Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans

bdaddy

Chryslervan right. Order Ody simple. Get van add dealer options maybe.

PT Cruiser nice retro compact car. Share many part with most fine Neon. DC engineer want GT Cruiser. DC ececutive can't decide which most torquey Chrysler mill to put in car. Never happen. Cruiser appeal to person not want take time restore 55 Ford/Chevy car.

Big tank Ody box for MPV not DC. Cruiser look cute in cargo area of Ody.

chryslervan1

But unfortunately Chrysler does not offer a nice, powerful V8 engine for the PT Cruiser that was available in the mid-30's Ford.
There are no satisfactory substitutes for the nice, large, comfortable Odyssey or DC minivans.

whambam

... would look like Odyssey, but have less feature, cost more money. This only way keep yuppy happy.

chryslervan1

....It would NOT be reliable like an Odyssey, would have no waiting list, would have many less features, and it would cost MORE money.
And it would have an ugly diagonal stripe across the front.

whambam

Must have trouble King's English.

Say same thing, add stripe.

hayneldan

Doing a lousy imitation of Tonto?

chryslervan1

A casual reading would indicate I said the same thing as I quoted the headline BUT a slightly more careful reading would indicate I added:
"....It would NOT be reliable like an Odyssey, would have no waiting list,.....
And it would have an ugly diagonal stripe across the front."
I will be more careful in the future to not quote verbatim any of your eloquent writings. We both agree that the Odyssey is an excellent minivan and a bargain at MSRP.
BTW, I also think the GC eL, eX and T&C eL, eX models are excellent minivans and also a bargain at MSRP.

crkeehn

please get facts straight.

PT Cruiser share very few parts with Neon. Chassis, engine, transmission all different. A/C controls same. take more than a/c controls to make car.

PT Cruiser have four wheels. Ody and DC vans also have 4 wheels.

pluto5

bdaddy

"The PT Cruiser is built on the Neon platform, as the original minivans were built on the Reliant platform." - PTCruizer.com

Suppose Cruizer enthusiasts have it all wrong. Car built on platform means had a starting point there. Most car have start somewhere. Unitized body, frame, sub-frame componentry. Rarely start from blank page cost too much make car. Doesn't mean platforms not modified to conform engineer's requirements. Cruiser not be only son of Neon. Maybe Neon have mated with Reliant.
Honda and DC vans have 4 wheels.
Acura MDX and Pilot have four wheels. Pontiac Aztek have 4 wheels too. Number of wheels irrelevant.

maltb

it appears that Ody reliability is about the same as DC's

MPV shine brighter....

pluto5

How did the MPV get here??

dmathews3

What does MPV stand for? Most probmatic Van?

whambam

Mercedes, Chrysler, Mazda, Volvo, Yugo form consortium, make desperate try compete Honda.

Honda have good price, good feature, zum zum engine, no diagonal stripe.

Evil consortium try exploit only Honda flaw, no padding armrest.

maltb

Honda have good price, good feature, zum zum engine, no diagonal stripe.

Too bad that you don't get honda reliability in all that. Where did it go?

chryslervan1

Mazda MPV is NO competition to the much larger, much nicer Odyssey, Grand Caravan, and Town & Country minivans.
MPV is more the size of the Caravan, Voyager, Kia Sedona, Short Wheel Base Venture.

chryslervan1

The few problems reported in the Town Hall divided by the 700,000 or more 1999-2002 Odysseys sold is a VERY LOW percentage. A person has a worse chance of being struck by lightning than to get a Honda Odyssey with problems.

bdaddy

Very wise Whammy forget Ody not look like retro 1930s Ford/Chevy with 4 cylinder engine.

Ody also have lack in stereo department. Otherwise, have magic seat, highest horsepower, almost best gas mileage.

Side note: DC to maybe put turbo in Cruiser. Hope not like DC turbo of early 90s. Turbo lag in those cars mean turbo falls out and lag behind rest of car.

maltb

better make sure that lightning rod is properly grounded. You too Gess, would hate to have your tranny go the same day you get an electrifying hairdo.

4aodge

From what I've read, Chrysler has really tried to refine the powertrain of the new 2003 Turbo Cruiser. They've done alot of work and modifications to the existing powertrain to ensure it works well with the new turbo, which is not supposed to have the lag commonly associated with turbo chargers. All I can say is with 215 horses and 245lbs of torque I can't wait to drive a 2003 Turbo PT and compare it to my dads 2001 PT Cruiser Limited (which he loves to death).

2000 Town & Country now has 47.5k miles and no problems.

-Adam

ody01

No problem 2001 Odyssey 17,000 miles. See many Odyssey on highway (maybe not many as Caravan). Toyota smart if new Sienna copy Odyssey: Odyssey most power, most space passenger, most space luggage when Magic Seat seat 3 people, most space behind 2nd row when Magic Seat fold into floor, burn very little gas.
Chrysler not smart no Magic Seat new 2001 design.

chryslervan1

Adam: Amazing that the turbo of the little 2.4L 4 cylinder of PT Cruiser will have the same horsepower and torque of the very nice DC 3.8L V6. With that nice power, the PT cruiser should be a rather hot performer with considerably less weight to get moving than a luxury DC minivan.
I am waiting to read your comparison of the PT Turbo with the 2001 PT Cruiser of your dad. (Do you think your dad will let YOU drive the new PT Turbo before he does?)

crkeehn

Not many Odyssey Sold. Only the same 5 that travel the same route over and over again. And all of them were beige.

sweingast

This hidden/fold flat seat has been in station wagons for over forty years, without compromises.

