need opinions on vehicles for big families

[Michelle @ Living Waters]

Anyone have any advice on vehicles for families with 5+ kids? We're in the market for a new van/vehicle and wondered what people think... I've heard the Sienna and the Odyssey have 8 seat options. Anyone have these? All info is helpful!

Thanks

[milovany]

I loved our Odyssey when we had one! We outgrew it. Now we have a 9-seat Suburban which I like well enough. Pretty roomy and drives nice. DH likes how it feels substantial on the road.

 

I want our next vehicle to be a retired airporter shuttle bus! :)

[Perry]

My Honda Pilot seats 8, and it has been a great car.

[kokotg]

We have a 7 seat Sienna that we like a lot and haven't had any big problems with (it's a '99). Okay, actually we just found out we need to get the flywheel replaced for $750, but that's by far the most expensive repair it's needed, and it has well over 100,000 miles on it. Our rental car this summer was an 8 seat brand new Sienna, and it was very, VERY nice. I'd buy one in a second if I needed the space and could afford it. The gas mileage seems decent for a minivan, too (we usually get around 20 mpg...not sure what the new ones are supposed to get).

[Sharon H in IL]

Have you heard about the Limo Mom? She says it seats all her kids and gets the family where they need to go. :auto:

[BakersDozen]

 

I want our next vehicle to be a retired airporter shuttle bus!

We almost bought one of these! We got a Chevy Express instead and absolutely love it! It handles great, has tons of room, and we can take the back seat out for additional bike/grocery space.

[Colleen]

Anyone have any advice on vehicles for families with 5+ kids? We're in the market for a new van/vehicle and wondered what people think... I've heard the Sienna and the Odyssey have 8 seat options.

 

Bleh, I hate recommending a gas hog, but I have to say we need all the space our Suburban provides. I loved our Acura MDX, which can seat seven, but realistically, the back seat wouldn't have accomodated our guys as they got bigger. So moved up to the Suburban ~ ours seats nine ~ and many's the time we use every inch of space. I keep talking about downsizing, but I'm dreaming.

[TraciWA]

I have a friend who just bought a Sprinter. It seats 10 I think. She wanted it for the high backs for safety.

[Sue G in PA]

We have a 15 pass. Dodge Van. It's horrible on gas as you can imagine and I really hate that we need a vehicle that size, but we do. 7 kids, 2 adults, plus additional cargo, the occasional friend tagging along, etc. It has served us well. I don't think they make them anymore though. :001_huh: I don't know what we'll do when this breaks down. Dh has a Lexus (purchased way, way used and way, way cheap) and so errands are usually run in that vehicle to save gas.

[Guest]

We have an 1985 Suburban that seats 8. DH is very handy and was getting frustrated because all of the new cars have computers in them and he couldn't work on them. That meant either shelling out a bunch of money or constantly (so it seemed) replacing cars. If your dh is handy at all and likes to/has time to work on cars, we absolutely LOVE our suburban. If you can find one that has had it's engine and transmission recently re-done, you've got a pretty sturdy vehicle. We have friends with newer suburbans and ours has SO much more room - the back area (trunk?) is huge, I used to have 3 strollers in there with more room still. It has 8 seat belts, but you could probably "fit" 10-12 people in it!!!! How's that for space? (Just don't ask about gas - not too big an issue for a SAHM who homeschools - lol).

 

My mom has a Toyota Sequoia and it is also *supposed* to sit 8. The 3rd row is only for little teeny tiny kiddos, though. An adult would be hard pressed to even get back there. Also, the back area is extremely small. She has had NO mechanical trouble with it (5/6 yrs?), though, and it's a very nice car.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

We have an 8 passenger Odyssey, and I love it, mostly.

 

The main thing I don't like is that it has poor visibility, for me, because I have a low sitting height (I'm all legs, no waist). I got an extra convex mirror for the driver side mirror, and it helps, but I still have to be very, very very careful changing lanes or backing up because I can't see stuff that's right next to me. And, because of all the side airbags, the frame pieces around the windows are very fat. Coupled with all the headrests, it's very difficult to see out in certain circumstances. I have to take extra time to look around all the obstacles inside my van before I pull out, or change lanes. I should mention that my dh doesn't have any of these problems, but he sits a full 6 inches taller than me.

