Question Vehicles that seat 8?

There may be ways to research this, but truthfully I know I'm going to get better answers re: car seat friendliness here, so I'll try it here first.

My van was totaled yesterday, and currently I have a rental (they kindly gave me a small SUV so I can fit three seats across the back if need be.) I need to pick out both new seats and a new vehicle.

I'm going to guestimate I have only about 10k to spend. I did have a 2002 GMC Safari; I don't know what the offer will be for it yet but it's not going to be more than a few thousand dollars, I'm sure. The van just wasn't worth that much. I'm definitely looking at something used, I'd hope/guess in the '04-'06 model years.

It MUST seat six in the back. I will have six kids this summer, and if I get a "regular" minivan I will need to put a boostered 8.5yo in the front... which I wasn't cool with before yesterday, and I definitely am not cool with now.

I know the Odyssey has an option for 8, but a) I think it's out of my price range, and b) daycare mom says she doesn't think you can fit a car seat on the jump seat. Does anyone know if a Radian would fit there?

I also know the Sienna has an option for 8, but I'm not willing to buy a Toyota right now, for obvious reasons.

Does the Kia minivan (name escaping me at the moment - Sedona?) have an option for 8? That would probably be my best bet for being in my budget, I would think, but I don't know if it has an 8 passenger option.

Any other vans that would be worth considering?

I would really, really prefer not to get an SUV (I just don't like them,) but if that's what has to happen for me to get the kids around safely, in a vehicle I can afford, I'm willing to entertain the option. I know the Pilot has that option, but as with the Ody, I doubt I can afford one. I know there are others, just don't know which.

Please spam me with options -- what seats six in the back, is relatively safe, and is in/near the price range I'm looking. It would also help to know (if you know) if it fits a RF Radian, since I have a 40lb 3yo that I'd prefer to keep RFing. If the crash tests are good, I'd be willing to FF him, but my preference is RFing.

I need to be able to fit (any configuration):

3 booster riders
1 FF harnessed child (would consider booster, still on fence)
1 RF Radian, possible FF harness
1 RF any seat, would love to do MR but am open to other options.

Thanks for any ideas you care to send my way

I think you're limited to the Sienna and big SUVs like the Suburban or Excursion.

Some vehicles, like the Pilot, say they seat 8, but that's in name only. If you've got car seats, then that 8th person is gonna have to be a newborn without a carseat.

The Sienna has a "real" 8th seat that fits a car seat (or a real person). It's not on the recall list either so I'd really consider it.

I don't know about minivans. But you can definitely get 8 in a suburban, fairly easily. The middle row is huge and you can get almost any 3 across in there (even 3 regents). The third row is a bit tighter, but you can get several different 3 across to work. And I can install a radian in several different places both FF and RF.

HTH some.

I have a 2005 Toyota Sequois that I LOVE! Realsitically seats 8!!! Wooohoo! Very car seat friendly.

No, the kia/hyundai minivan does not have an 8 seater option.
You are looking at, as has been said, a sienna or big-butt SUV.
I rarley dispute Codex, but i would say that it actually *might* be possible to get 8 in a pilot, if 3 are older booster riders, because they might very well pass the 5-step test in that miniature 3rd row, and therefore not need a booster there, making it easier to get 3-across. But, i'm not sure how old or big your booster riders are. I will say my slightly-aboive average 5 year old fit almost acceptably with no booster when we were checking them out last fall....

Also, just to be clear..*IF* you end up in a scenario where you need to put a child up front, you are supposed to go with the oldest ffing harnessed child, unless there is NO airbag, in which case a rearfacing seat is the safest front seat choice. SO, your one FFing harnessed child woudl actually be the one to go in front.

I'm not too familiar with kids in the booster age. Assuming they don't need a booster, I can see a super skinny kid possibly fitting into that 8th spot of the Pilot. I wouldn't push it though. If that is the case, I'd prolly rather just stick the biggest kid in a booster up in the front seat with the seat pushed back.

My reasoning is the kid should be quite safe due to the proper belt positioning combined with the wall of airbags up there. Conversely, I dunno how much testing they do on crashes in that 3rd row. Not exactly a lot of crumple room back there. It makes me nervous.

That said, if you stick someone up front, you lose that front seat that otherwise might be taken by another adult/helper.

