Mini-Van

We are making the switch to a mini-van and the choices are endless, does anyone have any experience with the newer models of Nissan, Toyoya Sienna or Chrystler town and country? I love the idea of the swivel seats with getting toddlers and twins in and out but the price of 40,000 counter acts that. Any advice would really be appreciated.

 

We have the 2008 Toyota Sienna. It was affordable and serves our needs.
Two adults can fit comfortably in the third row - no swivel seats but no big deal!
We have the basic model, no leather seats, etc., as it is a lease.

 

We have a 2006 town and Country and I LOVE it! We bought it used and only paid $19,000.

Make sure you get the touring ediition so it has power doors. That is such a lifesaver!

 

We just upgraded as well. We moved from Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Really hated to let the hybrid go, but with 2 already here and 2 more on the way, it had to go! We really wanted the Toyota Sienna, but tested many including the Toyota Sienna, Nissan Quest and Chrysler Town and Country--New model does not seem as roomy on the third row to me as some of the other minivans out there . We ended up with 2006 Honda Oddysey with low miles and love it. Just don't like the gas prices, but who does right now! We do not have swivel seats or anything but it is very roomy and have the touring edition so there are some other bells and whistles that we are pleased with. Hope this helps!

 

We just got a honda Odyessy. I love it. It is so easy to get the girls in and out. OF the mini-vans we test drove (honda, toyota and the town n conutry), we like the feel of the Honda the best.

 

No minivan experience, just not my thing. I bought a Ford Expedition and LOVE it though! The gas mileage isn't as bad as one would think either. I average about 15-18 mpg. (Triton V8 engine) Mine has heated/cooled leather seats (Eddie Bauer Edition) and the second row is two captain's chairs (as opposed to a bench) which is perfect for the twins when they arrive. My older kids love the bench 3rd row. We put tv's in it and the kids have never been happier on long trips.

No matter what you end up with, good luck and I hope you really enjoy it!

 

QUOTE(mandyfish3 @ Jun 9 2008, 07:41 AM) [snapback]817373[/snapback]
We have a 2006 town and Country and I LOVE it! We bought it used and only paid $19,000.

Make sure you get the touring ediition so it has power doors. That is such a lifesaver!


Same here except for the power doors, couldn't afford that feature but I can see how they would come in handy.

 

The Chryslers have been known to have transmission problems. But I have a 98 Grand Caravan that's still moving pretty good. . . next time, I'd consider the Sienna or Odyssey.

 

My only advice...

If you plan on allowing your children to eat or drink in the van, get leather or vinyl seats!! Cloth seats are a pain to clean.

I also heard that the Sienna got the best rating from consumer reports for safety.

Good luck!
Shoshana

 

We have a 2007 Kia Sedona. The second row is 2 cpt. chairs which is great and 3 passengers can easily fit in the third row. All seats can come out or be folded into floor for extra room. The price was very reasonable-we got the deluxe edition with the power doors etc. (which is an absolute life saver when your arms are full of groceries and/or babies) and we paid in the mid 20's. The gas mileage and safety ratings are good as well. The seats do not swivel which would be nice, but we don't have any complaints so far. B)

 

I brought a 06 dodge caravan with 40,000 miles on it with a trade in of my altima and i have twin boys and my daughter who is 9 she loves it and it rommy have bench seats in the middle where the twins go and the third row seats 3 all fold into the floor for more room no special features all i could afford but worth it drives great

 

I have a Toyota Sienna and LOVE it!! The power sliding doors are a MUST!!! I could not live without them. We have the twins in the captain's chairs and my oldest DD gets the third row to herself. The captains chairs come out easily and the third row folds down very easily. The back has a nice deep well. We made it on a week's vacation last year with a double umbrella stroller, 2 PNPs, beach umbrella, chairs, and luggage for 5 of us and fit it all in the van. I would highly recommend it!

