go†type back seat models had a deeper bigger trunk (when the seat is up) and seems to be pretty standard with all the newer makes of mini vans. What set the doge Grand caravan apart for me is that starting with the 2005 models you also have the storage bins in the floor in front of the middle seat(s), which gives the car sooooo much more tidy storage for stuff that I could not pass it up! Maybe brand new cars of other brand models now have this feature, but I would check it out as a selling point. I noticed that the 07 Grand caravans have even more storage potential then my 05, if you get the ceiling bins."
http://www.dodge.com/caravan/seating_storage.html
Best wishes,

 

We just got our Chrysler Town and Country 2 weeks ago and absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Love the stow and go, love the room, love the drive. It was such a great deal right now too. We called every company and this was the cheepest by far!!