I know minivans are usually not the best for leasing (except for the recent unicorn Odyssey that was posted), but I was wondering if you all could give me a place to start. I have two kids (2 weeks old & 4 years old), and do not necessarily plan on another, so a SUV with Captain’s Chairs could work.
I currently own a 2004 Highlander. It’s a tight fit (even for my 5’1’’ wife) between the two baby seats, the 3rd row is a pain to get to, and it does not leave much room for cargo with the 3rd row up. I live in the NYC area and will park on the street (hopefully I move out sometime in the next year or two!) Any tips on a SUV or Minivan that would fit the bill - with a decent lease potential - would be very appreciated!
In general, I was looking at Siennas and Odysseys. The plus to going with one of those is after 36 months I likely won’t need a minivan anymore and can transition back to a SUV.
If you’re on the fence between 3-row SUV or minivan for added space reasons, I think you really should be focused on minivans because the 3-row SUVs just can’t touch minivan space. If you really do want to go 3-row SUV and are looking for a decent lease deal, I think the Atlas is one of the larger that still leases well. Minivan-wise, I think for lease you’re limited to Odyssey, which itself doesn’t lease amazing. Yet it has very high resale value, so may be more of a purchase vehicle.
Speaking as someone who freaked out having kids and bought a big three row vehicle, I’d ask OP to ask himself this. I found many third row vehicles take room away for rear facing car seats. I’d find a more compact rear facing seat and test fit in standard two row CUV or even better a wagon.
Can comment on the car seat / minivan scenario at least…
We went from a 2014ish Forester XT to a 2017 Toyota Sienna. At the time we had a 2 year old still rear facing and a ~2 month old obviously rear facing.
We weren’t necessarily looking to get out of the Forester but it started to have mechanical/battery issues and we figured why not look for something bigger. My wife was a “never minivan” person, until we test drove a minivan (brought the car seats and the kids and worked a deal in one go… that was fun/stupid).
We just recently sold it off to Vroom before lease-end and before the whole covid-19 deal. We test drove, idk, 6 or 7 different three-row SUVs and every single one we basically said “ugh we were spoiled with the space in the minivan” because everything just seemed too small.
We don’t have a need for a third row, but my wife is a nanny (except right now) and sometimes will need three seats (two full car seats and one booster).
With the current scenario of me basically not traveling for work at all, we’ve been able to stick with one car (XC60). Fits what we need it to for our current “adventures” but haven’t been able to really test it out as a “can we pack everything we need for a weekend trip” car.
We’ve about 90% decided to make that our family car and just buy a bike rack and maybe a roof box simply to make our second car more budget friendly (when we need it when I start traveling for work again).
Thank you for the response Max. I am opened to both. If there’s an SUV with a wide enough bench to make the middle seat not claustrophobic, I would be opened to it. That said, my wife is 5’1’’ 110lb or so, and she is even kind of squished in our Highlander ---- so I assume a Captain’s Chair w/ 3rd row would fit our needs better.
I would not need the 3rd row too often if the middle seat is roomy enough with the two carseats, but my wife wants a 3rd row to we can drive her parents around during family gatherings (Me, her, kid 1, kid 2, grandma, grandpa).
IMO it’s almost impossible to help people if they are undecided in what they want… if you’ve decided the expense and challenge of parking is worth it to get a three-row vehicle, then just make that the subject of your search.
The point of this thread was to narrow down some options. If this is the wrong section (or if this forum as a whole is not the right place), apologies.
I know what I want to an extent and was hoping for some suggestions within those parameters. People questioned if I need a third row - and shared their experiences - which I appreciate.
Basically minivan vs. three row SUV. Captain’s Chair preferred. If people have suggestions on something that is leasing well within those parameters, I would have a good place to start. I don’t want to set the parameters too narrow, as I am opened to other options that may be better financially or quality-of-life.
I think the Odyssey is your best bet. I don’t think you will get similar pricing on a Sienna. Look for dealers willing to discount, even if you need to pull the trigger out of state.
The great thing about the Odyssey is you can remove the center seat to essentially make it captains chairs. Or keep the middle for a bench configuration. Just be aware it can be cumbersome to remove and put back the middle seat.
The non-hybrid Pacifica is another consideration, stow and go seating is amazing. But we haven’t seen stellar lease examples of those recently.
Keep your highlander for the third row and get a full size pick up. Best thing to drive around kids. I have three in car seats have gone down the three row suv vs minivan road too. If you need the third row minivan no question is best. If what you want is space for 2-3 car seats and the stuff that come with kids strollers, bikes, bags etc get a truck.
As far as minivans go, the Odyssey is currently leasing pretty well. Haven’t seen minivan lease deals this good since 18 months or so ago when you could find good Pacifica deals.
This is definitely true for me as well. I haven’t missed the third row on the Acadia at all compared to the Gladiator. I almost never used it, and the storage space in the bed with a tonneau cover has been more than enough thus far.