 

QUOTE(summerfun @ Jun 9 2008, 04:49 PM) [snapback]817607[/snapback]
I have a Toyota Sienna and LOVE it!! The power sliding doors are a MUST!!! I could not live without them. We have the twins in the captain's chairs and my oldest DD gets the third row to herself. The captains chairs come out easily and the third row folds down very easily. The back has a nice deep well. We made it on a week's vacation last year with a double umbrella stroller, 2 PNPs, beach umbrella, chairs, and luggage for 5 of us and fit it all in the van. I would highly recommend it!


Ditto from me too!!

 

I would go with the sienna hands down.. The features in there are a dream for someone who has kids, its seriously thought of for those who have kids. The swivel seats are cool. But they greatly reduce the safety rating of the vehicle if they are facing any other way but forward. The chrystler also has poor consumer reports. the only issues that most people have with the sienna are the run flat tires but honestly those arent a huge deal. They just have to find something wrong with the sienna. It has the best gas milleage in mini vans that are out on the market as well as the best horspower and torque, as well as its reliability comes from the Toyota family so it has outstanding reliability and holds its value well.

depending on what area of california you live in i might be able to refer you to someone who can give you a decent deal on one. They also have excellent insentives this month. The best of the year right now.

 

We just purchased the Honda after driving evey mini van out there. I was not into the minivan thing at all, but with 2 kids and 2 on the way, it seemed the best option. I have to say after driving for 2 months I really like it! So easy to get the kids in and out (especially as I get larger and larger!!!) We had trouble finding a newer used model (05 or 06) I think because we wanted some of the bells and whistles ( we figure we will have it for a long time- so lets get the best we can afford) and ended up getting a GREAT deal on a new one.
As for the Honda, we liked the way it drove, it felt the least "tippy", had really good turning radius, great mirrors position for backing up and seats were very comfy. Honestly there are pros and cons to all of them, we did a lot of research and just ended going with what we felt drove the best. My other advice is buy at the end of a month, dealers are so desperate to "make their numbers" you can get a great deal. We got almost $7,000 off sticker, plus oil changes, car washes, hats...My husband loves to get the extras thrown in, makes him feel like he didn't get ripped off if he gets a free $3 water bottle . Good Luck

 

We just bought a Sienna (2004) and I loooooove it. And when the convertible car seats can face forward, I'll actually be able to carry more than just the twins and the dogs in it!

 

2006 Town & Country Touring here and LOVE it! No swivel seats but just don't see the use for those at the cost. The stow N go (putting seats into the floor) has been awesome! A lot of room and it's been great for us. Our neighbors on both sides just leased the 2008 models and there are a few nicer features and they both got awesome deals on 2 year leases which is what we did in 2006.

Good Luck!

 

We bought a 04 Toyota Sienna about 6 months ago - before we were even trying to get pregnant with #2. We're sure glad we decided to go with a mini-van since we found out that we're having twins! We love our van! The rear seats fold down easily making it easy to haul a lot of stuff. I definitely agree with the post about going with leather seats, they clean up so much more easily that cloth interior. It's an upgrade I couldn't do without!

 

We bought a Sienna a couple of years ago, and sold it after less than a year. We had the 4 wheel drive model, and while we loved (LOVED) the van, we had nothing but trouble with the run-flat tires. They consistently wore out in about 10,000 miles, were super-expensive, and flats couldn't be fixed. After much pain in trying to deal with Toyota, they did buy us one new set of tires, but they were the same kind that had given us trouble before. Maybe they've fixed the issue now, and I think it only applied to the 4WD model anyway. Here are a couple of related articles.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=n...&id=3463443
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2007...a_sienna_a.html

Now we have a Honda CRV. We get over 25 miles to the gallon - and we can fit three car seats (Radian 80s) in the back seat. Wouldn't work for 4 kids, though.

 

we just bought a 2007 nissan quest the day before the babies came home. payments are alot but its nice and will fit us for awhile, at least the length of the loan.

 

if money is no object, definitely the honda odessy. I have a town and country adn it works.

