Opinions on good family van!

[MamaDavis3]

My husband and I are looking at vans tomorrow to test drive and hopefully purchase. We have our eyes on a 2009 Chrysler town and country van. Price is reasonable.

Any of you have a van? If so, what kind? And are you happy with it?

I've heard mixed reviews about the Chrysler town and country. Some love it and some hate it. I would love some more opinions.

[Matriarch87]

 Never drive anything but a Dodge. 

[LongBeachLiz]

We have a 2002 dodge caravan, love it.

[trinsmommy]

My parents have a toyota sienna. I absolutely love it. Much better than my pos van lol

[TrentOneAndDone]

My grandparents just bought a new caravan. I was jelly lol.

Quoting LongBeachLiz:

We have a 2002 dodge caravan, love it.

[sreichelt26]

When I get a van it'll be a Honda Odyssey

[MamaDavis3]

So, you have had some good luck with a dodge? I had a dodge intrepid once....it didn't do so well. And I currently drive a Chrysler....no major engine trouble...just bad air conditioner, CD player went bad, and had tirods replaced a couple years ago.

Quoting Matriarch87:

 Never drive anything but a Dodge. 

[MamaDavis3]

What kind of van do you have?

Quoting trinsmommy:

My parents have a toyota sienna. I absolutely love it. Much better than my pos van lol

[marilyn623]

I have a town and country, I love it. Doesn't get great gas mileage though :(

[IncognitoOne]

My parents have a Dodge Grand Caravan (basically the same van that you're looking at) and I HATE it.

I have a 2005 Honda Odyssey and I love it. It seems to be more roomy and handles the roads better. Dad's van feels narrow and I get claustrophobic in there. 

[mrsniebo]

My mini-van experience is based on what my parents have owned and being a volunteer driver for a jazz festival, and these are my findings:

The Nissan Quest seems really weird- it's laid out differently than any other van I've driven. The Town and Country and the Grand Caravan are made by the same parent company (Chrysler) and have a reputation for having the interiors of their vehicles falling apart within a few years, but on the relatively short trips I've driven them they seemed nice. (You can easily fit 2 upright string basses and guitar amplification equipment in the back of a Town and Country.) I really liked the ease of folding the back seats flat in the Honda Odyssey for extra cargo space. The Ford Windstar my mom owned had air vents and controls for them in the back, which was really nice on hot days. The 2008 Chevy Uplander she currently has lacks air vents in the back, but I think she has one that is a step above the base model, so maybe other trim packages offer this feature.