Minivan or SUV

I have 4 boys ages 12 years to 21 months - and we are a Toyota Sienna family. I wouldn't trade it for anything. We upgrade every few years and I've been driving one since '02. The newer models have tons of space, are as comfortable in the back as they are in the front, have a great dropped cargo area in the back, windows that roll down on the sliding doors, and handle just like a car except with lots of power! And btw...I swore I would never be a minivan mom...until I test drove one. Safe, comfortable, and family friendly - you can't beat that when you've got kids!

When my first was born we bought a mini-van and I loved it! We had a 2001 Pontiac Grande Voyager and later bought a 2003 Crysler Town and County.
They were both great vehicles. A few years ago we bought a Honda Pilot and I hate it! The ride is not as good and it has less room than the min-vans. We are considering getting a GMC Acadia this fall. My in-laws have a Buick Enclave and love it, the Acadia is similar. They are both roomier than the Pilot.
We had an opportunity to rent a 2009 Town and County and found it to be a cheap, uncomfortable ride. The fit and finish was awful. My sil has a Sienna and loves it and my neighbor has an Odysee and likes it, but like us, does not like Honda's customer service.

Of the three minivans you listed, the biggest differences are how the vans drive. We considered all 3 of them, but I prefered the way the Odyssey drives. My husband, who has a Toyota Prius, preferred the way the Sienna drove, so I just recommend you take them each for a test drive to see what works for you. If you want easy access to the 3rd row, make sure that one seat in the second row easily slides toward the center to create a path (I know for sure that this is true in the Honda and Toyota, can't remember about the Chrysler). The best way to make a decision is to hit the car lots and play with each vehicle. Good luck!

P.S. I LOVE my Odyssey. SOOOOOO convenient and easy to use. I have 2 car seats and 3 dogs and I can fit the whole family, plus luggage. Love it love it.

My husband and I have 3 kids ages 5, 2 and 7 months and we love our Mazda CX-9. It's 7 passenger, efficiently uses space and drives like a car, not a van. We've owned it for a year and love it. Lots of good things about this vehicle. R., stay at home midwife mom of 3

We love our Sienna! A previous poster was right about the main difference is the way they drive - we test drove all 3 minivans and thought the Sienna was a smoother drive (Odyssey was more sporty - and the T&C we just didn't like the interior, but it is still a great van for the price). We love the footrests in the Sienna - I didn't think they would be a big deal but its great for the kids when their feet dangle from the booster seats. And my husband loves all the "gadgets" - hands free/blue tooth, wireless headphones, mp3 hookup, voice commands, if your guy is a gadget guru he will love it. Our friends have a T&C and they love the option to turn the middle seats around and install a table so the kids in the back can play cards.

I LOVE my mini van, but it's a Nissan Quest, which are not being made any more. I just wanted to recommend one thing when making your purchase that has made a HUGE difference for me and is my absolute favorite thing about my van- AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOORS- gotta get them! It's so easy to load the kids when you don't have to run around to each side and open doors! Happy van shopping!

My sister has three carseats in the Honda Odysey and loves it so much that my mom also got one, and she loves hers. I personally never broke down and did station wagons (volvos were bigger in my day followed by the mercedes SUV with a thrid row whenthe kids climbed in and out themselves). Everyone else I knew (who wouldn't do minivans) did the Suburban or the Escalade and raved about those too.

We love our Toyota Sienna. We got it after our 3rd son came along. Before that we had a Dodge Durango. Our oldest (age 6) could crawl in & out on his on, but buckling him in was a feat of acrobatics.

I have a Honda Pilot-I love it-we considered the Odyssey but were only expecting our second and weren't thinking about easy access to the third row-which it does not. But I love our Honda-it's the first one I've had and think I may stick with Honda from now on. My mom had a Chrysler, and Dodge minivans and was constantly taking it to the dealer because of recalls. But you should really install the car seats when you are shopping, the dealer should not mind being this will be a big determining factor, we were encouraged to do so by the dealer. I don't know that you would find an SUV that has more 2nd row room than a Lexus, but I have had 3 car seats across in my Pilot.

My suggestion is to test drive them to see what you like. All of the mini-vans drive different (we just bought a Honda Pilot last weekend, but I test drove the minivans, the Highlander, and the Enclave). I thought I was going to like the Sienna the best, but the seats were stiff and I didn't like where I sat in the vehicle (I felt like I was driving the boat). I liked the Odyssey ride and the seats were more comfortable. The Pilot was redesigned last year and has a lot of space. If you boys get along it may be a good alternative as you can fit 3 car seats in the 2nd row (there is also a LATCH system for one seat in the 3rd row). But it is an SUV, rides like a truck more than a car, and has less cargo space than an van. The Enclave I liked as well (I think I liked the seating arrangement the best of all the SUVs), but I have hesitation about buying a Buick (or a Chrysler for that matter). We have a great mechanic (we had a Jeep, made by Chrysler, and it was in the shop A LOT after it hit 50,000 miles.) Basically he said he would buy a Toyota, Honda then Kia before buying any American made model (this is due to amount of things that break and the COST of the parts that break). So this also went into our consideration.

