First off, if you want NAVI but don't care about the DVD, know this: 2005 Odysseys with NAVI will have the DVD standard. For 2004s, you can get NAVI without the DVD. The best value for the money would be to go to any Honda dealer and inquire about a 2004 Honda Odyssey EX-L NAVI and have them do a search for one. NAVIs are common to be left over at this time. I just saw one locally on a dealer's showroom floor. Plus, you can buy a 2004 so cheap and I'm guessing being in a new job, that'll help a bit. The 2004 Odyssey's are still super awesome and have had a record sales year...still a safe bet and a great value.
Laser cruise, gated shifter, 3rd row windows that open, and woodtrims are the ones I would have liked to see in the new Ody. But not all NAVs are created equal. The Ody's NAV is much, much better than the Sienna.
Ody has 8 inch NAV vs 6.5", 700 voice commands vs zero, 9" RES vs 7", 6-CD changer vs single CD player, fluorescent instrument panel vs cheaper panel, and a lot more chrome on the Odyssey Touring vs Sienna Limited.
If Toyota could match Honda on those items, I would get the Sienna. But that NAV is the most significant to me.
"once all the people who don't give a rat's [non-permissible content removed] about money" **hee**hee I didn't know you can say that here? Yeah, it's the same with the Sienna when it first came out. About 6 months after the Sienna came out, one manager told me I would have to pay MSRP if I wanted a Limited or $500 off MSRP if I wanted XLE. I was laughing pretty hard before I left:-) Now they're giving people $3K off MSRP without a fight or $4K off if you want to box with them a little and take on about 4 sales managers.
cha, you hit the nail on the head. I would love to buy a Pilot if it only had side curtain airbags or an Odyssey if it only came in AWD. If I could only get the Odyssey motor with the Pilot transmission I would be a happy camper but until than maybe I’ll wait till next year.
Sunroof, bigger engine 255 HP, look for VCM maybe next year, drive by wire throttle, Tire Pressure monitoring system.
Now the 05 CRV will have VSA, XM Radio, front and side curtain aurbags standard, drive ny wire throttle, 16 inch wheels, exterior temp gauge, radio controls on the steering wheel.
Wow, last night we saw them at the Honda dealer in Leesburg, VA. They were just closing so didn't do anything but look in the window. This car is the UGLIEST minivan I have ever seen! It looks so mis-matched. The front end is pretty much a copy of the Sienna - that's the best part of the car - but the rear looks like an ugly, dowdy station wagon - in fact it appears to sit low and looks like no more than a station wagon - looks narrower too. I am so glad I didn't wait for the '05 Odyssey to buy my Toyota Sienna. I know it sound shallow, but it would be rather hard to live with a car that was that ugly no matter how great the rest of it is. Maybe it's just a "woman" thing...
Must be a woman thing:-) I refuse to let my wife decide on which vehicle I will buy any time soon. She thinks the new Ody is ugly too, and says the '04 is much better looking! But she also says the Sienna is the "ugliest minivan she has ever seen"! She also says the Sienna looks so small and crowded on the inside! Must be a woman thing.
I sell cars for a living, and I told my future wife I want to get the best vehicle I can at the best price. So, I may be driving a 1996 Accord with 118k on it, PAID FOR. The best deal. I have a 90 GMC 4WD Pickup......PAID FOR. So we as americans have to look good and have the newest thing, it is all expensive. Let's all buy Insights and Priuses, now those 2 cars are UGLY!!!!!
Maybe a woman thing, but both my wife and I thought the styling and appearance of the '05 Odyssey were a hop,skip and jump ahead of the plain vanilla 04s and before.
The sticking points for us were price, the PAX system on the Touring model and the Toyota-like packaging of the RES (DVD) w/ the NAVI system. You can get the RES w/o the NAVI, but not the other way around. In our case, the NAVI is an absolute must have. We don;t have kids and use the vehicle to transport our dogs to shows all over the Southeast. So this new packaging deal means that to get the NAVI we must spend an additional $2,000 so that our Golden Retrievers can watch "Lady and the Tramp" or "101 Dalmatians."
We have been driving the Odyssey since '99 and the only other minivan we seriously considered this time around was the Sienna ... but Toyota's bizarre collection of options packages grouping disparate elements like a roof rack, windshield de-icer and front seat curtain airbags drove us absolutely crazy.
We have test driven the new Odyssey( EX-L RES). While it seems a hair smaller inside, we are absolutely thrilled with our choice. This is a minvan that feels and drives like a family sedan, looks sharp (and will keep our dogs entertained lol).
