We are thinking of selling my compact car and getting a minivan. Seems crazy to me with only 2 kids, but we like to cart around dogs, take lots of stuff on road trips, and often go places with my parents. It would be really nice to not have to take 2 cars in that situation. Or to be able to take a stroller and a dog. Or a bike and a stroller. Etc. We had a midsize SUV and while it was a lot better, the seating issue was still a problem. I would love to stick with Honda or Toyota, but I'm not sure we can really swing that. We rented a Nissan Quest for a week in Hawaii, and while it was pretty much the ugliest car I've ever seen, it had SO MUCH SPACE. The back row was comfy even for my very tall family. The cargo area easily fit all of our beach stuff and the jogging stroller. Changing diapers on the back seat was simple. Does anyone know how the cargo space/back seat space compares to the Honda or Toyota minivans? Are there other options I haven't thought of?
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We rented a Quest also and fell in love with all the space. We didn't mind the look of it and ended up buying one, and still love it. Kinda torn because the safety rating is not great on it, found out after we purchased it. But in looking at the Honda we didn't think it had quite as much room or storage. I also didn't like the driver area, felt very small. But maybe that's just me cause they are really popular! But we also love the way the quest feels big when you drive it. It was not designed to be small in any way! You just can't match the convenience with the auto sliding doors and all the storage when you have small kids. We have 2 big dogs and 2 kids then add the stroller and pack and play we just don't fit in a regular car. And we travel to my parents regularly so we had to get something larger. The push button doors were game changers, my kids still can't open a door on our other sedan! Lol.
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We just bought the Toyota Sienna this summer after I was disagreeing with DH since my older was born almost 6 years ago. In my defense I didn’t want a van because I was afraid it would drive like a boat (I’m guilty for not test driving it a long long time ago). Finally after kindergarten registration and reality hitting thay my mom will be picking him up so the ease of automatic sliding doors I caved. DH got a great deal with an online salesperson so I agreed to go in with him to sign the paper work. I was pleasantly surprised by how it drove, no lag with accelerating and did not feel like a boat. Now I prefer driving that over my sedan because I could see everything. Also, love love love the sliding doors. DH is like well i was trying to convince you to get it for the sliding doors when we had to lug the infant seat in and out all the time. Yeah I wish we got it sooner.
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Following because we’re looking into minivans
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We have a Pacifica minivan (DH drives it) and I looove it. I like lots of space and the front seat is amazing. The power sliding doors are also essential to getting in and out with kids. I drive a tiny Mercedes SUV and it’s such a pain to get the kids in and out of my car. Whereas in DH’s DS can do it all on his own. I also get kinda nervous around them and regular opening doors because when I was 4 I opened one into my face and had to get stitches.
We also drive my parents ever do often so we have times when we use all the seats. And there’s other times when some or all of the back seats are folded down and we the cargo room. Road trips, goodwill drop offs, etc.
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We got a third car when our au pair came ... and ended up with a Honda Odyssey. I had resisted the minivan for so long just out of a weird sense of pride. But who am I really kidding w three kids in tow? So now that is the perma- kid transportation option and it’s WONDERFUL. The automatic sliding doors, built in sun shades, giant trunk, roomy third row and easy to reconfigure 2/3rd rows with an optional 8th seat = perfection.
Our other cars are Acura MDX and TL. Those handle nicer but the van wins as a kid car(Random but I think the black and navy Odyssey almost looks like a SUV, not as obviously a van. I know that sounds crazy)
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@pinkb: The space was incredible. Everything was so easy, even when we were cruising around all day with 6 people. I'm also torn on the safety ratings of the quest. Learned about that today. Also I found a nice looking odyssey that has relatively low miles that is more reasonably priced than expected. And it has leather seats which would be AMAZING with the kids and dogs. It's 3 hours away, but I'm pretty tempted to go drive it on Wednesday if I can talk my parents into watching the baby.
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@iluvboba637: I have been resisting the idea just because we only have two kids and it seems extravagant. But... so very convenient.
@ShootingStar: haven't looked into those, thanks!
@ChitownRo: I'm pretty sold on the odyssey! Your response helps. Having never been in one, how do you get into the third row? I was confused about the seating layout. -
@ChitownRo: I just looked at more pics. Is there a way to get into the 3rd row easily with two car seats installed in the outer two seats of the 2nd row?
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@Mrs. Turtle: we took out the middle seat in the second row. So we have it set up for seating 7. The third row feels roomy with lots of leg room in this setting.
Our set up - 5 yo in FF convertible in the 3rd row. He can buckle himself but it’s still easy to get back there if he’s being difficult. 3 yo on passenger side second row (initially RF, now FF) and infant bucket seat on driver side second row. -
@ChitownRo: Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!
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We bought a used Honda Odyssey this time last year (we bought a 2015). We have a 3 yo and a 7 month old. And OMG, let me just say. FANTASTIC. The space is just so wonderful. And our Odyssey drives great, gets decent mileage, overall we're super pleased.
