Seeking recommendations for...a 6-seater minivan

[Sharpnel]

9-speed tranny is a laugh. Too many gears for too weak an engine. The tranny makes more sense in powerful V8s. The four and six cylinders that Chrysler puts them on just don't have enough HP.

[gyedid]

Well it looks like my search is over.  I settled on a 2018 Toyota Sienna LE.  Another former fleet vehicle with about 44,700 km on it, I gave this unit a short test drive last Friday, but had an opportunity to put it through more paces today.  I insisted on having an inspection at a garage closer to where I live, which is 25 km away from the dealer.
They agreed and I had it checked out this afternoon; it passed with flying colours.  I then drove it back on the expressway (the ride down having been through city streets) so could also get a feel for how it performs at speed.  It is true that it's not as graceful as the Odyssey or Pacifica and definitely makes much wider turns, but the interior feels roomier than those two and my 11-year-old daughter said she felt comfortable in it, which was really all I needed to hear.  Delivery will be taken next Monday or Tuesday after we get back from a short vacation.

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions and insight!!

cheers,

Gabe

p.s. I also found there was some truth to what I heard about doing business with dealers who are farther from a city centre.  This was at a Toyota dealership in Pointe-aux-Trembles, on the far east side of Montreal Island.  I did find them more congenial and willing to negotiate than the delaers closer to where I live.

[Colt Ward]

Lol, we play games with them the bit we have dealt with car dealers.  My wife is the car buff, and when her Explorer (stolen 4th of July for a robbery vehicle) was stolen before we got married I ferried her around as she checked out replacements.  We walked out of dealerships (or I followed her angry storming, probably more accurate to say that) a couple times for a simple reason . . . they tried to pitch to me, I would point at her and explain it was her car that was stolen and we were not married yet.  When they came back to asking me & pitching a car to me she would get mad.

Sienna is a nice ride, or at least the one I drove in the previous style, and yeah they did seem roomier with a ability to stash stuff in all sorts of nooks.

[Daryk]

After the first one, why didn't you just stay in the car?  ???

[Cache]

After the first one, why didn't you just stay in the car?  ???

It's a good test of the salesperson. See if they're worth talking to.

[Daryk]

Good point!  :thumbsup:

[Colt Ward]

Yeah, its a test of sorts and something we test out in certain environments.  But its not just that sort of thing . . . went into a Bass Pro to look at bolt action rifles, told the sales guy I just got out of the Army so I want something balanced like the M-16 and ususally my -16 had a 203 underneath.  And I was a lefty.

Guy tried to sell me a ultra-light rifle with all the weight out on the end of the barrel and was only available for right handed shooters.  Walked out after he handed me that single rifle to go to another store that sold me a rifle a bit lighter than 8 pounds, evenly balanced and had left handed bolt in the caliber that I wanted.  Bingo!

I do sales, and the wife is a comm major so we tend to grade sales people.

[Daryk]

Cool... good way to sort 'em out!  :thumbsup:

[Kit deSummersville]

After the first one, why didn't you just stay in the car?  ???

The humane society wouldn't like it!  :))