I need a new minivan.

[dani3boys]

My current minivan is almost ten years old, so we are looking for a new one. We currently have a Chrysler, and it has been pretty good to us. It hasn't had many problems, just a lot of little things that are starting to fall apart. I would like to compare Chrysler to Honda and Toyota minivans. So, if you have either a Honda or Toyota, could you please let me know what you either love or hate about your vehicle.

[jenL]

I don't have a Honda or Toyota, but these are the brands we were initially drawn to when we needed to get our minivan. After TONS of research (I tend to research things to the extreme) and testing the different brands, we settled on a Kia Sedona. I LOVE my van! A few friends have since turned in their old vans/cars (1 a Chrysler T&C, 1 an Odyssey, 2 sedans) and bought the Sedona. They all are very pleased.

 

Just another suggestion for you...

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I have a 2006 Honda Odyssey, and I love that thing! I could live in it if I had to! :D

 

It has been reliable and not too much $$ to upkeep. I think it gets better gas mileage than they originally said on the window when I bought it.

 

It is very roomy inside, and I've lugged tons of people and lots of furniture in it on many occasions.

 

We've taken 2 long distance road trips (over 20 hours of driving each way), and it was extremely comfortable.

 

ETA: My sister has a Kia Sedona and is very happy with it, too. However, there is no way she could bring as much stuff home from Ikea as I have in my van!

[TN Mama]

I am also big on research and read a lot over the years leading up to our new (used) van purchase. We just replaced our Chrysler T&C with a Honda Odyssey. I've owned Honda before as have several members of my family, so I have experience to back up all the research. Very happy with my decision. Great ride, plenty of room for comfort, great safety features... I think the only thing I miss from my T&C was the radio control on the steering wheel. The Odyssey has this too, but I can only search through my programmed channels instead of all channels. There is much more that I love, so I'm willing to get over the little inconvenience.

 

Good luck with your search!

[rafiki]

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[ChristusG]

We have a Nissan Quest. It's one of the roomiest I've seen. I try to think about how much stuff I can fit in there WITHOUT folding down seats. Our trunk is really large because it is not level with the rest of the van...the floor of the trunk actually dips down. We can fit like 6 suitcases back there. We can fit our double stroller, single stroller, and a lot of groceries too. I have fit a Little Tykes kitchen. Lots of shopping packages can fit back there. It's very roomy.

 

We've never had any issues with our van. We got it new in January of 2007, so we've had it for four years.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

We have a Honda. It's been very reliable. We haven't had any major problems with it. There are a few things I find annoying, though.

 

If I were to buy a van now (4 years later) I would get the Toyota with 4 wheel drive. I've discovered that the front-wheel-drive Honda will not move in the snow/ice. It just sits there, spinning its wheels, sliding sideways into the nearest ditch. I know how to drive in snow, and I'm pretty good at it. My Subaru Outback has absolutely no problem. I'm glad we didn't sell the Outback when we bought the van because we live in the mountains, and the van is worthless in the snow.

 

Another thing I don't like about the Odyssey is that I can't see out of it. I have to be UBER careful every time I change lanes or turn left because there are huge blind spots all around the van. Granted, I am short waisted, so I sit lower than some people, but I have never had this problem in *any* other car or truck, ever.

 

Turning left out of our neighborhood, for instance, the side airbag in the door frame, combined with the head rest of the passenger seat, obstruct my view of cars coming from the right. It takes a full six seconds for a car to pass through this blind spot. During those six seconds, I have no idea they are there. If I have a passenger in that seat, the situation becomes even worse.

 

And, no matter how careful I am, I find myself pulling in front of (or into) someone while I'm changing lanes because I simply can't see them, even though I check both mirrors *and* look over my shoulder (again, the side airbag makes the frame huge). I am very careful to look, and even installed a special convex mirror on my driver side mirror. But, there are still spots I can't see, especially if the car next to me is small. Maybe the Toyota van would have this problem too. I don't know. But I'll be glad when I don't need a van anymore.

