Most spacious minvan?

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walnutgold

New member
I'm so sorry that this is so long.
My current minivan is getting really crowded. I have six kids and am NOT interested in upgrading to a passenger van or anything. We are currently rolling in a 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan but we are looking for something more spacious.
These are the seats we are currently working with:
DS1(8)- Maxi-Cosi Rodi AP (High back)
DS2(6)- Diono Radian RXT (RF)
DS3(5)- Graco Tranzitions (Harnessed)
DS4(3)- Graco Tranzitions (Harnessed)
DS5(18 mo)- Graco SnugRide 40
DD1(18 mo)- Graco SnugRide 40
If needed we can swap some seats between our other car.
Right now it's extremely tight. Trying to get my kids out of the car is much harder than it used to be. Our back row currently has a SnugRide base in the center, a Rodi AP on the right, and a Tranzitions on the left.
The middle row has a baseless SnugRide in the center, a Radian RXT on the left, and a Tranzitions on the right.
We desperately need a bigger vehicle. Right now we have to either take out our middle row SnugRide so that we can fold the seat down and the kids in the back can climb out or take the SnugRide in the back out of its base and then the other two need to climb out over the back of the seat. (They love this method, but I'm not so keen on it.) With the second method we need to remove the shoes of the big kids so that we don't end up with dirt everywhere. We also need something with a fairly good amount of storage space because we want to upgrade DS2 to a "real" wheelchair but we don't have enough space to put it into the back of our van. Any help is appreciated!
 
ADS

Keeanh

Well-known member
For 8p vans, you're looking at Sienna, Odyssey, Pacifica, Sedona. The previous generation Sienna was better than the current one (the one you have) in terms of seating space. I don't know about cargo. The current Ody is also better than your van for seating room. Don't know anything about the Sedona & Pacifica except that they have 8 seats. But I don't know if any of them would be a significant difference. They're all about the same size.

What about a Nissan NV and take the back row out?
 

walnutgold

New member
Truthfully the Nissan NV looks wonderful. We're generally toting a stroller and a wheelchair so all that extra room would be incredible. I'm definitely going to be looking into that, the Kia, and the Odyssey. Thank you so much!
 

PKung

CPS Technician
It sounds like you want a Mercedes-Benz Metris.

8th seat aside, the other minivans are only slightly bigger - an inch here, an inch there, and I doubt it's going to be enough to make it worth switching.

If you're anti-passenger van for how the way they drive, the Ford Transit 150 is the smallest-driving van. The Nissan NV has more of an SUV look and seating position, but rides/handles/steers like the heavy duty truck that it is. Aside from a bus-like seating position, the ride/handling/steering/turning circle of the Transit is more like a Focus with a growth hormone issue. Also a few more top tethers.

But take a look at the Metris if you haven't already. It's not (quite) as expensive as the badge would make it seem. And it's the only in-betweener in North America today. (That or a used VW Eurovan, but then you need to allocate space for the full-time mechanic I'd recommend you carry along).
 
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