Huh, I swore I just read somewhere that the Kia did seat 8. Poo. What about the Saturn (Relay?)

Two of my booster riders are 8, though vastly different sizes. One is 52-53" and about 90lb, the other 48 or 49" and I think 59lb. The other one is six, 48", low 60lb, but built very differently than the 8yo. Additionally, our law is 4'9" or 8yo so he must use a booster.

I'm definitely aware that the oldest harnessed child is supposed to be up front... up until now (er, yesterday ) that's how we went if I ended up with an extra kid and the 6yo rode up there. However, he's very close to outgrowing the Apex by both weight and height, and I doubt he'll still fit in there by summer. My next oldest harnessed is not yet 5, and even if I voted him over the larger 8yo, his mother would never consent. The 6 & lg8yo's families are very lax about car safety, whereas the 5 & sm8yo's family listens to me about car seat safety, and knows that kids + airbags = bad plan. Family one's 6yo regularly rides in the front seat, no booster (despite a totally empty backseat.) It makes me want to vomit every time I see it. But, I finally told this family that I was going to stop lecturing them on carseat safety, since it was no longer doing any good (I got their littlest out of an unsafe situation and into a safe one, and that was a *major* victory.) At this point, I just try to work on the kids, and hope that they'll some day ask to sit in the boosters that they own but don't use. All of that is why I say that if I purchase a 7psgr van, that 8yo is who would end up in the front. That's the consent I have. But I'm not okay with it.

I am okay with having one (or both) of the 8yos without boosters if they really, truly pass 5-step without it. (Small probably will not, large would in some cars.) I would definitely want them center, though.

I didn't realize the Sienna hadn't been on the recall list, but still, as a brand, I'm not very comfortable purchasing one of their vehicles. I think at this point in time, it would always be in the back of my mind, and I'm already panicky enough between being overly educated and being fresh off of a crash. If I can eliminate panic about not being able to stop my car, it's one less thing to freak me out.

Thank you all very much for your time in responding. I don't mean to sound like I'm shooting down everyone's answers -- I truly appreciate them a lot -- I'm just trying to wrap my brain around a major decision I hadn't even been considering, and now need to make in just a few days. I only needed that van to last me six more months! LOL.

I was torn about telling you this, but since you're quite limited in options, I think I should. Just do a search for "recall" plus any car company or particular car. See what recalls were out there. No one is spotless, including Toyota and Honda (Honda had a recall right after the Toyota pedal thing, altho it was a pretty small one limited to the Fit).

Anyways, my point is that you may want to take a day or two and see if you can get comfortable with looking at a Sienna. At least check the prices. Maybe they're too expensive for the years you want. It's just that the Sienna wasn't on the recall list and if it's just the reputation of the brand, well, Toyota, even after this recall, is still way up at the top of the list in terms of best quality.

Sometimes it's better not to know, but it's basically the elephant in the room what with it being all over the news right now. I just wanted to point out the very disturbing fact that while the Toyota pedal problem might be an elephant in the room, all the other car companies have their own pachyderms sitting right alongside Toyota's. It's just that the spotlight is focused on the Toyota elephant. I've paid attention to recalls long enough that they all smell the same to me.

At heart, I'm a Honda fan. I just feel Toyota worse of a rap than it really deserves. Yeah, they were scumbags for delaying as long as they did, but this is their first truly bad recall (what I call a "weird" recall). The media just picked up on this for some reason, just like they picked on Ford for the tires (Ford has lots of other "weird" problems so the Firestone debacle really didn't seem all that special to me; the 50 cent piece on the Pinto was much more "horrible" on the part of Ford IMO).

Thanks for the input. I do appreciate it, and there's no need to hesitate. I'm not a skittish driver in general, in fact I drove round-trip past the site of yesterday's crash this morning and was okay. (I did take an alternate route into work this morning, but had to go back to Columbus a few hours later.) It definitely helps to put it into perspective.

I think what unnerves me so much about this particular recall (and probably why it's getting so much attention) is that it is a very dramatic problem, not only in the accelerator issue but also the fact that the company made such drastic steps in ceasing sales. Further, I'm unsettled about the fact that I've read things to the effect that perhaps the pedal issue is not the real issue, and rather it's the throttle, which is obviously not being addressed in the recall.

