Minivans, colors, and carseat configurations in the second row

[cmo]

I have a question about what color to get on our new van, and one that maybe some owners of Odysseys and Siennas could weigh in upon. We have narrowed our choices down to the Odyssey and Sienna, and will be doing test driving later this month.

1. Does a dark exterior color on a vehicle really make a big difference in how hot the interior can get in summertime? We are trying to choose between a few colors and since we live in the south, every degree counts! (We do have a garage for parking at home; this is mostly about traveling around town, to schoool, etc.)

2. On newer Odysseys and some Sienna models, there is an option to have the middle (second) row seat three people across. We have three children age 5 and under. One in a booster, one in a MA, one in a RA. The middle child will probably be moving up to a booster next year. Can all three children be safely seated in this row? (Is that even the safest option?)

Many thanks for your advice!

Chris

[hez]

Ours is 'platinum' aka silver. Gray interior. It still gets hot in the summer :)

What I really like about it is that it doesn't show dirt nearly as badly as our old dark green or current dark blue vehicles did/do. :P

[BillK]

1) Yes it does. Plus dark color vehicles are a pain in the a$$ to keep clean. I'm a HUGE "white" fan myself - by far the easiest color vehicle to keep clean looking. I only wish Honda would wake up and offer Pearl White like Toyota does - their color choices are booooooring - haven't changed for years now!

2) Not too sure - I think the middle seat is pretty dinky - but I suppose it would work for a booster. I'd post this question over on the Car Seat forum if it were me. On the Honda I believe you need to choose the EX-L version to get the middle seat. Again - I wish Honda would offer the middle seat on ALL models as an option - because we really want a Touring this spring when we buy one and would like that extra seat.

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

I am not sure about the color and heat. We have an odyssey and the air conditioning works so well that I personally wouldnt worry about it.
As far as the middle seat, it states directly in the manual that you cannot use this seat with a carseat or booster.

We usually slide the middle two seats together and one child (usually load DS who likes to kick seats) sits in the back by himself ;)

[brittone2]

I agree w/ Bill...darker colors are generally harder to keep looking clean IMO. We have silver w/ gray interior and live in NC. It gets hot, but nothing crazy.

The small "plus eight" seat in the Ody is small. I used it a lot when we only had DS. When we took long road trips I'd sit in the plus-8 seat and nurse him (with both of us buckled in of course ;) ) I'm kinda short and on the smaller side, so it worked for me, but for a larger adult, it might not be comfortable, particularly between two carseats. I can't remember what the official rule is about using the plus-8 w/ a carseat, but even if you theoretically could, I'm not sure it would fit. If it did fit, it would be very hard to ever access the third row.

Have you found the odyclub.com forums yet? They are a great resource. I think Sienna has a similar "fan" site. Anything else you want to know?

We really like our Odyssey!

[KBecks]

I think there have been studies on exterior color and heat, that's what a car salesperson told me, and he said the difference was minimal. I can't imagine a huge difference, so get a color you like. I chose my color combo (boring silver ext. / gray interior) because I wanted practical -- I knew eventually it will get dinged up and spilled in and wanted as much camoflauge as I could get.

Both the Sienna and Odyssey can seat 8. For the Sienna, there are 7 and 8 seat versions, so you'll have to get the 8th seat model. The odyssey has a mini seat that fits between the 2 regular seats. It's not quite the size of a regular seat. Check the carseat area to see if people are putting 3 carseats across in Odys -- I think they do, but you should check with your specific info.

For me, the Ody had less body roll during the test drive, and that made me feel safer (not that the Sienna isn't safe, it's just a perception that I felt more secure driving the Ody) so that's what I got.

Online negotiating is great, when you're ready to buy.

[KBecks]

I have a plain old Ody EX and it has the middle seat. I'm not sure about the basic LX, that one might not have it.

I remember the marketing term now, it's a Plus One seat, and it is removable for if/when you don't want it.

[spunkybaby]

We had a 2004 Sienna (8-passenger) and now have a 2007 Odyssey EX with the Plus One seat. I think the Plus One seat is available in the LX and EX models. It is not available on the Touring model.

(Side note: We wanted 8 seats and dual power sliding doors. I would have loved a power rear gate also. But the 8-passenger Sienna only comes with one power sliding door. To get two power doors and the power gate, you need to buy the top model, which isn't available with 8 seats. And the power gate is only available on the Odyssey's touring model, which doesn't have the Plus One seat.)

If you put three carseats in the second row of either car, you will have a hard time accessing the third row. You will either need to remove a carseat to get to the back row or climb into the back row via the rear gate.

The Sienna's 2nd row has three real seats (the middle one is smaller), each with LATCH connectors. The Odyssey's second row has two captain chairs and a dinky Plus One seat that fits in between. The captain chairs have LATCH; the Plus One seat does not. If you put either a carseat or a booster seat in the Plus One seat, then you won't be able to flip either side captain chair to get to the back because the captain chair's armrests get in the way.