 

QUOTE(mandyfish3 @ Jun 9 2008, 10:41 AM) [snapback]817373[/snapback]
We have a 2006 town and Country and I LOVE it! We bought it used and only paid $19,000.

Make sure you get the touring ediition so it has power doors. That is such a lifesaver!


We also bought a used 2006 and we have really liked it. As one PP has said the Chrysler's have been known to have transmission problems. We bought this wilth only 15,000 miles on it a year ago and so we feel we should get some good use out of it before any of those kinds of problems pop up.

Ours is also the touring addition and I LOVE having the power doors and captian chairs. We found ours for about $17,000.

 

QUOTE(raptwins @ Jun 9 2008, 01:08 PM) [snapback]817670[/snapback]
2006 Town & Country Touring here and LOVE it! No swivel seats but just don't see the use for those at the cost. The stow N go (putting seats into the floor) has been awesome!

Good Luck!


We just bought an 06 this past week as well with the captain's chairs and power doors, which is great!

 

We have a 2006 Kia Sedona and love it! It was affordable, great ride, has stow and go back seats and is really comfortable. Plus it has a ton of cup holders and several outlets(or whatever you call those things). Plus the windows roll down for the second row of seats which is great.

 

QUOTE(Utopia122 @ Jun 9 2008, 08:09 PM) [snapback]818418[/snapback]
We have a 2006 Kia Sedona and love it! It was affordable, great ride, has stow and go back seats and is really comfortable. Plus it has a ton of cup holders and several outlets(or whatever you call those things). Plus the windows roll down for the second row of seats which is great.



We just purchased a 2008 Kia Sedona and love it. It is definitely roomy and was in my price range.

 

Thank you so much for all the responses, I just pasted them all to a word doc so I can print them out and read them. If I am going to have payments for awhile I want to make sure we are getting something good. Thank you for sharing your advice and tips, especially about adding on free oil changes and car washes, great idea.

 

We have had the 2008 town and country for a few months now. We love it. We do have the swivel seats, however, they are not supposed to be in the rear facing position when child restraints are in use. So, only our oldest is able to take advantage of it. When the twins arrive, though, we will be using those seats for them as it will be easier to get them in and out and to have our 8, 4 and almost 1 year olds sit in the back. At that point, the swivel won't matter anymore. The van drives great, and we get great gas mileage....if only prices were cheaper! Plus, the space is amazing and fits all our stuff, the kids, and can fit two strollers! It's great.

 

I have a Honda Odyssey and just love it! We got quotes from all the dealers in the area and let them know they were competing for our business. We got an EXL for a little over $6k off the sticker price. I love the captain's seats and that there is a collapsible middle seat between them so I can sit with my girls while daddy drives (and vice versa). The a/c in the back seat is also quiet enough that we can still talk to each other even if one is sitting with the babies.

 

We have a 2006 Dodge Carivan and it is loaded! Both side doors are automatic. We use that feature so much, and love it. It also has the stow n go seats. It's the SXE model so it has more power and torque.

As for the transmissions, it was the older style models that had the issues. Since this model, it's been resolved. We've had no issues with ours in the two years we've driven it every day. I think it's the best looking mini van on the market, and that was important, since I'm not the mini van type. I would've taken a ChevTahoe if it got better gas mileage, lol!

 

Forget the swivel seats if they cost a lot more. It's really not that difficult to undo a carseat buckle if the kid is seated next to the door. It would be more work to swivel the seats.

What you really want is power doors. I can't tell you have wonderful they are and you will love them for the life of that van.

We bought a Honda Odyssey last July and Paul still comments every month or two about what a great vehicle it is. We also got a great deal on it by calling every Honda dealership in the state and getting price quotes. Do not go into a dealership to do your negotiating. You can save thousands by calling dealers during the last full week of the month and being willing to drive a couple of hours. We paid $2100 under invoice at a time when there were no customer cash incentives.