Your favorite Minivan..... I need your help!!!

[mickeyfan2]

I saw a report that the most trouble free 2006 mini van is the Chrysler Town and Country. I like the stow and go seats too.

 

[disfamily3]

Our family just bought a Nissan Quest.....I tried the Honda Odsy. van and I just like the Quest a little better. It seats 7...has the dvd player (with wireless headsets)and sliding doors (one that is controlled by remote) and the trunk also by remote....seats fold down for loads of space. We are happy! I think the Honda and Toyota are still both great vans too.

 

[Disneyrsh]

I'll post because nobody else has about my minivan.

I have a 2003 Mazda MPV.

It's a little smaller than the sienna or the odyssey, but has very, very good crash test ratings (five star). My husband, who's 6'4 fits in it and I'm 5'9 and it's perfect for me.

Very reliable, very VERY zoom zoom, great visibility out the windows (I don't feel like I'm driving a in paper towel roll). 200 HP, 30mpg on the way down to Disney on the highway.

Here's a picture:

Sweet!!!!

I paid 18,900 for it out the door with power everything and a dvd player It's not terribly popular, but has a VERY devoted fan club-here's the website :

Mazda MPV Club

We traded in a two year old Dodge Grand Caravan. The only thing that wasn't lemon on that piece of crap was the color... We plan to keep the Mazda until the kids are out of school .

Then, a porsche for mommy!

 

[slpmom]

I'm in the minority here, but I'm driving my second Dodge Caravan (the smaller one). My first one lasted 7 years. I really haven't had problems with anything going out.

 

[las3888]

Another huge thumbs up for my Chrysler T&C. I love this van...it is great! Zero problems...we REALLY comparison shopped the Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Chrysler. Ruled out Toyota and Nissan - way too much money for the features we wanted (versus Honda and Chrysler). In the end, we chose Chrysler and are very very happy.

 

[buttons]

We purchased a Honda Odyssey less than a month ago. We are Honda people, having owned an accord and a pilot. We have loved our van and can't wait to take it to Disney in December!

 

[kkevcamsmom]

I have been a proud Honda Odyssey owner since 2002. We have only had Hondas since we have been married... 16 yrs.

We did debate between all the vans. A few important things for us was:

1. Resale value

2. Car seat useage. I do home daycare and need to fit 4 carseat in my vehicle at any time.

3. Size. We were adding a room in our basement and needed something that could fit a sheet of plywood and sheetrock in it. The Sienna lost out because it was 1/2 an inch too narrow.

4. How well we could reach the petals, seat adjustment and review mirror reach. Both my DH and I are short (5'6'') and this was a huge deal for us. Some of the other vans seemed to be made for taller people, as we had a hard time getting the seat adjusted right so we could reach the petals and adjust the rearviem mirror.

5. How well it handled. The thing I love about the Honda is the tight turning radius. AWESOME! Also, it's so much like driving a car, I just love it!

The Sienna and Honda were neck to neck until that little tiny thing mentioned in #3.

But I LOVE my Honda! I love the duel power sliding doors since I am usually putting 4 kids under age of 6 in the van at one time. All four car seats fit and leave room for two teenagers too, admittedly thin teens....lol

Lori

 

[Hef4545]

I have a 2004 Honda Odyssey. 36,000 with no problems. Smooth driving, good handling and like another poster said, can hold a sheet of plywood. Another big plus for me is the service I have received from my Honda Dealer.
The customer service is what will make me stay with Honda.
I will tell you that I have friends that have the Sienna and they are very happy. I also have friends with the Chrysler Town and Country. They are also very happy.

 

[Harvest02]

Has anyone checked out the Mazda MPV? We got one last summer, and we LOVE it! We owned a Mazda Protoge years ago, and it was a small car but ran great! We looked at the Honda and Toyota mini-vans, but they just seemed so expensive. We got a great deal on the Mazda MPV, and have had no problems with it whatsoever! It is also a little shorter than the other minivans so fits better in a smaller garage. Just my 2 cents!!! Good luck in your search!!!

 

[pharmom5]

I love, love, love my 2005 Toyota Sienna. It seats 8 comfortably and has given us no trouble at all in the 9 months we've had it.
Laurie
DH Dave, DD 19, DD 16, DS 14, DD 11, DS 4

 

[slpmom]

Two other good websites, well I can't post links yet, but edmunds and motherproof have good reviews and information.

