My daughter just broke down and bought a mini-van, the Honda Oddessy which is basically the same as the Toyota Sienna. She's 31 and said, only a couple of years ago, she would never drive a mini-van. She has a 12 year old daughter, which means she always has an extra girl with her, and a two year old in a carseat. She had an Expidition which she loved, but getting a growing two year old into and out of the carseat (because the Exp sits up so high) is what pushed her over the edge. And also getting to the 3rd row seats was a pain for whomever had to ride back there. My mom also lives with my daughter, and she is 86 years old and it was getting harder for her to get in and out of the Expidition since it is so high.
The mini-van has all the bells and whistles, dvd, navigation system, backup cameras, sunroof, i-pod jack, heck, she can use her cellphone through the car for hands free calling. It even has a pronged plug-in like a house plug in so hubby can plug in and use his laptop while she is driving and not run the laptop battery down.
The second row is bucket seats and the console between them is removeable so to get to the 3rd row of seats, you just walk between the bucket seats, a breeze! The 12 year old and her friends who ride back there love it!!! Also, there's plenty of room for things behind the 3rd row.
The same thing happened to my daughter, she rode with a friend of hers who had a Honda Oddessy and she loved it. So, she got one too and even though it is a mini-van, she absolutely adores it! It was not all that expensive either, especially for all the options it has.
__________________  Rex & Rowdy's Mom  |