To buy a minivan or not...Odessey, Sienna, Enclave...Feedback anyone?

[FormrCastMbr]

I have a Hummer H3 that we are growing out of...with a car seat, stroller and an 11 year old that is 5'7" already (and DH and I are tall), it is just not enough room.

We are looking into getting a minivan but I am not sold on it. The Sienna is being remodeled for 2010 so that would probably be "the one" but now I see the Enclave is getting good reviews. I think this is the model I saw at Test Track and liked and it had a lot of room.

We do not want to spend a fortune but want a good car...I never owned a Buick but did own a Toyota and had it for 11 years.

I am babbling now...please tell me your thoughts.

Is there enough leg room in the minivan? Your likes and dislikes. Do you own an Enclave? Thoughts, etc.

Thank you!!!

 

[mvazul]

I have a Hummer H3 that we are growing out of...with a car seat, stroller and an 11 year old that is 5'7" already (and DH and I are tall), it is just not enough room.

We are looking into getting a minivan but I am not sold on it. The Sienna is being remodeled for 2010 so that would probably be "the one" but now I see the Enclave is getting good reviews. I think this is the model I saw at Test Track and liked and it had a lot of room.

We do not want to spend a fortune but want a good car...I never owned a Buick but did own a Toyota and had it for 11 years.

I am babbling now...please tell me your thoughts.

Is there enough leg room in the minivan? Your likes and dislikes. Do you own an Enclave? Thoughts, etc.

Thank you!!!

We are on our third minivan. So far, we have been very happy. However, right now, we have a Kia Sedona and I would NOT recommend a Kia at all. We have had way too many brake problems right from the start. However, with that said, we would definitely go with another brand of minivan. There is plenty of room. My husband and 15 year old son are both 6'4" and neither have complained of too little room. We travel quite a bit (we're in Pennsylvania and my husband's family is spread out between Chicago and Florida). The van holds all 4 (we have an 8 year old daughter, too) of us and our stuff very well.

Good luck!
Michelle

 

[golfgal]

I think minivans are the most versitile car out there. They give you good passenger space with good storage space, especially now that they have the fold into the floor back seat.

I would go with either the Sienna or the Odyssey. They have the best crash ratings and best reliability ratings on the market. I would lean toward the Sienna mainly because I have seen how my sister's Odyssey has held up over the years-no major stuff just radio knobs falling off, the sliding doors being finicky, etc.

I don't know if Nissan still makes the Quest but look into that too. The leg room in the Quest is outstanding.

 

[minniebeth]

We've had our Sienna for about 2 1/2 years now and LOVE it! It has a lot of mileage on it and never had a problem with it! Definately a thumbs up...

 

[Gabes_mommy]

I recently got a minivan and I love it! The automatic doors and hatch are such great features and it's so great for kids.

I actually got the Chrysler Town and Country because I got an amazing deal on it, but we also looked at the Nissan Quest and it was really nice too. My sister has the Honda Odyssey and it has lasted forever with no problems.

I never thought I would have a mini-van but it is really fantastic. My DS loves the DVD player and I love that he has his own captain chair for his car seat and now we have another baby on the way that will use the other captains chair. Our van also has jacks where you can connect a video game system to either of the 2 TVs which is great for older kids.

The trunk is great. There is definitely enough room for a stroller and anything else you need to pack.

ETA - IMO the back rown in our van doesn't have a lot of leg room (not enough for a tall adult to sit comfortably), but the front and middle row are great.

 

[TheZue]

We got our Sienna this summer and I LOVE it. Like I love it to the point of not understanding why I held out on getting a mini-van so long. We drove it to California from Canada this summer and it was really wonderful. Lots of room, we even had a large plug in cooler beside the kids. Funny thing is I have always wanted a camper for long driving trips, and I realized on the second day I don't need one anymore...we brought a stupid amount of stuff with us and still had tons of room.

The fold down seats really are amazing. The amount that I've been able to stuff into it is great. We had an old sectional sofa in our garage that I had been putting off calling somebody to take away and we got rid of it the first week.

The only thing I've heard about it is that the run-flat tires are very expensive to replace and difficult to find. They are only on the 4WD versions though.

I'd also recomend putting in the drop down DVD player. We got an alpine on ebay for around $500 and it's been worth it for the kids.

 

[Kies99]

I've had an Odyssey for a few years now (7 or 9 years; can't remember if it's 2000 or 2002??).

I love it (and I'm a guy!!).

There are 3 things I have issues with however.

1) Let me preface by saying this may be true of all minivans...but it can be a pain in the snow, UPHILL only. ABS and Traction control work great but it does have some issues going uphill. Level and downhill it works fine.

2) As Golfgal stated, the power sliding doors can be finicky. One of ours tends to freeze up easily in the winter. Sticks just a bit at times throughout the rest of the year but in winter we either don't use that side or we have someone inside pushing out when we open it. Granted, the van is 7-9 years old.

3) The clock on the dash. On my van there is a small digital clock with a light. If the light burns out, they have to remove the whole dashboard to fix the light. What a crazy design.

Other than those three things, we have NEVER had any other issues with the van and we by no means do the scheduled maintenance or anything like that. We have yearly inspections and figure that'll catch any issues.

What I love about it:

1) Plenty of room for the family and our stuff
2) Rear bench seat folds into the bottom so you'll always have that rear seat if you need it.
3) A full size 4' x 8' sheet of plywood will lay flat in the back if the middle seats are removed and the rear seat is folded down flat. A 14' section of baseboard will fit entirely within the car. I know this as I'm in the process of finishing up a 2 story addition on my house .
4) With 4 people and fully loaded we still average the same MPG as when it was new.