I don't think Honda is without fault, in the least, but many of my daycare parents drive them and I'm familiar with that as an 8 passenger option. Therefore, that was my first thought in terms of an 8 pass vehicle.

Thank you again for taking the time to talk to me (and talk me down,) and I will take a bit and consider the Sienna as a viable option. I need to go out and look at actual vehicles this weekend, and see what's out there... I think in the end that would make my decision for me.

Carrie_R said:

Huh, I swore I just read somewhere that the Kia did seat 8. Poo. What about the Saturn (Relay?)

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The Saturn Relay and its other GM minivan siblings, the Pontiac SV6, Chevy Uplander, and Buick Terraza, are 7-passenger vehicles, not 8-passenger. I also wouldn't necessarily rule out a Sienna but I can understand the reluctance. I drive an '05 Sienna, and I'm not particularly enamored of Toyota of late. Prior to the Sienna, we owned several Saturn models and luckily walked away unscathed from crashes in several of those Saturns (we referred to ourselves as unofficial Saturn crash test dummies ).

Another possibility to consider would be the Saturn Outlook crossover and its GM siblings, the Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave, which are available in 8-passenger versions as well as 7-passenger versions. I'm not sure how 3 across friendly they are in the third row, but that would be something you could try out with your carseats during test drives before deciding on a replacement vehicle. :twocents: Since the GM crossovers sticker at approx. $30K and up new, depending on the specific model and options, and were new to the market in the past 1 to 3 model years (the Traverse being the newest version), they might not necessarily be available used for ~$10K. However, Saturn dealerships in particular are probably very willing to negotiate if they have anything used in stock as GM is phasing out the Saturn brand and Saturn dealerships are winding down operations.

Thanks, Jean. The GM set looks to be too expensive, but it's definitely worth a visit to my local dealership this weekend to see if they're willing to work with me. As it turns out, my van was worth a bit more than I expected, so I'll have a decent down payment and may be able to afford a bit more than $10k, but still not too much more. Not the 20k+ the Outlook seems to be going for, although, again, they may be willing to haggle.

Thanks again.

The Expedition will hold 6 in the back, but you won't have much in the way or cargo room. The 3rd row seat sits on top of the wheel wells, versus the Suburban that sits between them, so the 3rd row seat is wider and better for a 3 across scenario. The do make an extended version of the Expedition, for more cargo room, but those are new, in the last couple years, so would be more than you want to spend.
You can fit 6 in a Suburban, but the 3rd row seat is more narrow so you might only be able to fit boosters, or Radians etc. I have a Frontier and Regent in the 3rd row of my Yukon XL, same as the Suburban and I can't fit anything in between the seats.

Thanks, Lori. I'll look into those models as well. Cargo room is the least of my worries. When I have kids, at most I carry a stroller, usually just groceries. If I need to carry cargo without the kids, I use the passenger compartment for the cargo.

Have spent the weekend looking, both on foot and online, and ughhh this is a pain! I found a few Chevy Ventures and thought I'd found my answer (especially since the crash ratings I pulled up were 4-5*!) 'til I dug a little deeper and found out about the frontal offset crash ratings. Sigh. Looked like it may have been perfect. (And it upsets me to realize it may still be what I end up with.)

I fell in LOVE with the Outlook, but even the oldest of the base models with higher mileage is still well out of my price range. They are 19-20k at the low end, and even if I pushed my range, there's still a 5k gap there.

I took codex's advice and acted rationally regarding the Sienna, especially in comparison with the Venture, and have looked a bit for it. I did find a Sienna that I could afford, that has 8 seats, but it has 157k on it. I don't need this van for THAT much longer, but still, I'm not sure how well a vehicle with that many miles on it will hold up (especially at the top of my price range!)

A dealership in town where I work has an older Ody (2003 I think) that is slightly more than what I have for a down payment, but it is only 7 passenger. I'm going to go see them to find out if they know if there's any way to convert that to an 8 passenger, and if they can help me. Probably not, but it's worth a shot.

If it comes down to the high mileage Sienna, or the more affordable but potentially deadly Venture... I don't know. The accident I just had was frontal offset, and in my Safari I should have fared worse than I did, and in the Venture, I definitely would have. And that's without factoring the kids' safety into it. But I also need something that will run, and to some degree, last the 4 years of payments. I could go back to a Safari -- of those who know these things, would you pick the Safari (Astro) over the Venture?

