I could easily put Ursa in the back of the Explorer, but at 5 foot tall -- I'm embarrassed to say, I wasn't tall enough to see over her. Especially if she was crated. She'd block the entire back window.
The Odyssey is great, I have the all-weather mats and the third row seating either up or down, and she's happy. And I can see out the back. She's down low, so I can see out the back, and comfy.
After puttering around for a few minutes, both my Labs lie down and take a nap. They ride in the car a lot, so they relax almost immediately and wait to get where they're going.
The wire crates and two standing dogs do block a lot of my vision to the rear, but that's what side view mirrors are for . . . .