Honda Odyssey Discussion

[sienna]

I created this forum for further discussion about Honda Odyssey minivans.

[qest t. silverclaw]

Where are the Chrysler, Dodge, Nissan, and VW forums?

[newfie sienna]

good idea, seems like many people on here would only buy the toyota or the honda. not that there is any thing wrong with other models.

[bill_toyota]

Yes, the chrysler vans aren't that bad. Well, the older ones anyway. I had a 2000 chrysler voyager and it was an excellent van. It's still running strong. I gave it to my parents to drive . They needed another car.

[lucke]

The best minivan out there is the Sienna, before my Sienna I have a Chrysler Town and Country Limited and it needs a new transmission at over 15,000 miles.

The new transmission was not new it was a rebuilt one, because of that main issue I no longer trust Chrysler cars.

About the Honda Odyssey I don't like the exterior, from some viewing angles it looks ugly. About the interior the dash looks great but who cares if that minivan don't have a second moonroof and the back seats are not as good as the Sienna seats.

The exterior from the Sienna is great I love it.

[texas911]

I think the Sienna and Odyssey are neck and neck. One thing is that the Odyssey was a best pick in the latest more stringent crash test ratings. The Sienna, being a new design, failed to make it.

[Snobike Mike]

I think the Sienna and Odyssey are neck and neck. One thing is that the Odyssey was a best pick in the latest more stringent crash test ratings. The Sienna, being a new design, failed to make it.

Lots of debate over this on the Ody forum. There are a number of "questions" about the Honda test that make the conclusions of the testing and the results somewhat suspect. My answer is don't get into an accident and the crash numbers don't matter.

Neither is perfect for sure. I think purely from a statistical sense the Sienna is the winner right now (more/better available features and better numbers in terms of performance), but very few people buy on true numbers, they make an emotional decision and rationalize with the facts they wish and ignore the rest.

For example:

Sienna is quicker, stops sooner and handles better but people don't like the "steering" feel so they say the Honda "handles" better.
Sienna as numerous significant features not available on the Honda

Different strokes for different folks.....

[newfie sienna]

Came down to money for me, i have a honda civic, lawnwower, snowblower, and ATV so im kind of a honda guy. Have also had a honda mini bike 3 wheel atv and motorcycle over the years.

The sienna seemed to be the best deal. The base v6 sienna comes with more options then i could get in a honda for the price.

I tested both a few different times and would have been happy with either the honda or toyota van but the toyotas price is what swayed me.

however i could get a chrysler van for a much better price and financing and i didnt even cosider it. my wife used one as a work vehicle for a year and she was very unhappy with it. It was constantly in the shop, was uncomfortable, and a pig on fuel compared to the chev van they had before the chrysler. just one persons opinion of course so feel free to disagree.

Love my sienna so far and more importantly my wife who hated minivans has decided that with our 4 month old the van is perfect. She was less then happy about getting any van.

[skinny2]

We currently own an '05 Ody EX-L NAV/RES with about 90k miles. On the fence between '11 Ody or '11 Sienna.

On the higher end models the price seems to go to the Ody although I'm not comparing apples/apples as much as I'm comparing what we want. The Ody Touring has everything we want but to get what we want on the Sienna it requires going to the Ltd. So from a price standpoint we'd be perfectly happy with either Ody Touring or Sienna Ltd but the Ody is about $3k cheaper. That being said...wife really wants Blizzard Pearl and Honda doesn't have anything close to that color.

Ody has the cooler box which is nice and a better HD based ent. system. Ody interior is much nicer and better materials, Sienna exterior is far more attractive. Seats in the Ody are more comfy and that may be the deal breaker for me. My last Toyota was sold prematurely and I bought my Pathfinder over the 4Runner because of seat comfort. The Sienna seats don't feel like they sit up high enough and have the same short seat-cushion problem the other vehicles have had (Tundra and 4Runner).

We would also really like to buy the AWD Sienna given our very hilly roads (that rarely get plowed) but I'm not crazy about being stuck with runflats. I've read all the options to change out and it might be ok with the Safety-Connect system since we have about 10 minutes of our drive without cell coverage. Still causes hesitation since it would be far easier to just swap out the spare.

There just never seems to be the perfect vehicle. We wanted the Ody Touring last time but needed 8-passenger seating at the time...so had to go with the EX-L and give up features we wanted. Sucks to spend $40k and still have to compromise.

[krispykreme]

We currently own an '05 Ody EX-L NAV/RES with about 90k miles. On the fence between '11 Ody or '11 Sienna.

On the higher end models the price seems to go to the Ody although I'm not comparing apples/apples as much as I'm comparing what we want. The Ody Touring has everything we want but to get what we want on the Sienna it requires going to the Ltd. So from a price standpoint we'd be perfectly happy with either Ody Touring or Sienna Ltd but the Ody is about $3k cheaper. That being said...wife really wants Blizzard Pearl and Honda doesn't have anything close to that color.

Why do you need to get limited?

Sienna XLE premium pkg already give you everything that Odyssey Touring has.

In fact XLE premium pkg get you the 16.2" ultra wide dvd like touring elite. In FWD verison, it comes with 8 seats.

[skinny2]

Blizzard Pearl only available on Ltd That's the main sticking point. Like I said...not comparing apples to apples but what we'd have to buy. If Ody had that color option it would be an easier decision.

[qest t. silverclaw]

I don't think Safety Connect works where there is no cell coverage, but it's probably more powerful and has a better-positioned antenna than your cell phone.

Sienna Limited is 7 passenger even with FWD.

[skinny2]

I don't think Safety Connect works where there is no cell coverage, but it's probably more powerful and has a better-positioned antenna than your cell phone.

Sienna Limited is 7 passenger even with FWD.

From what I understand the Safety Connect is sat based like on-star. The cellular calling portion is cell based. We're ok with 7 passenger version now and prefer it. Used 8th seat in Ody for the first few years we had two in carseats...but it's been in the garage for the most part since. Nice to have the option to throw it in though.

[fibber2]

Interesting to see an Odyssey page in a Sienna forum. As very satisfied 2002 Ody EX owners, we went shopping for another. Unfortunately, the radical restyling of the '11 was a big turnoff to my wife, so we went to 'Plan B' (ie. Sienna). To be honest, the new Sienna didn't initially thrill her either (OK, so she has some strong 'mommy likes' opinions!), so we began looking at preowned last generation Siennas & Odysseys. We have rented both while on trips, so were pretty familiar with what to expect. Within a week, we located a 2008 Sienna LE with 20,050 miles on the clock, CPO at the right price.

This is our 4th minivan (the first three purchased new), so we are well in tune with our 'likes/dislikes list'. It could just as easily have been a 2008/2009 Odyssey if it weren't for the fixed in place rear quarter windows that she likes to leave open on hot summer days.

We've owned 3 new Toyota's previously, and unfortunately they weren't trouble-free either. Good enough, however, that I was willing to come back to the brand. Overall, I still have great respect for Honda as well. It was a tough choice and could have gone either way.

[qest t. silverclaw]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoXORtIibwQ