Minivan/Wagon?

[Aubrey]

Having baby #5, fwiw. Is there any reason to do one over the other? Or just go for the better deal? I didn't realize there were wagons that held more than 5 people, but dh just found one on CL w/ a 3rd row...oh, wait...he says "3rd seat" now, not 3rd row.

 

I don't really care one way or another, but my gut says a station wagon's not a good idea. For no logical reason, hence asking you guys.

 

We're looking at around 200k m, 1995-2001, mainly because of the price range (preferably under 2k). Any thoughts are very welcome! :001_smile:

Edited October 7, 2011 by Aubrey

[MariannNOVA]

 

we rented a sienna for vacation and it was great -- I could see how folks with tons of kids opt for something like that. I have driven Stacey's Odyssey and I love that too.

 

All that being said, I am going to get another H2 -- I know -- but I have NEVER EVER driven anything that I have loved as much -- dh has finally after listening to me go and on for two years about the H2 agreed that okay, that is what we will get. And we were this close to getting a sienna.

 

we have a volvo wagon now -- i love it -- it can take a licking and it keeps on ticking - the storage is great - we have been able to have three car seats in the middle row with no problem - but I want another H2.

 

 

[Aubrey]

we rented a sienna for vacation and it was great -- I could see how folks with tons of kids opt for something like that. I have driven Stacey's Odyssey and I love that too.

 

All that being said, I am going to get another H2 -- I know -- but I have NEVER EVER driven anything that I have loved as much -- dh has finally after listening to me go and on for two years about the H2 agreed that okay, that is what we will get. And we were this close to getting a sienna.

 

we have a volvo wagon now -- i love it -- it can take a licking and it keeps on ticking - the storage is great - we have been able to have three car seats in the middle row with no problem - but I want another H2.

 

 

 

What's an H2?

 

You have to speak in small phrases & pretend I live under a rock wrt cars: the sienna & Odyssey are minivans, right? :bigear:

[Tangerine]

I love wagons, but there is a pathetic dearth of them in the states. I have an Odyssey. My understanding is that the only true wagon (not a crossover like a Ford Flex, etc) with a 3rd row available is the Mercedes Benz E-Class (we've looked). While the Benz is pretty fly, it's not in my price range just yet.

[Unicorn.]

What's an H2?

 

You have to speak in small phrases & pretend I live under a rock wrt cars: the sienna & Odyssey are minivans, right? :bigear:

 

H2 is a hummer... see here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummer_H2

 

Sienna is a Toyota minivan ( I have one and they are awesome!) and an Odyssey is Honda's minivan. :D

[LaxMom]

We got an Odyssey because we couldn't fit two car seats and a booster abreast in the back seat of our Volvo(V70) wagon. We had a Suburban at the time but it was a royal pain to get everyone in and out.

 

I would definitely vote minivan for 5 kids. You might want to look at Kia. The people I know who have them are very happy with them.

Edited October 7, 2011 by MyCrazyHouse

[LaxMom]

I love wagons, but there is a pathetic dearth of them in the states. I have an Odyssey. My understanding is that the only true wagon (not a crossover like a Ford Flex, etc) with a 3rd row available is the Mercedes Benz E-Class (we've looked). While the Benz is pretty fly, it's not in my price range just yet.

 

Actually, a friend of mine bought a Mazda 6 (?) last year, and it has a third row seat. The whole thing is barely larger than a sedan, but lots of room inside! A whole lot less spendy than a Benz, too, but probably not in the OPs range, given her year/mileage specifics.

[Aubrey]

Ok, well, I went over to CL & looked for "mini van" instead of "minivan" & now there are vehicles in the price range dh is looking at that are under 150k. :lol:

 

We're going to look at a Dodge Caravan tonight. But really, we're looking at price more than make & model...is there anything you'd particularly steer clear of? My last van was a Kia Sedona, & it had a lot of problems while we owned it...the kind that make you think "money pit." Iow, they seemed to be part of the design more than just the condition of the car. For what we paid in repairs, we could have gotten something quite a bit better, I think.

[Tangerine]

Actually, a friend of mine bought a Mazda 6 (?) last year, and it has a third row seat. The whole thing is barely larger than a sedan, but lots of room inside! A whole lot less spendy than a Benz, too, but probably not in the OPs range, given her year/mileage specifics.

 

I have never seen Mazda 6 available with a third row. There's the Mazda 5, which has a third row, but that's not really a wagon. I test drove one once.

[cloversandlions]

I have never seen Mazda 6 available with a third row. There's the Mazda 5, which has a third row, but that's not really a wagon. I test drove one once.

 

:iagree:. The Mazda 5 has only two seats per row, though, which makes it 1 seat short of what the OP will need.

 

I love my Odyssey, not only because of the incredible flexibility it gives us, but because when I was t-boned while in my first (2000) Odyssey, the impact was right at the passenger-side mid-row. I was hit by a larger car (about as big as a Tahoe) at a pretty good speed (~45-50 mph), but there was absolutely NO intrusion into the passenger cavity at all. Lots of glass, and had my dd been sitting there, she'd have had a wicked case of whiplash, but she would not have been injured otherwise. The frame buckled, and part of the outside metal was shorn from the rest, but inside, minus the glass, you'd never have known.