I think you should be able to fit your MA, RA, and booster seat in both minivans, but it probably depends on how wide your booster seat is.

Mom to a spunky preschooler (3/04) and a new spunky Christmas baby (12/06)

[o_mom]

From what I have heard reported, three across in a Sienna second row is easier than an Odyssey. The Odyssey "plus 1" is very narrow and it takes a very small seat to fit there. Then trying to buckle boosters around that is even harder. Also, there is no tether anchor for the plus one seat, so it really should only be used for a booster or adult. The Sienna middle seat has LATCH, and therefore a tether anchor.

However, as the PP said, the Sienna 8 seat and the Odyssey plus one are not available on certain trim models or with certain other features. The last thing to consider is that the Sienna only has two tether anchors in the third row, so if you want to put a harnessed seat back there you are limited in the options. The Odyssey (2006+) has three tether anchors in the third row..

[bubbaray]

On the off chance you are in Canada, the 2nd row "plus 1" seat in the Ody is NOT a permitted seat for a child restraint. I've asked Honda Canada and they have confirmed what is in the manual on this. If you in the US, its not a problem (the issue is the lack of a TT, which is mandatory in Canada).

Other than that, I think the PPs have pretty much covered it.

If I for sure needed 3 in the 2nd row, I'd probably get the Sienna, though it would drive me nuts that I didn't have 2 power doors. I went with the Ody b/c I only need 2 in the second row and I wanted the double power sliding doors. One of the moms at our daycare got a Sienna b/c she was in the same position as you.

HTH

Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: 01/2007

[craftysierra]

I just moved our three seats into the 2nd row of our 2006 Sienna. 2 RF Britax Wizards (Boulivards) and a Britax Regent no problem. So in the sienna yes the 2nd row is wide. Prior to vacation mode we had rf wizard 2nd row behind driver, middle seat empty and pasanger seat removed. The other two were in the 3rd row rf drivers side and regent pasengers side. That arangement allowed space inside to change diapers and such but did not really leave space for another person in the 3rd row due to big carseats.

Sierra

[Karenn]

"(Side note: We wanted 8 seats and dual power sliding doors. I would have loved a power rear gate also. But the 8-passenger Sienna only comes with one power sliding door. To get two power doors and the power gate, you need to buy the top model, which isn't available with 8 seats. And the power gate is only available on the Odyssey's touring model, which doesn't have the Plus One seat.)"

I have an '07 8 seater Sienna and I have two power doors. :) No power liftgate though. I can easily fit 3 seats in my second row. All three seats in the 2nd row have LATCH. The middle seat folds down to make a nice table between my kids. If I'm carrying passengers in the back, I'll take out the middle seat so they can get through the middle.

eta: Here's the Sienna Club website- it was a huge help when we were van shopping! [http://www.siennaclub.org/forum/]

[Piglet]

We have an LE-8 Sienna and 3 carseats in the middle row. Our configuration is MA (behind driver), Safeseat (middle), Parkway (passenger). This set-up allows DS1 to get in and out on his own with the power door. When we need the back row, the Parkway comes out, the seat flips forward to allow access and then we put the PW in the back row with the extra passenger in the empty spot in the middle row (good for long trips when we need more access to DD).

Marina

Mommy to
DS1 A 07/14/01
DS2 K 03/10/05
DD1 A 05/08/07

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[o_mom]

One other thing that this reminded me - The Sienna 2nd row is wider because they have moved the outboard seats closer to the doors. The Odyssey seats are the same as the 7 passenger model, so no closer to the doors.

[KCR4]

We have the 2006 Ody. We love it.

We stored the Plus 1 seat (narrow middle seat) in the attic the day we brought the Ody home new from the dealer. I have never put it back in.

When DS #3 was born, we removed one captains chair from the second row and put both older sons in the third row (Britax Regents). This was a great arrangement - lots of room to get in, room for bags, etc. I kept the extra captains chair next to the van in the garage and once or twice I managed to put it back in myself if I had another passenger (with advance notice).

When we began carpooling a neighbor's child to school, I had to put the captains chair back in for good.

I strongly recommend you check out the arrangement of sliding the two captains chairs together (as PP said). This gives you an aisle down the side of the van to the third row. I have found this very easy for the children and the adults who buckle them. I currently have 1 booster, 2 Regents and 1 Roundabout in the van. It's very easy to have 4 kids buckled in, with comfort for all.

Note: if you slide over the captains chair, you must be using a carseat with LATCH in that position, otherwise you'd be stretching the car's seatbelt across your "side aisle" of the van - does that make sense?

HTH

Karen
DS #1 age 6
DS #2 age 4
DS #3 age 16 mo.

[spunkybaby]

Oh, very nice. We loved the Sienna. It's great that you can now get dual power sliding doors with the 8-seater! We sold our Sienna to my parents. I drove it last week, and I miss it! It's a personal thing, but I like the feel of the Sienna better than the Odyssey.

Mom to a spunky preschooler (3/04) and a new spunky Christmas baby (12/06)