Cars for carting kids

[momofmine]

If you could buy any one of these four cars, which would you buy? Imagine you are a family with two active kids, but no more babies. And an elderly family member has to come along with you too. And you think it would be nice to be able to bring along a friend or two at times. And you'll probably have this car for at least the next ten years, so basically all through the teen years, etc. Thanks for taking my poll!


ETA: I don't know how to add in an extra poll option, but if I could I would add in a Ford Flex. So if you'd vote for that, just respond in a post.

[becoming]

I love the Honda Odyssey, and everyone I know who has one raves about how awesome it is. That's my vote.

The Pilot and Highlander are nice vehicles, too, but I'm assuming they have a split bench seat as the middle row, which SUCKS. It makes the back seat virtually impossible to use. (I have a Ford Explorer with third row seating with the split bench in the middle.)

[A&A]

I'd get a Ford Escape, which can fit five people. Why pay THOUSANDS more just to OCCASIONALLY bring along a sixth or seventh person? Economically it just doesn't make sense.

[momofmine]

Originally Posted by becoming

I love the Honda Odyssey, and everyone I know who has one raves about how awesome it is. That's my vote.

The Pilot and Highlander are nice vehicles, too, but I'm assuming they have a split bench seat as the middle row, which SUCKS. It makes the back seat virtually impossible to use. (I have a Ford Explorer with third row seating with the split bench in the middle.)

I know, it's kind of hard to find someone who doesn't love their Odyssey or Sienna. I was kind of leaning towards the Pilot or Highlander though just because of the 4WD. We live in a mountainous region, and we do get a fair amount of winter weather, especially wet, icy stuff. We often have to cross a mountain, to get to the next city to either direction of us. The front wheel drive on the minivans would probably be fine, I just was kind of leaning towards the AWD because of that.

I didn't like the AWD Sienna as much because of the run flat tires and the way you have to change the tires.

Here's the thing about the third rear seat:

In the Honda Pilot, it is split 60/40, so you can still keep some of your extra seating. I thought that was a good thing. What do you not like about that?
Also in the Pilot, when you fold the second and third seats down it is totally flat.

In the Toyota Highlander, the third seat is all one piece. So if you need a little extra cargo space, you have to give up the whole row. However, the third row in the Highlander only holds two people anyway, where the Pilot can seat three. When you fold both the 2nd and 3rd seats down in the Highlander, it is not a totally flat cargo surface. I mean, it's flat, it just doesn't meet entirely in all places, like the Pilot does, if you know what I mean.

Oh, wait, now I realize you were talking about the SECOND row being a split bench! Okay, well in the Highlander, this is actually one thing I liked about it, the middle seat of the second row can be taken out and stored under the console in front, and the two remaining seats are captain's chairs with walk-through access to the third row.

In the Pilot, it is a split bench, but one of them flips forward pretty easily to get in and out of the third row. It would probably only ever be kids back there that can buckle themselves in.

[momofmine]

Originally Posted by A&A

I'd get a Ford Escape, which can fit five people. Why pay THOUSANDS more just to OCCASIONALLY bring along a sixth or seventh person? Economically it just doesn't make sense.

I know, I am sort of struggling with this. Two years ago I would not have even considered this as a factor in buying a car. But my kids are older now. We homeschool, we go on field trips. My kids are really active in a lot of activities, and we are just on the go a lot. And they are at the age where it would be really nice to have the extra seats to accommodate friends. This happens at least a couple of times a week. I have a car now that can accommodate two extra kids.

[prescottchels]

You didn't mention whether you have a DH or not, but i'm assuming for some reason that you do have one or something of the like...
So that means you and dh and kids would fit comfortably in a 5 seat car and then if you add g-ma or whomever someone has to sit in middle of the back seat which *always* sucks no matter how young or old the person is lol
I didn't vote cuz I'm not familiar w/the vehicles you're asking about, but if it were me I'd definitely be getting something w/more than 5 seats, and that has room for all the random stuff that we seem to need to cart around w/us. So I think the extra $$ for those extra seats would be well worth it since you plan to keep the vehicle for so long.
Good Luck!

