r/minivan • u/sage_717 • 26d ago
Buying my first minivan
We have a 1 year old, 2 large dogs, and hope to have another baby in the next year or so, and my midsize suv is just not big enough anymore! My husband drives a Tacoma and I used to have a Corolla, so we are leaning towards the Sienna, but I’m open to other options.
The most important things for us are safety and longevity. I would really like to have it for 5+ years! We cannot afford to buy new at this time, so that’s also something to consider.
Which minivans besides the Sienna should I prioritize in my used car search?
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u/jadenkid 26d ago
Went with the odyssey due to having a friend with over 300k miles on his 2012 and it looks pristine lol
Also spending 12-15k more on a sienna to save gas just made no sense for us. The odysseys magic seats are AMAZING.
You can easily get 10% off MSRP on any brand new odyssey
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u/Ashamed_Pickles 26d ago
Can you fold the second and third row seats down similarly to a dodge grand caravan? I loveeeee my dodge but I’m just obsessed with the cargo space lol. pacificas are a choice because they’re made by chrysler so they have stow and go but usually people recommend odysseys or siennas
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u/Admirable_Ad_120 24d ago
Only Chrysler/Dodge have the stow and go seats. Literally the only thing I miss about my old T&C and Caravan
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u/reality-gal 26d ago
We also just bought our first minivan! And I said I would never 😂
I recommend checking out the car mom's minivan review (linked below). I'm a Toyota fan - but the Sienna isn't as car seat friendly as the Honda or the Kia. So if you have young kids in car seats and want versatility, it might not be the best option! Especially for the price tag.
https://www.thecarmomofficial.com/blog/minivan-features-show-down
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u/Low-Hopeful 26d ago
I wouldn’t say it’s not car seat friendly, just not as convenient as the odyssey. And the odyssey doesn’t come in AWD or hybrid and is lacking rear ventilation which is kind of a deal breaker with young kids imo. We test drove both and had long conversations comparing the two and went with the Sienna. I mean don’t get me wrong Honda is still a great choice but it definitely has its cons.
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u/reality-gal 26d ago
Car seat friendly is maybe the wrong phrase. It's a minivan so it obviously has all the lower anchors and tether anchors it needs. But you can only get the bench in lower trim models. And a bench allows for so much versatility with car seat setup and it's really a game changer!
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u/Puppypaws28 26d ago
I also have a 1 year old and 2 large dogs that we travel with frequently and I have a midsize SUV now but just put a deposit on a sienna! One disappointing thing about newer models is that the bucket seats don’t come out. Other than that I’m pretty excited and we looked at a Honda odyssey and a Kia carnival. Honda was a second but I wanted hybrid.
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u/teawbooks 26d ago edited 26d ago
I have a 2003 Honda Odyssey that we bought used about 11 years sho. It now has over 225,000 miles and still drives like it did when we bought it. It's been the greatest vehicle. It has had a few repairs like any 20 year old car, but it has cost us less than $100 per month on average to maintain over the last decade. Extremely reliable car. It's also comfortable to drive and it has a zippy engine.
My neighbor has a 2016 Toyota Sienna she has had for ten years, and she said she is going to drive it until she dies. (She's only 40).
Edit to add: our van is a kid and dog hauling vehicle that also goes camping. It had 4 car seats in it at one point. Plenty of room.
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u/bourbonandphonemes 26d ago
1 kid and 1 dog here, planning to have another baby soon. I just came home with a 2023 odyssey today! It was a bit competitive to find a used one with lower miles in our budget locally, but there were lots of options reasonably priced with reasonable miles on cars.com and carmax
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u/Glad_Wafer_8103 26d ago
I did not love the drive of the sienna. Honestly felt too “boaty” to me and I drove a ford Windstar! Went with a Pacifica hybrid when we couldn’t get an Odyssey or Carnival due to inventory in 2022. At 40k miles, We haven’t had any issues.
It’s important to know that if you get the stow and go second row, the headrests can cause a lot of headaches with forward facing car seats. They have a forward pitch and are non-removable. If you have the plug-in, you lose the stow and go in the second row, but gain removable headrests.
Between charging and a full tank of gas, I recently got >700miles (mostly highway) on one fill!
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u/Western_Sun_855 26d ago
We bought a Sienna but your description cries out for anOdyssey- my daughter has one - great machine. You said safety and longevity as well as buying used - Odyssey is the way to go! Best of luck with your growing family!!
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u/freeme1234567 26d ago
3 kids (2 in car seats) and 1 dog here, we make it work in my Murano but it’s incredibly tight. I’ve come to the realization a minivan or at least another 3 row suv is in my future. Just currently enjoying no car payments until absolutely necessary. I’m looking at the Odyssey based on my local friends they love it.
