[oceanica]

So we may have to bite the bullet and get a minivan... sigh - I hate to give up my awesome car but with the babies it's time to be practical.
So this time I'm trying to do some research and everything I read says the honda odyssey is number one, except consumer reports and they rate the toyota sienna best. What has been your experience? We need a lot of room for our two (sometimes 3) strollers and all our gear for the two little ones. Also I have to be able to get back into the back easily while driving (I know it's not safe but I keep doing it anyway and crawling over the console in the yukon requires me to be somewhat of a contortionist.) And hiking up the car seats into those high seats in the yukon is getting harder since they are getting so heavy! We want the sliding door too that's helpful. I've never had a foreign car before but the american ones are definitely not as highly ranked by most sources.
Please give me your opinions and pros and cons!

[Whirled_Peas]

We have a 1996 Odyssey and love it. I think the differences between the Odyssey and the Sienna are pretty small these days. If you're getting a used one, get whichever is the best car for the best deal. EXCEPT, the third row of our odyssey folds down into the floor. I don't know if the Sienna does. If it doesn't, that would be a deal breaker for me.

When we were just using the britax marathon and the 2005 graco snugride, I could fit between the two carseats as we drove on the highway. However, now we have the britax boulevard (better than the marathon cause it has side impact protection) and the britax frontier. I can't fit between the seats. I do think the newer vans have more width, so it may not be an issue. I'd try it out in both models to see if it makes a difference with your carseats.

[momraine]

My sienna does fold down into the floor. Also I can fold only part of it down if it want. You can fold one, two or three seats down into the floor. I also liked that it came in an 8 passenger option. Since I have four kids and often have thier friends, this made lots of room. Also the fact that I could fit dd's wheelchair in the back even with all 8 seats up. I have loved my Sienna and I will get another one this one gets old.

[KarenInCa]

Ive always loved the way Toyotas last. When I was younger, I had a Toyota Corolla. I now have a 10 yr old Toyota Camry which I use for commuting and it still purs-even though I put more than 15,000 miles on it per year. So, it was only obvious to us that we would get a Toyota Sienna. We took the plunge and purchased one in October 08 (the 09 model). It's really nice! Lots of room. We chose the 7 passenger XLE (comes with leather seats that warm up in the winter.....nice). We got one also with a DVD player, mainly because we intend to use this on long trips.
I've hauled things in it as if it was a truck with no problems, with the two back seats folded down. It's very durable. And easy to fold the seats up or down.
Also, this might or might not be of help to you, but Toyota financing gives you 6 times over the life of the loan in which you can defer the loan for those months. That payment gets tacked on to the end of the loan and extends the loan obviously. But with the economy the way it is, it's nice to know you can do this with no questions asked.

[sambob]

We've got the 7-passenger Toyota Sienna. I like the captain's chairs that come with the 7-passenger. The seat in the back is a 60/40 split and folds flat down to the floor. You can also remove the captain's chairs. There is a lot of flexibility and so many options for seating, and well as plenty of room to haul stuff. We easily brought home a twin mattress with the two kids safely in the car.

We have dual sliding doors, and an automatic rear door as well. LOVE IT!!! Can easily open the back (and side doors) with the push of a remote button - especially convenient while hauling groceries to the car. The car runs like a dream - haven't had any mechanical problems with it at all. Very reliable.

We also researched the Odyssey prior to buying, but found that Toyota offered some more bang for the buck with attractive financing options and upgrades, so we got more car than we would have with the Odyssey. But I do have some friends with the Odyssey and they love it, so I don't think you'll go wrong with either one.

[mrskt]

Don't know anything about the Sienna, but everyone I know loves their Odyssey, and the one we test drove was wonderful! Just too pricey for our blood...

[mmdd2b]

I love my Toyota Sienna. Test drove all of the vans on the market. I have four kids and have four stationary carseats. I have the captains chairs and I can move around it pretty easily. Storage is awesome. I have usually two strollers in it at a time w/plenty of room to spare.....

I didn't like the way the Odyessy drove, it hurt my wrist while driving the steering wheel.

The sienna drives like a car.....very smooth sailing.....and turns corners pretty good.

I have a 2006 LE, just one door opens automatically (which I like, my kids can't get out the otherside when I trying to get them out, having only one door open works well for me.

Kristy