Looking for Feedback on Minivans

I own a Town & Country minivan and I do love it. It has rear and front air conditioning/heating which is for a big family. I enjoy the space in my van and I have plenty of room for the family. I have owned this van since 2001 and prefer it to any Ford model. I have not tried any other make so I cannot speak for those.

We have the Ford Freestar and I don't care for it. It isn't the actual minivan part of it, but the way it is made. We have had so many problems with it. I love the concept of having a minivan, though. Getting my daughter in and out of it is SO easy!! All of the space is GREAT! The one thing that I DO love is the backing up sensors. NEVER thought that would be a big deal, but I LOVE having it. It beeps at me when I get to close to something and it is GREAT!!! We don't have the DVD player and will definately get it in the next one. Although, we don't really take that many long trips so maybe we don't need it. I will definately get the Honda Odyssey next time around!!!

Good luck.

After a lot of research, we went with the Honda Odyssey and have not regretted our decision. It provides a great smooth ride, great safety features, good finish and styling, and comes with better packages than the Sienna. We ended up getting the EX-L model. The only perks of the highest model, the Touring, is fog lights, an automated trunk, and more cup holders. Not worth it!

The Sienna was nice too, more comfortable ride, but the fit and finish was cheap and dull. Also, what turned us off was their packages; you had to spend so much more money just to get a navigation or heated outside mirrors. The Toyota dealers were not as friendly as the Honda dealers too.

The biggest things we love in our van is the rearview camera when you back up, the DVD/Navigation system, and the ease of folding down the seats and roomy interior.

Hondas go forever; many Hondas easily exceed 100,000 miles or more without any major trouble. You know you are getting a reliable car for a long time when you buy a Honda.

We have a Saturn Relay and they are nice as well as affordable. A must have for us since we have trips downstate to see family(3+ hour drive) is a DVD player. It is nice since the kids when they get louder can put in head phones and listen to the videos. I have a 8 month old and a 2 year old, so we have Britax car seats for both of them and we still have a row in the back for 2-3 adults- 2 comfortably.

We used to have a Dodge Caravan and recently bought a Toyota Sienna. We hated having to pull the seats in and out of the Caravan so I would say the stow and go seats are a must. Also, power windows are also very nice. Since the vehicle is so big, it is hard to roll up and down the windows by hand. The other feature we really love about the Sienna is that the middle windows roll down. We added auto start and we love that for the winter. We can warm up the van without going outside. Another nice feature is the ability to open the back doors with the remote.

the stow and go seating is a must...that is where the seats fold all the way down into the floor. it is amazing! i can't tell you how many times i have used it. you can't fit groceries in the back of a normal minivan if you have anyhthing else back there (especially a stroller).
the automatic sliding doors and the automatic trunk opener are also a must. without these 3 features you might as well go and buy one of those small SUVs or a station wagon.
good luck in your search!

J.

Hi J.,
We have a Town and Country. I absolutely hate it!! I have had nothing but problems and its only 2 years old. The nicest thing about it is you can take a seat out which makes is much easier getting to the kids in the back (I have 3 little ones 3 and under). We have had to replace 2 tires, get the alignment done, there is a whining in the engine to get fixed, the other 2 tires need to get replaced and the truck doesnt open. Nothing but problems but I heard the Honda Oddyssey is awesome! We wanted that but it was never available and a little more pricier. Good luck!

I have four kids and a tall (over 6 ft) hubby. Our van fits two car seats and room for a friend! I absolutely LOVE our Chrysler Town & Country Touring! I agree the stow & go rocks; I can't imagine living without it!! Tons of room for storage in "trunk", like suitcases and strollers for a trip! I have to admit we're getting the new '08 though. Awesome new features like the slidding door windows go down, middle seats swivel to put in a table in back. Not to mention more airbags on sides and an extra screen for satellite tv!! Can't wait to get it!! Happy shopping!
H.

We just bought a Toyota Sienna and love it. It is really solid, rides well, etc. I did a ton of research and decided on the Sienna. The Honda Odyssey is the best rated but just slightly above the Sienna. However, the Odyssey is a lot more expensive (Honda dealerships don't negotiate on them). I was choosing between the Sienna and Odyssey because they have the side curtain airbags (the domestic ones don't have them standard). Good luck to you!

I didn't read the others but I can tell you from personal experience, don't buy a Windstar. I loved it other than the mechanical problems we had. We had to replace the transmission at 32,000 miles. It was just past the time the dealer would have covered it. Then, we had to wait two months to get some electronic gadget made from the dealer so that the van would stop dying/wouldn't start every time it was parked for a few hours.
Good luck!

Hey J.! Well, I'm 36 and my husband is 35...and we are officially a 2-minivan family! We have owned both a minivan and a car at the same time for about 12 years. Whoever was with the kids for the day drove the minivan, and the other parent drove the car. My husband, who is 6 foot tall, found it easier and more comfortable to get in and out of the minivan instead of ducking down and having to swing his long legs into the front of a car. Therefore, when the car was on its last leg, we traded it in for another minivan. I drive a Ford Windstar (replaced by the Freestar, I think) and he has the Dodge Grand Caravan (buying American just seems right and patriotic to our family). Although bigger and roomier, they drive and feel just like a car rather than a truck (or a bus, as my 17-year-old daughter says). With three kids, a dog, and frequent trips to Southern Illinois to visit family, a minivan is a must! It's also great to be able to take the back and middle seats out...my husband can fit things into the van that only would have fit into a truck bed! It was hard settling into a minivan when I was 24...I felt too young! Now, I think I'd be too old for a car! Good luck!

We bought a Nissan Quest and really love it. It has a lot of room. We have 2 children, which are on the captain's chairs, but we still have room for 3 adults on the back bench. I love the doors opening with just a push of the remote and I love the trunk space! Its a great mini-van and I was so anti-minivan.

Good Luck!

I test drove several mini-vans, and it was easy for me to decide that the best ride in my opinion was the Toyota Sienna. We have had it 3 years and I am absolutely happy with. The only thing I wish it had was an interior light in the trunk area. (Maybe they've added that feature.) I am glad we ordered it with leather seats, and we also had a spoiler added to the back for $400. I love the way the "cabin" area looks and the zig zag look where the gear "thing" is. I like mini-vans in general because they are lower and that makes it easier to get kids in and out of. I like automatic sliding doors and I like the automatic trunk door. There are a lot of safety features in the Sienna. I know the Honda's minivan is safe too, as well as others. I also like lots of cup holders and storage areas that flip up on the front doors in the Sienna.

Not a big fan of mini-vans so I opted for the Ford Expedtion and let me tell you we love it! We have a 3rd row and 2 kids in car seats. When needed we can fit the 2 kids in car seats and 5-6 adults depending on there size with the 3rd row. Now the 3rd row is a little cramped, but it sure beats having to take more than one car when our extended family is going some place together.

As a rule I hate minivans. My father was a mechanic and I saw the bills. I've drove almost every kind delivering them to customers and hated the way they handled. Then my nephew bought a Kia. Great handling, reliable, and great gas mileage. He likes to drive 80-90 mph, and the van can do it. The only "major" problem he has had is a flat tire.

I just purchased a used mini-van and love it. I got an Oldsmobile Silhouette and WOW is it nice. I was concerned at first that they aren't making Oldsmobile anymore but GM said that they would continue to have parts for it for at least another 20 years. I LOVE the heated seats, compass and the 4 Captain's chairs. I bought the GLS package which has leather seats throughout, parking aid, ABS brakes (which lowers your insurance rate) and seats that come out. At 31, driving a mini-van seems weird but the features seem like a luxury. Also, if you are looking for extra room, the Olds (I believe) offers the longest mini-van...which equals extra room.

Something to consider. Good luck in your purchase. You won't regret it.

I have a Chevy Uplander, and I LOVE it. I have 3 boys, 2 still in carseats. We've been able to take my husband & I, our 3 little ones, and our 10 yr old, along with 2 friends out, and no one seemed too crowded our anything. It seats 7. I have heard the Honda Oddessey is great too, but we we not able to afford the cost.

We have a Dodge Caravan (it's actually a company car) and it's pretty functional. There are a lot of options for this car - I would have done some of it differently had we had the choice (company limited our options).

1. You need the side curtain airbags or the safety rating of this vehicle is poor
2. 2 options for seats: either 2 rows of benches (2 and 3 seats for middle and back rows) or 2 bucket seats in the middle and a bench in the back. I think you can get stow-and-go if you do the benches - I wish we had this option. We have the bucket seats which are pretty comfortable but make it a little harder to get to the back row. We fit 2 carseats and 4 adults into the van without much trouble. I think you could do 3 carseats and 3 adults too.

We actually leave half of our rear bench (the "big" half - so we have 1 seat in the last row) out and store it at my in-law's garage. It's nice for us to have the cargo space. The Caravans don't have too much space behind the back seat. The Grand Caravans have quite a lot of space back there. It's one reason I think the Stow-and-Go would be nice. (We don't really have a garage so we can't store the seat ourselves - which is a pain).

I'd say just test drive a lot of them, see how you like getting in/out the carseats etc. I love that I never have to bend over to get my son in and out of his seat.