Okay. I need some input. My mind is spinning from reading reviews, etc. We are finally ready (have saved up) to ditch my deathtrap 01 Venture. We pay cash for our vehicles and drive them into the ground, so long-term quality and reliability is paramount.
Dh is very leery right now of Siennas and Odysseys because of reported safety issues/reliability issues (unintended acceleration, transmission). We are not 100% opposed, but the dealers locally also seem not very flexible on prices. So, with that in mind, we're also considering the Kia Sedona and Volkswagen Routan. Clearly the Sedona allows us to get a lot more van for the money, and a much higher 'trim' package (although navigation and/or dvd's are irrelevant to us). Dh is set on a minivan rather than crossover because the sliding doors give us so much more flexibility/safety in the parking lots.
Things we need:
Excellent safety (I have one child who is in an adult seatbelt, one in a Monterey booster, and one in a Graco Nautilus)
Reliability
Seats 7 comfortably and has plenty of storage space even with the seats up (excludes the Mazda 5)
Plenty of leg and headroom, dh is 6'2"
Power doors (after not having this, I would really like it)
Can anyone weigh in? I am finding all the info very confusing and could use some real-world reviews. Dh likes the Routan over the Dodge/Chrysler because of the suspension.
Is there something I'm missing? (the Nissan Quest got terrible reviews, so we're excluding that one).
Dh is very leery right now of Siennas and Odysseys because of reported safety issues/reliability issues (unintended acceleration, transmission). We are not 100% opposed, but the dealers locally also seem not very flexible on prices. So, with that in mind, we're also considering the Kia Sedona and Volkswagen Routan. Clearly the Sedona allows us to get a lot more van for the money, and a much higher 'trim' package (although navigation and/or dvd's are irrelevant to us). Dh is set on a minivan rather than crossover because the sliding doors give us so much more flexibility/safety in the parking lots.
Things we need:
Excellent safety (I have one child who is in an adult seatbelt, one in a Monterey booster, and one in a Graco Nautilus)
Reliability
Seats 7 comfortably and has plenty of storage space even with the seats up (excludes the Mazda 5)
Plenty of leg and headroom, dh is 6'2"
Power doors (after not having this, I would really like it)
Can anyone weigh in? I am finding all the info very confusing and could use some real-world reviews. Dh likes the Routan over the Dodge/Chrysler because of the suspension.
Is there something I'm missing? (the Nissan Quest got terrible reviews, so we're excluding that one).