Nissan NV 3500 Review from a Family of 8 (with Video)
When we found out we were having twins, one of the first thing we realized was that we were going to have to go car shopping. I was driving a 7 passenger minivan and we were officially moving into “Yikes, how many kids do you have?” territory so we needed to size up.
We looked at everything, which is kind of hard to do when you are on pregnant with twins and on bedrest. The 8 passenger minivans were too small when you considered the number of carseats we needed and the size of my older kids. The full size SUVs just weren’t convenient to get to the third row when you have the second filled with car seats. That left us with full size vans and, I’m not going to lie, that scared me to death.
The first time I sat in a full size van I cried. How in the world was I going to be able to drive that? Our car options caused me some serious anxiety during my pregnancy. After nearly losing my toddler just after the twins were born I decided there were worse problems to have so I sucked it up, stopped stressing about it and we made the jump to a full size van.
We ended up going with the Nissan NV 3500. Out of everything that we drove, it felt like the best fit for us and even though it took me a little while to come around to the idea of a full size van, I’ve actually really liked it. You definitely can’t beat the space — I can take a double AND a triple stroller out with us and still have room for all the kids and groceries. There’s no way I could have done that in my minivan.
Here are a few of the things that we’ve really loved about the Nissan NV:
1. It’s not ugly. Always a plus, right? We looked at so many vans and one of the things that was so discouraging to me was how commercial-like they all looked. I didn’t want to look like a daycare center when we left the house! The Nissan NV looks like a big SUV to me and we actually get complements on it all the time. A lot of people don’t even realize it’s a full size van because it looks so much like an SUV so they are shocked when they find out how many seats it has in it.
2. There are so many seating configurations. Nissan claims there are 324 ways to configure the seats. I actually didn’t think we’d change the seats around very often but we probably rearrange the seats in our van once a week. It’s so easy to pull out the seats and move them around or take some out. We even leave carseats installed on the seats when we move things around to save time. The second and third row are each made up of a double seat and a single seat. The back row has two double seats. We usually have at least one of double seats in the fourth row out to leave room for an extra stroller but sometimes we’ll also pull out a few of the single seats up front to open things up a bit when we don’t need the extra passenger seat. Whenever we go to the beach we set the van up with three rows of 2 going straight back because that gives us the space to fit a full size surf board in the van. My husband even took the van camping the other week without third and fourth row in and he was able to fit a queen sized air mattress in the back. The seats are heavy but I can get the single seats in and out just fine on my own. The double seats have wheels on the back so once you pop them out of the van you can roll them where they need to go.
Here’s what the NV looks like with 3 rows of 2 after one of our trips to the beach. On a side note, we believe in child labor around here. It doesn’t hurt that this one had just seen the new Cinderella movie and currently thinks cleaning is awesome.
There are headrests. I couldn’t believe how hard it was to find a vehicle that fit 8 people and also had headrests. That’s crazy to me. I couldn’t imagine putting my kids in a car without something as basic as headrests. The Nissan NV has headrests on every seat and rear airbags. Your rear visibility is seriously limited because of the headrests but the van has great mirrors and you always have the option of a backup camera. The NV even has rear airbags, which was also surprisingly hard to find in full size vans so I feel a lot better knowing I didn’t have to give up some of the most basic safety features when we switched to a full size van.
It has SPACE! With 6 kids, you can never have too much space, especially when you are putting everyone together in a van. My husband makes fun of me because I don’t go anywhere without at least 2 strollers. With the twins, it helps to have options and my strollers are the only way I ever leave the house at all. We took our van on a road trip a few weeks ago and now I don’t know how we ever managed with our minivan. Even with 4 kids, when we used to take road trips in our minivan everyone was buried in stuff. Kids had their feet resting on stuff, stuff fell out of the van when we opened the door, you get the idea. This time, traveling in the NV was like night and day. Everything fit in the trunk (minus 2 seats) and each kid had plenty of room. The inside of our van looked empty when we were all packed up and ready to go because we didn’t need to fit anything up in the passenger section of the van at all.
Because I can fit so much stuff in the van, it actually makes it easier for us to leave the house. I always keep a box of snacks, a first aid kit, and multiple strollers so I just have to load the kids. Now I have no problem loading up the kids and getting out of the house . . . provided everyone can find their socks.