The problem with the Honda is that they made many compromises to make theirs work.

Compromise 1 No full size spare tire and no place to keep a flat tire.

Compromise 2 Flatter gas tank which is noisier and gives a low tank warning at 7 gallons (150 miles).

Compromise 3 Allows more noise into the cabin.

Compromise 4 Does not split to allow five passenger seating.

Since Honda came out with their first generation minivan in '96 - Toyota, GM, Ford, Kia, Nissan, DC and Mazda have introduced new vans. Only Mazda has copied the "Magic Seat" with some other improvements.

Did I like the "Magic Seat" available in Grampa's 1970 Olds or Aunt's 1980 Volvo or even in the 2000 Tarus - sure.

But when it comes to mini vans - it creates some compromises. If your van is a cargo hauler - magic seats are better. If your van is a people hauler - it may not be worth the compromises.

Just ask GM, Ford, Toyota and DC - the world's four largest car companies (in that order)

Maybe Toyota will fix the shortcommings and introduce a true "Magic Seat" next year or Honda will address them with the 2004 redesign.

steeleng

You make a good point about station wagons using hide-away seats. However, I wouldn't say that they were without compromise. Many of the the hide-away seats in station wagons have been rear or side facing. These are usually not as comfortable or safe. It would be nice to see somebody put in a split magic seat.

By the way, next time you post remember to use broken English and massive overstatements so that you can fit in.

chryslervan1

As a repeat buyer of DC minivans, I feel the Magic Seat is preferable to either the one piece sliding 3rd row seat or 50/50 split fold-and-tumble seats of DC minivans...and we have had experience with all 3.
Let us look at the compromises:
#1. No full size spare...Neither our 99 GC SE nor 02 T&C eL have a full size spare.
#2. Noisier, flat gasoline tank...I have not heard any noise in my brother-in-laws 2001 Ody EX that I drive frequently...and will drive again next week. Can not comment on low tank warning.
#3. I have never heard noise from the rear of the 2001 Ody EX I drive frequently.
#4. The Odyssey holds MUCH more cargo behind Magic Seat than does our T&C or did our GC. We have used the fold-and-tumble feature a few times and I prefer the DC one piece 3rd seat that will slide forward and fold flat. The Magic Seat would have been better than either.
When my wife and I travel alone, we take out the left Quad and left half of rear 50/50 and place a nice foam pad there for brief naps enroute. With the Odyssey, all we would need to do is remove the left middle Captain seat and fold the Magic Seat down for the same benefit.
As a repeat DC minivan owner, I would prefer the Magic Seat and the more comfortable seats of the Odyssey to either DC minivan. However, we did enjoy the nice extra features our GC SE had that are NOT on my brother-in-laws nice 2001 Odyssey EX so we got a new 2002 T&C eL rather than wait for a NEW 2002 Havasu Blue Odyssey to arrive.
Each van has nice advantages and we would like to have all the advantages of the Odyssey and DC minivans.

pluto5

It increases the noise level in this vehicle IMO; could not believe the road noise when I drove the 02. Also, DC 50/50 rear seat is more comfortable for an adult; I would not want to sit in the magic seat but can get comfortable in the DC van. As far as a full size spare, it's not necessary unless you live in unpopulated area where service stations are few or run your tires bald. I can drive up to 50 mph on my compact spare but never have.

dmathews3

With the Odyssey, all we would need to do is remove the left middle Captain seat and fold the Magic Seat down for the same benefit.

Or you could take the passenger headrest off, recline the seat until is flat against the second row seat and have a very long chase lounge which you can't do in a DC van. To me thats a better use than a padded armrest.

bdaddy

Road noise big American folk tale. Take famous Radio Shack digital sound pressure level meter measure sound on different road surface. SPL readings same for DC and Ody. Noise come from wife complaining not get big tank box Ody. Wife mad she have to crawl around in rain to change tire while hubby nice and dry napping on 50/50 split fold seat. Also mad when have to walk to nearest gas station when run van out of gas.

Just because GM, Ford, DC do something mean it good idea. Most of time opposite is best thing.

chryslervan1

Unfortunately they could not offer all the nice features in a minivan with the most cargo space, most comfortable seats, most powerful engine, 5 speed Automatic,the Magic Seat to conveniently enlarge that large cargo area....and still keep the price as low as it is.
Wish DaimlerChrysler and Honda would include all the best features of the Odyssey and Town & Country.

pat84

I drive 99 ODY. No left armrest. Keep driver's window open, put arm out. Have one nice sun tan arm.

dmathews3

Padded armrest good for little skinny person, real men don't need them.

bdaddy

Much made about noise from gas tank in Ody. Nice feature to some with small kids. Sound of gas sloshing like waves on beach. Put small children to sleep faster. Honda include 2 trip meters. One to show when light comes on, the other to show when other 7 gallons used up.

