He Wants a Minivan...

We have the 2010 honda odyssey- traded in the mazda cx9 zoom zoom :( But the odyssey is great because you can do a car seat in the middle seat which helps for my somewhat car sick prone toddler and then it gives you easy access to the very roomy and comfortable back row for the grandparents, etc. The toyota, while prettier on the outside, does not have a very functional middle seat in the second row.
Enjoy!

LOVE LOVE LOVE my Honda Odyssey. I can leave the stroller opened up, and fit it in the back well. My 2002 was totaled in 2008, and I didn't even LOOK at any other van - stopped at the dealer on my way home from cleaning out the old one, and ordered the new one.

If I had to drive a Honda Odyssey for the rest of my life, I'd be happy. I LOVE everything about this. I like it more than my husband's Infiniti sedan. Mine is a 2006 and we paid about $9K for it last year.

DO NOT go anywhere near a Chevy Venture. Horrid, horrid vehicle. We also had a Mazda MPV which was fine, but it's pretty small.

Go with an Odyssey and you won't regret it.

We have liked our Grand Caravan but after 10 yrs it's having intermittent transmission issues. I think our next one will be a Sienna or an Odyssey. Friends really like those.

We have a Toyota Sienna and it's great but I can't picture it as a guy's commuting car - assuming he does. Maybe you could switch? Maybe he doesn't drive far but it's not good on gas and it just seems to big to drive around one person in. Otherwise, we LOVE it. So easy to get everyone in and out when we drive friends and then there's still trunk room.

My hubby drives the minivan and has for the last 15 years. We've had Chrysler Town and County. They are nice vehicles, very comfortable, but they just don't last, 90,000 and it's time for a new one.

Six months ago we bought a Toyota Sienna and we're loving it. Hubby test drove the Oddysey, but he just didn't feel comfortable.

Features...
roll down back windows... love them
auto sliding side doors... hate them, they never want to work properly, but it's pretty much standard on all vehicles
dvd system... complete waste of money - never had one, never will.., if you want dvd's in the car buy portable ones, much cheaper, each kid can have their own so there's no fighting
8 seats - you wouldn't think that one extra seat would make a difference, but I can't tell you the number of times we wished we had it when we had the T&C, the Sienna model we have has the seat that you can pop in if you need it.
fold down stow away seats - an absolute must

Our daughter and family have a nice one, think it's a Ford, they have twins and another child and they fit with room to spare. It's nice for getting into and out of and not too high up and easy to drive. We had a dodge caravan sometime back when our kids were home but the transmission was not good on those and I wouldn't recommend one now. The one our kids have has a TV and is very nice for the kids to see when driving very far.

I have a Honday Odyssey and LOVE IT! Its a 2001 with 234,000 miles and still runs perfectly. (knock on wood) When we get a newer van, it will be another Odyssey.
I did have a Chevrolet Minivan before and it was terrible. With the 3rd row in, it had no trunk! I couldnt even fit my stroller in the back. The Ody has a ton of space, big enough for my double stroller, groceries and whatever else I'm lugging around.
Happy Shopping!

We have a Kia Sedona and HATE it! So many problems!!! Do not buy one...a Kia *anything*. Good luck!

Go for a SUV, they are better in snow, they are nicer to drive and be passengers in and they have more room for people and stuff. I would say try a Ford Expedition, If thats too big drop down to the Explorer, not big enough try the Excursion. They have tons of room, and you can use them for moving things too, not only limited to use as a "family car". Hope this helps.
P.S. they aren't as bad on gas as you might think.

Your family will love it! I have a Toyota Sienna and am very happy with it. We have two kids in car seats and there's so much more room for them, it's also easier getting them in and out of the car. There's lots of space in the back for my double stroller, groceries, etc. (soccer equipment). Seats fold down very easily. Love having the back row of seats for other passengers, no more having to take two cars is nice.

As for features I wish I had, I guess I would say the automatic doors, people love them but I'm fine without them. We also didn't get the additional seat in the front row (ours is 7 passenger not 8). But I'm really not sure we would use it much.

Honda Odyssey - Touring model.

HONDA Odyssey :). I have one and love it. We have leather and the DVD system (lots of car time...). Can't live w/o the sliding doors!!! GENIUS. Some days I think the back up camera would've been nice, but I don't really miss it. Toyota was nice - more money at the time we looked (2008), and a softer ride... Quality of a Honda as well as the resale far outweighs the American models in my opinion... but I've owned a few Hondas - just love 'em. The new Odyssey is a bit more "sporty" for a guy....

My Chrysler Town and Country had to go back to the dealership SEVEN times in three years for recalls and other manufacturer issues. So I would go with the Toyota Sienna.

We've had the drop-down DVD players and found them useless -- the headphones don't fit small heads, are lost or destroyed by bigger kids, nobody can agree on a movie, and the screens block the rearview mirror. Just more of a pain than they're worth.

The seats that fold all the way down into the floor are AWESOME. We moved some serious stuff with our minivan.

Minivans are the best!!

My brother drives a Toyota Sienna and LOVES it!!

I had a mini-van, but prefer my Toyota Highlander.

We have a Nissan Quest. Even though it's older I love having it and we've had no problems w/ it..
My FIL, who won't buy a toaster w/o consulting Consumer Reports (but any old hand-me down carseat is fine) got DH a subscription for Christmas.

It gave the Toyota Sienna top honors.
The others got good scores too...Honda and Nissan.
Had nothing good to say about the Volkswagon (which is made by Chrysler).
HTH a little!

Honda Odyssey. Buy a used Touring. Best car in the world!

We have a Honda Odyssey, and I LOVE it. Although I miss my sporty, zippy little Mazda, I would be pretty content to drive my minivan until my kids go off to college. It's really a great car in so many ways.

We test-drove the Honda Odyssey, the Toyota Sienna, and the Chrysler Town & Country. I very much prefer the Odyssey because of the way it drives. I recommend your husband test-drive and Odyssey and a Sienna, because they are both high-quality minivans with mostly the same features, but they handle very differently, so that will help you make your decision.

I haven't really found any features I thought I needed but didn't. We didn't bother with a DVD player in the car, and I haven't missed it. I do have the automatic sliding doors and LOVE them. I wouldn't want a car without them.

Features I wish I had but don't: automatically-opening trunk and back-up camera. The trunk is really just a luxury, but my kids are three and 18-months, and there have absolutely been times when my arms are full of children and I would like to just press a button and open the trunk, just like I can do with the doors. The back-up camera is because this is a big-butted car, and backing it up can be a bit of a challenge. Especially in parking lots, people will walk right behind my van and assume I can see them. I can't.

Good luck.