It’s easy to drive. You guys, I was SO worried about driving full-size van. This thing is definitely huge. When we first brought it home I didn’t know how I was every going to get used to driving it. It didn’t take long before it felt normal to me though. Parking has been a bit more of a challenge, but I wasn’t a great parker to start with. I still hunt for parking spots that are a bit further away so I have more space to park. The NV does fit in any normal parking spot but it doesn’t have a real tight turning radius so if the parking aisles are on the narrow side it can be tricky to get the right angle. I haven’t hit anyone yet though so I think I’m doing okay. We even regularly back the NV into our driveway to make it easier to load and unload kids and I’ve gotten used to doing that just fine. So, yes, it is a big vehicle but you’ll get used to it.
Everyone is comfortable. Each of the 12 seats in the Nissan NV can fit a full size person. The smallest seats are in the fourth row where there are 4 seats across instead of 3 so they are a bit narrower but even there I can sit comfortably. I was worried about kids getting car sick with a van this big and while it does bounce around a bit sometimes the air conditioner works great so even in the last row there’s plenty of air flow. The front passenger seat reclines to a nearly flat position so it’s amazing for road trips. On our last trip my husband, who is over 6 feet tall) was able to lay flat and take a nap. There’s plenty of leg room on each seat. If you don’t need the full 12 seats you can even shift the second and third row back a bit to create more leg room.
It has a sliding door. Now, if you are used to driving a minivan this may not seem that exciting, but sliding doors in full size vans are hard to come by. Since parking something this large is already a challenge, I definitely didn’t want to deal with doors that opened outward like you find on most full size vans. The sliding door on the NV makes it easy to unload kids in tighter spaces and it’s easy enough to use that my 7 year old can do it. It does slide quickly though so I’m dreading the day one of my kids get their hands caught in the door but so far that hasn’t been an issue.
Nissan NV 3500 Video Review
The Nissan NV 3500 has been a great van for my family and we are going to get a lot of use out of it over the next several years. If you are considering a full size van, it’s definitely one you should consider.
Thanks for your review! I am a regular subscriber, though I tend not to comment on your posts much, but this is a topic near and dear to me. I’ve been lusting over one of these for 2 years now. We have 6 kids as well, all in carseats and boosters, and it’s VERY tight in our 8 seater minivan (the 06 Sienna has a full size 8th seat, but they ruined it in the newer models), though we do it. We’re looking to upgrade to this very vehicle in the summer or fall, and have been pricing them out, looking at financing, etc
You got the S trim? I am leaning toward the SV V6 engine.
I really feel a backup camera is a must to drive this safely….though you can add one to the S I think.
Do you know what gas mileage you are getting?
As far as the headrests, this is one of my most major reasons to get one. I have a couple older kids in backless boosters (10, 8.5, and 7 this summer) who will not likely agree to go to highback boosters, and it’s much less safe to be on a seat without headrests. For the ones in car seats (or graduating to HBB), are the headrests removable for more visibility?
My friend who drives one said she thought she would miss her Sienna but doesn’t one bit, so that’s a ringing endorsement!
Thanks for your comments! We were actually looking for an 06 Sienna but they are hard to find! That was the only minivan option that possibly would have worked for us.
We did go with the S model. I agree with you on the backup camera. We planned on getting one with a backup camera but we came across a great deal on a used one that had everything else we wanted so we have something in the works to add a backup camera. I’ll be sharing more information on that soon. We were actually looking for a V6 because we wanted the slightly better gas milage that came with that. Also, since we live so close to the beach we did not want the carpeted floors and I’m so glad we don’t have those because they would have been trashed already.
We get anywhere from 10-19 mpg, depending on how we are driving. We took a road trip recently and averaged 17 mpg on that so it really isn’t too bad.
The headrests are removable, but honestly that doesn’t gain you a lot as far as visibility. This van is just so high that nothing you need to see is really going to be that high up. The side mirrors are awesome though so as far as driving they cover everything you need. It’s just backing up and parking that become and issue and that’s where a backup camera definitely would come in handy.
Thanks for your response! The first friend of mine who got one got a used S model too, and added a backup camera herself. She also loves the fact that she can just sweep her floors 🙂 I will be looking forward to seeing follow up on installing one separately. I have been randomly checking for used ones (hard to come across) and I found one within 100 miles of us, but the deal isn’t that great and I’m waiting to see if the price will go down….in which case I will really consider it and add a backup camera on my own.
