awd 8 passenger van?

piccarah

New member
hi...first visit with these forums...
I have 4 kids, 6 and under, so all in car seats/booster. I'm also a car seat technician. Right now I drive a 7 passenger explorer; we bought it thinking we were only having 3 kids (surprise! ha!), and at the time I could fit 3 carseats across the middle row. Now, I have my 3 & 5 year olds on the 3rd row (marathons, tethered), and my 6 year old (almost 7) and baby in the middle row in a booster and rf. It's such a pain for my 3 year old to be in that back seat, but it's the safest right now. And, I have NO STORAGE now behind the back seat. It fits my maclaren stroller and that's really it. Costco runs are super lame; we have groceries all over the car.

SO, I'm thinking I'd actually like a van! Something I never wanted because I learned to drive on a van...huge, bulky back then. I've held a grudge :). My neighbor has a sienna and loves it; I'm eying those because before the explorer I drove a subaru forrester which I loved, but it couldn't fit 3 carseats across. I heard they drive more like a car, and she said her storage is great. However, I would love 8 seats; right now when we're all together (dh, me, 4 kids) we have only 1 open seat, which we're finding we're using ll the time with carpools, etc. AND, it HAS to be awd or 4wd. We live in Alaska, up in the mountains where there is a sign we pass that says not to go past that point without 4 wheel drive...and as I'm researching, I see that the sienna 8 passenger is front wheel drive only??? So...thoughts? thank you!

C
 
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LuvBug

New member
welcome to the forum!

I don't know why you aren't finding it, but as of right now I am pretty certain you can get AWD as an option on any of the current minivan models. I know the Sienna and Odyssey have it as an option.

Are you able to buy new, or are you wanting a used van?
 

APT

New member
I think you'll be happiest in an Expedition (EL better) or Tahoe/Suburban if you want AWD/4WD and an extra seat. Or just keep your Explorer and deal without the extra seat. Seems like a big cost to change vehicles just to keep one seat available.

Have you (or neighbors) tried a FWD vehicle with snow tires? They generally perform better than 4WD with all season tires in snow and ice. Ground clearance may be an issue for any minivan (AWD or not) if the roads are not maintained.
 
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Guest

New member
Alaska? I'm thinking Suburban or Expedition EL are the only real choices.

I like the space efficiency of a van, but you don't really have that problem up in Alaska. Plus, I'm not sure any of the 8 seat versions of minivans come with AWD. Sienna has AWD, but it only comes in the 7 seat version IIRC. Not something you can easily modify either.

I prefer the Suburban. Tahoe can't seat 8 either IIRC. That pretty much leaves the Burb. And yes, unless you go off roading, AWD generally fits people's needs better than straight 4WD.
 

Peony

Member
The Sienna only comes in with AWD with 7 seats, from what I understand, the captain chairs in the middle row can not be changed out for a bench seat. Honda doesn't make an AWD van from what I've read on various forums, have no plans to do so. I've had the AWD Sienna and it did handle very well in snow, we need more cargo space and ended up with a Suburban after DS was born. I'd say where you live that would be the best option. While I'm not in Alaska, I'm in very rural Colorado, getting anywhere involves a mountain pass or two with the same restrictions in the winter, chains or AWD/4WD. I don't know about you, but I'm not for putting on chains by myself with 3 children in the car so we go the AWD/4WD way!
 

piccarah

New member
thanks for you input...we're not getting a new car right away, but I've started looking. The explorer works for now, but not great..the back seat has very little leg room, and since we're now using it all the time, we have extremely limited storage space. Again, we bought it thinking we were only having 3 kids, so we'd have had more storage and only use the back seat occasionally. We'll outgrow this very quickly now, as the kids get bigger.

I'm eying the minivan more just because I think I'd like how they drive- you know, more like a car than a truck. I personally haven't driven a front wheel w/snow tires, but my parents used to, and it didn't always make it up that hill where they live. So I want 4wd or awd...I have looked at suburbans/tahoes, too. It would work out so well if sienna made an 8 passenger w/awd! lol

c
 

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