 

[padams]

I'm on my 3rd minivan. I really didn't want one. I cried the first time DH and I went to the Honda dealership to look at the Odyssey. Now I can't imagine driving anything else with kids. I started with an Odyssey. Liked it. I did wear out a side door motor on the passenger side that my kids get out of for school carpool line at about 60,000 miles. Moved on to the Sienna because it was nicer (at the time)- had easier 3rd seat folding, better interior, DVD player, etc. I liked the Sienna but I HATED the run flat tires. They cost a fortune to replace and I went through 4 sets of tires in 3 years (drive about 20,000 miles per year). To get rid of the run flats, I leased another Odyssey. I like the steering and handling, ride, and the interior of the Sienna better. On all 3 minivans, I have had the top of the line one. My choice would be the Sienna without run flats.

 

[Melrosgirl]

I've had a Sienna 2004 and Odyssey 2008. I like the steering of the Odyssey better. I think the Sienna was more passenger friendly (buttons for sliding doors and compass were in the middle where both front passengers could access them.)

I'd buy either one again, but overall I like the Odyssey better. You really need to drive both. Some people like "tighter" steering (Ody); some don't.

 

[diesel]

I'm on my second Chrysler mini van and I don't have children. I love my minivan. It's great for dogs they can easily jump in and out of the van. I don't like the new look of the Chrysler vans, too boxy. My husband said my next van should be a Toyota Sienna. He's a Chrysler mechanic and does not like the new design of the Chrysler mini van but just saw a Siena and said the inside is great.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

Thank you all! I have to re-read everything but love all the great comments I am hearing.

Be back later...thank you again!

Did I mention the re-design for 2010 on the Sienna? My husband thinks that is what we should do.

The Enclave is giving a $2500 cash back on GM trade in though...let's see if I get any feedback on them.

 

[luvmy3jewels]

I have owned two Odysseys and have mixed emotions about them. I love the way that they drive (like a car), the features that they have and the convenience of the power doors! Odys are a true family vehicle and if you have more than two kids, it's nice to have the room and storage that they provide. However, both Ody's that I have owned have had transmission related issues while still relatively new and I have decided that the one that I currently own will be my last.

The first Ody (a 2004 model) had transmission failure when it was 2 years old and had around 25,000 miles on it. The transmission was replaced under warranty, and we were assured that Honda had fixed the chronic problems that many of their Ody transmissions were experiencing. However, the replacement transmission always shifted roughly between 3rd and 4th gears (felt the same as the first tranny that failed) and we ended up trading the van in at 36,000 miles out of fear that we would have to eventually pay for another transmission.

The first Ody was traded for a Pilot, which I loved driving but hated trying to get three kids in car seats in and out of. We only kept the Pilot for a year, and I had missed the convenience of my old Ody so much that we got a new Ody in 2007. I have around 27,000 miles on this Ody and a couple of months ago it started shifting roughly. The dealership told us there was a service bulletin out for our model and it was common for them to have torque converter problems. So we got a new torque converter which was covered under warranty. A couple of weeks ago, the fuel pump started having issues, so back to the dealership again for a new fuel pump. Thankfully these repairs have all be under warranty, but I'm a little afraid of what this van is going to cost me next year after the warranty runs out. I bought this one with the intent of keeping it for at least 10 years, but I'm not sure if that plan is going to work out. So, at this point I'm kind of regretting not looking a little more closely at the Siennas. I have had several friends that have Siennas and they have not had the problems with their vans that I have had with mine.

 

[Rora]

We have a Sienna and have had issues. Transmission problems and other stuff (I know nothing about cars.. DFi handles all of that ). All I know is that I will never buy another Toyota.

 

[MizTink]

what about gas mileage? wondering if they all get about the same or if any certain van gets better mileage?? what do you current minivan drivers average for city mpg?
i'm considering a minivan or a wagon? i like minivans, but figure i'd get better mileage in a wagon (mazda5 or chevy traverse maybe???)

 

[Jennasis]

We are on our third minivan. So far, we have been very happy. However, right now, we have a Kia Sedona and I would NOT recommend a Kia at all. We have had way too many brake problems right from the start. However, with that said, we would definitely go with another brand of minivan. There is plenty of room. My husband and 15 year old son are both 6'4" and neither have complained of too little room. We travel quite a bit (we're in Pennsylvania and my husband's family is spread out between Chicago and Florida). The van holds all 4 (we have an 8 year old daughter, too) of us and our stuff very well.

Good luck!
Michelle

My MIL has a Kia Sedona and we all love it! Lots of room, no mechanical issues, great mileage, and for some reason about a million cup-holders (we counted 13).

We've driven it to WDW from NC twice without any issues. Unfortunately, we've recently had a falling out with the MIL so we won't be able to use it anymore.

 

[sbell111]

My wife and I are anti-minivan. We're SUV people.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Another vote for Chrysler....we have love our Grand Caravan!

 

[justhat]

We don't have the Enclave yet, but that is the car we are planning to buy this summer. We're having a 3rd kid this month and the way the 3 carseats are all in a row in my Explorer is just not going to work long term. Our Explorer has a 3rd row, but it's too inconvenient to get to it. Neither of us wants a minivan, so we looked at the Enclave (and the GMC version as well) and really like it. 3rd row is easily accessible and unlike the Explorer is is actually pretty comfortable. It drove well and has a lot of nice features. We would actually buy it now, but we're moving across the country in July so we figure we might as well wait till then.

 

[Deb in IA]

My sis has a Chevy Uplander which she really likes. We rented an Uplander in Hawaii on vacation, and it was fine for us, and we have 2 teenagers.

 

[ORMom2Four]

Love, love, love my '02 Odyssey. It has never give us one single day of trouble!

We have only had to do maintenance on it (changing oil/transmission fluid/replacing tires) and have never had a repair. We have about 100K miles on it now.