We just put in an aftermarket backup camera and it works amazingly well. I like it better than the Nissan one so definitely don’t completely discount a used one without a backup camera already in it. I’ll be sharing the way we set it up soon.
Thanks!
Hi, I never saw the promised follow up on the backup camera. I’m debating between a couple Nissan NVPs now, and we’re trying to figure out how much it would cost to install an aftermarket camera, and how easy it is to use. Are you able to share that information with me? Thanks!
I’m so sorry. I’ve been moving slowly this summer. I’m working on editing the video now and will have it up today or tomorrow for you.
We just posted our follow-up with info about the back-up camera we went with https://www.busymommymedia.com/safety-tips-for-driving-a-full-size-van/
Hello I just got this van and I was wondering if it will fit going inside of the parking area at the hospital? I am so worried about that.
So parking garages are definitely a problem. You won’t fit in all of them. I measured my van so I know exactly what I can fit in and I check the height before I go in. Some parking garages are not completely accurate when they list their height so you have to watch that too. There are a few parking garages I can fit into but more often than not, I have to find somewhere else to park. Disneyland has a huge parking garage and I fit in there. Most hotels have parking garages that are too small. You’ll just have to get used to checking before pulling in.
That being said, places like a hospital will have oversized parking. You may just have to ask where it is.
Crap! I have to park in a garage. what if you have the short version one?
It only comes in one size, unfortunately. There’s not a shorter version. We can’t fit in our garage at home and I very rarely go into parking garages with it.
Hi! We are a growing family and looking into get a NV. I personally want the V6 and my husband wants the V8. Which one do you guys have? If it’s the V6 are you still able to tow things with it? Do you feel like a V6 gets better MPG than the V8s??
We wouldn’t tow often, but he wants the option.
Thanks!
Anyone’s thoughts on MPG is welcome!
We have the V6 and really like it. Towing capacity is still great (6200 lbs) and gas mileage is better. We end up getting about 17 mpg which really isn’t bad for a van this size.
Thanks for the review! I am wondering if any of the back seats recline? Thanks!
And yet another question — we’re getting the S trim as well but I am wondering about the lack of console between the driver’s and passenger’s seats…while I think this extra room would be handy to help buckle kids in the row behind us, for long trips, I would like the driver to have some sort of surface area to keep some snacks or something — did you ever use something for that purpose? Even putting in a cooler or something and using the flat surface might help.
Honestly, I like not having anything there. The console that comes with it is so deep that it basically fits my entire diaper bag. I’m sure I’d lose stuff in there. I just put my diaper bag between the seats. The cup holders in the front of the van have a little spot behind them and that has been plenty of storage for me. I like being able to walk between the two front seats because I often climb back there to help the twins as soon as we stop and it’s easier than hopping out of the van and getting back in. I’m sure you could find something aftermarket to put in there. We often use that space to store my diaper bag or a cooler if we are on a long trip.
Thanks for your encouraging review! We are a family of 7 and are right on that line of outgrowing a minivan. Our youngest are also twins, so we understand how it feels instantly upsize your family! Our twins are now 4 and everybody is getting cozier in the minivan. After a long road trip this summer squeezing into the minivan, I’m realizing the full-size van is the best choice for us. My husband and I test drove this van about 6 months ago and I was freaked out driving it around town. I was also very sad it did not fit in our garage. Where do you park it? Do you mind running errands in this van? Have you gotten used to driving around town and in and out of parking lots? I’m so scared to drive this beast, but it sounds like once you drive it for awhile it gets better? All that space looks wonderful (and provides less arguing between squished siblings?). Lol! 🙂 Thanks.
I won’t lie. The morning after we bought this van I went outside to see it in my driveway and freaked out at the thought of running a simple errand. It just seemed so overwhelming. Now I don’t even think twice about driving everywhere I used to go in my minivan. Parking is still a bit of a challenge. I could not park without our backup camera (we have a video about that in another post). I just park in my driveway but I never really parked in the garage when I had my minivan either so that wasn’t a big change. We really needed the space of a full size van. I do love that we have room to take friends with us. We never could have made that work in a minivan.
