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Vans & Minivans Honda Odyssey Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna
5219 messages, Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 3:10 PM
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Replying to: 96corolla (Jun 13, 2005 10:23 am) I would not put a car seat of any sorts in the middle seat.
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Replying to: nwng (Jun 13, 2005 11:13 am) My kids are 3, 1.5, and 0. So after the infant carrier runs its course, we will have 6mo to a year with 3 full size tethered car seats. I haven't bothered to check, but I would be amazed if there were anchor/tether attachments for 3 seats in any of the middle rows. So we will probably send the 3 year old to the back. She can almost buckle herself in and out ... in the meantime, we'll be crawling back there to help. In the long run, the larger seats on the 7-seat Sienna or Ody will be more useful once the kids are just in boosters or free to argue over where they sit. I know the Ody lets the two middle seats push together. Does the Sienna have this capability? I could see the infant and my younger in the middle seats pushed together allowing easy access to the back. All this and we naturally have Chrysler/Dodge/Ford/Mazda employee discounts available. I really want to figure out a reason why stow n' go helps us in any way with car seats affixed all over the place.... 
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Maybe if your kids are grown and you don't have car seats or you use the van for work - hauling stuff - then they'd be more useful. For most of us hauling around toddlers and the like, they aren't very useful and buying and are worth the extra risk/cost/dis-satisfaction of owning a dodge or ford. You're points are all valid. I just like having all that space behind the 2nd row which is why we want to put all 3 in row 2 for now. If I didn't really want the space, I'd keep my 00 MPV which we really love and skip the 25 - 30K debt that I'll be going into. It is funny, there is some guy on the Ody club site who basically tells people like me(want 3 kids in row 2) that we are idiots and should learn how to pack properly and at some point we'll be trying to keep the kids apart. The guy has a point, but he is just funny. From what I understand, the Ody seats slide across similar to the MPV. I think the toyo seats move over but they may have to be picked up or something. It is not as easy in the toyo. I don't know what to do, really confused at this point. Going to see the darn Ody has put me into a tailspin now I've got to go do a full blown analysis/comparison.
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Replying to: 96corolla (Jun 13, 2005 12:18 pm) We're replacing an Escape with the minivan. The back of the Escape has been great for everything from strollers, coolers, bags, groceries, clothes, and the all too frequent flat area to do a diaper change. I'm expecting that we'll use the 60/40 split in the back just to have a flat space to change a kid while we are out and about. So I fully appreciate the need for the extra storage space.... I just wish my Detroit/Ohio relatives' employee plans were for minivans that were more useful for our needed seating arrangements. The only advantage I see of the Stow system is the storage it provides since we'd never have the seats down. I double checked the Sienna after your comments. They do show an interior picture on their website with the two middle seats together. That would suffice for our needs I think. I don't need them to slide, just moved over would be convenient for rear seat access with car seats in the middle buckets. Thanks for the info. And there is a website out there for people with/expecting triplets. The only minivan I saw discussed there was the Sienna for it's three seats in the middle row capability. Most of those people were putting another two kids in the back seat as well..... so my problems don't seem that insurmountable. |
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Maybe if your kids are grown and you don't have car seats or you use the van for work - hauling stuff - then they'd be more useful. For most of us hauling around toddlers and the like, they aren't very useful and buying and are worth the extra risk/cost/dis-satisfaction of owning a dodge or ford That is where your wrong. Stow-n-go is a perfect van for three car seats and easy access to all three in the third row. You stow the middle passenger side seat and you have an easy way to get at the third row. Mom could even sit in the other second row seat not stowed, to be close to them if needed. Stow-n-Go is very family friendly. They work much better than Honda or Toyota in getting to the back row seats. They're not just good for hauling stuff. They're perfect for families.
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Replying to: marine2 (Jun 13, 2005 2:43 pm) |
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So, are you guys saying that you stow the 2nd row(or most of it) and use the 3rd row for your kids? I can see how it would be easier to get back at them I guess. However, don't you then lose the storage of having row 3 in the ground? Or, I guess you just "move" the storage to the middle of the van instead of the back. OK, I'll try to be open minded. It just seems like a swapping of space to me though. I could do the same thing by taking a seat out of the Sienna or Ody and using the 3rd row? The concept of Mom sitting back with the kids is something we don't practice, so that benefit is not real useful to me. Thanks for the insight though, it is interesting.
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Replying to: 96corolla (Jun 13, 2005 4:33 pm) You don't lose storage, you still have that big well behind the third row seat that you use to stow the third row seats when you don't need them. There is gobs of room behind the third row. Or, I guess you just "move" the storage to the middle of the van instead of the back No, but if you stow the passenger's middle seat, you not only have plenty of room to get at your kids in the third row, but there is room there to put stuff. Plus you still have room under the other second row seat to stow all kinds of stuff. If your wife doesn't want to sit in the empty second row seat, she can sit up front and still be able to get up and walk all the way to the third row without stopping the van. That's why I said the Dodge/Chrysler is people friendly. Of course you could always take the heavy seat out of your Honda or Toyota, but with Stow-n-Go, you don't have to. And you still wouldn't have the storage that Dodge/Chrysler has.
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Replying to: marine2 (Jun 13, 2005 5:32 pm) To sum up, looks like the Sienna and the Ody can easily shift the two middle row seats together to allow my 3 yr old easy access to the back. We'll head to the Chrysler dealer maybe this weekend to see how easy it would be for her to navigate through the middle of the second row. I still need to figure out if Ody/Toyota is worth the hassle and $$ of bypassing the employee discounts.... but that can be left to the angry/yelling on the Dodge/Chrysler boards. Thanks for the constructive help. 96corolla: Good luck with the 3rd kid. Let me know what you end up doing with what is really the least of your concerns: what to drive the kid home in. 
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To sum up, looks like the Sienna and the Ody can easily shift the two middle row seats together to allow my 3 yr old easy access to the back. We'll head to the Chrysler dealer maybe this weekend to see how easy it would be for her to navigate through the middle of the second row. If you really check it out, you'll see the wife can get out of either front seat and walk between them and with the one passenger seat stowed in the second row, there is over two and a half feet of room to walk right up to the third row seats.That's more room than she is wide. She won't have any trouble at all. I have even done it.That still leaves one second row seat open to put a car seat in. |
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