u/Fabulous-Party-4650

Hi everyone! Our family is growing with the addition of baby #3 next month, so we ordered a 2026 Sienna Woodland edition to make sure we can all fit. The car will be ready for pickup this month and I am curious about what car seat setups you have tried in your vans.

For context, we will have three kids in car seats, all ages four and under. The oldest has almost maxed out his current rear facing seat, so he will be able to change to a forward facing seat. The younger two will both be rear facing.

What I am particularly interested in is if anyone has recommendations for convertible car seats that fit well in the third row of the Sienna. From following The Car Mom, I know that the angle of the third row bench outboard seats can make some seats a bit trickier to install properly.

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Hello! We are expecting our third baby later this fall and are looking at larger cars to accommodate three kids, all preschool age and younger.

Our first thought has been to get a minivan. We both grew up in them and love them. We have no doubt that it’s the most practical option.

The only thing holding us back from making that decision are the safety ratings. We have always bought iihs top safety picks are concerned that none of the vans (or large SUVs) are on the list.

Of the van options, which do you all feel is the safest with crash ratings? We have been leaning towards Sienna because we live in a place that gets a lot of snow, but the safety ratings make it hard to commit. Have any of you faced this dilemma? If so, what has helped you make your decision? Do you feel like your van is safe?

We have also been comparing the sienna to a ford expedition max, which seems to score a tad higher in safety. It certainly meets our space needs, but doesn’t have the sliding doors and sits up a bit higher than we are used to.

For more context: Before we came to these options, we looked at some midsize options before ruling them out for being too small for what we needed space-wise (traverse, grand highlander, atlas, telluride etc.)

Any input from others who may have been in a similar situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your feedback!