How long is this from the front headlights to the back taillights? Also, do 4 booster seats fit in the back row?
I’m not sure on the exact measurements. You could do 4 booster seats in the back row, provided they were narrow booster seats. The trick with that would be buckling them when you can’t get your hands between the seat. That is an issue whenever you have a booster next to another seat though. The back row seats are slightly narrower. We do have a carseat and a booster next to each other in our 4th row but the car seat we are using in that row is a Radian so it’s very narrow and the booster does not buckle on the side next to the car seat.
Wondering how many latch positions there are for child restraints, as well as tether locations? I have 6 children, 2 who will be going into the Clek high back boosters which are installed via latch, and one in a convertible seat.
We have 3 kids in car seats right now and haven’t had a problem. There are latch points in each row so there are 3 total. The second and third row have latch in the center and the fourth row has it on one of the window seats.
Can you clarify this for me… Are there only three places total in the van where you can install via latch? Is that also the case for the tether anchors?
There is one LATCH point and tether point per row in rows 2,3 and 4.
That’s surprising. I would think there would be more in a van this size marketed to families. We are still going to buy one because we don’t have much choice, but will miss having so many latch points in our odyssey.
Thanks for posting about this. As one of six kids, I grew up riding in full size vans. I wanted to get one for us and our four kids, but the last time we went vehicle shopping nothing with decent safety features was available.
My wife and I checked the new Ford Transit, and it was an impressive vehicle but the driver’s seat was uncomfortable for me. Maybe an NV 3500 will suit me better.
As an aside, I’m astonished at the malls and school parking lots with lots of $40,000 and $50,000 SUVs. Sure, a Chevy Suburban looks nice. But $20,000 extra is a lot to pay for something with less space than your NV just because the SUV looks cool. No thanks.
We actually really liked the Transit. It was almost coming out when we were looking but we needed something right away. We’ve done several trips in our NV and it’s very comfortable to ride in. We actually get pretty good gas mileage on trips too so it’s been a good car for us.
We think the NV is for us but are not able to find one anywhere for sale. Did you have the same problem? Even Nissan dealerships everywhere we have called do not carry them 🙁
We didn’t have a problem finding new ones for sale at dealerships but it was tricky to find a used one. We ended up driving about an hour away to get ours.
I’d have the dealership look up where the nearest van is. Most dealers will transfer a van for you if they know you are looking.
Hi Rachel, and thank you for sharing this information. I’m planning to buy a passenger van and I’ve been leaning towards the NV3500. I like pretty much everything about it, however I’ve seen complaints about poor ventilation mainly in the back rows. Have you experienced this problem?
Thank you in advance!
We haven’t had any problems with poor ventilation in the back rows. More often than not, my kids complain that they are cold.
Saw your post while looking for running boards for our NV. Did you guys get those aftermarket? (Nice review)
We bought our van used and the running boards were already on. They are aftermarket but they definitely come in handy. My toddler twins can climb in and out of the van themselves with the running boards there
Hello!
Thanks so much for posting your experience with th NV. We have six children also, and definitely feeling a bit cramped in our Odyssey. One question I have is regarding safety. There is not much information on how these vehicles would handle a crash…did you find anything on that? Does it feel top heavy or precarious at all at high speeds or winding roads? I drove a Suburban for many years, and feel very comfortable with that, but the big van looks a little intimidating; ) Any input you have would be appreciated!
Blessings,
Jessica Strickland
Jessica,
Safety was a big concern for us as well. You are correct that there is not much formal crash test info on “commercial” vans but after tons of research we came to the conclusion that the only full size vans that we would feel safe carrying our family in would be the Nissan NV 3500 and the Ford Transit. The reason for this was that these are the only vans that have modern safety features like curtain airbags. I was shocked to find out that even the Mercedes Sprinter did not have rear airbags.
I have never felt like the Nissan was too top heavy, as long as you understand that you are driving a 7’2″ tall 1-ton van. It is taller than a Suburban but not much longer. You won’t fit in many parking garages. Every high roof van we test drove did feel top heavy.
One major reason we went with this van over a Suburban was that with car seats in the second row, there was no way to access the third row. We love the isle down the side inside this van. We also love how easy it is to remove the seats when we need more cargo space (with 2 seats out we park a double BOB roller in the back without folding it).
