Minivan reviews

[dissy_dee]

Looking to buy a minivan and have no experience with them. Would love to hear the good, bad, and evil of what others think.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Mini are very few and far between. Stow ang Go has led to most of the vans being over 200 inches. I gave up, and went with a Rav 4. If your emphasising the mini part the only one I found were the Kia and Mazda.

 

[dissy_dee]

Not necessarily a "mini" but a small van such as Honda or Toyota vans.

 

[mrsv98]

We have a 2006 Kia Sedona and LOVE it! Drives great, all the amenities and the highest safety rating out there. Only drawback is mpg, but then I don't think any van gets that great gas mileage.

 

[mumom95]

I've got a 2004 Toyota Sienna XLE.

It's been a great minivan. I had a Ford Explorer before that. And although I feel I looked "cooler" in the Explorer , the Sienna is so much more practical for our family.

I have quite a few friends that have the Honda Odyssey and love it.

 

[stevenpensacola]

Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna.

You really do get what you pay for.

If you really enjoy driving, go with the Honda.

If you view driving as just a chore, get the Toyota, although the new Sienna is quite a bit "sportier" than previous models.

With either one, you won't be disappointed.

RUN away from the Dodge/Chrysler products....just ask Consumer Reports.

 

[Sorsha]

I have a Ford Windstar and I LOVE it.

Before that, I had a couple of Dodge Caravans, and I agree RUN AWAY FAST.
They eat transmissions for breakfast.

When I asked a mechanic about this, he said it was a characteristic of the brand. Somehow the transmission that Dodge puts in the van isn't geared properly for the weight of the van and it just tears through the transmission. I have owned two of them, and had to replace the transmission in both. My friend had one too, and the transmission was trashed before the warrantee even ran out.

I haven't even had a hiccup with my Windstar (ok, one silly sensor in the passenger door went out and the auto lock wouldn't lock, but that was an easy fix, so only a wee little hiccup), its been a wonderful vehicle.

 

[stichy]

We have a Dodge Grand Caravan and haven't had any problems with it. It's great for trips to disney. DH stows all the seats except DS's and we have plenty of room for luggage and also a space for me to sleep since we driver overnight. I think the passanger cabin is a bot noisy but that could just be a minivan thing. Love the auto sliding doors. It does make DS slow on getting out. He's seven but feels the need to clib down onto the floor and then slide backwards out the door. It could just be because he is weird. I've had a hard time parking it but I'm a really bad parker no matter what I have. DH says he's getting me the smallest car possbile when it is tie for a new car. I'll probably go back to a volvo wagon once my van is paid off.

 

[dissy_dee]

Thanks for the replies they have been helpfull.

We have four kids and really need something with more room for everyone.

 

[mjkacmom]

Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna.

You really do get what you pay for.

If you really enjoy driving, go with the Honda.

If you view driving as just a chore, get the Toyota, although the new Sienna is quite a bit "sportier" than previous models.

With either one, you won't be disappointed.

RUN away from the Dodge/Chrysler products....just ask Consumer Reports.

I have to agree. Started with a Ford Windstar (yuck), and have had my Honda for almost 8 years now, and love it. My sister, mom, and dad drive one as well.

 

[SAHDad]

I have to agree. Started with a Ford Windstar (yuck), and have had my Honda for almost 8 years now, and love it. My sister, mom, and dad drive one as well.

We did test drives of both the Odyssey and the Sienna, and although the Sienna had some nice features, I just did not like the way it handled. (I believe I used the phrase "like a dead whale on roller skates.") So far, we have had our Honda almost four years, and the only thing it has needed beyond regular maintenance were fixing a chip in the windshield (thank you gravel truck!) and a hole in the AC hose (thank you construction vehicle!), both of which would have occured with any vehicle.

 

[kikids]

Hi, I've been driving my Sienna since 2004 and I had an Odyssey before that. Loved them both. Now I have almost 92,000 miles on my Sienna (it happened so fast!) so I guess I'll trade it in soon. I've been looking at the new Siennas which are really cool but since Toyota has taken a blow to their reputation lately with all the recalls I'm almost hesitant. However, since my Sienna has served me so well I'll probably just go with it. I also looked at the Town and Country since it has that interesting reverse seating/table. But it costs as much as the new Siennas, I thought Chryslers might be less but, nope. Whatever I pick I'll make sure it has the built in DVD system, that has been a life saver in my van. I don't allow it to be on unless we are taking a trip longer than 45 minutes - that's just our family rule. But we have lots of out of town family so we drive quite a bit and that tv comes in handy.

Good luck, I'm finding car shopping to be quite stressful!

 

[vettechick99]

I used to drive a Corvette, so I like cars. Minivans are the opposite of what I'm supposed to like. When it was time to trade in the sporty and go practical, we went with the Odyssey because:

1. It feels less like a van and more like a car/SUV.
2. When loaded, they are pretty sweet.
3. Honda is safe and we've always loved them.
4. You can't beat a car that opens the doors for you.