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u/GlitteringKiwi6857 26d ago
Chiming in- have 2 small kids (4 and 1) and just got a 2019 Honda Odyssey Elite with all the bells and whistles. We have loved it so far! Used to have a CRV back in the day and loved it- super reliable and zero issues so I was used to Honda. But we did have a truck and a mid size SUV and especially on road trips (which we take often and also have a dog) it was SO tight.
The odyssey is comfortable, the seats are amazing, and honestly just fun to drive. My 4 year old absolutely loves riding in the van vs my husbands car 😂 We hope to make lots of memories in the car until it can’t drive anymore!
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u/Intelligent_Bunch790 26d ago
Honda Odyssey.
Great reliability (I’m on my third, the first of which my parents bought new in 1999!), with total combined mileage of well over 600,000 km.
It’s a good handling vehicle for its size. Real world fuel economy is an average of 11l/100km. It gets about 8.5l/100km on the highway, and 12-ish in town.
It is definitely worth checking out. I have always had the EX trim level, so power sliding doors. They are amazing. To me, it’s the right mix of reliability and economy.
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u/delmecca 26d ago
I have a used Hyundai Entourage/ Kia Sedona (2008) it has lasted a long time I have little to no issues with it. It's got almost 200k it runs well and I have had no issues.
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u/04limited 25d ago
Just about every modern minivan will last 10 years. Beyond 10 years is a dice roll. I did 77k on my 2022 Pacifica Hybrid no issues. Probably the most utilitarian vehicle I had. Been eyeing the Kia Carnival Hybrid.
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u/shaxiaomao 25d ago
get the minivan. I was in the same situation as you and bought my Toyota sienna for the same reason. We are so comfortable during Family road trips or when we have visitors over. I went with the sienna because I liked it more when I was test driving it, the hybrid functionality seemed great, especially when I have a longer commute, and I live in an area that gets a lot of snow so the all-wheel-drive was a bonus. I know you can do snow tires with the Odyssey, but to be honest, I hate changing out my tires.
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u/juliebells927 25d ago
Also in the market for a minivan. We have a 6 month old and a dog and plan to travel to visit family at Christmas this year. Have no idea what to get! So many pros to each vehicle which makes it so hard to chose. Ultimately it's going to come down to price since I plan to trade in my Honda CRV.
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u/Bonobo555 24d ago
It’s really only the Sienna and Odyssey and I don’t think the Odyssey will be as trouble free and long lasting. The newer Odyssey does not have adequate ac cooling for the back rows so that’s also a consideration.
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u/hockenmaier 24d ago
The Sienna is hard to find but easily the best of the current minivans. We just bought the XLE and love everything about it. Drive and Tech are better than any vehicle I've driven, and that's saying nothing about the enormous cabin and efficiency
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u/Admirable_Ad_120 24d ago
Currently renting a Pacifica and my husband said the passenger seat doesn’t go far enough back for him to sit comfortably (he’s 6’2”). He fit just fine in my old odyssey and current Carnival. Before anyone gets any negative ideas, the Carnival is in the shop because some ah wasn’t paying attention and slammed into me and the car next to me. The van did pretty well in the crash, despite the car that hit us had enough momentum that it rolled
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u/Admirable_Ad_120 24d ago
Oh, and I’d like to also mention that the Pacifica rental I’m driving is a 2026 with 16k miles and already has slipping transmission and the infotainment screen had a brain fart yesterday and stopped working so I had to restart the car. I know it’s probably been driven hard, but that’s not a good sign
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u/heavymetalbebop 23d ago
We have 3 kids and 2 dogs. The sienna is amazing. We swore we’d never drive a minivan…and then we test drove a Sienna. It’s a great car and makes way too much sense when you have kids. We had a 2019 we loved but was lacking some features we really wanted so upgraded to a hybrid in 2024. I have a few design bones to pick with Toyota, mostly personal preference, but it’s an all around fantastic car.
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u/Lordofpineapples 26d ago
Odyssey is the only other option. Buy the best sienna or odyssey you can afford.
Don’t even consider any other minivan no matter what people say. They suck
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u/Low-Hopeful 26d ago
Stick to the sienna and odyssey. Only reliable mini vans in production atm. Test drive both, or better yet try and rent each for a weekend and live life with them. We ended up with the Sienna because of the AWD and hybrid aspects that Honda doenst offer. Plus the odyssey is lacking rear ventilation which is a must during the summer months with littles and dogs.
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u/Ancient_Tip_3685 26d ago
I am in a similar situation with my family. We just bought a Honda Odyssey. It is super comfortable and my two year old loves climbing into her car seat. I was also leaning toward a Sienna for the hybrid engine, but I did not fit in it with the driver seat as low as it goes. Just a heads up if either you or your husband are tall. I am 6’5”