Carrie_R said:

Thanks, Lori. I'll look into those models as well. Cargo room is the least of my worries. When I have kids, at most I carry a stroller, usually just groceries. If I need to carry cargo without the kids, I use the passenger compartment for the cargo.

Have spent the weekend looking, both on foot and online, and ughhh this is a pain! I found a few Chevy Ventures and thought I'd found my answer (especially since the crash ratings I pulled up were 4-5*!) 'til I dug a little deeper and found out about the frontal offset crash ratings. Sigh. Looked like it may have been perfect. (And it upsets me to realize it may still be what I end up with.)

I fell in LOVE with the Outlook, but even the oldest of the base models with higher mileage is still well out of my price range. They are 19-20k at the low end, and even if I pushed my range, there's still a 5k gap there.

I took codex's advice and acted rationally regarding the Sienna, especially in comparison with the Venture, and have looked a bit for it. I did find a Sienna that I could afford, that has 8 seats, but it has 157k on it. I don't need this van for THAT much longer, but still, I'm not sure how well a vehicle with that many miles on it will hold up (especially at the top of my price range!)

A dealership in town where I work has an older Ody (2003 I think) that is slightly more than what I have for a down payment, but it is only 7 passenger. I'm going to go see them to find out if they know if there's any way to convert that to an 8 passenger, and if they can help me. Probably not, but it's worth a shot.

If it comes down to the high mileage Sienna, or the more affordable but potentially deadly Venture... I don't know. The accident I just had was frontal offset, and in my Safari I should have fared worse than I did, and in the Venture, I definitely would have. And that's without factoring the kids' safety into it. But I also need something that will run, and to some degree, last the 4 years of payments. I could go back to a Safari -- of those who know these things, would you pick the Safari (Astro) over the Venture?

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When I said that you would have no cargo room in the Expedition I meant, your stroller, and possibly a bag or two of groceries, and that really is only if your stroller is an umbrella type, or a flat book fold. As the kids get older, the cargo space will be something you will want to have. They start doing sports which require gym bags for each kid, balls, special shoes etc. AND if you have a baby then too, you have all that along with the stroller. There are times I even think I don't have enough space in my Yukon XL. haha
Good luck in your search. Sounds like you are leaning toward a van, which will work out fine for what you need.

ETA: OK, I just read a thread here & it seems that ventures and Montana are " unsafe "...... CAN ANYONE FILL ME IN, ESPECIALLY SINCE I DRIVE ONE...?

Hi there, I just wanted to add that you can find 8 passenger Chevy Ventures & 8 passenger Pontiac Montanas. Also, Oldsmobile Silhoette (i butchered the spelling, i'm sure).....I am currently driving an 8 passenger 2003 Montana. Both outboard seats in the middle and rear benches have shoulder belts and all three seats in the middle bench have head rests. The outboard seats in the middle have LATCH and for the 3rd row there is one tether anchor. There are def. other places to attach a D-Ring, in the 3rd and middle rows, but I have questions about that.....I just checked the recalls on the Montana we have, but I can't make heads or tails of the info. As far as car seat installs, to the best of my knowledge and from my own experience, I've had great success installing Radians in all the seats except he rear/middle. I've had my installs checked by a tech, too. Currently, I'm using a Roundabout, a Parkway, a MyRide, and a Touriva (ugh!) My DH just purchased a 9 passenger 1997 Suburban which I will most likely start driving. I just checked with a GM dealer about having Tether Anchors installed. I'm going to start another thread about that, with some questions, and some info On what I found out...... anyway, i just wanted to add my :twocents: to the OPs question about 8p vehicles, and i'm looking forward to reading anyone's replies on what I said......

Lori... I owe you an apology. Nowhere in my post did I indicate it, but I'm a nanny, and these aren't my kids I'm lugging around. Thus, no concern about sports equipment, etc. Truly, if I need the cargo space it's off hours (weekends for moving, etc,) or else I have the kids and need nothing more than maybe the stroller, a few carriers, or groceries. I also don't have all of the seats full ALL the time (I'm "shared" by a couple of families,) but I do need them occasionally.

