OT: Vehicle recomendations

We needed AWD due to heavy snow winters and we wanted a mini-van for the convenience of sliding doors, so we went the Toyota Sienna — and LOVE it.  IMO, parking and making sharp turns in the Sienna is just like driving a car!  The turning radius is apparently unmatched in the mini-van market; when we first bought it, I thought this was just marketing gobble-dee-goop, but when I think of the tight parking spots and other tricky turns I’ve made in this vehicle, I totally believe it!  Storage behind the third row is very generous, along the lines of the Honda Odyssey, and definitely overall I found the storage to be better than any SUV we looked at (at the time).  Absolutely better on gas than the comparable SUVs we looked at (at the time).  It is a 2006.  We have two captain’s seats in the 2nd row and a third row that fold in various combinations.  We have four kids…and the spacing is terrific….but if we had three, I would put in one in each 2nd row captain’s seat and one in the back, fold down the “two parts” of the 3rd row bench…and the storage would be just incredible!  Better yet, everyone would have their own zip code (as my DH likes to say…)

HTH, good luck in your search!  Angie