Unfortunately, even though we live close to the source in Alabama, our dealer has yet to see either a Touring model (which was our choice until we saw the price) or an EX-L NAVI/RES.
Just received an e-mail from the a dealer in Maryland:
"All remaining 2004 in-stock Sienna Vans will be sold AT INVOICE! This is a limited time offer, and will absolutely end at 9pm on Thursday the 30th of September! We still have 30 to choose from, and they won't last at these giveaway prices! This is a special internet offer, so you must contact our internet department only for this price"
So a Sienna XLE Limited with NAV and RES is about $4000 cheaper than the Ody touring with NAV and RES. Is the Ody touring $4000 better than the Sienna XLE Limited?
How many times are we going around on this issue? We know it's a minivan. But like EVERYTHING else in LIFE, it has to appeal to us. I think it's great that so many of us get excited about minivans for a CHANGE. They are no longer just BOXES on wheels.
A 1989 Voyager was "just a minivan". The current crop stopped being "just" minivans when Honda, Toyoat and company added all kinds of luxury goodies and features, and priced them at 30K plus. Now they are expensive family transportation modules that have to compete with many other stylish vehicles (hence the RX 330 cross shopping thread).
Well, I had someone in a Volvo, drove both, bought the Odyssey. 1st 05 Odyssey in this area. Wrecked a 01 Accord, safety saved his baby, bought 05 Odyssey, for SAFETY and PERFORMANCE, not looks. You buy for looks everyone would be driving LX470s.
Looks are low priority for buyers, they get over the looks due to safety, performance, value, price, quality. Isellhondas, come in any time here.
Safety is definitely more important than looks but when you're a 30something mother of three who spends a TON of time in your vehicle, I would prefer it to at least look nice. I really don't have any option but to drive a minivan - I refuse to buy a Chevy/GMC gas guzzler, not to mention reliability - and the Sequoia lacks one very important convenience factor - radio controls on the steering wheel, so since I'm "stuck" driving a minivan for many, many years, I'd like it to be as appealing as possible, especially when talking the $30++ range. One thing I really wish the Ody would have finally offered is running boards - really helps the car not look so ho-hum.
I have noticed that women on here are more "like it or hate it". Must be the hormones or something. Men don't seem to feel quite as strongly about the looks but care more about real-world utility and performance. Women just see a pretty color they like and base their decision on that.
Some will be proud of a car w/ Bmmer / MB logo, even it's a Kia built body, engine and reliability. Some will have to calculate the number of air bags, history of repair, horses under the hood...
In 2002 the Ody was the minivan to have. Honda had the best. Then late 2003 the new Sienna arrived. Although more expensive the vans were no comparison. I wanted to wait but Honda decided to wait an extra year to introduce their new van. We bought a 2004 Sienna Limited with Nav and RES in August 2003.
We love the Sienna! Very happy to spend the bucks to get what we wanted. No regrets.
Admittedly I have been waiting for the new Ody to come out and frankly I am a little disappointed when I did see the Touring model. I figured they had an extra year of designing they should kick the Sienna's butt. Honda tried.
The are some things I like in the new Ody over the Sienna.
1. I did not see the Ody Nav but I am sure it is better based on my experience with the Acura TL. I do like how I can watch movies when parked on both the NAV screen and the RES in the Sienna standard. Hopefully the Ody does this.
2. The parking assist sensors are color matched in the Ody. They are black in the Sienna.
3. The information screen under the speedo in the Ody is great.
4. The turntable storage area is cool and would be nice to have.
5. The 3rd row seats in the Ody fold down and lift up easier. I like how I can store stuff under the Sienna's seats when they are up.
6. The drink holders on the sides of the second row seats.
7. The 3rd row seem to have more room at the cost of a cramped second row.
8. Seat memory. A great feature!!
I am sure there are more things I like in the Ody over the Sienna and in time I will find out.
Now the Sienna does have some things over the Ody.
1. B pillar door closer buttons. 2. Buttons to control sunroof, side doors, and rear door in the center top where they should be and so someone besides the drive can control. 3. HID head lights, they are awesome! Honda get with the program but first put them on the MDX. 4. Sienna feels and looks better. Wood and leather steering wheel is awesome. The leather seats look and feel better. The texture, feel, and materials throughout the van are superior. Go see and feel for yourself.
5. The gated shifter is nice because I like to downshift when braking or if I want more speed control. I can do that on the Sienna without looking.