2b3g -- I had looked into the Ventures, and seriously been considering them until I saw the frontal offset ratings. It's misleading, because they scored well frontal and side, but search this board for frontal offset tests and you'll see exactly why I'm shying away.

The good news is I've found some Pilots that I think fit my criteria, a 2003 and a 2006. The 2006 ranks very well on informedforlife, plus it's slightly lower mileage, for about the same price. One of the salesmen encouraged me to test install some seats to see what worked. I just need to figure out if I can fit the gang in it. Off to start another thread, lol...

Carrie_R said:

Lori... I owe you an apology. Nowhere in my post did I indicate it, but I'm a nanny, and these aren't my kids I'm lugging around. Thus, no concern about sports equipment, etc. Truly, if I need the cargo space it's off hours (weekends for moving, etc,) or else I have the kids and need nothing more than maybe the stroller, a few carriers, or groceries. I also don't have all of the seats full ALL the time (I'm "shared" by a couple of families,) but I do need them occasionally.

2b3g -- I had looked into the Ventures, and seriously been considering them until I saw the frontal offset ratings. It's misleading, because they scored well frontal and side, but search this board for frontal offset tests and you'll see exactly why I'm shying away.

The good news is I've found some Pilots that I think fit my criteria, a 2003 and a 2006. The 2006 ranks very well on informedforlife, plus it's slightly lower mileage, for about the same price. One of the salesmen encouraged me to test install some seats to see what worked. I just need to figure out if I can fit the gang in it. Off to start another thread, lol...

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Oh, well then you don't need the room. hehehe AWESOME for you to be planning this around "your" kiddos.

Oh, then the Pilot is most definitely in play if these aren't your kids.

How often do you have 8 in at a time? It's not convenient to get into that 3rd seat. I hop thru the trunk area in my neighbor's Pilot. Depending on the size of person and the height of the car seat, that may or may not be an option.

As for the Venture, just do a search on youtube for "Venture" and "crash". The crash test videos sum things up pretty well. If you already own it and can't afford to replace it, do what you need to do and replace it when you can. However, if you're looking now, the videos are a clear example of why we never recommend them (of a certain year range, altho the brand new ones aren't worth recommending either).

Sorry, I should have specified that it was a nanny vehicle when I first posted. Not necessarily awesome; being able to transport is kind of in the terms of my job lol so I've gotta get something that seats them all. (Although the "8" requirement is mine; I have a dcm who I think would just as soon see me get a 7 seater and put her 8yo up front. Not okay with me.)

My schedule is so variant that it's hard to quantify how often I have them all. I will say in the summers, I will have six full-time. The oldest two are "legal" out of boosters, and I think the larger of the two would pass five-step in that back row. (I put his 6yo brother, who is on the same growth curve, back there today and he almost passed.) I don't know about the other 8yo. We loaded today through the trunk and it worked really well, and I would entertain that as a "regular" possibility. I'd also consider putting my RFers back there, and loading through the hatch, if (and only if) the RF seats back there. One of them's a Radian, so I'm not sure it would work.

Throughout the school year, I actually have seven on my "roster," though very rarely do I have all of them at the same time. It's really just on occasional days after school, for the 3 minute drive home.

Unless the Venture is absolutely the only thing I can get financed for, I've taken it off the table. "Own it and can't afford to replace it" is where I was with the Safari, but I'd like to have something safer this time around.

Carrie_R said:

I could go back to a Safari -- of those who know these things, would you pick the Safari (Astro) over the Venture?

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I'm not too familiar with the Venture. But used to be part of a family of Astro/Safaris. I sold mine to the state (CA) for $1000 because it failed smog, it was an 88. My parents own a 86 and a 2000 Astro. My brother ownss a 96 Safari, and my sister just sold their 99 Astro.
We love our vans, lol. My parents 86 has almost 400k miles on it and I retired mine with just under 300k miles. We love the seating, the cargo space (back of van, & no seats, we do a lot of road trips and family junk shipping) I have to say I was frustrated with the low back benches on mine and lap belts only, but I love my parents 2000. If I could get one of the last 2005 with AWD, I would have torn my hair out trying to decided between that and my Suburban.
If you can find one of the remaining Safari/Astros and I'm sure at a great price, I say go for it!