Tell me about your MINIVAN!!!

[ckmommy]

We are newly in the market for a new vehicle. I have a Ford Expedition right now (we have quite a few members in our family). My husband was dead set against a minivan until last week. We rented a minivan for our trip to WDW. Not only was there a vast amount of cargo space, but the milage was almost 100% better than on our Expedition. That was the deal maker for DH. So, he would like to start looking for a minivan soon.

Some things we need or would like:

Captains Chairs for the middle row
Leather -- a must
Three headrests in third row
all seats having a shoulder belt (not just a lap belt)


Let me know what kind you have!! If you could also let me know what kind of gas milage you get--that will help!!

Thanks!!

 

[minkydog]

My minivan isn't nearly as swanky as what you describe(leather seats?? ahem..not with my kids) but it seats 8 and works like a Clydesdale. We have V8 GMC Safari, sister to the Chevy Astro. It gets about 20mpg. We have two bench seats and the two comfortable captain chairs in front. We got it specifically for the cargo space--we can haul my sons wheelchair and $150 worth of groceries in the same trip. And all 3kids. And my Standard poodle, if we must We also haul our pop-up camper up to the mountains with it--piece of cake.

The Safari is boxy and trucklike. I like it because it sits up high, like driving a fire truck.there is nothing sexy about a Safari but if you want a solid minivan, she's your man

 

[jenks0718]

We have a 2006 Nissan Quest and LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. It is so stylish and comfortable. We still feel like we have a "cool" car, but it is great for the family. We have a DVD Player, captains chairs in the middle row, head rests and shoulder belts in the back row, we have cloth seats because we hate leather, but it was an option, cruise control, dual air conditioners, under carriage storage, and a lot more. We honestly love our mini van. Oh! And airbags around the entire vehicle

 

[IndianaDVCMember]

We have a 2004 Toyota Sienna and are very pleased with it. We have no complaints.

 

[kozmo]

Check out ford mini vans and lincoln mercury mini vans, great rebates, great prices and very nice interiors, gas milage.

Our freestyles are great too, go to your nearest dealer and drive one,the die hard mini van drivers are lovin those too.

 

[ZuZugal]

The Honda Odyssey was revamped for the 2006 model year. It is an awesome vehicle and holds it's value better than any other minivan on the road. You can get all the bells and whistles that you want depending on trimline. Check 'em out!

 

[hlbtimes2]

We have a 2001 and 2004 Toyota Sienna(s). We love them both and have no complaints. Neither have leather seats, but I'm sure that could have been an option. The 2004 has had a couple small recalls, but nothing major. We have a hitch on the 2001 and pull a tent trailer with it. Both get pretty good gas milage.

We just took the 2004 on a long road trip. It was about 15 miles of driving time. Not sure how many miles we went. It was just over 2 tanks of gas.

 

[KelNottAt]

The Honda Odyssey was revamped for the 2006 model year. It is an awesome vehicle and holds it's value better than any other minivan on the road. You can get all the bells and whistles that you want depending on trimline. Check 'em out!

I heartily agree. My '02 Ody has everything you describe and is still good as new. Leather is especially wise with kids because it cleans up in a snap.

 

[GoofyBanker]

The Honda Odyssey was revamped for the 2006 model year. It is an awesome vehicle and holds it's value better than any other minivan on the road. You can get all the bells and whistles that you want depending on trimline. Check 'em out!

Just got my 2nd Odyssey a month ago.We leased the first one and when the lease was up we bought this one. I love it. It has everything you asked for. We also got the moonroof and the navigation system and I highly recommend them. Plus on top of all that it's a Honda.

 

[llij]

We purchased a 2005 Honda Odyssey last August and we really love it. It has the captains chairs, leather seats, etc. I think I average about 17-20 miles a gallon but I do a lot of local driving not highway driving.

Our minivan before that was a 1996 Mercury Villager. I have no complaints about that minivan either. It had a Nissan engine in it and in the 9 years we had it we never had a major repair.

Good luck to you!