6. The outside lines of the Sienna are cleaner. Honda, the 2004 Ody was somewhat graceful and clean as far as minivans are concerned. What happened?
7. The Sienna feels roomier in the front and second row. I think the third row of the Ody is roomier but was able to do a side by side.
Ok they are both good vans but go look at how plasticy the Ody looks. yuck. No options will fix that.
Forgot to mention the laser cruise control. This thing is great on trips. You just set the speed you want to the exact mph and specify the distance you want to maintain behind the vehicle in front of you. It will maintain that distance and change speed as the car in front of you changes speed. When no car is in front of you you will be traveling at the speed you set.
Don't have to be sorry for a double-post, just delete it as soon as you find out you double-post, or ask the host to remove it.
There are many more things in addition to your list. Honda Odyssey have illuminated controls for power windows and door lock controls. Sienna does not. Ody has LED instrumentation, Sienna does not.
Does the Ody's front passenger seat fold like the Sienna? This is a very neat feature of the Sienna. Also the Sienna has telescoping steering wheel, and Ody does not.
While Honda's rear seat are 'super-easy' to fold into floor, Sienna's is still 'very-easy', so don't feel bad about that.
the seats in the Ody do slide up and back. WOnder if you saw it with the seats slid forward, making the 3rd row legroom look bigger and the 2nd row smaller?
If wither van doesn't have enough room for you, join the NBA. They always need more big men.
Usually double posts happen when you refresh your browser after posting. It's a feature of our software. Try clicking Recent Messages or go somewhere else in Town Hall after posting to avoid the bug.
I think it is very difficult to choose between the Ody & Sienna unless there is a feature you MUST have and the other vehicle does not, OR the PRICE is better on one over the other. For example, if you want AWD, you get Sienna. If you want power hatch, but don't want to spend $38K, you buy Sienna. If you want the best NAV and DVD RES, you buy Ody. If you can wait about 6-12 months to get better discounts on the Ody, prices will be about even. But for now, you can get $3-4K off MSRP on Sienna XLE or Limited, but you pay $500 off MSRP or straight MSRP for Ody. But other than the MAJOR features, they are both even. We can argue all we want, but they are even. Some may say, "But the Sienna has Lasercruise", and some may say, "But the Ody has a much better NAV & RES & 6-CD changer", etc. To me, NAV is the most important feature, so of course, the Ody is #1 to me. But to others who do not want NAV or even RES, they are even. You just buy whichever has the best deal at the time.
YES!!!! That is one of your best posts in quite a while.
Both of these vehicles are very good. Neither one will do all things for everybody. Each has some feature(s) and/or characteristic which is unique. It is up to the individual buyer to determine which represents the 'best' deal for them at that particular point in time.
About the only thing we can do in here is to attempt to point out the things which are DIFFERENT between the two to help propective buyers to determine which van better serves THEIR needs. I think too many people get defensive regarding their own choice and think they somehow have to validate their decision.
I would like to say a few words about the laser cruise control in the Sienna. It’s neat. But has it ever occurred to anyone at Toyota that the car in front may not want to be “lasered”? What if that car is a low-slung convertible driven by a bald guy who develops a brain tumor because he’s been followed for 50 miles by a minivan shooting laser radiation at him? What about the kids who like to look out the back window and wave to people when traveling down the road? The lasers could damage their eyesight. What’s next, phaser cannons on SUVs?
I would feel uncomfortable using laser cruise control. If you are too lazy to use the decelerate button, accelerate button, or the brake pedal then you should have a chauffeur.
laser cruises is supposed to keep track of the car ahead of you, and automatically back off to keep a consistant spacing. I have heard that it gets screwed up going around curves and at other times when it thinks that you are getting too close, when you're not really.
It seems scary to me that my car will suddenly decide to slow down (and I haven't used it, so I'm not an expert) without warning.
Sounds like a crutch for people who don't feel like paying attention.
I'm with Craig, I hardly ever use cruise either. Just not many opportunities when driving on the NJ turnpike and other congested highways in the NE corridor.
I have vehicles with both. On long journeys, I am able to use the cruise only when there is not a lot of traffic, obviously. The laser cruise control comes in handy when you are following a vehicle that you are content in following, and the regular cruise will not allow you to maintain a set distance due to slight variations in vehicle speed, more so in rolling terrain. Here, the laser cruise will follow at a set distance for a truly brain-dead driving experience. Even in curves, it usually works quite well.
Mind you, I prefer not to use the cruise as I prefer to be involved in my driving. However, when I am doing 1300 miles in one day, a stint with the cruise on (regular or otherwise) can be somewhat restorative for the left leg.
