OT: New Car Advice-Sienna, Odyssey or Pilot Owners?

[letsgoagainsoon]

Sorry, this is way off topic...but I have been researching new cars and it is so frustrating. Thought maybe I would get some good advice here.

We are looking for a new car... we are expecting twins (YEAHHH) and DS has just turned 4, so I want a vehicle that will comfortably fit three carseats in the SECOND row...(I don't want to have to put DS in the third row since we still need to hand him drinks, toys etc., plus it doesn't seem fair to put him so far away from us!)

I don't want a HUGE SUV or gas guzzler, but we will need enough room behind the second row (we can fold third row on most cars I think, since we won't use much of the time) for double stroller, sometimes a single, plus luggage and stuff for long trips (especially to Disney!!)

I think I have it narrowed down to a Toyota Sienna, or Honda Odyssey or Pilot. I have heard you can't put a child seat forward facing in the middle seat of the Odyssey though...that makes a big difference to me, since that's where DS4 will be...

ANYWAY, any advice, thoughts or suggestions??

TIA

 

[klj27]

We LOVE our Sienna!!

 

[mom23boys]

We LOVE our Sienna!!

ITA, we traded in our Town and Country for a Sienna in March and I love it.

 

[funkbucket007]

I can very much recommend the Odyssey. Not sure about the middle seat & a rear facing car seat question though. Here's an idea...it's a big purchase, go test drive all three & make your decision based on that.

 

[megan2346]

I have a 2003 Odyssey and love it. I am hoping to get a new one in a year or two that is how much I like it. I don't know if it would be comfortable to have 3 car seats in one row. Good Luck.

 

[Nicolepa]

The pilot would be a very tight fit, if even possible to have 3 carseats. A minivan is possible, but again it will be tight (possible, but tight). In my Sienna I can fit 2 boosters and an adult in the 3rd row. (I have captians chairs for the 2nd row). It is uncomfortable to for the adult, but a kid can fit fine.

Also remember that you 4 yo will switch to a booster soon, so you need to make sure that you will be able to easily access his seatbelt and buckle him. It would probably be easier, when he's in the booster to put him on the side so that your not having to fight w/the carseat to buckle him every time (speaking from experience here . Also when he starts school you will need for him to be able to get in and out easily.

That being said, I LOVE my Sienna. I've had it for 3 years and I haven't even thought about getting a new car. That is very, very unusual for us. We also test drove the Odysey. Dh liked that a bit better but there was one feature I had to have and to get that it was 10K more. I was not going to pay that much!

 

[Sammi2]

We have a sienna but only two seats in the 2nd row. Oldest dd loves being in the back most of the time, and we have a 'no milk in the car' rule. It just gets too nasty. She has cupholders in the back so she can handle her own cups of water, and cubbies to keep all her goodies.

3 seats next to each other is going to be hard, imo. Is the 4yo in a booster or 5pt harness? If booster, it will be very hard to buckle him in. I can't imagine you'd want them in the same row for very long, so I'd hate to base the decision primarily on that aspect. In a few months you'll be seeing the light of 3rd row seating.

Congrats on the twins!

The sienna def. has lots of cargo room. We pack so much stuff (double stroller, pack n play, 2 coolers, drawer stack of clothes, tricycle, pillows, blankets) etc and never seem to run out of room, even without the rear seats folded down.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

We have the odyssey. We love it. We have 3 carseats and a booster in it. I doubt you will be able to fit 3 seats across in any minivan and this one is the roomiest. Good luck!

 

[flipflop]

We have an Odyssey and had a Pilot -and we have triplets. Congrats on the twins and welcome to the multiples' club. Although I loved my Pilot, it is a total pain with three carseats. Getting whichever child into the middle is just a pain, even when they are big enough to "help". The Odyssey is a breeze with three car seats. We have two in the back row and one in one of the captain's chairs - we take other captain's chair out (we put it back in if we are having additional passengers) and it makes getting the kids in and out of carseats easy. There is plenty of storage. We opted for leather seats b/c they don't hold onto smells and spills (though we don't let our kids drink/eat in their carseats). I am a huge fan of Honda's - we have an accord with 150K miles on it and have only had $200 worth of costs unrelated to normal upkeep.