 

[Bob Slydell]

The Honda Odyssey was revamped for the 2006 model year. It is an awesome vehicle and holds it's value better than any other minivan on the road. You can get all the bells and whistles that you want depending on trimline. Check 'em out!

We love our '06 Odyssey

 

[ZachnElli]

We had a 2004 Toyota Sienna Ltd AWD and it was one of the very first ones when they came out in 2003. It was the first one in Pearl White. We JUST traded it in on a brand new 2006 Toyota Sienna Ltd AWD on Monday!! Totally has all the bells and whistles!! GPS, back up camera, leather heated front seats, laser cruise control, parking sensors, seat memory for the driver (2 positions), etc. LOVE IT!!!

 

[Raysplus1]

Our minivan is exactly what you described. We have the 2004 Chrysler Town & Country. I was pretty much against it but now with 3 kids it works out great. We usually take out one of the middle chairs to give easier access for the kids in the back. We have had no problems with it and it gets decent gas mileage.

 

[Tiggeroo]

we have downsized from mini-van to mustang gt, hehe. But I had alot of mini-vans in my day and the best was the Town and Country. Exactly what you describe.

 

[ckmommy]

Holy Cow!! Thanks for all of the replies!! I am very excited to get to look for a different car. We have five kids and could not really buy anything except for an Expedition or Suburban/Tahoe. All five kids were in car seats until a few months ago. We were able to get the two oldest out of car seats and now we do not need as much seat room.

We rented a Grand Caravan and were very pleased with it. I like the looks of the Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Of course the prices of the Ford and Chrysler are much better (we are looking for a used--1 or 2 year old--car). I think that we are going to have to hire a sitter one of these weekends and go for a bunch of test drives!!

Thanks so much for all of the opinions!!

 

[liznboys]

We love our '06 Odyssey too. We got the Touring model so it's loaded up, love the leather!!

I actually had a bad dream the other night that for some reason we sold our Odyssey and bought another minivan that was supposedly better (but it was so ugly and awful!) I was so mad we did that and wanted the Odyssey back badly. I was very relieved when I woke up and we still had our beautiful Odyssey. lol

Ours doesn't get the best gas mileage, but that's because I mostly do short drives close to home...not a lot of highway driving.

 

[OKWMom]

We have a 2006 Buick Terraza and love it. Leather seats, captains chairs in the middle row, DVD player with two headphones (but you can do the audio through the stereo system), dual remote sliding doors, OnStar, removable cargo hold, automatic tire inflator, passenger control ac/heat, 110V outlet in the back (frozen margaritas while tailgating anyone?), and drop down cup holders/tray between first and middle row seating. Also, it averages 22.5 miles per gallon.

 

[zulaya]

Love my 05 Saturn Relay. I don't have all leather, but leather accents, and I know it could come with leather. I don't like sticking to my seats...personal preference.

I have captain's chairs, DVD standard, wireless audio., power sliding doors, cargo space in the rear, built in air compressor...it was a bells and whistles type vehicle that we got last fall for a steal of a deal. A Saturn saved the life of me and my kids and I totally believe in their vehicles.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We bought a Honda Odyssey in December and really like it. We didn't get the most expensive trim line because we wanted an 8 passenger, but we got the EX-L (I think that's what it's called), which has the leather seats, Navigation system, XM radio, Entertainment system, and moonroof. It's a great van and we really like it a lot. It also has the rear view camera, which is great when backing up in parking lots (or our driveway).

We keep the little seat between the middle seats out, so only use it as a 7 passenger, but have that extra seat when needed, so we do have the captain seats (they'd still be there even with that little seat there, of course, just wouldn't look like it). It makes for easier access to the "way back".

 

[diznygirl]

The Relay and the Terrazza are the same - and are the same as the Chevy Uplander and Pontiac Montana. (A few differences in packages and price and the front grill). We have the Relay with the leather and captain's chairs in the second row. We love it! Drove the Freestyle on vacation and were disappointed.

http://www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicles/relay/overview.jsp