A friend of mine has one, she loves it. The only down side is the anchor points for the second (middle) row are located on the rear roof, so when the third row is up, the tether straps are quite close to the passengers head.
We love ours. Cons would be the anchor points (as above) but good thing is it has isofix so just waiting on seats to be available here . It also has a terrible blind spot at the sides of the windscreen. Have found it quite dangerous, but am used to it now and am conscious of looking around it properly.
But otherwise it's been a great car. Fits 3 child restraints across the middle row, has great boot space (has done many a camping trip packed to the roof lol) and doesn't look like a people mover!
We looked at getting one, but decided that because of the location of thr anchor points, and the small space of the third row and luggage space, not to get one. Which is a shame, because I love their chopped look. I would probably look for one if I just needed a five seater, with the bonus of the third row if I might need to tote someone extra about on the odd occasion.
isofix is a car seat system where you clip the capsule or child's carseat straight in without the need for a tether strap. it is way easier and is foolproof to install (so reduces risk of incorrectly fitted seats). Most european and japanese made cars sold here in Australia have them in (little metal hooky things between the seats).
the HO is pretty awesome. our neighbours have one and it is super roomy and gets the job done. some cons are that it needed a rearview camera for blind spots (the new models have them as standard now) and, for us, living in inner suburbs of melb it is ginormous to get around lol. we were thinking of getting it but have now opted for the prius 7 seater.
Yeah I wouldn't get it as a permanent 7 seater. We view it as a 5 seater with spare seats if needed as well. Tho with three child seats installed, any extra passengers have to climb in via the boot lol.
Oh ok that sounds cool. I love the look of the HO i dont like the mini van look so much but we need min 6-7 seats. So may have to get a van like one :S Im trying to be realistic and i would like the extra seats to be comfy as in i dont want ones that older kids wouldnt be comfy in so no having to have legs flat or squished.
Dh is now getting silly and wants a v8 wagon......ummm no lol kids cant sit on the roof.
I had a Kia Carnival as a hire car just before Christmas and loved it. I'd test driven the Hyundai Imax and yep, feels likeyou're driving a delivery van - great for space though. I really liked the Kia - so easy to get all the kids in and out, REAL leg and seat room in the third row, and no anchor point issues. It didn't really feel like driving a van either if that helps. I'm lusting after one now.
I have a Honda MDX and my anchor points are the same as the Odyssey's in the roof. I simply won't put anyonr in my third row because I think its too dangerous with straps around heads and necks.
I think, that if you do need a permanent six or seven seater, don't get the HO. The el grande is a great luxury van (we looked at those mpre recently too). Remember kids only get bigger, not smaller, and the HO is short on leg room as it is.
Just so you know in Australia once we get isofix approved child restraints, they will still need top teathers. It is part of the Australian design rules.
Thanks everyone. Ok so We are now looking at the Nissan elGrand It looks perfect size wise. Yes it looks more like a van BUT it has real leg room for the back row AND still has boot room too. The only thing putting me off it is its a "grey import", So we are going to contact one of the dealers over here to find out more on it. As we have read it can be hard to get them ok with compliance ect. So they should be able to help us with more info.If its too hard then we will need to start looking again *sigh* I already dislike car shopping lol
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Honda Odyssey
. It also has a terrible blind spot at the sides of the windscreen. Have found it quite dangerous, but am used to it now and am conscious of looking around it properly.
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