[Drummer's Wife]

I voted Odyssey... but thinking about it, with only 2 kids riding in it on a regular basis - I'd probably go with the Pilot.

[Peony]

Hmmm, that is a hard one. I'd say minivan because they are so suited for carting around families but I get that you need AWD. The tires on the AWD Sienna aren't *that* bad, just know that you will have to replace them more often then regular tires. It does handle very well in the snow, we live in the mountains as well, and never had an issue getting anywhere. DH was very impressed at times that we were out driving in a blizzard in a minivan of all things. Sliding doors on a minivan are absolutely wonderful, no more children throwing open doors and whacking other cars.




My next choice would be the Pilot because of the 60/40 3rd row. We had a Highlander with a 3rd row, we upgraded to the AWD Sienna because of the 3rd row/cargo problem. It is certainly an all or nothing thing, either you have the row up and no cargo room or room and no extra passengers. I loved the 60/40 in my Sienna, with two kids I kept the 40 part up, I found that most of the time it was usually just one extra person I was carting around, and the 60 part down. I had tons of room for cargo that way. We "outgrew" the Sienna with the addition of DS and I now have a Suburban. I really, really miss my Sienna, but living so rurally, I haul a lot of cargo around and needed the extra room in the back. And most weekends I fill all the cargo space, this afternoon Dh and I were looking at the packed rear end wondering what was larger then the beast we already have.

[abeliamama]

I love my Pilot for me, DH, two kids, and occasional friends. My only complaint is that it is REALLY loud, lots of road noise. Loud like on trips the kids turn up the DVD player full blast and have trouble hearing it. Mine is a 2003, so hopefully they have fixed that problem.

[Brittany93]

I like the Honda Pilot, well, from what I've seen on the internet. The interior looks nice, and lots of seats.

[momofmine]

Originally Posted by prescottchels

You didn't mention whether you have a DH or not, but i'm assuming for some reason that you do have one or something of the like...
So that means you and dh and kids would fit comfortably in a 5 seat car and then if you add g-ma or whomever someone has to sit in middle of the back seat which *always* sucks no matter how young or old the person is lol
I didn't vote cuz I'm not familiar w/the vehicles you're asking about, but if it were me I'd definitely be getting something w/more than 5 seats, and that has room for all the random stuff that we seem to need to cart around w/us. So I think the extra $$ for those extra seats would be well worth it since you plan to keep the vehicle for so long.
Good Luck!

Right, there is a DH too. Although it's actually not all that often he is riding with us, because he works all week. But still, we need to include him!

Also, my grandma is actually with us full-time, so, yeah, when it's all of us, it would be one of the three adults stuffed in the back with the kids.

[momofmine]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

I voted Odyssey... but thinking about it, with only 2 kids riding in it on a regular basis - I'd probably go with the Pilot.

Yes, just two kids and my grandma, who usually sits in the front seat. DH is usually at work so most of our running around happens with just the four of us.

Originally Posted by Peony

Sliding doors on a minivan are absolutely wonderful, no more children throwing open doors and whacking other cars.




My next choice would be the Pilot because of the 60/40 3rd row. We had a Highlander with a 3rd row, we upgraded to the AWD Sienna because of the 3rd row/cargo problem. It is certainly an all or nothing thing, either you have the row up and no cargo room or room and no extra passengers. I loved the 60/40 in my Sienna, with two kids I kept the 40 part up, I found that most of the time it was usually just one extra person I was carting around, and the 60 part down. I had tons of room for cargo that way. We "outgrew" the Sienna with the addition of DS and I now have a Suburban. I really, really miss my Sienna, but living so rurally, I haul a lot of cargo around and needed the extra room in the back. And most weekends I fill all the cargo space, this afternoon Dh and I were looking at the packed rear end wondering what was larger then the beast we already have.

That's good to know that the AWD Sienna did well in snow. I did hear that the tires need to be replaced more often and are more expensive, but I'm not sure that would be too big of a deal. But one friend of mine had to replace them at just 4500 miles.

I do like the idea of automatically opening a sliding door with my hands full of stuff and a five year old to contain!

