Disclosure: I have partnered with YMC and Toyota and have received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.
Let me count the ways I need a minivan in my life! As a mom of 3 under 5 there is no other vehicle that could suit me more. I NEED doors that tuck out and away when I load my littles into the car and this was especially true when I had one in a bucket baby car seat. Now, with all three kids still in five point harnessed car seats I require the extra space. Enter… the 2018 Toyota Sienna. Not only is there enough room for all of the car seats, there’s tons of fun features and safety considerations. A minivan is a “must have” to allow us to function as a family, and this van does more then just get you from point A to point B.
How To Get Around With Three Kids Under Five
Not only is extra room and space on my list of must haves in a minivan, safety is of course top priority. We spend so much time with the kids in the car between school drop offs, swimming lessons and trips to Grandma’s house, we need a vehicle that works with us to make these things easier. I also look for added features and extra thought that goes into making a family friendly vehicle. The Toyota Sienna excels in these areas and more. For example the 2018 Toyota Sienna comes with industry-leading advanced safety technologies that is standard on 95% of Toyota’s. The Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) are safety features focused on three key areas of accident protection: preventing frontal collisions, keeping you in your lane and making nighttime driving safer.
Toyota Sienna 2018 Review
Preventing frontal collisions with Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection. The 2018 Sienna will detect and alert you of a potential vehicle or pedestrian, if you don’t apply the breaks yourself, the Sienna may, to help avoid or mitigate damage from a collision. Lane Departure Alert will alert you when your van is drifting out of your lane. My favourite has to be Automatic High Beam, I’m not a fan of driving at night and usually forget to switch my high beams off (it happens in the country!)
Now, let’s get into the middle of the Toyota Sienna. I LOVE the extra room the middle and rear rows have. My four year old daughter even stated “Mom, I have so much room back here!” She also was quick to note that she could reach her “new cup holders with out having to reach”. She sits in a Diono car seat, which is lower then her sister’s Clek’s, and she can still reach the van’s cup holders with little effort. A major plus for her, and a win for me too…no more spills!!
Toyota Sienna 2018 Rear Facing Car Seats
Extra room means that my one year old can remain rear facing until her seat no longer allows it, another safety bonus for me. And I must mention, even with our rather large rear facing seat, the front seats had PLENTY of leg room…this is hard to come by in any vehicle. In every car or van I have driven I have never been able to install the rear facing car seat behind the driver as there is never enough room…until now. Mind. Blown.
The overall look of this van is stylish and sleek. I was impressed by the power doors, keyless entry, (who needs to fiddle with keys when you’re carrying a 26lb toddler?) and AWD (all wheel drive), the only minivan in Canada that offers this! Have I mentioned the double sun roof? That was fun for the kids and provided a bright car drive.
Toyota Sienna 2018 Entertainment System
One other feature I can’t forget, cause for me driving in the car is a bit of a mom-break…our Sienna had a large dual-screen rear seat BluRay entertainment system with wireless headphones! So my older two were quiet and happy to watch their favourite movie in transit and since they had their headphones on, I could listen to the radio.
I said I would never be a minivan mom, I never “got” why someone would want to have a minivan. That is until I had 3 kids… in 4 years! In a short period of time we went from a couple with 2 dogs to a family of 7 including our 2 pups. 3 Car seats, diaper bags, strollers, and all the gear that goes with kids we knew we would need a vehicle that would meet the needs of our family and still had space for when the dogs came with us to visit family. Making a move to a minivan not only allows our family to get around, but with all of the added safety features helps keep us all safe on the road.
I could go on, there are many more features that I haven’t mentioned in the 2018 Toyota Sienna, but I’ll leave the discoveries for you because I could be here all day! I was impressed with what Toyota Sienna has to offer, a superior minivan that meets my family of five’s requirements! Let me know if you are a fellow minivan mom, or are thinking of making a switch to the “minivan club”!
Very cool Siennal! We recently owned an older Sienna, and we loved that it would fit all 7 of us. I love the great new features in the most recent model. We bought a bike rack, and could fit 7 bikes too (5 attached to the car & 2 in the truck)! It can definitely fit a lot of cargo.
Oooh, I’m sold!!! When we drive back to Alberta in the winters, I miss our 4×4 so the AWD in this van would be awesome. I also agree with you on the extra space for car seats, especially rear-facing. We always turned our kids around at 1 year because we didn’t have space in our first vehicles (a Jeep TJ and then a Dodge Durango) for their car seats to stay rear-facing for longer. With a van, I actually left my fourth daughter rear-facing past her first birthday because there was finally enough space for her. I think the Sienna has more room than our current Dodge Caravan, so I’d definitely look into it when we need a new vehicle. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!!! 🙂