I hope this helps and I will be glad to answer any additional questions.
Thank you so much for your reply! We are on the verge of purchasing the model you have, a used 2014 with 25k miles on it. One thing I am still worried about is that we live in the country, as in lots of curvy back roads with no shoulder…at all. Do you have any experience with the NV on such roads? My husband has rolled a Ford work van on our roads, (walked away, praise God), so I’m concerned with that possibility. Also, do you think you would have gone with a Suburban if you didn’t have anyone in a carseat in the back seat? We have a 17, 14, 12, 6, 4, and 3 month old, so only one who requires me to buckle them in, just think extra storage space would be nice for our instruments, gear, etc. Can you tell I’m a bit freaked out about the big van?! 😉
Thanks for taking time to share your experience!
I have seen some hints at the rear air conditioning being a problem on really hot days. We are looking at moving to Redding, CA and buying a new vehicle when we get there, and it regularly hits over 110F there. Has your experience been good with that? Thank you!
We live in San Diego and it gets fairly hot in the summer. We haven’t had any problems with the A/C even on 100 degree days. The sliding door opens so wide that when we get in most of the hot air tends to escape so we can cool the van down pretty quickly. We don’t usually even keep the A/C on full blast because we just don’t need it up that high.
Thanks for the helpful review! I know it was written a while ago, so hopefully you’ll still see this. We’re expecting baby #5 and we can’t fit 5 car seats into our minivan, so we are looking at getting either a Transit or NV. I’m concerned about how small the trunk space is in the NV. We haven’t done any actual measurements yet, but it seems like the space in the Transit is bigger. I like the idea of taking the 4th row drivers side seats out and having that big space, but how do you secure things in there so that they wouldn’t become projectiles in a crash? I’m also not sure about how many carseats you could fit into the back row of the NV. The placement of the buckles are so close together that it seems unlikely that you could fit much back there. I know you mentioned that you fit a booster and Radian back there. What booster was it? Have you tried anything else back there? Have you had any kids in RF seats and if so, what spots have you been able to get them into? Thanks for your help!
Honestly, the trunk in the NV is way bigger than the space I had in my minivan. It’s a very wide van so you don’t realize how much you can really fit back there. I haven’t had any complaints about the trunk space. I have 6 kids, including twin toddlers, so I’ve had to take a double (and sometimes a triple) stroller with me everywhere. My NV easily fits whatever stroller we need plus anything else. We’ve done road trips in this van and are always amazed that there’s still space.
I usually put my stroller in the space in the trunk so I haven’t been too worried about it as a projectile. It’s blocked in pretty well by the next row of seats. We don’t typically stack anything too high back there so anything there is surrounded by seats. With 5 kids, you could get away without even having anyone ride in that last row.
We put most of our carseats up in the first few rows. We have had rear facing carseats in the van. We bought it when my twins were newborns so we had them in rear facing seats plus my 2 year old was also in a rear facing seat. We’ve been able to get our rear facing seats into any space we wanted in the van. The 4th row does have slightly smaller seats but a Radian still fits great back there. The seats are still wider than seats on a minivan so it’s easy to fit seats into.
I have an odessey now and have a 7, 4, and 12momth twins. We will be driving to Disney in December so looking forward to having more room if we choose this van. But, I really
Worry that I will Miss my electronic door and Having
2 sliding doors. Do you
Miss it??
Thanks!!
I do miss the electric door. You get used to it though. I don’t miss having the doors on each side quite as much because my kids are young and I kind of like them only having one door to escape from 🙂
Hi Rachel,
We are looking at the S trim model too…our only concern was just one plug in for media, charging, etc. Have you run into that as an issue at all??
I am going to email you too 🙂 Thanks!!
Amelia
So we actually ran an extension cord all the way back so we can plug in more things. It’s worked fine for us. Typically my kids charge their devices and then unplug them to use them.