AND they are going to start making a updated version of the Nissan Quest for 2011 (so dealerships should have them in the Sept/Oct time frame). Which, from what I know of friends who have Quests, they love them.

Good Luck and just go one day and test drive them, take your car seats and hook them in to see how easy (or hard) they are to install and decide what you are going to love :-)

Get the larger vehicle. The room you'll have behind the back seat is worth the extra cost. I have had a double stroller, a play pen, and a bicycle in the back of mine and can honestly tell you with that many boys you will never go wrong having the extra room a larger SUV will give you. I want to go with nothing but a Suburban. I can put 3-4 BMX bikes back there plus the double stroller. The seats are wide and as the boys grow up they will have room for their elbows and own space. You have 3 seats in the middle row plus a bench in the back with room for 3. That plus 2 front seats you'll have room for 8 adults.

We went through this dilemma in February. Here was our ranking:
1. 2011 Toyota Sienna
2. 2010 Honda Odyssey
....
5. anything else, even the high-end crossovers and SUVs.
We were so impressed with The Big Two, that the rest just didn't compare when it came to comfort, quiet, and safety. The Sienna won out, but not by a huge margin - I much preferred the front display, sliding 2nd row seats, and 3rd row storage seats in the Sienna. I preferred the Odyssey's 8th seat (wider!) than the Sienna's, but you can store the Sienna's 8th seat *in* the back of the Sienna - very handy! The Odyssey's 2011 remake is now available, and is certainly worth a look. I never wanted to be minivan mom, but I gotta tell you - I'm a convert. Love my Sienna.

We went from a 2 door to a minivan before our 2nd son was born knowing that we wanted 2 more kids. Well we stopped at 3 kids but we don't regret the Odyssey. We went to the lot thinking basic model but ended up with sliding door, navigation and dvd... They gave us a deal because they didn't have the basic model in our color and I was making them special order our color. We make lot's of trips in the van and can hold all our things. We moved our oldest(now 7) to a booster seat when he was 5 and he sits in the back no problem. The dvd doors and navigation have definatly come in handy on several occasions.
Good luck

We also "gave in" and got a mini van last year. After test driving all that was out there I found I prefered the Honda Oddessey. I loved the head room and spaciousness of the back. The seats are very easy to get to and move around (you can either have a walk through middle or move the passange center row seat over for a side walk through). The back is sunken so its great for groceries (we leave the third row up). It gets great miliage and super comfy. We got the reverse camerea and video player and 6 disc cd changer. I did not get nav (its $2500 more and you can buy a garmin for way cheaper). Love the automatic doors and central air. I say go out and test drive all and see for yourself what you like best. The oddessey was our choice

We love the Honda Odyssey. We did consider the Toyota Sienna. It was very comparable except for the navigation. The Honda is very user friendly, never had to even look at the manual whereas the Sienna would take several hours to learn ( salesman for Toyota admitted to me). The Honda has great engine power and can shut off cylinders when not needed, saving gas. It's very easy to get to the third row, side windows go down, nice deep trunk, great air circulation front and rear. I would go with the minivan vs the SUV. Not sure how many times someone has parked too close to me and there would have been no way to get the kids in the car without the sliding doors! Test drive them and see for yourself.

All three are wonderful choices. We have a Chrysler Town & Country and love it! It's very easy to get to the third row & there's a ton of space in the back, we keep our large stroller in there all the time and still have room for groceries when I go shopping.

My friend went from her Acrua SUV to the Honda Odysee, and LOVES it!

I LOVE our Honda Odyssey!!! It's our heaven on wheels. =0) There are several different ways the seats can be arranged. I love how easy they move around and how easy they fold into the floor. I love my automatic side doors and automatic back for when you have your hands full and need both the doors and the trunk to open..........you just push the buttons and the kiddos can jump in while you unload the bags into the back. I love the rear back up camera and the hands free nav system. EVERYTHING is completely hands free. From asking what time it is to controlling the rear air temp, speed, etc. The trap door in the floor will fit a ton of stuff as well. The design is just the most family friendly easy to use convenient thing EVER! Ample cup holders, little nooks and crannies to hold everything.........it's just genius and we love it VERY much. It's our second Odyssey. We upgraded our other Odyssey for the 2009 model last year. It's fabulous! We've had it filled with 8 grown adults and everyone was comfortable and astonished at how much room they had and always comment on how wonderful it rides. =0)

http://automobiles.honda.com/odyssey/interior-photos.aspx...

Just a thought--

We looked at new cars and decided to put a third row seat into our SUV instead. It cost about $1000 but was a cheaper option than the new car. You actually lose cargo space, but just wanted to throw it out there. My brother-in-law installed it for us in about an hour.

Little Passengers was the company we used. They can usually match your car's upholstery.

Other than that, in my extensive research before our current SUV, the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna were the top of the line, in that order. We got a Sienna and loved it.