 

It was totaled, of course, and although I agreed to consider other options, there really was no vehicle that would have swayed me from getting another Odyssey.

 

I'd buy an older Odyssey over any other van or wagon.

[Jlynn]

Just traded our Volvo XC70 in for a Honda Odysee this past week and I thought I would miss my volvo so much. Honestly the van is so much easier to get in and out of with kids. I love that I don't have to worry about hitting other people's cars when opening my daughter's door to get her out of her carseat. There's no hump thing between the seats so my son has more leg room. I prefer the looks of the X-country and its push button ignition (no metal key to scratch up the car), but the practicality of the van finally won me over!

[Guest]

I love my Toyota Sienna. I think the plus is a mini van has more space all around and better gas milelage. I had a Mercury Villager Sport before this and loved it, as well.

[2squared]

We have a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan and 5 kids. I absolutely loved my van until #5 came. Now I am dreaming of an upgrade. Here are my complaints:

 

1) The back row is very narrow, and I had a difficult time puzzling together a combination of 3 car seat/boosters that would fit back there. This may not be a problem for you if you have kids not in boosters anymore.

 

2) The middle rear position is only a lap belt so I have to have a 5pt harness in that spot. For the next 5+ years my big butt will be crawling in the back to buckle whoever is in that position.

 

I will get a minivan for our main vehicle when this van dies, but I will definitely be looking for something with a wider back seat and with 7 shoulder harnesses.

[creativish]

What exactly are you thinking with "wagon"?

Like a chevy caprice or buick roadmaster station wagon? or...?

 

We were shortly considering them since some pop up that are owned by an elderly couple and are been barely taken out of the garage. But then I don't know how safe they are with that backwards back row-- and how carseats would work back there and all that.

 

We've got an '02 Honda Odyssey minivan and with the older models you've got to watch out for transmission issues. I've been happy with ours, we've had it for 3 years but we've had transmission quirks here and there and will have to replace it if we want to keep it.

We have to get something bigger now, and I'm greatly disappointed that we will no longer fit in a minivan. They are nice family-friendly vehicles-- easy to get the kids in and out of the 3rd row (unlike the larger crossovers and SUVs).

[SewingMom2many]

We recently bought a Toyota Sienna and I love it! We thought briefly about getting a wagon but it's just too tight for us even with only 3 kids in the car (I know from past experience of owning a wagon). We picked the Sienna because it has great reliability ratings from Consumer Reports (as does the Odyssey but Sienna is much less expensive) and one of the top safety ratings. I especially like that I can move the middle seats over a bit so it's pretty easy to get kids in and out of car seats in the 3rd row. Plus I love the fold down rear seats. We were able to drive for 20+ hours for a week vacation without even putting the luggage thing on top of the van because of all the extra space we gained. We had a Grand Caravan and Plymouth Voyager before so I'm used to vans but the fold down seats are awesome. Plus the stroller fits down in the back so you can see over the top of it when driving (we have a tall double stroller).

 

In my opinion if you are going anywhere with more than a couple of kids you'll love having the extra space in a van.

[WishboneDawn]

Ok, well, I went over to CL & looked for "mini van" instead of "minivan" & now there are vehicles in the price range dh is looking at that are under 150k. :lol:

 

We're going to look at a Dodge Caravan tonight. But really, we're looking at price more than make & model...is there anything you'd particularly steer clear of? My last van was a Kia Sedona, & it had a lot of problems while we owned it...the kind that make you think "money pit." Iow, they seemed to be part of the design more than just the condition of the car. For what we paid in repairs, we could have gotten something quite a bit better, I think.

 

A Dodge? :D

 

Frankly, any domestic. I'd only bother with Toyotas, Hondas and Kias when it comes to minivans.

 

A Kia Sedona probably offers the best value for money. It's quality is close to the other two but is much cheaper.

[Aubrey]

A Dodge? :D

 

Frankly, any domestic. I'd only bother with Toyotas, Hondas and Kias when it comes to minivans.

 

A Kia Sedona probably offers the best value for money. It's quality is close to the other two but is much cheaper.

 

Well, the Dodge had such bad transmission issues that even *I* could tell. The squeaking was so bad, the guy rolled up the window so we wouldn't "have to" listen to it. :lol:

 

My Sedona had weird electrical issues & (repeated) transmission issues. We owned it for...a little more than a year. It was older, so the first transmission I didn't hold against it. :tongue_smilie:

[WishboneDawn]

Well, the Dodge had such bad transmission issues that even *I* could tell. The squeaking was so bad, the guy rolled up the window so we wouldn't "have to" listen to it. :lol:

 

My Sedona had weird electrical issues & (repeated) transmission issues. We owned it for...a little more than a year. It was older, so the first transmission I didn't hold against it. :tongue_smilie:

 

We've owned two Dodge minvans. It's why I never recommend them. :)

 

The big issue with Kia is year. 2006 and older were much more prone to problems. After that the parent company Hyundai put their foot down and Kia quality improved by leaps and bounds.

