When Erica was born, we brought her home in my ’00 Maxima.  I’ll have to admit that the car seat wasn’t the easiest to attach, particularly the models that can face forward or backward.  Moreover, you have the option to anchor it via your car’s seatbelt or the tethering system.  Much to my dismay, the Max didn’t have the attachment points for the tethering system, so we had to use the seatbelts.  Done correctly, it felt pretty solid once you put all your weight on the carseat, and ratchet the seatbelt as much as you can without herniating something.

However, the Max was a 5 speed manual, and even though it was a mid size sedan with a good sized trunk… it had to go… for something bigger…

Next up was the Automatic S320.  Yep… it sure was bigger… and probably the most solid car I’ve ever driven.  For a full size sedan, it had lots of room for the car seat.  Being an older car, it didn’t have the tethering system, and you could not ratchet the seatbelts to cinch the seats down.  With the newer seatbelts, you can pull them all the way out, and then feed it back in, but if you pulled on it, it would lock right away.  This allows you to cinch something tightly and have it hold.  You can’t do that with the seat belts in older cars.  If you get into an accident, it will do its job and lock, however if you do a medium speed swerve, it is possible the carseat… and kid… could swing out.  There was also no attachment at the base of the rear window to attach the top strap to.  So even though the car could stop a bullet, and mow over a SMART car like a speedbump, it didn’t have the latest safety stuff for the car seats.

Next up was the 525i.  By this time, we has Sammo, so yes, 2 car seats in a midsize sedan.  It’s amazing how much room the car seats take up, and it was a challenge to get the kids in and out without bumping their head into the doorframe.  The seatbelts also didn’t ratchet tightly, and it didn’t have the tethering system.  Even worse, I found out that one of the seatbelts popped loose if you yanked and wiggled it a certain way.  Even though it was a reasonable daily driver, we had to get something else.

That something else started by looking for sliding doors… and that mean something van-ish.  Our other criteria was to get something that seats 7, so even with the 2 car seats, we could take on additional passengers if needed.  It came down to 3 options:

1) Mitsubishi Delica Spacegear- a 4wd, turbo diesel, 7 seater complete with rally lights and bush bar.  There are youtube pictures of this thing being driven through waist deep rivers and plowing over terrain that would eat a Honda CRV.  Not fast, but it goes anywhere and is tough tough tough… for a van.  Some have a sky lite roof– like those you see in tour buses… and c’mon, it has curtains!  How cool is that.  Here’s a video showing what it looks like.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7q6pf1C4AE

You can get one from Japan with reasonable mileage (under 75,000km) for under 15K.  The drawback?  They are RHD.  I’m sure one can get used to it in time, but there’s rumors that BC and some other provinces want to ban them.  There are some studies out there claiming that RHDs get into more accidents, but come on… these things take 15s to go from 0-60mph, and they have mirrors all over the place and have great visibility.  I can’t see too many of them getting into accidents, but aside from that, they are full on 4WD, reasonable mileage (diesel engine), fairly reliable, very roomy and practical… but the RHD was enough of a negative to rule it out for us.

2)  Mazda 5- we first saw one while camping a few years back.  I wasn’t sure what to make of it- it had the sliding doors, and sort of looked like a big hatchback a la Toyota Matrix.  On paper, it had a lot going for it- 4 cylinder=reasonable gas mileage, sliding doors, and seats 6.  We took a look at it in person and found that it was well thought out in terms of how you can configure the seats and it had clever storage options.  The driver’s seat and driving position was just like that of a Mazda 3 hatchback, so was more car than van.  It certainly maximized and made good use of space.  The only thing was that the rear seats would be pretty tight for an adult, but doable if you moved the middle row around.  It’s sort of like sitting in a 737 economy class.  You can just fit in, but you’re not looking forward to the next 5 hours.

All in all, it makes the most out of the available space.  In the end we passed on it as we wanted something a bit bigger so that a) long roadtrips would be more comfy, b) V6 is better on the highway, c) extra space for carrying stuff, and d) extra passenger space.

3) Finally we looked at the minivans- Odysseys, Siennas, and MPVs.  The MPV is the smallest in the class, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  They no longer make it, so the price was the best of the 3; but do you want to buy something that’s no longer made?  That plus a spotty record for the automatic tranny was enough to cross it off our list.  We drove a rented domestic minivan last year, and I just didn’t like the feel of it, so we crossed the domestics off our list.

I’ve never owned a Honda before, but we took a pretty close look at some used ones.  The problem was $$$- they are the most expensive all things being equal.  That narrowed our search down to the Sienna, and specifically something around 4 years old.

We bought one in a private sale last July, and so far so good!  We had a door replaced under ext warranty (check strap weld broke) and that allowed us to drive a 2011 Sienna for a week.  Nice way to upsell your customer on the latest model.  The only problem was the intermediate steering shaft needed to be replaced (well, it wasn’t mandatory to replace, but it mean there would be a pop or click felt in the steering wheel, and that was disconcerting) and that wasn’t under warranty.

In hindsight, we got a good deal from the private sale; but I can also see an advantage of buying it from a dealer or lot IF they provide some sort of a warranty… AND if the price is comparable.  I bought it after the HST came into effect, so it made no difference who I bought it from.  Another option is to go through a car broker, who at least can let you know the various blue/black book values and can find exactly what you’re looking for.

Gas mileage isn’t great, but no worse than the German cars that drink 91 Octane and have 100 L tanks!  I was able to use the tether straps to anchor it to the seats, and utilize the top straps as well.  We’ve had 3 cars seats and 4 adults when my sister came for a visit, so that was pretty handy.  I’d say overall it’s pretty safe as there are airbags all over the place, and the carseats are properly secured.

We rigged up a portable DVD player, so we just need a stand to position it between the captain’s chairs so both kids can see it.  That and a 12V cooler means we’re ready for a roadtrip!  We’ve already taken it camping, and we were able to pack all our gear without a problem.  The year before we packed all that stuff into the 525i, and it took all my packing and problem/puzzle solving skills to fit stuff into every available crevice… so it was nice to not have to jam stuff in.

It’s not glamorous, sexy, fast, sleek, or head turning, but it’s not meant to be.  If it gets dinged, or scratched, well… it’s a minivan, and it’s meant to be used.  For hauling stuff or people, safety, and comfort… it’s hard to beat.  One final observation- have 2 vehicles parked at Superstore during the busiest time while it is raining sideways.  One vehicle has sliding door, the other doesn’t.  Next, load and strap in a fussy toddler.  I’m willing to bet the sliding doors win every time.

In a few years though, I can always keep an eye out for a 911 or M3 with standard tranny, and that will be a different story altogether!  😉