VW Routan/GC or Sienna or Odyssey?

My DH's vehicle needs to be replaced so I am passing on my Volvo XC90 to him and getting a minivan. We prefer to buy used vehicles.

I have an almost 3 yr old DD who is 40ish lbs and 39ish in tall but still comfortably RFing in her XTSL. My DS is 6 months, RFing in a Blvd70.

I started doing a bit of searching on this forum about Grand Caravans/Routans and noticed there are issues with TAs in the 3rd row. We plan on having at least one more child, maybe two. I was leaning toward a Routan or GC since they seem to be a bit less expensive around here, but now I am second guessing that decision based on the TA issue. I really don't know anything about HBBs, since we aren't obviously at that point in our car seat journey with my oldest being 3. If we have 4 kids and two have to be in back, do HBBs get tethered?

Any opinions on Siennas or Odysseys?

Also, are second row bench seats or captains chairs better for RFing installs? Since I will be RFing both kids, I am picturing that captain chairs will make the third row nearly inaccessible for adults?

What other issues do these minivans have when it comes to installing Radians and Britax seats?

I just want a minivan that installs our seats with the least amount of headaches. Any recommendations?

I have a soft spot for the old Siennas. Very soft.

We had an '08 8 passenger. Traded it in for a '12 Ody.

I am waffly on my Ody. I hated it at first. I am coming to see its good points.

Are you looking old or new?

I have zero regrets over not getting the new Sienna. I never even bothered to test drive it as I hated the interior design so much it would be a moot point how well it drove.

I only have experience with GCs as rentals (since my Sienna was in the shop so often) and they are not my favorite. If you are buying new you get a lot of features for the money but the seating is not super comfy for passengers. The stow and go feature is awesome but makes for thin, low seats (at least in the models I have driven). This doesn't matter much when the kids are in car seats any way but if you hope to keep it long enough that the kids aren't, it's a consideration. The back seat is also goofily sloped which made my kids look like they were in an airplane on takeoff.

The old Sienna, both 7 or 8 passengers, was very configurable and very car seat friendly and very easy to access the back row and had a nice big trunk. There was only one spot that lacked a top tether, the driver's side 3rd row. Kind of annoying but that was my principle gripe with that van while I had it (design wise). 3rd row was the widest of any minivan. (I think?)

The new Sienna, not as easy to get in the back row. They removed a tether anchor. Kind of not a huge deal in that if you want 2 seats in the back row you will likely put them on either end vs. middle and end but still. Would it have killed them to put in 3? If you go for the 8 passenger it's cool that you can remove and stow the 8th seat but there's this thing on the floor with it gone you have to step over, to go between the rows, and if you go 7 passenger to skip that, you can't put the captain's chairs together like in the old. I just don't like the new design. Some people do. You'll have to look yourself and decide.

Old Ody had some good things going for it. You could get an 8th seat (small but functional) and you could put the captains chairs together. Wish we had looked at one! But 3rd row not as great for tethering as new.

New Ody... the center seat is better than the old, but still not great. You can move the 2 side seats out a few inches so you have more space for a car seat in the middle. I wish they had just made a wider middle seat?? I don't know why they thought this was a good idea. But you can put car seats in any of the 3 spots in the 2nd row. You can't move an outboard seat forward if the carseat is too wide but there are a few that work (we have a classic MA and it JUST works) Tethers in all 3 spots in the 3rd row. LOVE this. Trunk a little smaller than my Sienna. Does not come with roof rack, have to pay extra - which stings because of the smaller trunk but oh well. 3rd row is very comfy for an adult to sit in, in terms of leg room and seat comfort. My girls are able to move the 2nd row outboard seats easily to get to the back, although I have one removed now just so no one has to move anything. The 2nd row seats IMO are super comfy. I think as all my kids get older and move out of car seats it will be a comfy ride for everyone. For now, installing car seats is very doable (although rear tethers for the 2nd row require removing molding from front row seats)

Anyway if you are looking new, my vote is Ody. Or possibly Kia Sedona if you are OK with a 7 passenger.

If you want used, Sienna.

Not a fan of the GC generally speaking.

As for do hbbs get tethered - some do.