We need to get a van.

Jane - posted on 07/05/2011

We have the Toyota Sienna 7 passenger and we love it. We have to stow a wheelchair and a walker in it and still have additional space for a small ice chest, even with the third row seat in place. The last seat also stows into the floor, like the Odyssey, so you can have lots of space if you need it. When the seat is up it has hooks on the back for hanging grocery bags so the contents don't roll around everywhere. Both the side doors open remotely, and you can also get a remote-opening rear door (we chose not to).

You could put as many as 5 car seats in it if you needed to. There are plenty of places to stow cups and bottles and spare change, and garage door openers, and sunglasses. It has dual A/C that can be controlled from the front or the back. It has a "mom mirror" that folds out of the front ceiling to let you see everybody in the back seats so you don't have to turn around. The sound system is great, and you can get the optional DVD player ($1000 extra).

The driver seat has electric controls that move it front and back, tilt the seat front and back, and tilt the seat back. It also has a tiltable steering wheel.

The Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna alternate year to year as to which is the "better car," but both have been rated number one. Safety and insurability are about equal.

Right now our Toyota dealer offers free routine maintenance for the life of the warranty and free road service for a year. So far maintenance hasn't cost a thing because of that agreement. Nothing has gone wrong.

Laura - posted on 07/04/2011

those who have the Honda Odessey, how are the costs for maintenance?

Karlye - posted on 05/01/2011

I have a GMC Acadia bc I just couldn't make the jump to a minivan. It seats 8, but we keep the back row folded down and it holds tons of stuff. We have 3 kids, 4 years and 1 year old twins and have no problem fitting them and all of their stuff in. I have a Graco stroller that is larger than a traditional double bc it had to fit 2 infant carriers instead of one just being a seat. It fits with lots of extra room.

Bri - posted on 05/01/2011

We bought a 2004 Honda Odyssey 4 years ago- LOVE IT! Like Julie, we made a list of must-haves before we went. We also checked depreciation value (Julie also mentions that Honda's depreciate slower than others). We also checked safety ratings and insurance cost.

All that being said- we have had 3 car seats in the back row (1 infant, 2 toddler), we regularly tote 2 car seats in middle and 5 passengers (sometimes including my very football player sized nephew). While we haven't hauled a double stroller we have had 2 full sized travel system strollers in the back PLUS assorted other luggage and groceries with room to spare.

Features- love the stow-n-go/fold down seat so that we can put all the gear to go camping as a family. Love that I can move the middle seat to separate children as needed. The dvd player was an optional on our wish list but having the dual sound system is awesome- they can listen to movie on headphones and I can listen to radio (not disney for the umpteenth time!).

My hubby is 5'11" and I'm 5'2"... while borrowing a friends Grand Caravan discovered that the driver seat only adjusts forward and back- and that my short legs don't comfortably reach the floor/gas pedal so that was something that wasn't on the original top 10 list of must-haves but it quickly went to the top 3!

Also on our wish list was the auto sliding doors and honestly, I can't count the number of times when toting a car seat, trailing a toddler and hauling some groceries how appreciative I have been of being able to push the button or just pop the handle and have my doors open by themselves.
We also like the that the seats are designed (maybe accidentally) so that installing car seats is actually VERY easy- even for grandparents who don't do it on a regular basis.

Honestly, I can't think of anything I don't like about our Odyssey!

Laurie - posted on 05/01/2011

We have a grand caravan. It will hold an amazing amount of stuff with the back seats folded down into the floor. You could put huge strollers in there without collapsing them first. One thing I love and would hate to go without with the kids is the sliding doors you can open with the remote. That comes in so handy when you have arms full of kid and groceries.

Julie - posted on 05/01/2011

I have 3 small children, a double stroller, and a single stroller. We bought a 2008 honda odyssey 2 months ago and we LOVE it. The back seats fold into the floor and the middle seats are removeable. It also gets 28 mpg highway. We opted for a certified used vehicle from the honda dealership, so it has an awsome warrenty with no deductible. It's a little narrower than the 2011 but we can still fit three carseats across. We looked at the dodge caravan and toyota sienna, but decided on the honda. It also has the lowest depreciation and best customer satisfaction rating. It helped us to make a list of must-haves before we went. Ours was that it had to be able to hold 4 small children, 2 really, really big dogs (or strollers and groceries), and have good gas mileage. That's what worked for us. Good luck

Jennifer - posted on 04/29/2011

I'm with Kimberly, I haven't had any of those, but I have a honda odyssey. I love the amount of space in the back. Because of the stow n' go seating, the back actually dips down, and is perfect for just about anything you want to take.

Theresa - posted on 04/29/2011

I have a Dodge Grand Caravan and a Graco double stroller. It fits fine. Take the stroller with you while van shopping to make sure it fits.

Kimberly - posted on 04/29/2011

No idea. I have a Honda Odyssey and I can fit both my double stroller & my single stroller in the back with no problem.