GL with your decision!

 

[DeniseinNS]

I'v had 2 Dodge Caravans (2006 and a 2008) and they were horrible!!! Not reliable at all and things were constantly having to be fixed. For a van I would look at Honda or Toyota.

 

[mjkacmom]

I used to drive a Corvette, so I like cars. Minivans are the opposite of what I'm supposed to like. When it was time to trade in the sporty and go practical, we went with the Odyssey because:

1. It feels less like a van and more like a car/SUV.
2. When loaded, they are pretty sweet.
3. Honda is safe and we've always loved them.
4. You can't beat a car that opens the doors for you.

GL with your decision!

LOL - when I found out I was pregnant with #1, I had to sell my 2 seater Mazda RX7 - a nice, fast, red car, with a manual transmission. Then I got my first minivan!

 

[Jennasis]

MIL has a Kia Sedona and we all love that thing. Seats seven and has 13 cup holders! Seriously. They must think Americans drink alot. But it's spacious, super nice to drive, lots of amenities too. We've borrowed her van to drive to WDW from NC and it was just delightful. Doing it again in October.

 

[SAHDad]

I used to drive a Corvette, so I like cars. Minivans are the opposite of what I'm supposed to like.

I hear that. For a while, it was a running joke that I could feel my soul die a little every time I started the minivan. I've gotten used to it - I never liked really small cars, but we could not safely fit two car seats in our old Intrepid. (Plus, it hit the 75k mark, which, in Dodge-speak, translated to "your transmission will fall out, and you will buy a new one.")

We did (briefly) consider the Magnum (my wife hated the look, but I would be the one driving it), until we saw that it's maximum load was only something like 850 pounds . . . including passengers. Two adults, two kids, two carseats, and you are easily more than halfway there. Sure, I may never need to haul 1200 pounds. . . but we have passed the 850 mark before. (I never realized just how much sand went into a sandbox until I had to fill one! )

 

[doccoc2002]

I would choose between the Toyota Sienna(which we have and LOVE it) or the Honda Odyssey*(which I test drove and LOVEd it...fully loaded but the dealer couldn't give me a good trade in deal like Toyota did)
We bought ours in 2006 and have not regretted our decision yet. We are actually thinking about trading our 2006 in for a 2011(we want the AWD which ONLY Toyota does). I LOVE the fact that it looks like an SUV but it has the room of a minivan...I NEVER thought I would like a minivan but I have to say I do NOT miss our SUV for one minute.

The BEST advise I can give you tho is to TEST DRIVE ALL of your choices...We had a Hyundai and LOVED it and we automatically thought we would LOVE the Entourage but when I test drove it it, we HATED it(uncomfortable, loud and the middle windows didn't go down, which I really wanted...looks more like an SUV)
GL! Minivans have come a long way in the past 10 even 5 years

BTW...I have just recently looked at the Volkswaggon minivan...it is really nice and has some great features but want AWD...NH winters are harsh...and I want to put in my own DVD player and they have it all set up for the model we want(without the DVD player...that is extra$$) Nissen has a nice one too but I DON'T like nissens(had a lemon years ago) I just keep going back to Toyota...If Honda came out with AWD I may be swayed but for the price and we don't keep our vehicles that long I like Toyota(we have only 40,000miles on ours.

 

[stevenpensacola]

We recently took a trip to WDW...1000 miles round trip. We rented a Grand Caravan...just wanted to give my impression of the van. We've owned a 95 Caravan, and a 03 Honda Odyssey, so this is what I'm basing my opinions on.

1. The drivers seat was "mushy".
2. Some of the ergonomics were not good:
a. cruise control controls located in an awkward place.
b. turn signal lever located too far from steering wheel.
c. long reach to tune the radio.
d. center armrest too low.
3. The A/C knobs felt really cheap...as did the shifter lever...very wobbly.
4. At times, the transmission seemed to get confused...would shift with a
loud clunk.

Averaged 21 MPG highway...according to the van's display.

The van did have some nice features...notably the interior lighting scheme.

Overall, the van just feels cheap compared even to our old 03 Honda Odyssey.

 

[Sorsha]

I never liked really small cars, but we could not safely fit two car seats in our old Intrepid. (Plus, it hit the 75k mark, which, in Dodge-speak, translated to "your transmission will fall out, and you will buy a new one.")

Yup!

We recently took a trip to WDW...1000 miles round trip. We rented a Grand Caravan...just wanted to give my impression of the van.

4. At times, the transmission seemed to get confused...would shift with a
loud clunk.

Again translates to "your transmission will fall out, and you will buy a new one." That's one of the early warning signs of a transmission gasping its last gasps in a Dodge product.