Hi,
I am wondering about a few things. We are expecting #6 this year (eek!) and already have small triplet 4-year-olds in FF convertible seats, twin 12-month-olds in infant carriers (they will switch to RF soon). So we will have 6 in car seats – 3 of them rear facing. My 4-year-olds are just learning to buckle their own harnesses. My concerns are about logistics. I need to be able to get inside the van to help buckle kids in, and I want the older kids to be able to get in and out on their own. Does one door make it too tight? Are there sufficient and accessible spaces for three RF car seats? (For example, I don’t want to have to climb all the way in the back to buckle a one-year-old in.) I love the idea of all the space but hate the idea of driving something huge and ugly. The NV seems to bridge the gap a bit, if we can find one we can afford. Do you think this would be a good vehicle for so many tiny children who can’t really do a lot for themselves? Thank you!
Does the double Bob stroller fit folded up if all of the seats are left in? Will it fit in just the cargo space behind the last row?
It will, if you remove the wheels. You can fit it in the trunk with all the wheels on but it’s a really tight fit so I prefer to just pop them off when I have all the seats in my van.
Hi! I have two questions: First, do you have your double stroller SET UP inside? It must be so roomy!
Second, as a family with about to have 7 children, with 6 in car seats of some shape or form, what are the seat dimensions? Do you find that you had to search for super narrow car seats for little children to fit multiple seats side by side? I currently drive a Suburban and have 4 Recaro car seats. They are fantastic, but small is NOT what I would call a Recaro. I struggle to get two side-by-side and still have room for my oldest in the middle row.
If I take out two of the seats in the last row then I can fit my double stroller in all set up. We don’t need all the seats so it works well.
Larger car seats will fit just fine in all rows but the last one (where there are 4 seats instead of 3). I’ve had a Recaro seat and I suspect it would fit just fine. I use Britax seats and haven’t had a problem. We’ve put three across in the second row when we’ve needed to and it works just fine.
It’s been a while since you posted this, I’m curious if you still have such a positive review. We also have a large family, and I could frankly have written your review. We chose the NV for all the same reasons, and had all the same positive things to say about it, until about 35K miles. Since then (we are up to 56K) just about every month we have had problems. Now these problems are all non mechanical, but they are disappointing. They range from annoying (the sliding door has a terrible squeak/rattle when you hit a bump), to pretty serious (the sliding door has been stuck closed on several occasions, as has the drivers door). We’ve had the door lock panel fall into the inside of the door, we have a window that leaks, we’ve had the door seals fall off… again, most minor annoyances, but just about every month it is something new. And in our discussions with other owners, sounds like the same story for everyone after about 35K miles. The dealership has patiently fixed everything… well, some things they have tried to fix but couldn’t, but it’s sure getting old. The sliding door getting stuck has happened to the two other owners we know, and that one seems like a potential safety issue.
Maybe we should just be more patient with it as these are all not as important as the advantages as you lay out, but sure would be nice to have a car that didn’t fall apart!
We’ve had the door seal come off a few times but most of the issues we have had have been minor. Our sliding door has stuck a few times from the outside, but not the inside. Usually that’s because my kids got food in the track. Truthfully, I’d love to be driving a mini-van instead but for this stage of life, this is still what works best for us. I hope you get the issues fixed. That does sound annoying to have stuff go wrong all the time.
I’d be very hesitant and nervous to buy a full size van. From what I’ve read, they’re very top heavy, a huge rollover risk and designed for cargo, not people and you should never drive with a full load of people or cargo. From what I understand it’s been illegal to drive kids in them in school settings for almost 20 years. I know someone who drove one for a camp and it rolled off the highway, killed a camper and paralyzed the driver. I’m having a hard time finding safety specs for commercial vehicles. Do they make these now for families specifically with transporting kids and safety in mind like they do with minivans, or are they really still just like the old airport transport vehicles?
We didn’t have too many options. We don’t fit in anything but a full size van. I’ve never been told I can’t drive it in any setting and all the safety reports I’ve read have been fine. Honestly, it’s so big that I feel like my kids are safer in it than they are in most small cars.
Hello! We also upgraded to the Nissan NV when we found out we were having twins. We have seven kids ages 16 years to our 22 month old twins.They were preemies and are just now outgrowing their infant seat. Have you changed what seats you use for your twins or do you still like the ones you started with? We will have four in some form of a car seat still with an eight year old in a low back booster and a four year old in a high back booster plus the twins in RF convertibles are the plan.
Hello, do you happen to know the gas mileage on the van? I can’t seem to find it online
We currently average about 17mpg city/highway combined but we have the V6. Which we think is pretty good for a large 1-ton van. Not quite sure what the V8 gets.
