Which minivan do I want

So I already have a couple 1st gen dodge turbo vans. They are fun but the wife vetoes the idea

Family of 5. 12 yr old and 3 yr old twins

We are going to destroy whatever we get, stuff it full of cheerios and make all kinds of messes. Because of this I am inclined to keep beating on the 99 windstar. Bought it several years ago for cheap. But yeah. Nobody is a fan of the thing around here and 'check transmission' keeps popping up every couple weeks. So pop the hood and make sure the transmission is still there and keep going. It is a fully loaded van. But all the features are so cheap. Stupid power sliding doors are great in theory and work just enough to piss ya off when they don't. Ect ect ect. The worst is the 3.8 ford is a pretty strong v6 but gets no better than 18mpg. Most of the time 16ish. I could drive a full size van and do that good.

So which caravan do I want? Stow and go would get use constantly. Looking probably to spend 5-10k. Flexible on either end if the price range but want a new enough to not cut into playtime without throwing to much out the window.

So at let's say 2005 up... ish. What should I look for and what should I avoid?

I haven't personally owned one since my '89 Voyager LX, but co-workers of mine, who are both "car types," have been very pleased with their Honda Odysseys and I haven't heard about either of them having any problems with them. And since I am the resident "car guy" in our cubicle-farm, I always hear about everyone's mundane problems with their mundane grocery-getters..

So in short, I have no actual firsthand information for you other than to say that having in ridden in one they are typical good Honda build quality, have tons of features, and IMO they look very good for a minivan.

oh, and...

(yes, I know not much of it is like a street-going odyssey)

Mazdaspeed 5

2005 was the last year for the Mazda MPV. Love my ES model.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78InPT4iqlw

You said Caravan- here's one on 35psi of SRT4 goodness.

If I was looking at used mini vans, I would probably buy another Chevy Venture. They were made through 05. We had great service from ours. My son has it now. Still going after 4 kids, and 240K.

I like the idea of Toyota Siennas. They're Camrys. OR a Previa... mmmmm supercharged F1 van.......

Grand Caravan. We're on our third one and will get a 4th when we're ready.

Yeah, the Windstar windsucks. I'm not too well-versed in the newest models of each but; if you want lots of space get an Odyssey , if you can do with less acreage the Mazda5 is supposed to be fun to drive, and has an available manual transmission.

The older Odysseys suffer from the same transmission maladies that ruined V6 Accords a decade or so back, but the age range you're looking at should be pretty solid.

After having a rental with stow and go for a week, I consider it essential. $10K will buy a nice, 75,000 mile model around here. I am looking to make a somewhat sideways move myself...

JtspellS wrote: Mazdaspeed 5

Very small compared to a minivan, but way cooler.

pinchvalve wrote: After having a rental with stow and go for a week, I consider it essential. $10K will buy a nice, 75,000 mile model around here. I am looking to make a somewhat sideways move myself...

Stow and go is cool, but personally I don't find a lot of utility in folding the 2nd row seats. If I'm taking the minivan, it's because I've got people who want to use those seats, and if all I need is lots of carrying space then I'll use the truck. Being able to physically remove the 2nd row seats, OTOH, is actually a useful feature all in itself when it comes time to clean the french fries out.

I'd look for exactly the minivan we have -- an '07 Odyssey.

Given the budget i'd be looking at caravans first and odysseys a very distant second, only because the same money gets you WAY further in the used dodge market. There's some room for argument at the top of your range but at 5k youd have to luck into an extremely good deal to get a honda comparable to a 5k dodge.

In reply to Vigo:

This is what I am thinking... Same for the Yota... Much more can be bought with the Dodge... If the right deal on and Odyssey came along.. I will be all over it...

In the absence of that..

The question is... from the 2005ish up dodge vans... Which one do I want? Aren't there a couple motor/body changes in there?

And folding second row seats would be SWEET... right now we kinda break some rules.. The overgrown car seats in the captains chairs in the middle make the back seat of the Windstar VERY hard to climb in and out of... With the Car seats in the back... and one of the Middle seats removed it is smooth sailing... Works awesome... Spot for the dog.. cooler... Whatever... But the wife can't haul the seat in and out for when an extra person wants to jump in their.. Stow and Go fixes the problem.

Grand Caravan. Makes no sense at all to get the shorter van. We've had both 3.3 and 3.8 with no issues with either.

With snow tires, it was unstoppable in New England winters. I keep aging with the idea of the AWD version sold until 2007 I believe.

The Dodge was good enough for VW to put thier bodywork and badges on if that means anything...

I'll give the same answer I always do regarding minivan choices. '06+ Kia Sedona. We've also got a family of 5, including twins. We've beaten the puppy snot out of ours, and it's been trouble free for 92k miles now. Very family friendly...lots of places to store stuff, very safe, comes fairly well loaded. Base model doesn't have power doors, but frankly I like it that way, less stuff to break. Third row folds flat easily, second row captains chairs are removable. It's not as easy as Stow n Go, but it's not brain surgery. It tows 3500lbs, and is surprisingly quick..

Grand Caravan with the Pentastar is fantastic and it's the same price as an Odyssey that is 3-5 years older. Stow and go rocks.

If you go Honda, get later than 2005.

With regard to the others (Venture, Windstar, Uplander, etc) check crash test ratings. If you believe them, they tell you lots of stories. For my money it would be a Caravan, Sienna, Rondo, 5, Sedona type list.

Caravans were the rental van of choice until they were replaced by the Kia. My wife took a Sedona from NC to MN this summer and hated it. I've liked the Caravans we've rented but worry about long term reliability. The Stow and Go holes were big enough to stuff small suitcases in giving it tons of cargo capacity. We had 6 people and a weeks worth of luggage all inside. We currently have an '03 MPV that we bought new and has been a great car. We are looking at replacing it with either a Sienna or Odyssey since the Mazda 5 is too small.

We like our '07 Sienna. No problems so far. Gas mileage is nothing to write home about. 16-18 city and about 22mpg at 75 mph. I wanted a Mazda5 (still do), but it wasn't happening with our kids and cargo.

Entourage/Sedona twins. They have everything the big names do (Sienna/Odyssey) but at a much lower buy in.

We have rented a number of minivans in the last 3-4 years for trips and family visits. Kia, Toyota, Honda, Chrysler. All were boring to drive. Seats - initially comfortable but not really supportive on long trips in every case. The rental Chryslers felt like they were best equipped and they swallowed up both the gear and road miles best. The Stow 'n Go is real nice when you are hauling a lot of stuff. Fuel economy with the most recent V6 Chrysler we rented (May 2012) was around 20 highway with a stack of windsurfers on the roof.

oh, and sans A/C, I get 23-24 around town and 28-30 highway

tuna55 wrote: oh, and sans A/C, I get 23-24 around town and 28-30 highway

Just for a reference our 2008 Sedona 18 month average city is at 18.62 MPG and Highway average is 24.54 MPG. This is with one aggressive driver and one laid back driver.

I asked myself the exact same question (though my kids are younger), and bought a 2005 Mazda MPV. Price was closer to the bottom of your range. Drove a coupe of Siennas and Mopars, and they are much bigger and drive much more like a truck.

We have a 2005 Grand Caravan 3.3l with Sto and Go. It has been on a bunch of road tips including taking our two kids and my parents to Disney World. It has been perfect for our needs.