Do You Have Children and Love Your Car? Please Tell!

The only two vans that I'd consider are Honda and Toyota. You love the Honda, I'd stick with that.

Mother of 4, who drives a Toyota van

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Had the Odyssey for two years and it was great to drive and not one single issue in two years of ownership. Shopped hard for it...liked the Sienna but Honda gave better bang for buck....Nav, DVD, BU camera for the price of a standard Sienna.
I sold the Odyssey yesterday and going to now buy a CR-V (we only have one child). I used to drive a Toyota Camry and loved that too. You can't go wrong with Toyota OR Honda. I personally just found Honda gives more car for less cash and holds great value.

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Well, I am biased because my husband works for GM. So, I would take a look at the new Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia or my personal favorite...the Buick Enclave. Of course, the suburbans, Tahoes and Denali's are awesome if you need to carpool or just need that extra room. Don't say "no" until you actually look and drive. I owned a Honda before I met my husband 16 yrs ago. I think you might be very pleasantly surprised and you will feel good to buy American.

Wow, after reading the other responses, I feel a bit out numbered here. Doesn't anyone buy American anymore?...sorry, couldn't help it.
Good luck!

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We're on our second Sienna. Loved 'em both. Just routine maintenance, no major problems. Liked the seat flexibility.

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Chrysler Town and Country mini Van. 100,000 mile drive train warranty... Couldn't live without it! VAN!

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Acura MDX. Great 3rd seat (for the kids), and fun to drive (for the Mom).

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Yes, I worked for Honda for a long time. The Oddysey's engine is actually a suzuki engine which is very weird, I always thought.

I think there are many good options now-a-days. I would do some online searches so that a budget and benefit you receive are equal.

If you want something really nice go with a Range Rover.

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I have four boys!!! I drive an '01 Acura MDX & I LOVE it. There is room for everyone & their stuff. It handles like a sports car & the gas mileage isn't bad either. I will drive this car until it dies & then replace it with another one. It has all the fun & fancy stuff you could want: heated seats, memory seat position..., but since we bought it used, it didn't break the bank. Absolutely the best car I've ever had & I am a car fanatic. Good luck!

L.

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J.:
I, too, have owned Hondas--since 2003. First it was the CR-V, but then I had my 3rd daughter in 2005, so in 2007 I upgraded to the Pilot. I believe it is the best buy for the money--the usual maintenance, nothing breaks, and the mileage is great for a V6, thus making it more for the money. I plan on staying with Honda for as long as they make a car my family fits in!

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We absolutely love our Nissan Quest! It's very roomy and received excellent crash-test ratings. True to Nissan (as well as you might have experienced with Hondas), it can be expected to get 200,000-300,000 miles on it with just normal minor replacements (belts, etc) along the way. The seats fold down flat, providing more cargo room than my husband's full-sized pick-up offers! I love how big the cargo area is behind the third row seat, as well. Since it is designed for the seat to fold into it, it is nice and deep, giving a lot of extra room for when we travel, etc. When looking at Edmunds.com (I highly recommend looking there for information on all cars you're looking into since you can access standard features, options, measurements, etc, as well as look up crash test ratings, fuel efficiency, and even reviews by users and editors (though we've noticed the editors' reviews tend to be opinionated rather than more based on accuracy in some cases).), we discovered that Nissan Quest received some of the highest reviews, as well.

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We love the Toyota Sequoia and the Toyota Sienna. Both keep our 5 kids comfy and complaint-free.

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I have friends who have driven around in wagons and minivans and finally settled on the Odyssey. Time and time again, I hear from Odyssey owners that it's the best family car they have ever owned. One guy said, "I NEVER would have pictured me in a van -- but I LOVE ours!"

So, I would get another of what you have. I think you started out with the best thing.

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I did have 06 Pilot for 3years and Loved it and still do and I miss it very much. I now drive a 09 Odyssey bought June 1. I have 2 kids, 1 child RF and the other FF in a harnessed carseat. I also have 1 other child 2x a week who rides in a harness seat. The Pilot had no cargo room with the 3rd row up. there was also no leg room for an adult if they sat in the 3rd row. We moved to a van because our inlaws rented one, Sienna 8passenger. It fit 1 carseat, Britax wizard, RF passenger side middle row, 1 carseat, Graco Nautilus, FF 3rd row passenger side. Also in the 3rd row, my MIL and SIL. 2ed row me and my BIL. We were all comfortable. I also put in a Joovy sit in stand stroller in the cargo and we put in a cooler with room to spare in the cargo. I got the oddy bc we got a better deal then the Sienna. the Oddy had everything we wanted, Sunroof and Nav. With the Sienna they did not have a model with sunroof or nav and would install after products, which we did not like. You cant go wrong with either van, it depends on what you want for extras. they both have 5 star crash test ratings. We also travel 2-3x a year from SC to RI and hated having to put a rooftop carrie on the pilot, with the van, we will not need to rooftop carrier. On my last tank of gas I got 21gal on a tank and went 347mi driving 50-60mph with AC on low speed. With the Pilot I would have got about 250mi on a tank, not sure on the gas. Get out there and see what you like, and what works for your current life setting

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