Honda: Odyssey

"We do not have twins, but we do have 3 kids close in age and we recently went from an SUV to a minivan. We had a 2000 Ford Explorer with no third row. Getting all three kids in and out of a single row was a nightmare! It took forever, and when we went from carseats to boosters for the older ones, it was very tough to reach down to buckle/unbuckle the seatbelts, and it frustrated the kids that they couldn't do it themselves (I could barely do it). Perhaps if you get a really big SUV like the Expedition or that size range, you might be able to do it more easily, but I would suggest a third row if you opt for an SUV. Having said that, my kids liked all sitting together in the same row and did not fight (any more or less than usual!). They all just had birthdays and are now 6, 5, and 2, but we had the Ford since the oldest was born, so we've done all sorts of configurations of different carseats & boosters. Since the baby was born, he has been in the center, with the older kids on each side, and he loved having "built-in entertainment" on each side, esp. when he was rear-facing.

When the truck died (mercifully) in September, we got a Honda Odyssey. (We looked at the Sienna as well but did not even consider buying another SUV.) This car has literally changed my life! It's SO much easier to get everyone in the car. It used to take me so long to get everybody in their seats and it was so aggravating that I often wound up yelling at my kids, but now it's actually pleasant to get in the car!

Things I love about the minivan:

= It is so roomy inside, and it's really easy to get my little guy into his carseat (in my old car, I had to kind of hurl him into the center to get him into his seat).
= The older kids can easily buckle themselves in their boosters now.
= We can take an extra kid to soccer or home from school with us for a playdate (impossible in our truck) - you're not doing this now but you will be in a few years.
= I have not looked at SUVs recently, but the seating in minivans is really versatile and easy to reconfigure to suit your needs as they change over time.
= My Odyssey actually seems to have more storage space in back than my truck, even with all the seats in use, and if the third row is folded down (which takes about 10 seconds to do), there is a ton of cargo space. We have also removed the 2nd row seats to transport large items - not something you want to do on a daily basis but easy enough.
= Minivans are built on a car chassis as opposed to a truck chassis, so they drive like cars, which to me is a plus. My minivan is WAY quieter than my truck.
= Sliding doors is a REALLY nice feature - no more cringing as my kid slams the door into the car parked next to us.
= My old SUV got horrible gas mileage and I was filling it constantly; the minivan is much more fuel efficient.

As far as the "cool factor" - ummm, don't care. I finally have a car that does what I need it to do and actually makes my life easier.

I know there are a lot of nice trucks out there now, but I hated my old one so much and I love my minivan so much that I have to come down on the minivan side of this debate. The top-selling minivans are specifically designed for families with kids -- so they seem to have thought of just about every feature a family with 3+ kids could want. "