- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Cincinnati Babies
Mrs.Cooley2bee
member
Minivan owners come in!
Mrs.Cooley2bee
member
Can't believe I am thinking about making the plunge...but I am. I know the top rated minivans are the Odyssey and the Sienna. Anyone else want to vouche for what they own or love? I really don't want to spend alot but vans are pricey...so I'm willing to look at everything before I decide.
In case this matters, I will be buying a used van. Probably 2008-2011 with under 35k miles on it. I refuse to buy a new vehicle, Dave Ramsey would smack me :0)
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Minivan owners come in!
DON'T DO IT!
I want a swagger wagon! Honest, I really, really want one! Alas, I must wait until the Mazda is paid off (household rule of only one car payment at a time).
Anyway, although I want a Sienna, this 2008 Odyssey has been taunting me, each day, as I drive by the lot.
Nice, its actually not bad looking...
No offense for those that love vans. I just can't do it. I drove one all through HS and College. I am done with vans for a lifetime.
I am curious about this too-- we are wanting to sell my mid-size SUV and get a mini-van. The big draws of having a mini-van for me are-- 1. being able to get kids in and out easier when its raining. If you remove one of the seats (many have stow and go seats so you might not even need to remove the seat) then you can get everyone unbuckled, coats on, etc. in the van without getting rained on--its a PITA trying to get Nick in his car seat and hold an umbrella, 2. doors that slide open vs. open out-- this is pretty self explanatory, 3. automatic doors/trunk, 4. more space in general, 5. a USABLE 3rd row-- many SUV's have the 3rd row seating but I have yet to ride in one that was an actual comfortable or convenient 3rd row-- the thought of having to get a kid in a car seat in the 3rd row of an SUV just seems annoying.
I will be interested about what other features people really like...
I have always had SUV's and SWORE up and down I'd never get a minivan..
Then last year DH took me to buy a new car (anniversary surprise) and nothing would work for all the carseats except a minivan or a truck (I nanny PT so I have DS RF convertible, a convertible for a 2.5 yr old, a booster for a 6yt old and then we knew we'd be having baby #2...)
I was almost in tears... how silly I was. I freaking LOVE it now! When I was still nursing DS I would go in the back and it was like a freaking nursing room back there, lol!
We ended up with the Chrysler Town and Country. I love, love, love it! Plus it takes flex fuel 85 which is about 60 cents cheaper than regular... nice perk! We bought ours new, but it was a much better deal than the Odyssey and I actually preferred the Town & Country... I'm only a little less than a year in but I have nothing but rave reviews.
Good luck! I think the newer minivans look much more "SUV" looking, if you will. Mine is a boxier so makes it look more like a bigger Jeep Cherokeee.... that made me feel better
And omg, road trips are SO much easier. I am a total convert. GL!
I have a Toyota Sienna. I love it. It works out great for us, with the kids and the dog. I didn't want to have to worry about folding down seats to access the thrid row since the second row would be full of car seats (also, I read it can actually be really hard if not impossible to fold certain seats down to access the 3rd row if you have 2 car seats in the second row.
Love: power sliding doors, side curtain air bags, 8 passenger seating (my second row has 3 seats as well as my 3rd row).
Dislike: I don't have a power liftgate. and it can get heavy to push down with 1 hand while holding a baby on your hip. It doesn't have stow and go seats, which would be a good feature. So if I need to get all of the seats out (very rare) then I have to take out the second row seats all out and put them in my garage... the 3rd row seats fold into the floor... very nice.
Accurate statement. It's such a PITA to access the 3rd row seating in our CX-9. It's possible...but SUCH a hassle. I hate it.
We have a VW Routan. For the most part I love it, but I'm not over the moon about it. I don't feel like there's a ton of head room in there. My husband and I are both pretty small (I'm 5'3", he's 5'9") and we always hit our heads when we're putting the kids in their seats. Drives me crazy! All that being said I love having easy access to the third row. We used to have a Highlander with the third row and it was a PITA to get back there.
Love: the sliding doors (these are so fantastic, I swear I want to kiss whoever came up with this idea).
I absolutely freaking love our mini-van -- we have a Sienna. And it is very cool looking, I think it is the sexiest of all the minivans out there.
That being said, I always swore I would never have/buy one, and was pretty resentful of my DH when he wanted to buy one. I finally told him FINE, buy the damn thing, I'm not driving it.
But now, I really wish I was the one driving it, since I'm the one that has the 2 kids all day every day. 
We looked at Odysseys and Siennas and I think the Sienna has a more luxurious interior. The Hondas felt too "plastic" to me. It just felt cheap, despite their excellent maintenance record.
My parents have a Town & Country which is very nice. The newer models (in the past few years) have some really nice features.
We also considered the Kia minivan. You can get a lot for the money with those.
I would not buy one that didn't have dual sliding doors. We do have the automatic liftgate and it's awesome.
Tyler Anthony arrived on 9.21.09
The Chronicles of Justin and Tyler