 

The third thing I don't like is that the ground clearance is terrible. There is a plastic mud cover under the front end. It is only a few inches above the ground, and scrapes when I pull out of steep driveways or park against those concrete parking barriers (the ones that are bolted into the ground to keep you from pulling up too far.) They are designed to stop your wheels from turning, but my wheels don't get anywhere near them because my van bottoms out on them. My husband has had to re-bolt the cover back on several times (the plastic clips that come on it are a joke), because I've hit a concrete barrier, or a pothole, or some other thing that my Outback would have just rolled over.

 

All this makes me sound like a terrible driver. I'm not, honest! I don't have any of these troubles in our other cars. And, I like the Honda just fine. It runs well, gets great gas mileage, and everything works. I've put almost 90,000 miles on it, and it hasn't had any mechanical problems. It's a fine vehicle. It just doesn't fit me very well, and it doesn't fit into our rural mountain setting very well.

 

Oh, there is one other little thing. I hate how the doors lock themselves when I drive, and don't unlock themselves when I turn off the car. It is frustrating to go back to open the back door (or any of the doors), and realize that it's locked, and have to walk back to the driver side door to unlock. I suppose there is some safety reason that they designed it this way, but it drives me up the wall.

Edited February 1, 2011 by Suzanne in ABQ

[alpidarkomama]

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our 9-year-old Honda Odyssey. The only thing I wish we could change are the automatic doors (would MUCH prefer manual) and the windows in the middle that don't open. The back ones open, but only a crack. There is good circulation with the vents, however. So... Here's to another 9 years! :)

[caitlinsmom]

I love our Chrysler Town and Country. Ours is 10 years old and now a few things here and there are going out. I still like it better than any other vehicle we've owned.

 

Ours is the fully loaded version and I love the leather seats for cleaning reasons, the seat warmers on the front seats, the TV for long drives and the general amount of space. Stow and Go seating would be kind of cool but maybe not. :) I love our van.

[elfgivas]

do you have criteria that are more important than other things?

 

when we car shop it goes something like:

1) must seat 6

2) power steering

3) air conditioning

4) decent safety rating

 

these are things it simply must have (we live where temps are frequently over 100, so air conditioning is a must for me

 

then i have my top preferences

a) 2 sliding doors

b) good clearance

c) good mileage per gallon

d) power windows and locks (i have not yet got a car with them, but hope reigns eternal.

 

then we crunch numbers.... we've bought a chrysler voyager the past two times because it came in at $15000 for our musts. and the second time it had 2 sliding doors, too. no power windows though : (. i really liked the odyssey, but it was twice as much money. ie. i could have two voyagers or one odyssey. it wasn't worth another car to me to have it, so we went with the voyager.

 

the price on it has now gone up a bit, so we're looking at a mazda 5. not as much luggage room, and not as good clearance, but great price and great miles per gallon. and it drives more like a car, which i love. time will tell.... the voyager is on her last legs, but still moving. someone here on the board just got one; maybe she'll chime in.

 

we check consumer reports for the safety numbers, and the miles per gallon. we've actually decided we won't buy anything with town mileage under 20miles/gallon, as gas prices are just going to go up.

 

hoping our voyager hangs on until there is a good, viable and affordable hybrid minivan,

ann

[Veritaserum]

I've only had it for about 7 weeks, but I love my 2011 Toyota Sienna. We looked at the 2011 Honda Odyssey, but the Sienna felt so much roomier. We got the 8-passenger Sienna. The 8th seat can be removed and stored in a special cubby in the back of the van. My husband is 6'5" and his dad is 6'10", so we wanted lots of legroom. The storage in the back is a lot more than I had with our 2000 Toyota Sienna.

 

We got the Sienna with leather, navigation, DVD, and power doors. I like the rearview backup camera. The navigation is easy to use (voice control or touch screen). I'm very happy with it and plan to drive it for the next 10-20 years. :)

[Ali in OR]

We love our 2000 Honda Odyssey. My experience has been that Honda or Toyota require much less maintenance than American cars. Less frequent oil changes, very few if any mechanical issues. I love that my van is just always available--there are never any mechanical issues. It's just about 11 years old now and I think it has 120 some thousand miles on it and still going strong.

