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other than as 12 or 15 passenger van, What vehicle for a family of 8?


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I have an expedition, it holds 8. I'm pretty sure you could do carseat/kid/booster and carseat/kid/booster in the back rows. *Maybe* carseat/kid/carseat and booster/kid/booster, but that might be pushing it in the middle row.

are the middle seats with lap belts or shoulder belts?

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Have you looked at the Honda Pilot? That seats 8.

 

If you prefer to have three across in either row, you may need to consider buying narrower carseats.

But if you're buying a new car anyway, the cost of a couple new seats shouldn't be a deal breaker.

You might also want to ask this question and/or search the archives over on the car-seat.org forums.

Edited by jplain
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I love our Suburban. Easily fits 8. I have done one infant car seat, two five-point harnesses, one booster, two seat-belted kids, and two adults, and it was easily comfortable. It could be a bit awkward to help kids buckle up in the third row, but it could be done and older kids who can help (and are more flexible :D ) make this task a little easier. *And* we have trunk space!

 

ETA: The middle seat of rows 2 and 3 are lap belts. Ours is a '94, though; I have no idea what the newer ones have.

Edited by Tutor
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The Toyota Sienna has an 8-seater option - we own it. It has shoulder belts and headrests in all 8 positions. It also has three full-size seats in the second row, which is different from the Odyssey, which has a narrow benchy-thing between two oversized captain's chairs (at least that's how it used to be - they may have changed newer models).

 

We are very happy with it - it easily seats 6 kids and two adults.

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We just graduated OUT of an Expedition. It was tight quarters. Though, my eldest *3* are boys so I had that to keep in mind...even if the younger 2 of them were small. They'd be *big* before I realized it.

 

But yes, still an option.

Expedition, Excursion, Suburban/Tahoe, Pilot for SUVs ...

Sienna, Odyssey for minivans...would be my picks.

 

We upgraded to a 12 pass. van and within months were expecting #7 ;) Which we knew was possibly/probable, but I wanted a bigger vehicle anyway. We felt cramped and were limited. No room to carry any guests and negligible cargo room (very bad when you have 4 BMXers and no trailer)

 

With any of those options, just check for shoulder belts and headrests in each position so you're set for a while. (another issue with our Expedition, ours was old enough to have lap belts in the 2 center seats, thereby deeming them only useful for buckling in car seats)

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I second the Sienna 8 passenger. But you'll need to get a 2010 or older for that to be an option. The 2011 has an 8 passenger option but the 8th seat is ridiculously small. It is even too small for my very thin 12 year-old. The 8 passenger Honda Odyssey also has a very small 8th seat so I'd rule that one out.

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We have a 2005 Expedition. We have a car seat in the middle row with two teens and a car seat with 2 booster seats in the 3rd row.

 

We gave up our passenger van because it didn't have head rests or shoulder belts. I miss the space. :( But wouldn't trade the safety of our truck, either! :tongue_smilie:

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I second the Sienna 8 passenger. But you'll need to get a 2010 or older for that to be an option. The 2011 has an 8 passenger option but the 8th seat is ridiculously small. It is even too small for my very thin 12 year-old. The 8 passenger Honda Odyssey also has a very small 8th seat so I'd rule that one out.

 

??? I have an 8 seater Sienna and it is an '06. My friends have an earlier model that is holds 8. The middle row is full-sized seats, the back row is a little closer quarters, but still decent sized seats. They might be harder to find used,

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