[brendag]

Another very satisfied Toyota Sienna owner here!

 

Brenda

[Aubrey]

We've owned two Dodge minvans. It's why I never recommend them. :)

 

The big issue with Kia is year. 2006 and older were much more prone to problems. After that the parent company Hyundai put their foot down and Kia quality improved by leaps and bounds.

 

Oh, I see. Mine was...2001, I think.

[MariannNOVA]

What's an H2?

 

You have to speak in small phrases & pretend I live under a rock wrt cars: the sienna & Odyssey are minivans, right? :bigear:

 

Gotcha - ;)

 

H2 is the hummer (remember all those MCT threads?)

 

sienna and odyssey are minivans.

[Wabi Sabi]

Avoid any Honda Odysseys made in between 1999-2004. They're known to have bad transmissions. It's not a matter of IF the transmission will fail, it's a matter of WHEN. It's really a shame too since they're such a great vehicle otherwise.

 

Ask me about the transmission that went out of my '01 Odyssey when we were 1,200 miles from home last summer. :willy_nilly:

 

Honda did put out an extended warranty on the transmissions since they're so problematic, but go figure: mine went out AFTER the extended warranty expired. I have a friend with an Odyssey (I think hers is a 2003) and just last week she was told she needs a new transmission.

[VA6336]

Avoid any Honda Odysseys made in between 1999-2004. They're known to have bad transmissions. It's not a matter of IF the transmission will fail, it's a matter of WHEN. It's really a shame too since they're such a great vehicle otherwise.

 

Ask me about the transmission that went out of my '01 Odyssey when we were 1,200 miles from home last summer. :willy_nilly:

 

Honda did put out an extended warranty on the transmissions since they're so problematic, but go figure: mine went out AFTER the extended warranty expired. I have a friend with an Odyssey (I think hers is a 2003) and just last week she was told she needs a new transmission.

 

SHHH!!! My '03 Honda Odyssey is chugging along just fine...except that we just moved to a place with lots and lots of hills...don't jinx it!! :D

[mandymom]

Actually, a friend of mine bought a Mazda 6 (?) last year, and it has a third row seat. The whole thing is barely larger than a sedan, but lots of room inside! A whole lot less spendy than a Benz, too, but probably not in the OPs range, given her year/mileage specifics.

 

It's a Mazda CX9. We have one, and we love it. I have 5 kids, and it fits everyone comfortably. It doesn't have a lot of cargo space, but it hasn't been a real problem for us. If everyone is not in the car, the back seats fold down and create a nice storage space. It has doors like an SUV, but the back doors are larger and getting in and out is VERY easy, even to the back seat (this was one of the biggies for me). I'm not sure how long they've been making them. We got ours used last year, but it only had 8000 miles on it. The dealer had used it as a loaner for their salesmen.

 

We went from a minivan to the Mazda 9. I wouldn't go back.

Edited October 8, 2011 by mandymom

[Kipling]

I've had a wagon and a minivan. I would pick the minivan over a wagon any day. It has so much more space for the kids and is easier to get in and out of. It sits higher than the wagon, but it isn't any longer, so it's actually easier to drive. The wagon has more storage space in the back than the van unless you are using that third row seat for kids, then you have NO room to put groceries or other bags. Also, consider the kids who would be riding in the back. Mine loved it and thought it was a great adventure to see the people behind us, but after a little while they typically got a little car sick from facing backward for so long. Gas mileage is slightly better for a wagon, but I don't think that outweighs the van's benefits.

 

Fwiw, we had a 2002 Ford Taurus Wagon w/ third row seat and we now have a 2001 Toyota Sienna.

 

Use consumer reports or Edmonds to check on the cars that you're looking at. Those sites can tell you which makes / models / and years have consistently ranked well or had problems. You don't want to save money on the front end only to have to pay for tons of repairs during the time you have the vehicle.

 

Hth

[gardenmom5]

I've had a mini-van since 1990. I had a volvo wagon before that. Honestly, I love how high up for view of the road vs a car.

 

what direction is the third row facing? (affects car seat usage) can you reach kids in the third row from inside the car? how many fit in the middle seat and how many in back?

 

we rented one mini-van with two seats in the third row that could only be accessed by pushing a middle seat forward, and three seats in the middle. words cannot express how much I despised that car and we only used it for a week.

[Mandamom]

Definitely the mini-van. I have mainly used wagons and now a backseat in my current car and I have to say that with a lot of kids the mini-van is much easier. We usually rent a van on trips and it is a nice treat.

 

You can separate the kids a bit more so that there is a little less arguing :) Plus the van seems a little quieter because back seat discussions (arguments) are further back.

[KrissiK]

I can't comment about a wagon, but I'll tell you why I love love love my Sienna!

1. High enough so I don't have to bend down to put kids in car seats.

2. Doors slide open, don't have to worry about hitting other cars in the parking lot.

3.We have a 7 seater, so there's comfortable seating for 4 people and semi-comfortable seating for 3.

4. I just love the car. Great turn radius, good get-up-and-go when I want to pass, very reliable.