 

The other thing that bothers me is that it doesn't do well in snow and ice, especially if it has to climb. I'm probably just spoiled by my Subaru Outback, which could climb a snowy hill like a tractor. But, I have one friend who sold her almost new Odyssey because she couldn't get up her own driveway. If you don't have snow, this won't be an issue. Toyota has a 4-wheel drive model, but it isn't available with 8 seats.

 

One other thing: I have a carseat latched into the middle seat on the middle row. This makes it impossible to tilt the seatback to get into the 3rd row seats. So, when we have more than people in the van, my ds (and whoever else) has to get into the 3rd row through the back door. Not always convenient. And, it keeps it from being a true 8 passenger vehicle because you have to have one of the 3rd row seats down to get to the other two (or the monkey-kids have to climb over. Not a safe action in case they have to get out easily. Of course, I could put the carseat in a different location, but I like having her in the center, with my other two kids on either side of her. This may not be an issue with you.

 

Other than those things, I love my van. It rides smoothly, has very nice leather interior (we got the EX-L), has a good sound system. We haven't had any problems with it (unless you count that pesky tire inflation light that comes on when it's cold outside, no matter how much air is in the tires).

 

Definitely check your visibility if you test drive one. Look for blind spots, and look to see if you could see a toddler next to you when backing up.

[SkateLeft]

We had an older Odyssey but outgrew it. Even though it seats 8, we needed more cargo space than it offered, and I had two in car seats which limited things a bit.

 

The only other thing I can tell you is... don't buy a Ford Expedition! ;) I loved it, until gas prices went up. I only get about 8-10 miles to the gallon. Ick!

[~Tara~]

We drive an Expedition. Nice and all, but I miss the cargo space of the Suburban. I'd get another 'burb in a heartbeat!

 

The Pilot I hear *is* quite nice, but also too pricey for us. But if it's within your means, knock yourself out. It's a great suv for lots of car seats ;)

 

Sienna and Odyssey are also great choices. With the 8th seat option..the Sienna has a bigger 8th seat. So, keep that in mind.

 

There's also the Hyundai Entourage and Kia Sedona. Both get good safety ratings.

 

I don't know anything personally about any of the vehicles other than older Suburban (we had a 94) and the Expedition (98).

 

Me, personally...I'd go for the Sienna or Suburban..sorry, newer ones are the GMC Yukon XL ;) (ok, so the yukon...unless I absolutely, positively, no way, no how could do an suv..THEN I would choose the Sienna..but I like my trucks ;) )

 

Oh, there's also the Dodge Sprinter :)

It has shoulder belts in every seating position. That's a rarity for 10+ passenger vans. (yes, my child passenger safety geek, er, tech side is coming out)

 

(oops, sorry for the redundancies...I was slow posting this one)

[yorkshire_parkin]

we LOVE our odyssey. The third row has pleny enough room for 3 big adults (not just small kids).

 

-rebecca-

[Guest]

Not that anyone cares, but I just realized that our suburban is a '91. We used to have a '85, but our current one's a '91. Both were good vehicles. :) Whew - dh wouldn't be happy if he knew I was confusing my cars!

[Michelle in MO]

I feel the same way as Colleen; I hate driving a gas hog, but we have three kids, and it comes in very useful on long trips. It seats seven, which takes care of our five plus a couple more. We'll need that space when it comes to transporting kids to and from school this next year, as we're car pooling.

 

BTW, when we bought it five years ago it was about $15,000 cheaper than the Ford Expedition or Excursion.

 

It's roomy inside, and I feel safe driving it around. Yes, I do hope a more fuel-efficient version comes out. We may have to scale down when this one is too old to drive anymore.

[Quiver0f10]

We have a Ford 15 passanger and I love it. Very roomy and I feel safe drivng it.

[Michelle @ Living Waters]

Everyone, thanks so much! Now I have some serious research to do! It was great to show all your responses to dh so he could finally see how helpful this board really is! I truly appreciate all the help with this...