Honda should copy DC make nice big quiet gas tank blows up when something hits it.

pat84

Service with Smile.
Actually I do get excellent service at my Honda Dealer. They give out rating forms for service. I got my ODY about a 1/2 hour later than promised and they hadn't washed it like usual.
So I gave them bad marks for that. The service manager called me 2-3 days later and apologized. He said next time I came in he'd gave me a free oil change and detail my van inside and out, and clean all the windows inside and out. All for free.
Next time I went in for an oil change, I couldn't believe it when I picked my ODY up. It looked just like new.
BTW it is a 99 and was about 3 years old at the time.

4aodge

Does anyone here own a beige color Odyssey? Odyssey after cookie cutter Odyssey, they are all that same terrible drab color. I wouldn't be surprised if all the Honda owners here had vans that were either beige, white, or green. Not exactly the most exciting colors ever offered, huh?

Honda has apparently tried to improve their drab boring colors offered on the Odyssey. Chrysler comes out with silver and gold, then Honda does the same. Chrysler makes big red minivans, Honda tries to do the same. Then Chrysler starts making an attractive blue satin color and Honda starts putting the same color on their EX van. Interesting.

pat84

I going Autralia, drive on other side of road with right hand drive ODY. Get sun tan on right arm, too.

tomtomtom

I think some of you have way too much fun writing in broken English. That's not nice to people who tried to learn English.

4aodge

Thank you for that comment, which I think was very necessary. Not only is writing in broken English annoying and difficult for all readers of Town Hall but it is also insulting to those who are immigrants to this country and have tried long and hard to read and write the English language. I know this must be hard to understand for all of the Odyssey owners here who never have had to struggle with the English language, at least like others here have.

When I tried to explain why posters like Ody01 write in "broken" English, I was called naive and inexperienced at being able to see through people and their little acts. Maybe so, but I would appreciate it if everyone would get back to writing English just as they speak it. It makes it easier for everyone and makes sure no one gets insulted or offended. And don't accuse me of being to sensitive to this issue. Just put yourself in someone else's shoes and imagine how it would feel to be made fun of in such a manner.

-Adam

pluto5

What about the incredible $6K trans? One good reason to skip the Ody.

rms41

Ody01 is the one that started it. Go back and read some of his posts. Notice how many different words he uses and that they are all spelled correctly. Mostly, the verbs are missing. This isn't the writing of someone learning a language; it's the work of a jokester.

Back to the topic.
Honda may fall short in imagination when it comes to colors but they certainly have plenty when it comes to important issues like safety, reliability, and ergonomics. That's why the Ody is on the "most wanted" list of both the consumers and editors at Edmunds.

pat84

I have highly prized, no longer produced, much sought after by knowledgeable collectors: Canyon Stone Silver metallic Odyssey. Distinct from other, less majestic colors, my quartz interior in harmony with the exterior.
Everyone know NJ artists have no taste. Good rule to remember : Do not follow animal act or NJ artist

bdaddy

$6K trans include $4,500 core exchange. Get money back when return old unit just like Checker Auto alternator or starter.

Learn something new every day I do. Not know DC invent silver and gold. Should have got valuable patent for red, green and most desirable shade of blue then no one copy colors.

People in old country not offended by writing style. Say look a lot like Yoda. Most wise Big Whammy (brochure writer for Honda) forget Mark Twain as well. Hate to be teenager wise beyond years. Miss out on most fun part of life. Evil force aging is.

pat84

Trade in ODY old transmission for $4500. Did not know. Checker very old. Bdaddy same vintage as Pat 84 seems.

crkeehn

Glad to hear that your interior in harmony. That another plus for the Honda which not mentioned before. Honda utilize Feng Shui in designing their vehicles.

bdaddy

Thought Ody only come in beige, green, gray. Mad I not get white or red. DVBP too valuable. Scare me to think someone may try and steal. Have to paint leaves and bark on GG EXL take van in woods for turkey hunt.

Sometimes wish van more shiney parts. Shiney parts make van look expensiver.

Checker old auto parts store still in business. Do good sales on parts for DC minivans. Whitlock store older, go out business. Had too much Honda parts in inventory. Carrying costs sink firm.

pat84

I get egg roll, fried, rice and beef feng shui Chinese take out Call ahead on cell phone. Eat with chop stick on way home. ODY no weave right or left on cruise control.

crkeehn

Got to run to crash into something

tomtomtom

This is how this subject has come down to.

bdaddy

for hunt turkey. AWD get deep into woods for find turkey spot. Infinity sound system play loud CD of turkey call. Turkeys come in from next state to hear wonderful sound. Power rear hatch open quiet not scare turkeys before hunter blast from inside van. Overhead compass make sure hunter not get lost. Dual zone front A/C keep turkeys cold/hunter warm till get home.

steeleng

This is starting to remind me of when my brother and I start joking around. Our wives tell us we're not funny either;)