Hi there. Brand new owner of an NV 3500. We have 4 kids and host exchange students, so we usually have 5. Anyway, what do you do about grocery shopping? I find that there is PLENTY of room, especially when we have1/2 the 4th row of seats out. But my groceries roll all over the place. What do you use to contain them?
We bought some car organizers. They are just little baskets with handles that pop up and let us store whatever we want. I keep a few in the trunk all the time for groceries and it makes it way easier to carry things inside too..
Hi, I am looking into a Nissan NV 3500 passenger van. Even though we are only a family of 4 (my husband just passed away from Bladder cancer in August), we plan in the future to travel the USA more, visiting my sister in Montana, bringing the St. Bernard, etc, and the kids are 13,11, and 10.
We went to Lake Placid a week ago to get away for a week since the summer was a rough one with my husband’s cancer having coming back quickly and ferociously. I barely had room and stuff was piled everywhere including the front seat and we didn’t even have the dog with us. I am also the type to be prepared for everything so I tend to like to have tools, emergency supplies, etc on hand at all times, which eats up space automatically as well! currently drive a 2013 Town and Country,which I absolutely love, and my husband’s car is a 2014 Jeep Patriot. I am thinking of selling both and getting a nissan NV. We may also want the option of towing a trailer as well. my parents may travel with us as well for some of these trips. So Having seats, cargo room, comfort (I have back and knee issues) and towing capability is important. I am not concerned about the size(I I am definitely getting a backup camera, love my minivan’s), or the gas mileage since except for traveling stick pretty close to home. I wanted to ask about getting the seats out. How difficult? Even with back issues/knee issues I manage to do an awful lot, but just have to be careful and I think my oldest son, the 13 year old , could certainly help. He is now officially taller and bigger than me! I don’t know about towing, should I go for the V8 (or your husband if he has a thoughts on it!) or is the V6 adequate if I needed to haul a trailer big enough for 4-5 people?
My kids are spoiled with the DVD player in the minivan. I noticed that surprisingly there is no option for that that i could see even in the newer models. But I guess it’s easy enough to buy for the backs of seats. After owning yours for about 3 years now, do you still love it? Thanks for any input you may have.
I would definitely get the V8 if you are planning on towing. We’ve looked into camping trailers and our options are seriously limited with the V6. I have back issues and there is no way I can get the seats out of the van myself. My 15 year old son can help with the single seats, but the double seats definitely require two people who are fairly strong.
I actually don’t find the seats as comfortable as my minivan was. They are very upright, and when dealing with back issues, that is hard. I love mine for the functionality, but I do miss some of the things my minivan had. With only 4 passengers, I might look into something else. The Suburban was much easier to park, it just didn’t work with the number of kids we have in car seats.
Hello
We are soon to be a family of 7 and I was curious what car seats you currently have installed in the NV?
Are you able to fit 3 car seats across in the first 2 rows? All the kids would be in a high back booster except one.
Thanks!
I have a 2018 NV, 5 kids in car seats and I was able to fit two forward facing convertible 5 point harnessed seats and a rear facing 5 point harness car seat in the driest two rows. We’ve since switched our 7 year old twins to high back boosters. I really think the 5 point harness seats were easier for them because they have a hard time getting to the seat belt buckles if there are three seats in a row.
My husband is losing his mind trying to figure out a double stroller that will fit in the back of our NV without taking any seats out. He saw the black stroller on the right side in your picture and wanted me to try to find out what kind of stroller it is. Can you help? Thanks!
We love ours BUT I recently found out because it is considered a bus it doesn’t not go through the same safety testing. Because of that, my state education board does not let parents who have a vehicle that seats more then 10 carpool for class trips or sports for our kids. It may not seem like a big deal but it is a part of life we can not yours our “family vehicle” for. It’s just something I did not consider. I also wonder how many other states have this rule. I’m also worried now because I didn’t realize it was help to a lower safety standard. Something I’ll now research and get rid of the vehicle if needed. Truly sad because we love it!
Hi! We’re a young family of 8. We’re looking at buying a new Nissan NV. Thank you for this article, it was quite helpful! However, since it’s somewhat old, I’m wondering if you still like your van? Do you ever regret getting it? I know you didn’t have many options, but would you do/get something different if you could?