 

[tycopj]

Something else to think about...You son just turned 4 and he will probably love sitting next to his new siblings, but once the little ones start reaching and grabbing, he might want to go into the back seat. I'm just thinking it won't be long and he'll want to be in the back, so if it's a tight fit for a few months to a year maybe that's ok because once they get older you will most likely find your DS in the back seat. Just a thought

 

[tycopj]

Forgot to wish you Congratulations!!!

 

[disneymomoftwins]

I have a 2000 Toyota Sienna and I have 11 year old twins. My van has 125,000 miles on it and I have had no major problems. I work at a Toyota dealership and can get a new vehicle at a good discount but I choose to keep my van (its paid for!!!) until it can't go anymore. I have the captains chairs in the middle row and it worked fine for us, but we don't have the 3rd child.

 

[Sammi2]

One drawback I just remembered about the Sienna. The tether points for the 3rd row are in the middle of the floor of the cargo area. If you have a forward facing 5pt seat in the third row, tethered in the back, you have to load the cargo around the tether strap. Its a huge design flaw in my opinion.

I have no idea where they are for the Honda.

Also, I highly recommend getting both auto sliding doors and auto hatch, esp. with twin babies. Its been a lifesaver for me.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

Is the 4yo in a booster or 5pt harness? If booster, it will be very hard to buckle him in. I can't imagine you'd want them in the same row for very long, so I'd hate to base the decision primarily on that aspect. In a few months you'll be seeing the light of 3rd row seating.

He is still is a 5pt harness, he is only about 33 lbs...just a little guy, so I am assuming he won't be in a booster for quite awhile. Won't it be hard for me to get to the third row and fasten him in? Sorry I don't know anything about vans...

Everyone here is such a big help...THANKS!

 

[Nicolepa]

He is still is a 5pt harness, he is only about 33 lbs...just a little guy, so I am assuming he won't be in a booster for quite awhile. Won't it be hard for me to get to the third row and fasten him in? Sorry I don't know anything about vans...

Everyone here is such a big help...THANKS!

If you get the 7 seat van w/captains chairs it will be easier than doing the 8 seater w/2 rows of bench seats. W/ the captains chairs (on the Sienna at least) you can either go down the middle and buckle him in OR (and I would think this would be easier) is put the 2 captains chairs right next to each other, that would give you more room on one side to get in and buckle him in.

 

[bigbabyblues]

I have an 04 Sienna and I love it!!!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I have had a 1999, 2004 and now a 2008 Sienna. I have loved them all! But we have always had the 7-passenger, so I can't help about the car seats. As a PP said, test drive them all (with car seats) and see what works best. I have had no problems with any of my Siennas, so I can recommend it as a reliable car for your family.

Congratulations on your wonderful news!

 

[fireworks fan]

congratulations on twins We have an Odyssey and I love it! We have an 8 passenger with a removable 8th seat between the 2nd row captains chairs. I think it would be tough to put all 3 carseats in a row, and I personally I liked some separation between them, especially when my DS would sleep in the car as an infant. I think removing one of the 2nd row seats is a great idea, and I have seen that configuration before with 3 kid families.

 

[Sammi2]

If you get the 7 seat van w/captains chairs it will be easier than doing the 8 seater w/2 rows of bench seats. W/ the captains chairs (on the Sienna at least) you can either go down the middle and buckle him in OR (and I would think this would be easier) is put the 2 captains chairs right next to each other, that would give you more room on one side to get in and buckle him in.

I think so as well. Its going to be hard to reach the center kid if they are all in the same row. We put the two captains chairs next to each other and I just stand in the space and reach back to buckle the one in the 3rd row. Alternatively, we put two kids in back and tumble one captain's chair forward (another thing I like about the Sienna- I like the way the chairs tumble forward and stow).That makes lots of space for reaching 3rd row to buckle and for the kids to take their jackets on and off.

 

[rebecca314]

I just traded in my Odyssey on Saturday because it was way too much for me ... but we are finished having children! We travel tons so had the DVD package and I liked that a lot. Not sure on a forward-facing car seat but I don't think you could get 3 across one seat.