Funny - I like to use cruise, even around town (traffic here is nothing like Seattle <g>). I sometimes wish I could get it to kick in below 35 mph, or that I had a hand throttle.
Maybe I like playing with it because I miss my 5 speed?
During my 80 mile round trip commute I get to use cruise for about 15 miles each way. I only use cruise control to keep me honest on that long straight four-lane highway at night. Otherwise some of those sneaky police would be making a fortune off of me.
first off, I am a lifelong honda / acura buyer. I've owned tons of them and are still my favorite. Leaving AWD off as an option is simply not excusable. We went to the dark side and bought a 2004 Sienna LTD AWD and just simply love the thing. It is nothing short of awesome. I highly recommend it to anyone. If Odyssey would have been available in AWD, we most certainly would have given it a look. But at a higher price than the Sienna, I think I would have stuck with Toyota. We Also own a 2004 Acura MDX which is by far a better vehicle than either the Odyssey or the Sienna. It just seems put together better in my opinion.
If anyone is on the fence about a Sienna, Here is at least one Die Hard Honda/Acura fan telling you to buy the Toyota.
These were all 2004 models. The 2004(not 2005) Ody was chosen over the new Sienna design beacause it drives like a good handling car. The Sienna may have a a slighly better ride and is too quiet to feel any communication with the road. Serious car drivers would prefer the Ody over the Sienna. It also uses regular gas and has 10 more hp than the Sienna that needs premium gas. It may be an "oldie but it is a goodie".
The 2005 Ody increases the hp gap advantage to 25 using regular gas.
the june c&d comparo is old news. they compared to a low level sienna, le i think.
agreed, the sienna xle limited still has no peers. i love honda, too, and my next car will probably be pilot or mdx, but the xle limited awd is awesome--and cheaper than ody touring when similarly outfitted.
First of all I like Odyssey and plan to buy it (eventually, within a year at least).
Car&Driver test probably only makes sense for their readership. Car&Driver would always rate say BMW M3 much higher then Odyssey, yet to my wife the Odyssey would be a clear winner.
Car&Driver test is valid, but it will not hold true for all people. I would even say that they represent a performance oriented minority. I like 05 Odyssey handling (I never driven any other minivan before). But I have to give better reasons then this to convince my wife than Odyssey is better.
Have subscribed to C&D, MT and R&T for years...all have a slightly different basis. Consumer's Report is far to superficial. Consumer Guide seems pretty fair overall, consistent and more objective. Looking to buy a car check them out as well.
Comments
But not all NAVs are created equal. The Ody's NAV is much, much better than the Sienna.
Ody has 8 inch NAV vs 6.5", 700 voice commands vs zero, 9" RES vs 7", 6-CD changer vs single CD player, fluorescent instrument panel vs cheaper panel, and a lot more chrome on the Odyssey Touring vs Sienna Limited.
If Toyota could match Honda on those items, I would get the Sienna.
But that NAV is the most significant to me.
**hee**hee
I didn't know you can say that here?
Yeah, it's the same with the Sienna when it first came out. About 6 months after the Sienna came out, one manager told me I would have to pay MSRP if I wanted a Limited or $500 off MSRP if I wanted XLE.
I was laughing pretty hard before I left:-)
Now they're giving people $3K off MSRP without a fight or $4K off if you want to box with them a little and take on about 4 sales managers.
True, the '04 Ody is much better than a lot of '05 minivans out there, but the '05 Ody is better than the '04 Ody in many ways.
Now the 05 CRV will have VSA, XM Radio, front and side curtain aurbags standard, drive ny wire throttle, 16 inch wheels, exterior temp gauge, radio controls on the steering wheel.
Wendy
I refuse to let my wife decide on which vehicle I will buy any time soon.
She thinks the new Ody is ugly too, and says the '04 is much better looking!
But she also says the Sienna is the "ugliest minivan she has ever seen"!
She also says the Sienna looks so small and crowded on the inside!
Must be a woman thing.
The sticking points for us were price, the PAX system on the Touring model and the Toyota-like packaging of the RES (DVD) w/ the NAVI system. You can get the RES w/o the NAVI, but not the other way around. In our case, the NAVI is an absolute must have. We don;t have kids and use the vehicle to transport our dogs to shows all over the Southeast. So this new packaging deal means that to get the NAVI we must spend an additional $2,000 so that our Golden Retrievers can watch "Lady and the Tramp" or "101 Dalmatians."
