Comments on: So Far I’m Gonna Buy…

By: Julie Bailie

Julie Bailie — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:19:07 +0000

OK, I’ll happily be the sole respondent singing highly the praises of the Honda Odyssey!
As you know we had one when we lived in Brookline. We found it perfect for our requirements- comfy seats for six and plenty of room for a 7th on the 3rd row bench seat. We had 3 booster seats along that row on several occasions so it’s certainly wide enough. The space between the two captain seats in the second row proved invaluable in the cold snowy/wet mornings when I hopped in the back with the boys, checked their seatbelts and then i hopped up to the drivers seat without having to go back outside! We did find in severely cold weather the electric doors seized up , I spoke to our mechanic and he said that happened with many cars, not just the Honda. The cold temperatures and electric doors were both new to me last winter!! We loved the deep footwell of the trunk, almost every weekend we had the car filled to capacity with food, stroller, clothes, iceskates, travel crib, oh, and the 6 of us! Plenty of room for your family + any extra babes you may be blessed with!!!
Our car was I think about 8 years old and running perfectly mechanically My family and I back in Ireland have a 12 year, problem free history with Honda’s, with 6 of them in our family. That was part of the attraction for us as they were familiar and we were unsure of the other options available! Yes i think they may be a bit more expensive but we certainly benefited from the reliability/dependability and quality it gave. Our second choice would probably have been the Sienna.
If I remember correctly our Honda was 3.5 litre engine and gave about 300 – 330 miles per tank- I think I may have given you all these details a long time ago!
Who cares about image??? Minivans are the way to go for space and comfort. Buy a sports car if it’s image you are concerned with!

Missing you guys loads, how great to still feel in touch with you via your blog- keep at it girl! Love and hugs to you and your girls, from me and my boys, especially Matthew……..

Julie
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By: maulrickson

maulrickson — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:42:12 +0000

Bubbs, thank you! I had never even heard of that car, so now another to check out. I have decided against the suburban, I’ll just enjoy going for rides in yours Ang, so now it is down to the minivan or other. Loved your thoughts!

By: Bubba

Bubba — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:58:56 +0000

Amy,

I had to comment. It’s a long one, but hopefully worth the read.

We just went through the same thing. Our first kid forced me to trade in my big black and beautiful Super Duty for something more family friendly.

We refused to get a minivan, but my wife didn’t want anything as big as the truck, plus it was back when a gallon of gas was over $4.00.

I looked for a long time, did a bunch of research. We looked at the Nissan Moreno(sp?), Toyota 4Runner, Suburban, etc. I even drove a Toyota Highlander.

We ended up getting the Saturn Outlook, now Chevy Traverse for a lot of reasons.

First, comfortable 3rd row seating. We figured we could take out another couple and 3 kids if we wanted to, and still have enough room behind the seats for strollers, etc.

The third row is easy for a full grown adult to get to when we need it, but folds down flat, most of the time, when we don’t. I’ve made extra space in 30 seconds when it was raining.

The Outlook can hold a full sheet of plywood with all the seats down. I think that’s cool, but not sure you’ll be as amazed.

Styling. It just looks cool. There are plenty of cup holders. It feels solid inside. It’s not a minivan. It looks as tough as a wanna be minvan can.

Gas mileage. While not as good as the smaller Nissan, or Toyota Highlander, we’ve right at 20mpg in the city and mid to high 20′s on the highway.

We’ve done the roadtrip thing and loved the iPod attachment that comes stock. I’m sure you’ll get that with anything, but I have to say our Outlook was the ultimate roadtripping ride. The V6 had plenty of power to pass people going uphill on the way to Flag.

Sienna = Minivan. We felt we were still too young a hip to drive a minivan. Plus, Toyota’s apparently have issues with their gas pedals.

Suburban = hard to park, bad on gas. As somone who loved my truck as much as a human can, the only knock I’d give it was the difficulty I had parking it. The Suburban had way too many blind spots. If you’re going to spend any time downtown, you’ll want to let your friends drive.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:09:59 +0000

This 10 year Toyota family says you’re headed the right direction!

By: maulrickson

maulrickson — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:45:44 +0000

I think we’re going Sienna too. It’s a little cheaper and not quite as “boxy” or big as the Odyssey. Our neighbors upstairs can’t fit their Odyssey in the garage and while they still say it rocks, wish it were smaller.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:29:38 +0000

Mark and I have totally decided to get a Sienna based on this. Toyota is a great brand and it’s much cheaper than the Honda.

Thanks, Amy! You’ve totally helped us out. I can’t wait to save up to buy one. I’m such a nerd.

By: maulrickson

maulrickson — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:45:57 +0000

Hey Alishia, do you have the Sedona? The starting cost online shows it only $2,000 less than the Sierra. But, those could be new numbers or something. Any thoughts?

By: Alishia

Alishia — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:49:01 +0000

We have a Kia. We love it. It was 10K less than the Honda and even more than the Sienna. Plus it has a 10 yr/100,000 mile warranty.