Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna What should I get?

[JCasper]

My wife is past due for a new car. I will be buying one just as soon as we have a minute to go drive each of them. I then will have to call around and find the best price and purchase.



I know a lot of people who have the Odyssey and are very happy with it. I however do not know anyone with a Sienna. If any one owns either of these and can give me some input on how you like it, problems you have had, things you don't like, etc, I would greatly appreciate it.



If buying the Odyssey I will most likely be getting the EX-L With DVD and maybe Navigation, just depends on what they have in the area. As far as the Sienna goes, I will be looking for something with similar options, their packages are just a little more confusing.



I will be trying to do some internet research this weekend.



TIA,



Joe

 

[DMcPherson]

thats tough. I worked for toyota and was very impressed with the sienna. Honda is an excellent company also. I have no real first hand experience with them though. I must say if I was in the market I would buy a toyota from my experience

 

[RustyJC]

It's hard to go wrong either way. I've owned a 1999 Honda Civic Si and a 2003 Acura 3. 2TL-S, and neither has ever been back to the shop for warranty work. They're dead reliable - just keep the oil and filter changed, add gas and go.



I'd go with whichever one your wife prefers - after all, you said it was to be her car.



Rusty

 

[Grizzly]

I vote for the Toyota.

 

[opjohnny]

After reading what it cost to replace a run flat tire you may want to stay away from the Honda Touring model. It has the runflats and they cost~$340 each including replacment. That was my favorite till I saw that issue.

 

[scotmartin]

Honda has a less than stellar reputation for the long life of their automatic transmissions. I vote for the Toyota.



Scot

 

[Nate]

Odesey?



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1983...271683QQihZ004QQcategoryZ133220QQcmdZViewItem

 

[DavidC]

My wife has a 2005 Sienna LE. No real issues except tires, had some free oil change coupons and took the van to the dealer for those. We have always been treated exceptionally well. The main draw back with any of these vehicles I can foresee is the sideways V6 and a timing belt. 3 of the spark plugs could be an issue along with changing the timing belt. The original tires on her van are real crap. It came with Dunlops and do not even have 20K on them and are pretty much worn out (I have rotated them every 6k miles).



Dave

 

[Grizzly]

After reading what it cost to replace a run flat tire you may want to stay away from the Honda Touring model. It has the runflats and they cost~$340 each including replacment. That was my favorite till I saw that issue.

Click & Clack Car Talk, a newespaper column, said it was more like $560 because you have to replace the rim also.

 

[Gaylord]

The Toyota Sienna is the ONLY minivan that meets passenger car safety standards. I have no interest in either and would think that either would be a decent vehicle.

 

[RustyJC]

The Toyota Sienna is the ONLY minivan that meets passenger car safety standards.

Hmmmm... . check out the crash test ratings HERE and HERE.



Rusty

 

[mazdarotary]

I can't give you any answers on reliabilty,but I can tell you we test drove almost every van out there,and bought a certified pre-owned 06 Sienna LE last week. It has 17k miles on it,and rides really nice in the two times my wife has allowed me to drive it so far. The Honda we test drove was a used 04,and it was quite nice,but we ended up with the Toyota. We almost bought a KIA,as they were really nice when we drove them,and the warranty was awesome.



Either way you will be buying a nice van,but my vote goes to the Toyota.





Chris

 

[JCasper]

The Honda Won

My plan was to go and drive each of these think about it for a while and then call around and find the best deal.



Here is what happened:



We went over and drove a Sienna this morning. It was very nice but they didn't have much of a selection and I didn't really like how the DVD player functioned with having to load at the player versus in the Dash.

We then went and had some lunch and drove over to the Honda Dealer. I drove a little out of the way because in the past I have had very good luck with this paricular dealer. We get there and they have two vans in the color my wife liked. One was an EX-L with DVD and Navigation, the other an EX-L with just the DVD.



We drove the one with DVD and Nav for about 30 minutes, came back to the dealer and told him we had to think about it for a little while. Before walking off I said "How does that Costco pricing work". He replies let me get the man in charge of it and he will give you a price.



We sat down, he showed us the invoice on each of them. On the EX-L with just DVD it was $100 over invoice. On the other it was $250 over.



I looked at my wife and could tell she wanted it, I turned to the guy and said get the papers ready and an hour later we drove away with it.



I have to say, I was very happy with the dealer and would recommend St. Johns Honda to anyone. Now I just need to send them the Down Payment, I didn't have my checkbook as I was not planning on purchasing for a week or two.



Thanks for your advice everyone.



Joe

 

[Bertram65]

Can't go wrong with the Odyssey, I have a '05 with 25k miles, one the best vehicles I have ever owned. Mine came with Michelin tires which have been great so far, hope to get another 25h out of them.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Another very satisfied '06 Honda Ody Touring owner here...



Bill

 

[Regcabguy]

Happy Honda owner.

We own a '05 Honda Pilot which has been a dream to own and drive. No warranty issues and excellent service through the Express Lube site at our selling dealer. The vehicle has excellent stability and good fuel economy. It shares the same drivetrain as the Odyssey. Our friends totalled out their Ford Excursion and replaced it with a Odyssey and are very satisfied. Honda has had some issues with the transmission's and are addressing it properly. My neighbor's Sienna went through three auto's before the dealer replaced it with a new one and customer cash from the owner. All parties were satisfied in the end. The new van has been good but is leaking oil now. The owner now wishes he'd purchased a Honda.

 

[KKohagen]

My wife and I own a '03 Odyssey and my cousins have a '03(04?) Sienna with the newer styling. We have both had very little issues with our vehicles. Ours has 105K and their has ~80K. We both love them lots. Congrats on the new purchase.

 

[Mike Ellis]

We have a 2002 Oddy (EX-L with navi) and have been very pleased with it. The van has had not been back to the shop once for anything but standard interval maintenance and the one recall to install oil nozzles in the transmission. It runs and drives as good today as it did when we bought it. The big eye opener for me was the Honda service approach, they sweat every little detail to make service and ownership a breeze. Compare this with my Big 3 experiences where the dealer is happy to tell the customer to cram it at any and every opportunity.



Favorite Oddy points:

- Handles great

- Pretty darn quick for a little van

- Traction control and ABS work GREAT in rain and ice, a breeze to drive

- Interior design is very well thought out, comfy seats, easy fold-flat rear seat

- Navi system is awesome, wouldn't buy a new car without one now (or without adding one)



Minor Oddy gripes:

- Road noise is pretty loud, choice of tires is very important to minimize it

- Stereo is weak

- Gas mileage in town could be better (avg. 16), does very well though on highway trips (26).

- Needs a Cummins diesel for maximum effect

 

[J.BURCHFIELD]

My wife loves her 2000 Subaru, It did well in the crash tests and the all-wheel drive comes in handy on rain slick roads as well as ice and snow. The few times I have driven it I have been impressed with the overall quality. Subaru, Nissan, Honda and Toyota are quality products. Our domestics are by comparison junk. If Dodge Rams did not come with the Cummings engines we would be stuck with "Fix or repair daily" or "garage mans companion"

 

[Grizzly]

Oo. Looks like the Odyssey's have it!