We have been driving the Odyssey since '99 and the only other minivan we seriously considered this time around was the Sienna ... but Toyota's bizarre collection of options packages grouping disparate elements like a roof rack, windshield de-icer and front seat curtain airbags drove us absolutely crazy.
We have test driven the new Odyssey( EX-L RES). While it seems a hair smaller inside, we are absolutely thrilled with our choice. This is a minvan that feels and drives like a family sedan, looks sharp (and will keep our dogs entertained lol).
Unfortunately, even though we live close to the source in Alabama, our dealer has yet to see either a Touring model (which was our choice until we saw the price) or an EX-L NAVI/RES.
There are several good aftermarket Nav systems to chose from, if you don't really NEED the 600 voice commands the Honda system has.
"In our case, the NAVI is an absolute must have."
Just once, I'd like to see a good definition of 'must have'.....
" Oh, it's so much better looking"
" Oh, they ruined it's looks!"
" Oh, I love that pretty blue color!"
" Oh, yuck! what an ugly shade of blue!"
" I love the tailights!"
" Why did they stick on tailights like those?"
" Oh, what a nice feature!"
" You would THINK Honda would have...."
Good Grief!! It's a MINIVAN!!!
"All remaining 2004 in-stock Sienna Vans will be sold AT INVOICE! This is a
limited time offer, and will absolutely end at 9pm on Thursday the 30th of
September! We still have 30 to choose from, and they won't last at these
giveaway prices! This is a special internet offer, so you must contact our
internet department only for this price"
So a Sienna XLE Limited with NAV and RES is about $4000 cheaper than the Ody touring with NAV and RES. Is the Ody touring $4000 better than the Sienna XLE Limited?
We know it's a minivan.
But like EVERYTHING else in LIFE, it has to appeal to us.
I think it's great that so many of us get excited about minivans for a CHANGE.
They are no longer just BOXES on wheels.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Looks are low priority for buyers, they get over the looks due to safety, performance, value, price, quality. Isellhondas, come in any time here.
Yellow is assosciated with safety. Red means danger.
Some will have to calculate the number of air bags, history of repair, horses under the hood...
We love the Sienna! Very happy to spend the bucks to get what we wanted. No regrets.
Admittedly I have been waiting for the new Ody to come out and frankly I am a little disappointed when I did see the Touring model. I figured they had an extra year of designing they should kick the Sienna's butt. Honda tried.
The are some things I like in the new Ody over the Sienna.
1. I did not see the Ody Nav but I am sure it is better based on my experience with the Acura TL. I do like how I can watch movies when parked on both the NAV screen and the RES in the Sienna standard. Hopefully the Ody does this.
2. The parking assist sensors are color matched in the Ody. They are black in the Sienna.
3. The information screen under the speedo in the Ody is great.
4. The turntable storage area is cool and would be nice to have.
5. The 3rd row seats in the Ody fold down and lift up easier. I like how I can store stuff under the Sienna's seats when they are up.
6. The drink holders on the sides of the second row seats.
7. The 3rd row seem to have more room at the cost of a cramped second row.
8. Seat memory. A great feature!!
I am sure there are more things I like in the Ody over the Sienna and in time I will find out.
Now the Sienna does have some things over the Ody.
1. B pillar door closer buttons.
2. Buttons to control sunroof, side doors, and rear door in the center top where they should be and so someone besides the drive can control.
3. HID head lights, they are awesome! Honda get with the program but first put them on the MDX.
4. Sienna feels and looks better. Wood and leather steering wheel is awesome. The leather seats look and feel better. The texture, feel, and materials throughout the van are superior. Go see and feel for yourself.
5. The gated shifter is nice because I like to downshift when braking or if I want more speed control. I can do that on the Sienna without looking.
6. The outside lines of the Sienna are cleaner. Honda, the 2004 Ody was somewhat graceful and clean as far as minivans are concerned. What happened?
7. The Sienna feels roomier in the front and second row. I think the third row of the Ody is roomier but was able to do a side by side.
Ok they are both good vans but go look at how plasticy the Ody looks. yuck. No options will fix that.
Forgot to mention the laser cruise control. This thing is great on trips. You just set the speed you want to the exact mph and specify the distance you want to maintain behind the vehicle in front of you. It will maintain that distance and change speed as the car in front of you changes speed. When no car is in front of you you will be traveling at the speed you set.
There are many more things in addition to your list. Honda Odyssey have illuminated controls for power windows and door lock controls. Sienna does not. Ody has LED instrumentation, Sienna does not.
