Talk To Me About Vans...

Chely7425 · Jul 24, 2010

So, I think we have settled on getting a mini-van instead of an SUV or cross over to replace our Liberty, simply because you ladies have convinced me that 3 under 3 in van is way easier than 3 under 3 in an suv!! Anyway, DH is deploying soon so we want to test drive some stuff and get a feel for what we want before he leaves, despite not buying till tax time-ish. Our requirements for a vehicle are:

- seats at least 7
- can fit 4 car seats (at least 3 RF at first... probably need at least 3 TA, if DS1 goes into a booster at 6 then we will have a 5 year old, a 3.5 year old and probably a 1-2 year old needing seats as well)
- has good storage space for camping, strollers, errands, etc
- 2009 or newer (possibly 2008?)
- AWD would be nice, but not a must have
- under 25,000
- auto sliding doors

So... what fits all that criteria? I know the Sienna does... but what else? Odyssey? Sedona? Grand Caravan?

Maedze · Jul 24, 2010

Kia Sedona :twocents:

You can get a 2009 Sedona with 30K miles on it for under 17K.

Dollar for dollar, you will get more bang for your buck the Sedona. More 'features', better safety rating (no one beats the Sedona. It's neck and neck with the Odyssey). It also has four top tethers.

Chely7425 · Jul 24, 2010

Maedze said:
Kia Sedona :twocents:

You can get a 2009 Sedona with 30K miles on it for under 17K.

Dollar for dollar, you will get more bang for your buck the Sedona. More 'features', better safety rating (no one beats the Sedona. It's neck and neck with the Odyssey). It also has four top tethers.

How is the Sedona on storage space? How well does it fit car seats? I REALLY want a TFP for DS2 and a Frontier85 or ProSport for DS1 and then it needs to fit my SR35 in it as well for DS3... would those al work in some way?

Maedze · Jul 24, 2010

I love the Sedona for car seats. I didn't see a problem with the storage space in the rear.

I should add, at that price point I was describing, I was talking about a 'loaded' version. No leather, but entertainment system, and automatic sliding doors.

Chely7425 · Jul 24, 2010

Awesome

I will have to look at them more! Can the 2 captains chairs be pushed together in a Sedona? I am trying to figure out how 3 RF seats would fit in there and still be able to get to the 3rd row easy..

Maedze · Jul 24, 2010

I don't *think* they can (don't quote me on that), but what *I* would do with two rear facing kids and a forward facing kid is take the passenger side captain's chairs out, put one rear facing child in the other captain's chair, put the second rear facing child directly behind him in the third row, and the third rear or forward facing kid on the other side, passenger side third row. There's a top tether there. And then you practically have a ball room's worth of floor space to dance around in while you're buckling everyone it. It's quite a spacious van, unlike mine

Chely7425 · Jul 24, 2010

Maedze said:
I don't *think* they can (don't quote me on that), but what *I* would do with two rear facing kids and a forward facing kid is take the passenger side captain's chairs out, put one rear facing child in the other captain's chair, put the second rear facing child directly behind him in the third row, and the third rear or forward facing kid on the other side, passenger side third row. There's a top tether there. And then you practically have a ball room's worth of floor space to dance around in while you're buckling everyone it. It's quite a spacious van, unlike mine

Ooo that makes a ton of sense! Dur... not sure why I didn't think of that

By the time we have a 4th DS1 and DS2 will both be FF so they could probably just both go in the 3rd row and it would be easy enough to check on their harnesses thru the back or over an infant seat base... From looking at prices it looks like we could even get a 2010 within our budget!! That is exciting...

MarathonMama · Jul 24, 2010

Maedze said:
I don't *think* they can (don't quote me on that), but what *I* would do with two rear facing kids and a forward facing kid is take the passenger side captain's chairs out, put one rear facing child in the other captain's chair, put the second rear facing child directly behind him in the third row, and the third rear or forward facing kid on the other side, passenger side third row. There's a top tether there. And then you practically have a ball room's worth of floor space to dance around in while you're buckling everyone it. It's quite a spacious van, unlike mine

Is there still enough room behind the third row for storing strollers, etc? Or would you have to use the "ballroom" for everything (aka projectiles)? How much space would an extended van give you?

Maedze · Jul 24, 2010

Minivans don't typically have enormous trunks, but I have one of the smallest trunks in a minivan EVAR and it's held everything I've needed it to, including a double stroller and luggage for a week's vacation for a family of five. It's not something I would worry over much about.

Chely7425 · Jul 24, 2010

Maedze said:
Minivans don't typically have enormous trunks, but I have one of the smallest trunks in a minivan EVAR and it's held everything I've needed it to, including a double stroller and luggage for a week's vacation for a family of five. It's not something I would worry over much about.

Yeah, I don't need to have a crap ton of space back there but I need to fit a double stroller and stuff for day trip like snack, diaper bag, etc. We have a Graco Tour Duo double stroller, which is a beast, but I am hoping to be able to replace it with something more compact soonish as well. I just don't want a trunk like my friends Nissan mini-van trunk where you put like... an umbrella stroller in and there is no room

Maedze · Jul 24, 2010

You learn to stack

I moved from a Santa Fe, which had a fantastic trunk, to a Freestar, which does not

It's all about stacking, puzzling, and efficient use of your space. I'm sure your friend could get lots more in a Quest trunk than an umbrella stroller.

Chely7425 · Jul 24, 2010

Maedze said:
You learn to stack

I moved from a Santa Fe, which had a fantastic trunk, to a Freestar, which does not

It's all about stacking, puzzling, and efficient use of your space. I'm sure your friend could get lots more in a Quest trunk than an umbrella stroller.

Probably... but it is pretty tiny back there

I like the storage space in the Sienna but it seems that there is a 5-7K difference in price between comparable vehicles. The one big plus the Sienna has going for it in my book is that I could get an 8 passenger which I KNOW we wouldn't outgrow for a loooooong time, if ever! It also looks like maybe the Sienna is wider? But that might just be the angle of the pictures I am looking at...

Chely7425 · Jul 24, 2010

Also, what about the Grand Caravans? My friend has a 2003 that is nice enough... how are they on TTAs and car seats? The stow and go seats look nice... plus Dodge has some spiffy military incentives for deployed soldiers. I can get a 2009 SXT GC for around 20K...

Maedze · Jul 24, 2010

Chely7425 said:
Also, what about the Grand Caravans? My friend has a 2003 that is nice enough... how are they on TTAs and car seats? The stow and go seats look nice... plus Dodge has some spiffy military incentives for deployed soldiers. I can get a 2009 SXT GC for around 20K...

It only has three tether anchors. It also doesn't have the safety ratings that the Ody or the Sedona do. It wouldn't be my first choice.

Chely7425 · Jul 24, 2010

Maedze said:
It only has three tether anchors. It also doesn't have the safety ratings that the Ody or the Sedona do. It wouldn't be my first choice.

Ahhh ok! Makes sense

So it seems like the 3 we should consider are the Sedona, Odyssey and Sienna... how does the Sienna compare safety rating wise? I tried googling some of this but being pregnant and having a 1 and a 2 year old seems to be eating my brain...

Maedze · Jul 24, 2010

It gets good ratings all around as long as you make sure to get the optional side impact airbags (this is the IIHS rating, I'm not sure about the NHTSA rating)

The Sedona has standard side airbags and has good ratings across the board with no exception, MY 2006 and after.

Same for the Ody.

Maedze · Jul 24, 2010

ETA: My bad, the Grand Caravan now has good side impact ratings at least from IIHS since the inclusion of standard side impact airbags.

If the lack of a fourth top tether won't bother you, it's not an unsafe choice.

Chely7425 · Jul 24, 2010

Maedze said:
It gets good ratings all around as long as you make sure to get the optional side impact airbags (this is the IIHS rating, I'm not sure about the NHTSA rating)

The Sedona has standard side airbags and has good ratings across the board with no exception, MY 2006 and after.

Same for the Ody.

Thank you! I really like the Ody but I think it might be a bit above our price range at this point... we will probably end up going with a Sedona, it looks like it has everything we need for a decent price. We plan on driving it till it dies so I am not super worried about resale or anything. I am hoping it just gets us through the tons-o-carseats stage and then I can get something I like without worrying about TTAs and stuff like that!

Chely7425 · Jul 24, 2010

Maedze said:
ETA: My bad, the Grand Caravan now has good side impact ratings at least from IIHS since the inclusion of standard side impact airbags.

If the lack of a fourth top tether won't bother you, it's not an unsafe choice.

So question about that... it looks like each captains chair has a TTA and there is one in the middle of the 3rd row... correct? When we buy this vehicle DS1 will be almost 3, DS2 will be 1.5, and DS3 will be about 4 months. DS1 may be either FF or RF, depends how much weight he gains between now and then, he has about 4 pounds left in his CA RF. Anyway, it seems like I could do infant in a captains chair, then either 2 RF in the 3rd row or a FF in the center and a RF outboard? Can the TA in the 3rd row be used to an outboard position?

Then when we have a fourth... the closest they would be is another 14 month age gap (DH being deployed and all...) so we would have an almost 4 year old, a 2.5 year old, a 14ish month old and a newborn. What van would fit that lovely gaggle of kids easiest? Those 4 kids would likely have 1 FF seat and 3 RF seats. But we would probably never have more than 2 FF seats at a time...

Maedze · Jul 24, 2010

The LATCH set up in the third row is offset between the driver's side and middle. IF the seat is installed with LATCH, you cannot use the seatbelt position in either the driver's side or middle seat. It only leaves the passenger side seat, which does not have a top tether.

If you install the seat with a seatbelt, the tether is dedicated for the middle position only and cannot be used outboard.

Honestly, if you intend to have four children, I would not choose a van that puts the tether anchor only in the middle of the third row.

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