MiniVan Mommas...

We are looking at buying a van in the spring. What do you drive? What are the things you love about it and what would you change if you could?

 

I have a Toyota Sienna (2007). I like it...it's roomy, handles well and is a smooth ride. The thing I would change about my car is I would have gotten the edition with the tinted windows because the kids complain about the sun. And it would park itself. I am terrible at parking :blush:

 

I have a 2002 Honda Odyssey. It's got lots of room, I can fit my double jogger in the trunk without having to remove wheels. I love the automatic sliding doors with a touch of a button makes it easy when your arms are full of babies. Good on gas as well. I also have heated side mirrors so no scrapping of ice off those tiny mirrors, another feature if and when I get another I want again! Good luck

 

I have a Dodge Grand Caravan - 2010. We looked at the Sienna and Odyssey also, but they were SO MUCH more expensive then the Dodge. I also test drove the others. The reason we prefered the Dodge was the price, but the ride seems comparable also, and it was worth to get it for the price difference. We got mine used in Oct 2010, but it was a 2010 car so it was used for about 8 months, it still had the new car smell and the ride felt like a new car ride. We traded in my car - that was 5 years old and had 80K miles and we paid 10,000 also. The Sienna or the Odyssey were at least 5,000 more, or for the same money I was able to get a car that was at least 3-5 years old and with a lot of miles. My best friend has a Sienna and my next door neighbors have an Odyssey, I rode in both cars several times, I really don't notice too much difference in the ride and they don't notice a difference riding in my car either. I would say the Oddisey has more comfy seats, but it doesn't matter that much to me. I don't have leather seats, or DVD screens in the headrests but I can live with it . Actually, there are aftermarket DVD sets in headreasts that you can buy and install for about $500, but for now our kids are too young for that. The one thing I would recommend you get is a van that has a remote for the sliding doors, that is a must with the kids in my opinion, it's so nice to have.

Nancy, it's easy to go have your windows tinted, just go to a place that does it, it's not that expensive and it's worth it. We also tinted our windows in the front and it makes so much difference - it also makes it look more cool (Yeah right, as cool as a minvan can be).

 

I dont have the DVD player in the van either, as it is a 2002, I bought ones the you can attach to the head rests mostly for my oldest as he is 4 and the Oddyssey has an aux in the trunk you can run the power off of. I didn't buy mine new, I just got it a few months ago.

 

I have a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country that we bought just a few months ago. I love it! The only thing it doesn't have that I wish it did is stow-and-go seats. Everything else is great.

 

Nancy you can also buy tint clings from walmart, in the automotive section. They come in a roll, you trim them to fit your windows and they go on like window clings. They work really good, we use them when we go to Canada. We have tinted windows but when you are in the truck ALL DAY LONG we like to keep as much sun out as we can in the back.

 

We have a 2005 Toyota highlander 4x4. We totally love it. It's 7 seat car. But the back row can be folded down for more cargo room. I feel like we always have all we need in the car. I always pack: coats, blankets, wagon or double strollers, box of food, diaper bag,... I mean everything we need on the road. The only thing I wish it could have is DVD player. But I don't want to let them have it yet. So I wait until they front facing, I will install one. Good luck with looking and buying car!
Oh btw, tint windows are the must. Kids love them

 

I wanted a Honda Pilot and had convienced myself it would work, I can get the stroller in the back behind the 3rd row, I can get all 3 kids in it no problem and can avoid buying a minivan! So the problem is that my 10 year old is tired of being wedged between teh babies and to get her into the 3rd row of an suv would mean moving a carseat every time we went somewhere. So van it is.

 

I wanted a Pilot as well but ended up with the Odyssey.

 

Love, love, love my Kia Sedona! It was several thousand cheaper than the other vans we looked at and we did not sacrifice quality or comfort. We've had it since 2006 and I can't say enough about how well the thing is built. The only problem we ever had was the heat went out on it early on, but Kia fixed it right away and we've never had another problem since. Their customer service was absolutely excellent and they took care of everything for us. We are looking at trading in our van for another Kia vehicle because we have been so pleased with our van.

 

Kia has certainly come a long way!!

I have a 2006 Toyota Sienna, AWD. I live in Mass and wanted at least one vehicle that was AWD, and the Sienna was the only minivan that had the option. I've had no problems with it, minus the run flat tires-but now I have four new tires on it, so it shouldn't be an issue.

 

We bought a used 2006 Odyssey Touring which I am very happy with. I have the twins in the third row, my other son in a captain's chair in the middle, and the second captain's chair removed for easy access to the back. Very roomy. Love the automatic doors, heated seats and mirrors, and sensors on the bumpers.

What I don't like... ours also came with run-flat tires which are great in theory, but are something like $600 per tire to replace. We ended up replacing our wheels and tires for non run-flat tires for less money than it would have cost to replace WITH run-flat tires. Also, between the driver's and passenger's seats, there is a console that flips down for easy access to the back. I understand the thought behind the design, but I would have preferred a console that opens up to store stuff in. Instead, the console is open and usually looks like a big mess. It also doesn't have and AUX input for an IPOD, but the newer versions do.

 

We have a Kia Sedona & love it, except we got the 05 model which is one year before they made it a lot bigger inside. the price saving is so worth it though, but i would recommend 06 or newer