Does the Ody's front passenger seat fold like the Sienna? This is a very neat feature of the Sienna. Also the Sienna has telescoping steering wheel, and Ody does not.
While Honda's rear seat are 'super-easy' to fold into floor, Sienna's is still 'very-easy', so don't feel bad about that.
There are many more, but don't have time now.
To be continued...
If wither van doesn't have enough room for you, join the NBA. They always need more big men.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Steve, Host
For example, if you want AWD, you get Sienna.
If you want power hatch, but don't want to spend $38K, you buy Sienna.
If you want the best NAV and DVD RES, you buy Ody.
If you can wait about 6-12 months to get better discounts on the Ody, prices will be about even.
But for now, you can get $3-4K off MSRP on Sienna XLE or Limited, but you pay $500 off MSRP or straight MSRP for Ody.
But other than the MAJOR features, they are both even.
We can argue all we want, but they are even.
Some may say, "But the Sienna has Lasercruise", and some may say, "But the Ody has a much better NAV & RES & 6-CD changer", etc.
To me, NAV is the most important feature, so of course, the Ody is #1 to me.
But to others who do not want NAV or even RES, they are even.
You just buy whichever has the best deal at the time.
Both of these vehicles are very good. Neither one will do all things for everybody. Each has some feature(s) and/or characteristic which is unique. It is up to the individual buyer to determine which represents the 'best' deal for them at that particular point in time.
About the only thing we can do in here is to attempt to point out the things which are DIFFERENT between the two to help propective buyers to determine which van better serves THEIR needs. I think too many people get defensive regarding their own choice and think they somehow have to validate their decision.
But would Radar cruise control be safer?
I am at the point where I will probably get one....and I am wondering if there are any features worth noting in the new 2005 models.
Thanks in advance.
The most notable thing I can remember is that a power drivers seat is now an option on the LE model. You had to go to the XLE in '04 to get that.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Seriously, I don't know.
I hardly ever use my regular cruise control in the first place.
It seems scary to me that my car will suddenly decide to slow down (and I haven't used it, so I'm not an expert) without warning.
Sounds like a crutch for people who don't feel like paying attention.
I'm with Craig, I hardly ever use cruise either. Just not many opportunities when driving on the NJ turnpike and other congested highways in the NE corridor.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Mind you, I prefer not to use the cruise as I prefer to be involved in my driving. However, when I am doing 1300 miles in one day, a stint with the cruise on (regular or otherwise) can be somewhat restorative for the left leg.
Maybe I like playing with it because I miss my 5 speed?
Steve, Host
first off, I am a lifelong honda / acura buyer. I've owned tons of them and are still my favorite. Leaving AWD off as an option is simply not excusable. We went to the dark side and bought a 2004 Sienna LTD AWD and just simply love the thing. It is nothing short of awesome. I highly recommend it to anyone. If Odyssey would have been available in AWD, we most certainly would have given it a look. But at a higher price than the Sienna, I think I would have stuck with Toyota. We Also own a 2004 Acura MDX which is by far a better vehicle than either the Odyssey or the Sienna. It just seems put together better in my opinion.
If anyone is on the fence about a Sienna, Here is at least one Die Hard Honda/Acura fan telling you to buy the Toyota.
I agree, Toyota has the edge on Honda in quality.
The results were in this order:
1. Odyssey
2. Sienna
3. Quest
4. Grand Caravan
5. Freestar
These were all 2004 models. The 2004(not 2005) Ody was chosen over the new Sienna design beacause it drives like a good handling car. The Sienna may have a a slighly better ride and is too quiet to feel any communication with the road. Serious car drivers would prefer the Ody over the Sienna. It also uses regular gas and has 10 more hp than the Sienna that needs premium gas. It may be an "oldie but it is a goodie".
The 2005 Ody increases the hp gap advantage to 25 using regular gas.
the june c&d comparo is old news. they compared to a low level sienna, le i think.
agreed, the sienna xle limited still has no peers. i love honda, too, and my next car will probably be pilot or mdx, but the xle limited awd is awesome--and cheaper than ody touring when similarly outfitted.
Car&Driver test probably only makes sense for their readership. Car&Driver would always rate say BMW M3 much higher then Odyssey, yet to my wife the Odyssey would be a clear winner.
Car&Driver test is valid, but it will not hold true for all people. I would even say that they represent a performance oriented minority. I like 05 Odyssey handling (I never driven any other minivan before). But I have to give better reasons then this to convince my wife than Odyssey is better.