[angela in ohio]

Good luck trying to change! We tried one of everything when we wanted to replace my old van. We ended up staying with a Chrylser. Once you are spoiled by one, it's hard to go back. :001_smile:

[dani3boys]

Thanks for all of the advice! The reason I'm looking at only those three vehicles is that my father is a mechanic, and he would only recommend Chrysler, Honda and Toyota. My sister is a service writer for Kia, and she does not recommend their van. We do like our Chrysler, but my dh doesn't really like the look of the newer ones. I think we'll just have to start test driving them to see which one we like the best.

[LisainOhio]

I LOVE my 2006 Honda Odyssey. It's comfortable, roomy and we've had no issues at all. Like someone else metioned, it's amazing what I can haul home from IKEA in that thing.

[deannajo]

we're getting really close to replacing our 10yo Dodge Grand Caravan (Chrysler) and after bunches of research, decided on either the Sienna or the Odyssey - on paper, I was pretty much decided on the Sienna, but last weekend we went to drive both, and now I think I'm sold on the Odyssey - both had features we really liked, but in the end, I think the Odyssey just fit me better...I felt it was roomier, and the back seats were more comfortable and user friendly for the kids - like in the Sienna, the middle row didn't really have any useable cup holders (I know, silly criteria, but that's what we have now, and its a pain) - you could take out the middle seat and then there were cup holders on the floor, but with the honda, you just fold down that middle seat, and there are cup holders right there - easily accessible for the kids. - It was also harder to get into the very back row in the Sienna than it was in the Odyssey, and since often times, my littlest one is climbing in the back, I wanted it to be easy for her - so I'm not always helping her... So I guess it has come down to little things like that, because they were similar in price, similar in features, both drove really really well....

 

So yeah, I guess I'm saying taking them both for test drives really helped me in my decision making.

[MaMa2005]

I have a 2009 Toyota Sienna and I love it. No problems at all. DH's sister and brother each have one as well as our DIL. All of them love their Siennas and no one has had a problem. We all have a different model year so I think that says something for their reliability. It is a comfortable van for daily running around as well as long trips. Lots of room inside. DS changes clothes in the van as we are going from one place to another :auto: and he has lots of room (NOT while the van is moving :D).

[gardening momma]

We have a 2007 Honda Odyssey. We haven't had any problems with it (well, there was a computer issue that we were notified about in a recall--something about the gears at higher speeds--that was a free fix).

 

I like that the 3rd row seats fold down flat to the floor (they fold into a deep well behind them, which is very handy for transporting things, especially groceries, when the seats are up. The 2 seats in the 2nd row come out easily. It has lots of cupholders.

 

Besides everything working as it should (AC, etc), I can't think of any other features that stand out. I just really, really like it. I also like that it is considered to be a very reliable vehicle, which probably explains the higher purchase price, and definitely explains the higher resale price (it has a lower depreciation rate than many vehicles).

[gardening momma]

Thanks for all of the advice! The reason I'm looking at only those three vehicles is that my father is a mechanic, and he would only recommend Chrysler, Honda and Toyota. My sister is a service writer for Kia, and she does not recommend their van. We do like our Chrysler, but my dh doesn't really like the look of the newer ones. I think we'll just have to start test driving them to see which one we like the best.

My brother is a Chrysler mechanic and wouldn't recommend Chrysler. ;)

[gardening momma]

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our 9-year-old Honda Odyssey. The only thing I wish we could change are the automatic doors (would MUCH prefer manual) and the windows in the middle that don't open. The back ones open, but only a crack. There is good circulation with the vents, however. So... Here's to another 9 years! :)

It must be the year & model that you have. My 2007 Odyssey's 2nd row seat windows do open, but not any of the back ones. Our doors are manual, because that's what you get on the cheapest model.

 

A feature I forgot to mention--I like the heating/cooling vents in the back--2nd & 3rd row seats both have them. I don't know how common that is now, but I love it. Since our kids are still pretty young, I keep control of the fan speed and temperature up front, but I can switch it so that the person in the seat behind the driver can control those--there's a couple of dials on the ceiling near their window for that.