Thanks for the feedback on the Pilot vs Highlander with that third rear seat. I was actually leaning towards the Highlander, had in fact decided that was what we were going to get, and I just didn't have any more time to research and deal with it anymore. I wanted to just get one and be done with it. And then I decided to just "look" at the Hondas and it made me go back to square one! That was probably the main thing that made me lean towards the Pilot though, was that 60/40 third rear seat.

Originally Posted by abeliamama

I love my Pilot for me, DH, two kids, and occasional friends. My only complaint is that it is REALLY loud, lots of road noise. Loud like on trips the kids turn up the DVD player full blast and have trouble hearing it. Mine is a 2003, so hopefully they have fixed that problem.

I did test drive one, and it didn't seem too bad, but I wasn't really paying attention to that, so I will when I go back to look again. Thank you!

[Peony]

Originally Posted by momofmine

Yes, just two kids and my grandma, who usually sits in the front seat. DH is usually at work so most of our running around happens with just the four of us.



That's good to know that the AWD Sienna did well in snow. I did hear that the tires need to be replaced more often and are more expensive, but I'm not sure that would be too big of a deal. But one friend of mine had to replace them at just 4500 miles.

I do like the idea of automatically opening a sliding door with my hands full of stuff and a five year old to contain!

Thanks for the feedback on the Pilot vs Highlander with that third rear seat. I was actually leaning towards the Highlander, had in fact decided that was what we were going to get, and I just didn't have any more time to research and deal with it anymore. I wanted to just get one and be done with it. And then I decided to just "look" at the Hondas and it made me go back to square one! That was probably the main thing that made me lean towards the Pilot though, was that 60/40 third rear seat.

We got 2 years out of our no run flats, I don't remember the mileage but it wasn't low. I will fully admit that I didn't take care of them, I don't think I had the tires rotates once during that time. They are more expensive, I just considered that a trade off.


I really can't go on enough about the sliding doors. We had a button on the key chain that opened them, I could have my hands full, it snowing or raining, press the button, and have kids dash in the van themselves, it was heaven!


Good luck in your decision.

[pixiekisses]

We have sliding doors on the car we sometimes drive (Peugeot 807), and I must say I love those doors, and the car. So, if one of those have sliding doors, I'd take that one.

[curly_mommy]

Are you a mini-van person or an SUV person? It seems like that's what you are really deciding. We had a Pilot for several years, and it was great - really roomy, and perfect for our two babies. I think it would be great for older kids as well. We rarely used the third row, it was really difficult to get to. If you are planning on using a third row regularly, you should probably go with a mini-van. But if you are looking to haul around a bunch of kid stuff, then an SUV would be fine I imagine.

[alegna]

I LOVE our sienna 8 passenger. Love love love it.

-Angela

[My3guys]

We have the Odyssey and I have got to say I am surprised at how happy I am with it. We have three very active boys and I love the room in the car. We often have family visiting so the extra space is very useful. The sliding doors are perfect and make getting into and out of the car very easy.

If your kids are going to be in activities, then get a minivan. My kids are in so many different things and pretty much every day I am car pooling to something. The extra space is perfect so I can take another kid with us to practice or games or school or whatever. If you have active kids, you are going to have extra kids. The only way to manage their schedules is to car pool with other parents so you get an occasional break.

[galincognito]

i agree with pps about the sliding doors, and the automatic ones are awesome! we'll be getting an odyssey over a pilot (when we have our next baby) because the odyssey has more cargo space than the pilot, unless the pilot improves that in the next year or so. lugging around 3-4 kids tends to add a bunch of stuff .

[mamadelbosque]

If I was going to be getting a mini-van or similar, I would almost certainly get the Odessy... my DH's grandparents (yes *HIS* grandparents) bought one a year or two ago, and we've gotten to ride around in it - its wonderful! Roomy, comfy seats & just very, very nice. I'm honestly vaguely hopeful that someday we manage to inherit it, as at this point I can't imagine us affording one!!

[Youngfrankenstein]

My parents have a Highlander and anyone over the age of 6 may have a hard time fitting in the third row....just a thought.