So maybe used is an option. We couldn't afford new. We test drove a Pacifica and a Sienna as well and much preferred the Odyssey.
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@MrsADS: We are definitely looking at used ones. I don't want a car payment, so we are on a strict budget based on the cash that we have set aside, and what we will get for my car. I'm glad to hear you like it so much!
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@Mrs. Turtle: I was very resistant to getting a mini-van (I have three kids and was driving an Acura MDX until my youngest turned 2), and currently drive a Honda Oddessey. I test drove the Oddessey, the Sienna, and the Pacifica (alongside the Suburban, haha, which I preferred driving, but my kids are too young/small for it to be practical just now) multiple times this fall. I didn't drive the Quest - I actually thought they'd stopped making them because I don't see them around here at all, so I can't help on comparison there.
If you can swing it cost-wise to get a fairly recent Oddessey model (I think it's 2017 onward), I LOVE the "Magic Slide" seats in the middle row. Basically, all models come with a three piece bench, and it's easy to pop the center piece in and out to make captain chairs...then those captain chairs slide from side to side and forward and backward, which makes the back row really accessible for additional passengers, even with carseats attached. I won't do non-leather seats with three kids who have to snack in the car, and I think that the leather option kicks in pretty early on in the model "levels" on the Oddessey.
The Sienna is the only current minivan with AWD, if that's important to you (I've had one snowstorm in my Oddessey so far, and did ok with the "snow traction" switch only, but we live somewhere only hilly, not mountainous). The Pacifica's middle row features "Stow-and-go" seats (they fold easily into the floor instead of coming out of the vehicle entirely or shifting around) which don't really work with carseats attached - but the extra stowage in the underbelly of the car when seats are up & in use is kind of cool. It also comes in a hybrid electric model, which I don't believe the other minivans do. Otherwise, I didn't feel like the cars drove terribly differently - it probably just depends on what you're used to. Acura & Honda are the same maker, so I'm guessing that's why I preferred it. But really, a lot of the internal differences come down to the layout of the dash, console, mirrors, etc., and I personally think that whatever I drive, I'll get used to it.
Good luck in your car search! I don't LOVE driving a mini van (and DH and I joke that we intentionally lease so that we can claim we have never owned one, haha), but it is definitely convenient for the small kids phase of life.
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@Mrs. Turtle: we have 3 kids and really like the vw atlas. It isn't a minivan but had just as much space. The only thing it doesnt have is the sliding door.
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@PinkElephant: Thanks! I'm not sure we can afford one quite that recent, but I'll keep it in mind as we are looking in case a great deal comes up. I'm really hoping for leather, but know I should probably be flexible on that if it means a newer, lower miles car.
Has anyone test driven both the Odyssey and the Kia Sedona? I'd like to stick with Honda/Toyota if possible, but I do like my Kia Soul and like the price of the Sedona. I'm wondering how they compare in terms of things like cargo room and leg room in the back row.
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@Mrsbells: Thanks. I think those are out of our price range, and I'm pretty set on a minivan, mostly for ease of access to the back row with car seats installed in the second row. I wouldn't want to have to pull out the car seat every time someone had to climb in back.
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@Mrs. Turtle: just FYI the atlas does have that configuration so the 3rd row is fully accesible . But yeah I get it that the price range may not be what you want to pay
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@Mrsbells: oh cool! But yeah, probably still out of our range
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I've mentioned this in other minivan threads, but I would highly suggest driving around one of each kind you can find. We're terribly lucky to live in a big enough city to merit a minivan-only lot from a local chain dealer. I tested everything but the new Pacifica. Dodge Caravan was the worst, but the Quest's crash ratings terrified me. Just watch the crash test video and you'll understand why. I'd also evaluate how you can get to the back seat without uninstalling carseats on either side. Our seats slide forward enough for kids to hop in the back and adults can get back there if we take out the middle bench seat.
We ended up with a 2016 decked out Kia Sedona (about 18k all told).
Minivans are stellar with features, I have no regrets for the sliding doors, heated seats or backup camera
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@codeitall: Do you like your Sedona? I'm looking seriously at some of those, figuring I can get more/newer/fewer miles for the money. I live so far from any car dealerships, so maybe I'll set a day to go up to just try some without thinking about buying.
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I love my Sedona, I feel like it had the peppiest engine of all that I tried and my other car is a zippy Mazda so I didn't want painful switches. It is fairly nimble and I love folding the back seats flat. If huge cargo space is a must, keep in mind that the Sedona captain's chairs don't really come out, they fold up pretty flat against the front seats and the middle bench seat comes out. We hauled a huge L-shaped corner desk home for Christmas one year with the kids still in their carseats and the rest of the presents
I'm also one of those people who wanted reliability and the Sedona wasn't great before 2014, but after that it was above average. I wasn't willing to pay for a Honda or Toyota brand name though because they both had problems (Honda transmission issues on their minivan are/were super common) and my base price wouldn't have had any of the perks I wanted.
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