100 Fit Family of 6?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

aviator31

aviator31

10 Year
Joined
Feb 8, 2013
Threads
28
Messages
346
Location
NW AR
So we have a '12 Honda Odyssey and my wife honestly loves it. It fits our family well, but with only 28k miles the CEL came on and discovered that it needs major engine work. This happens 3 hrs into a 12 hr drive for vacation of course. After some research I found that there is a Class Action settlement regarding exact issue. Suffice it to say I've lost confidence in what I thought was supposedly a very reliable family mover. SO I'm trying to determine if a 100 or even 200 will hold our family with 4 small children(8,5,4,1.5). Any experience or insight is much appreciated!
 
Last edited:
I drive an 08 200 series. I have a family of 5 (three small girls 6-2-11 months) my wife and myself. Two of the children are in overly bulky car seats and one is in a booster. Those three all can sit comfortably in the second row seat. Now getting the car seats all to align so seat buckles are easily accessible is another story but it works.

If you count the seating availability in the LC 200 your number is 7. Different body types can dictate if 7 is a good number or not. We own a 2014 Sienna as well and most long road trips we take that vehicle because its easier to move around in, stash stuff and my wife can move around the cabin while in transit to address the babies needs, if needed. Minivans are great once you're in them they just suck to walk up to.

When we went car shopping we would install all the cars seats in the test car to see if it was applicable to our needs and comfort. Long answer short = the LC works for our family of 5. It may work for your family of 6. I'd highly suggest going through the painstaking motion of dragging your whole family and car seats to the dealership and really testing the vehicles holding ability out. Only then will you truly know if this is worth your purchase at this time in life.

Thanks and good luck
 
I have had an Odyssey as well. Noting beats that van for ease of access and payload capacity. When we go camping we take the LX though. We lose almost all the internal cargo capacity when we use the third row and put everything on the roof. But we have configured the younger kids with three in the middle and one in the back to reclaim some of that space for a cooler and that can work OK.
 
The 100 will handle 6 easily -if you have the rearmost seats in it, of course-. It's no suburban, though, so there won't be much room left for cargo in the back, but nothing that a roof rack or trailer can't remedy. And going with only one rearmost seat will help a bit, they are readily removable.

Having said that, the Odyssey is indeed a top-rated minivan so why not fix it -presumably under warranty- and get on with it?
 
Well I have an '03 LC and an '11 Ody. My kids are 12, 10, and 8 so they are all out of car seats. As with all SUV's, getting to the 3rd row is a challenge especially if you have car seats belted down in the 2nd row. Also when the 3rd row is in use, the amount of storage is very small when compared to the Ody.

The Ody is better at everything than the LC when carrying the family On-Road. When the snow gets deep or there's a zombie apocalypse then I choose the LC.
 
aviator31 said:
SO I'm trying to determine if a 100 or even 200 will hold our family with 4 small children(8,5,4,1.5). Any experience or insight is much appreciated!
Click to expand...
Your signature says you have an 80 series. How does that work for your family of 6? If you barely fit the 80, then the 100 or 200 will only buy you a little more time as they are not that much bigger on the inside.
 
Here is my two cents:

Our garage currently consists of: 1991 FJ80, 2003 100, 2014 200, and a 2011 Suburban. My wife and I have 4 children between us: Ages 14, 13, 11 and 10, and we have an 80b yellow lab.

All four vehicles will haul all of us. Currently they are all set up with the third row seats installed, with the exception of the 2003, it only has one seat in the back.

The 80, 100 and the 200 will fit us all with no problem (except the dog). Access to the third row is inconvenient, but not terrible (but we do not have anyone in a car seat). In all three Land Cruisers, three girls can sit in the second row, and one in the back, or sit two by two. If they sit two by two, then there is not much room for any "stuff" (luggage, pillows, bags, etc.) So long distance traveling is typically not done in a Land Cruiser, unless we pull the trailer. But for the daily driving, they are perfect.

My daily driver is the Suburban. I thought about getting rid of it, but determined that for all of us to go anywhere, and take the dog, we need the Suburban. (I know a Suburban is not on your radar, but just giving input.) The Suburban will hold a ton of stuff. Last summer, I threw the Thule roof-top carrier on the Suburban, and we drove 3,600 across the western US, and we had plenty of room.

My wife went from a Toyota Sienna to her Land Cruiser (200) and she would never go back. But, our kids are older than yours, and do not need a car seat, and can get out of the car by themselves. She loves her Land Cruiser, her "Big girl car" as she calls it. She takes really good car of it, much better care than any van she drove.

You are certainly at that fork in the road and it is tough decision. I assume Honda will fix the van, but the confidence is gone. Good luck and drive safe.
 
accessing the third row would be no problem for an 8 year old. What's not to like about clambering on top of seats with the parent's permission?


Well, unless you were planning to put your wife in the 3rd seat, of course... something to be said for that too... :D
 
brices123 said:
Here is my two cents:

Our garage currently consists of: 1991 FJ80, 2003 100, 2014 200, and a 2011 Suburban. My wife and I have 4 children between us: Ages 14, 13, 11 and 10, and we have an 80b yellow lab.

All four vehicles will haul all of us. Currently they are all set up with the third row seats installed, with the exception of the 2003, it only has one seat in the back.

The 80, 100 and the 200 will fit us all with no problem (except the dog). Access to the third row is inconvenient, but not terrible (but we do not have anyone in a car seat). In all three Land Cruisers, three girls can sit in the second row, and one in the back, or sit two by two. If they sit two by two, then there is not much room for any "stuff" (luggage, pillows, bags, etc.) So long distance traveling is typically not done in a Land Cruiser, unless we pull the trailer. But for the daily driving, they are perfect.

