Talk To Me About Vans...

Chely7425

New member
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.

Ok :D So Sedona, Ody, or Sienna it is! All of those in a 2009 or 2010 have 4 TAs correct? We intend to have 4 kids... I would love more but um, I think DH might veto that particular idea!!
 
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Maedze

New member
The Sedona (or the Hyundai Entourage which is the exact same car with a few more bells and whistles) have four tether anchors.

The 7 passenger Sienna has four tether anchors, the 8 passenger has five.

The 7 and 8 passenger Ody both have five.
 

Chely7425

New member
The Sedona (or the Hyundai Entourage which is the exact same car with a few more bells and whistles) have four tether anchors.

The 7 passenger Sienna has four tether anchors, the 8 passenger has five.

The 7 and 8 passenger Ody both have five.

Cool beans :D I don't think we would ever need 5 TAs (or 4 for that matter) but the option is nice!!
 

MarathonMama

New member
Cool beans :D I don't think we would ever need 5 TAs (or 4 for that matter) but the option is nice!!

Yeah, but remember that having more means you have more choice as to where a FF harnessed seat COULD go - especially if you're doing 3 across the third row! You may never have all the TAs in use, but it's nice to have several choices if your seats don't allow for a particular arrangement/puzzling ;)
 

Chely7425

New member
Yeah, but remember that having more means you have more choice as to where a FF harnessed seat COULD go - especially if you're doing 3 across the third row! You may never have all the TAs in use, but it's nice to have several choices if your seats don't allow for a particular arrangement/puzzling ;)

That makes a ton of sense... I would rather have too many option than not enough!
 

bethng

Active member
I have had 2 sedonas. Loved them both! My 06 has plenty of room in the back IMO. I have a stroller, folded up beach chair, my box of tech supplies, 2 bags of clothing to go to the goodwill and a few other small items in the back. And room for stuff for a costco run if I stack things on top of all that. And every seat I have owned has always installed beautifully. Never any mechanical issues....knock on wood.
 

Chely7425

New member
I have had 2 sedonas. Loved them both! My 06 has plenty of room in the back IMO. I have a stroller, folded up beach chair, my box of tech supplies, 2 bags of clothing to go to the goodwill and a few other small items in the back. And room for stuff for a costco run if I stack things on top of all that. And every seat I have owned has always installed beautifully. Never any mechanical issues....knock on wood.

Good to know!! I am leaning towards a Sedona just because we can get so much more for our money, though I do like the 8 passenger-ness in Sienna. Are there any seats you have found you couldn't fit? How is the room in the 3rd row as far as RF seats? Would a TFP fit back there? What about width... does 3 across work back there?
 

Rosey

New member
nak

Thx for this thread. Now I'm looking at Sedonas. Is it bad that I'm having hangups over the Kia brand?

Maedze, what yr did dodge start doing side airbags in the caravan? Though the tether anchor in the third row is annoying.
 

luvmy2

New member
I'm glad I saw this thread.

Kia Sedona's have the highest safety ratings?

We are also about to trade in our Dodge Ram for a mini van.
 

Chely7425

New member
I am having hang ups over the Kia brand too... which is silly I'm sure! I am torn between the Sienna and Sedona still. The only features I really NEED are cruise control and tinted windows :D The thing I am most loving about the Sienna is the 8 passenger option and that I could put 2 RF seats in the center row and still be able to flip up one outboard seat and put 1 or 2 seats in the 3rd row...
 

luvmy2

New member
I totally kwym about hangups on Kia.

I'm online looking at vans on Autotrader. It looks to me that Kia is smaller?

What about a Nissan Quest? Does anyone have any info on those?
 

Chely7425

New member
I totally kwym about hangups on Kia.

I'm online looking at vans on Autotrader. It looks to me that Kia is smaller?

What about a Nissan Quest? Does anyone have any info on those?

I don't have a Nissan Quest or know any safety info on it but a friend of mine drives an older one and it is super cramped... I don't know if the newer ones are any better but we had 4 kid in her (2 toddlers, 2 infants) and it wasn't overly fun...
 

luvmy2

New member
I feel the same! I also can't believe I'm getting excited over mini vans LOL. I'm due early Sept with DS2 and we are having a hard time with 3 car seats in the truck.
 

Chely7425

New member
I never thought I would be excited about a mini van either... I still wish we could get a suburban but we really can't afford it.. Not to mention it's so bad on gas we wouldn't be able to afford to drive it!! I am due with our 3rd in October and having 3 across our liberty until February when we can get a van is going to stink...
 

luckyclov

New member
Not sure if anyone's touched base on the Grand Caravan...but I have an '09. I love it (it's my 2nd - my first was an '06). There's a set of lower anchors and top tethers on each captain's chair and then an off-center lower anchor and top tether in the middle spot of the 3rd row. Having 3 RF in those 3 spots would be a non-issue but it does compromise 1 seating position in the 3rd row (I've only had a Parkway/Monterey booster and a SB installed Regent and Nautilus back there, in the outboard spots). There's a huge amount of cargo space, more than any other van of similar size I've seen - the "trunk" is dipped (for lack of a better word)...and then we also put crap in the floor compartments (where the seats go in stow n go mode). It has a 5 star crash rating in side, rear and frontal, and 4 star in rollover. It's a freakin' gas guzzler though. I average between 13.5-14.5 MPG for the kind of driving I do (city). We did manage to get about 22 MPG highway on a roadtrip we took last summer.

For what its worth, I know a couple of people who drive a Sedona and they're very happy with it. I also know several people with Siennas (though none newer than 2008), and their reviews are mixed.

Good luck - I looooooooooooooooove minivans and don't see myself ever driving anything else.;)
 

Chely7425

New member
I really really like the features of the grand caravans but the lack of tether anchors is a bit of an issue for me. We need this van to fit 4 carseats and only being able to put 1 ff seat in the back isn't so good for us... I would rather have my older kids in the back... If they would just put in more ttas I would buy one in a heart beat!!
 

luckyclov

New member
I wish they'd get rid of the off-center lower anchor and top tether and add a full set to each outboard position in the 3rd row. It would make sooo much more sense (I guess that would compromise the 60/40 split though...?). Either way, it's a non-issue for us (fortunately - because the GC is my favorite minivan) since we only have a HB booster in the 3rd row.
 

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