 

[michboro]

We have had problems with the transmission with our 2001 Honda Odyssey. A few years ago the transmission was recalled on 2000 and 2001 Odyssey's and we had ours replaced at around 45000 miles for free, and they extended warranty for transmission to 100,000 miles. Then recently at 80,000 miles the car broke down and we had to have the transmission replaced again.

 

[mommyceratops]

We just bought a KIA sedona and LOVE it. We traded in our Toyota Sienna for it. I like the way the KIA drives and sits better.

KIA price tag was right for us. I LOVE it.

But if you have an extra $$ look at the Toyota it is nice too, but also I recommend checking out the KIA.

 

[Torontogal]

Toyota Sienna all the way! I love our Sienna and we drove it to Florida from Toronto with no problems. The kid's love the DVD player. You cannot go wrong with Toyota. My hubby had a Celica with 400,000 KM on it and it was still going strong. You will not be disappointed.

 

[MaryBeth7]

We have owned 3 now . 1st was a 98 Windstar..ok.., 2nd was a 2001Sedona good but not enough room.. finally a 2003 Pontiac Montana .. i love it.. We bought it second hand. We have an 8 passenger. It fits and drives well. I just wish that they hadn't stopped making them. Good luck on your decision.

 

[brat5063]

I have a Honda Odyssey and LOOVVEE IT. I have had it for over a year and it has about 40,000 miles on it all ready. We do a lot of driving and are so comfortable in it, we use that as our car when traveling anywhere.

The Toyota Sienna also has so great review in Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports flip flops between the two each year it seems like. I'd test drive them both and see which one you like better.

Good Luck. I never thought I would drive a mini van and now I couldn't imagine driving anything else.

 

[hbehrman]

An alternative to the minivan

My wife and I have twin 3 year old girls (fraternal) and a 1 year old boy and packed our stuff into a 1996 Volvo 960 Sedan. We looked at the Toyota SIenna and Honda Odyssey which both (at the time we were looking) had head curtain air bags for all rows of seats (my requirement). The decision was my wife's and although we both were not looking forward to getting a minivan nothing else would support 3 car seats side by side comfortably(another requirement). We were resigned to either of these two vehicles which we both agreed were the only vehicles to meet our needs.

But then my father in-law (who is a Ford salesman) suggested us looking at the Ford Freestyle. And I would suggest you do as well, as I think this vehicle is the best hidden secret in autos. I do not want to sell you on the car and am not associated with Ford. It is essentially a Ford Five Hundred Wagon or "Crossover". It comes in FWD or AWD (optional, but important for some). The chassis, AWD, and safety systems are derived from the Volvo XC90/S80 platform. Seating is for 6 or 7 (captains chairs or a no cost optional 2nd row bench; we have the bench). We have done tons of trips in it over the last 9 months and have enjoyed it thoroughly (this coming from a guy who thought he would never by a US car). Since the platform is essentially a car the handling and ride are more carlike. Checkout the Ford propag... er, literature for more info or this website http://www.myfordfreestyle.com/

We love it, love it, love it.

Just thought I would mention an alternative.

 

[ShannonN]

We started to buy a Honda Odyssey but ended up buying a Honda Pilot instead. I love it!! It has third row seating and lots of room. It's good on gas too. Most important is safety. It has side curtain airbags for front and second row in the 06 model. Can't go wrong with a Honda.

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

I went through this same dilema 2 years ago. I narrowed it down to 3 vans that I really liked: MPV, Odyssey & Sienna.

I ended up with a 2005 Honda Odyssey and love it .

I was looking for flexible seating (seats 8, you can reconfigure the 2nd row, and the 3rd row can disappear), safety and power sliding doors. One of my favorite features has ended up being the seaprate temp controls in the front lol.

Good luck in your mini van quest.

 

[SplashMom]

We are on our third Grand Caravan and they have all been fabulous! The one before this one we had for 10 years and never had a problem (280,000 km on it!) We have had three, my parents have had four, my uncles (2) have had four each, all of my cousins drive them as well and no one has ever had major problems. For the price, they can't be beat. Our new van is making our first ever drive to Disney in August (36 hours of driving over 3 days each way) so we'll see how things work out!