My daily driver is the Suburban. I thought about getting rid of it, but determined that for all of us to go anywhere, and take the dog, we need the Suburban. (I know a Suburban is not on your radar, but just giving input.) The Suburban will hold a ton of stuff. Last summer, I threw the Thule roof-top carrier on the Suburban, and we drove 3,600 across the western US, and we had plenty of room.

My wife went from a Toyota Sienna to her Land Cruiser (200) and she would never go back. But, our kids are older than yours, and do not need a car seat, and can get out of the car by themselves. She loves her Land Cruiser, her "Big girl car" as she calls it. She takes really good car of it, much better care than any van she drove.

You are certainly at that fork in the road and it is tough decision. I assume Honda will fix the van, but the confidence is gone. Good luck and drive safe.
Click to expand...
Great insight and the Suburban was on our radar years back. I've always liked them and the diesel Excursion, but my wife isn't a fan of their massive size. I was also thinking Sequoia, but same issue arises. I haul our family on short trips in my 80 occasionally, but I'm not convinced it would be great on long trips. I just want a rock solid vehicle that I can theoretically drive for the next 10-15 years with confidence. I know the 100 & 200 could do that with proper care and maintenance.
 
e9999 said:
accessing the third row would be no problem for an 8 year old. What's not to like about clambering on top of seats with the parent's permission?


Well, unless you were planning to put your wife in the 3rd seat, of course... something to be said for that too... :D
Click to expand...
My 2 oldest fight over who gets to ride in the 3rd row of my 80. And it's way too much trouble to swing the rear tire carrier open, so they must access the 3rd row by climbing over the seats haha!
 
the 100 is quite a bit more roomy than the 80. After we stepped up to the 100 we sold our minivan and now my rig is the main family hauler. We have 2 kids, but often have family in from out of town, so seating for 6 was important. When we go somewhere with 6 people, we have to use the skybox.

For a family of 6, my opinion the 100 is a little tight. If I were hauling 6 on a regular basis, I would have gone with a Sequoia. (It was close decision as it was, but I'm very happy with my 100 for our needs.) The Sequoia isn't that much bigger on the outside, but is huge on the inside. Real seats in the third row. Middle row captains chairs are available, so you can walk through to the third row. You can Carry 7-8 and a full load of groceries or a real cooler and some luggage.

Minivans are great family mobiles for which there are few substitutea. We got rid of ours because it just wasn't built for long term durability and felt like it would be junk in another 3-5 years. My 100 series Land Cruiser is a rig I will either be driving after my boys are off to college in 16 years, unless one of them talks me out of it and they take it away.
 
I only have two kids, but we've hauled 3 kids and 4 adults before. If I had two more kids, I'd put them 3 deep in the second row and remove one of the third row seats to make room for some cargo, a barrier might work well in that situation. Between the minivan and sacrificing a little to make the 100 work, I'd go with the 100.
 
A couple more counterpoints - when we were searching for a replacement for my wife's first Ody a few years ago, I really talked up the 100 series to her. Now she is not a car gal. Could care less. She wanted safety, functionality, some luxury, bluetooth, plenty of room, and good gas mileage. I lured her into test driving an '07 LC thinking I would convince her it was far safer than an Ody - she hated it. Once she saw the gas mileage, she really hated it.

She said the interior design felt old compared to the '11 Ody, which it is. She said that she would have trouble getting groceries into the back - with the lower clam shell up, it would be too high for her and with the lower clam shell down, too far of a reach. She's 5' 4 and I'm 6' 1 so this was something I didn't consider before. Needless to say, we ended up with a new Ody for her and a used 100 for me. We're both happy.

A lot of guys on here have wives that love trucks and are into owning an LC. If your wife is like that, I'd say a 100 or 200 would be a great choice and you'll make the necessary compromises to make it work. If she's not into cars / trucks / 100's in the hills, then I'd gently suggest fixing the Ody and enjoy your 80.
 
My $.02 coming from a family of 5 (7,5,1). A 100 or 200 is fine as the secondary car, but I would want something bigger with easier access to the third row if it was going to be the primary family hauler.
 
Last edited:
I have an 03 LX, 15 suburban, and 3 young kids (full size car seats) with another on the way. We can all do the LX fine, but it's much easier and more roomy in the suburban.

Getting them all buckled in the LX and loading cargo can be a pain vs the burb.

Long term, you'll be happier in a family hauler. Minivan or suburban.
 
We love our LX with a family of 6 plus one grandmother often. Kids are 13, 5, 2, and 2. We either go three car seats across the middle row (Radian RXT seats) or when we want everyone in, we put the two rear facing car seats driver's side middle and middle middle with the third car seat back driver. The passenger side middle folds forward easily for back row access then G-ma sits there once it is back down. As mentioned in other post, that doesn't leave a lot of room for gear but that is why we got a roof rack. We have a Gobi Stealth with the sun roof insert and use it all the time. The Slee Dual swing bumper with the ladder makes getting to it easy. However if you don't want the bumper, my rack came with a free ladder. I have never owned a mini-van but have ridden in one. I can't tell you what is best for your family. I can just tell you what works for mine. We chose the LX for the reliability, creature comforts and ability go explore the desert. The last part being harder to do with a low clearance 2wd vehicle.
 
I have 5 kids (8,5,3, & new born twins). Second row has two carriers and a forward facing seat for the three year old. Third row is for the older two...works great and gives me the excuse to invest in a roof rack. You can't go wrong.

-zmcnelis
 
Heading to the coast for four days with all six of us and our nephew. We fit just fine. Our stuff.......well that's in the trailer behind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom