Honda Odyssey Discussion

[fibber2]

I spent a good part of Sunday afternoon detailing the Honda in preparation for selling it. I even started working on a window sign, but 3 days later I'm still driving and enjoying it, in no hurry to hang the For Sale notice up. The Sienna rides smoother and is more quiet & refined, but the Honda still outhandles it and is simply more engaging to drive.

[skinny2]

We sold our '05 Ody in a day. Price it right and it will be gone very quickly so be prepared! Not sure on the older models since the world knows about the transmission issues, but we put ours right at KBB private party and had a deposit the next day. We're very pleased with the '11 Sienna and it overall drives better IMHO. The handling is not much different although the steering feel takes a little getting used to. The assist at low speed is very high and I would prefer it drop off quicker, but by 45mph it has stiffened nicely and feels very good at highway speeds.

My wife didn't like the previous gen Sienna at all (looks or driving) but so far loves this one. Fit and finish are worlds above our '05 but I will admit the '11 Ody is much improved in that department. I prefer the interior of the '11 Ody but the exterior of the '11 Sienna. Regardless it's a minivan so style wasn't the biggest factor on our list.

I have a few niggling things so far:

1. The audio menu doesn't show the song/artist on the same screen with the presets.
2. Nav doesn't work while driving (I've found the hack for this).
3. Having trouble getting painted mudguards. The Toyota plastic is scaring off the paint guys because of the type of plastic they're made of.

4. Blue tooth doesn't work well, people I'm calling can't hear very well...lots of road noise.

5 Volume knob isn't well placed and you have to hit the steering wheel button is slow to riase/lower volume.
6. Options for all weather mats just isn't the greatest with the ltd seating.

That's about it so far...nothing really bad.

[b-707]

As one of you, guys, mentioned, it sucks to pay about 40k and leave the dealership without complete satisfaction. Let's begin from the very beginning - we need a 7 seater.

Flex doesn't carry 4'X8'. Don't want to pay big money and still call friends for bringing stuff from Home Depot. Flex - out.

GC2011 - I like it new. I like the engine, the ride, the excellent Stow'n'Go. Conservative exterior, but we are OK with it. We aren't OK with the traditional price depreciation. GC and the overpriced TC - out. (Didn't mention the reliability record, but this one is controversal)

Nissan Quest 2011. I don't know... The previous brought much more fun with it. The face is just ... light commercial truck. No points of interest inside, except the covered trunk. I mean those lids. Good idea, you know. You can put your stuff in two stores. The rest..... even didn't got the test drive. We didn't find any reason. Must be 3k cheaper than the parallel Sienna in order to be competitive. Quest - out.

Oddy. This one is a legend. The exterior is "broken", but it's acceptable despite the ugly butt. Never liked the interior. You know, it's important to look into something friendly in front of you. So, 2011 did it. Not the state of the art (IMHO), but the best on the market (IMHO). Sharp and clear. Almost bravo. Complete and solid package inside. I am talking as a professional architect here. Why almost? - Honda (and generally Japan) traditionally is bad with the interior colors. Oddy's ride is sharp and "Hondish". Not sure this is the one we want for a minivan, which should be soft and comfortable. And this I am saying as a resident of Manitoba. Honda is just to nervious on our broken roads. I want my baby sleeping well.

And this is exactly what Sienna brings in. We were amazed by the ride and the silence. The electric steering wheel has nothing to do with the "road sensation" (as an opposite to the hydraulic of Honda), but we don't ask for it. We need this ride. The dashboard is just a complex of plastics and gauges.
It is much easier to enter the 3-rd row of Sienna than to this of the Odyssey. It is harder to operate the 2-nd row seats of Sienna in order to enter the 3-rd row. But the real obstacle here is this floor mats issue of the 2-nd row. We are frustrated. And the frustration just stopping us of sighing the deal.
We don't want to compromise anything paying close to 40k. The sales persons smiles look just ridiculous and annoying. Yes, it is very important to keep the interior clean and still functional.

[fibber2]

Three weeks ago we said goodbye to our old faithful 2002 Ody EX. We purchased the van new in Jan, 2002, and ran her for over 9 years and just shy of 140k miles. The vehicle still looked and ran great, and we collected a little under our asking price of $6k in a private sale. Not too shabby, all things considered. Considering that other than routine maintenance the van never cost us a dime, it was an exceptional value to own.

In a way it was good to finally get the old van out of our lives and be totally dependent on the '08 Sienna. The longer it stayed, the more they were subject to comparison. There was a lot to like about the Honda - things Toyota attempted to copy but just didn't seem to do as well. I know that the Sienna will grow on us, and we'll adapt to it, but somehow I just don't seem to fit the drivers seat as well, and the lack of interior storage space for my tools and other stuff still has me scratching my head.