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This was one of the deciding factors (safety) for us when we picked the Odyssey over the Sienna..
http://autos.aol.com/article/safety/v2/_a/top-10-safest-cars/2006060912210999000- 1
Thank you for a VERY informative "posting". Last night, I stopped at the local Hyundai dealer and looked at their new Hyundai van. If it didn't say "Hyundai" on the vehicle, I would have thought it was a Toyota. It seems that there are a lot of Toyota components on the interior of this vehicle. What stops me from considering this vehicle is as follows:
1.) This is the first year for this Hyundai.
2.) While I believe that Hyundai does produce a "quality" vehicle, the resale value of the Hyundai van over the Toyota or Honda will be very different. If the person purchasing the vehicle wants to drive the van for a long time, then "resale" is not an issue. I do not own a vehicle after the extended warranty expires, which translates into 100,000 to 120,000 miles, depending on the manufacturer. (Honda = 120,000 miles and Toyota = 100,000 miles).
Thank you for the information. ---- Best regards. ---- Dwayne
Give these guys a few more reliable years and they could be a real contender...
Thank you for the reply. It seems that two "great minds" think alike! ---- Have a "GREAT" day. ---Dwayne
I have an Odyssey 06 EX-L and found the seats to be very comfortable on a recent road trip (not too long, but spent about 6 hours in the drivers seat one-way).
That said, I am just under 6' tall and weigh about 185lbs and do not have any back problems. My wife also finds the Odyssey to be much more comfortable than our previous sedan.
As for switching from a large SUV, I would expect the seat comfort to be very similar in the Odyssey, it will be much easier to get in and out of, easier to put groceries in and out of, easier to herd the kids, in many cases will be safer, and will definitely save you some $$ at the gas pump.
Odyssey - First non-big 3 family vehicle. During test drive, initial impression was that seats were firm and supportive. However, after our first drive over an hour or so, both my wife and I were uncomfortable. My wife was actually in pain and going numb on her right side. Our complaint was that the seats had too much lumbar support. Even at the minimum on the driver's seat, I still felt like there was a tennis ball in the small of my back. My wife also had issue with the larger side bolsters. It was so bad that we ended up trading it in at 6 weeks.
Sienna - Wife is much happier, and has no issues. I still think there is too much lumbar support. Instead of a tennis ball, I feel like there is a bar across my lower back. I'm starting to get used to it, but I still occasionally use a small cushion on the upper seat back to sort of flatten out the lumbar. Additionally, the seat cushion is too short for my liking.
I know we're in the minority here, but if you search these threads, you will find others who have had issues with the seats in both vans. Make sure you take a long enough test drive of both.
I never thought I would miss our Suburban - the seats had a much wider range of adjustment. These are the first vehicles that I (we) have ever had issues with the seats, but it seems to be the trend (at least in minivans, I guess).
Mark
This is exactly how I feel about the seats in my Honda Accord. My back kills me after a couple of hours behind the wheel. In order to be comfortable I have to sit on a pillow. This is one of the main reasons why I am looking at other vans, and other four door cars. I like the Honda products, but the seats are TOO HARD! Yesterday, I looked at a Ford 500. While the seats were softer than the Accord, they were not all that great! It seems that every vehicle manufacturer seems to think that the buying public wants hard seats and road feel. Personally, I would like a soft ride. ---------- Best regards. ----Dwayne
My other vehicle of choice is the Honda EX-L. I'm dealing w/ the internet guy and will discuss $$ Monday morning. I'm pretty sure that the difference in price between the two will even out by the discounted the interst rate.
The big difference between the two vans are the sunroof on the Honda and the power lift gate of the Toyota. {also, power passenger seat, digital A/C controls in the rear and coin holder for the Sienna. I'd be pleased to call either my new vehicle. Am I missing anything that could further affect my purchase? I'm the sole wage earner of a family of 5, so saving $ is important to me.
Any thoughts?
Thanks. Dawn
EXL - $27,500
EXL/RES - $29,200
The Sienna is usually $1-2k more than an equally equipped Odyssey.
Test drive both...they drive & handle very differently.
This is apparently very location-dependent.
In your shopping around, did you learn anything about Harrisburg Toyota? I wouldn't mind getting two dealers in that area to compete with each other.
Dawn, mom to 20 month twins and a new brother due in 5 weeks!
Overland Park, Kansas
http://www.arifleet.com/pnews/2006/pn608.pdf
Trying to decide between Odyssey and Sienna. One difference (I think) - only Sienna has AWD option. Question is - living in suburban Philadelphia, with maybe 2-3 heavy snowfalls, and rare ice - is this something to worry about, or is weight/FWD enough to cover me?
Second question - anyone willing to give ballpark 'fair price' that dealer would ask for a used 2006 Sienna XLE or Odyssey LX with 15-20K miles?
Thanks, hope questions are not out of line.
ElainePA
I run snows in SD and it does amazingly well.
We were in the same place about a week ago. I was looking for a used EX or EXL 2006 w/ 10-15K miles. In Chicago we found that it wasn't much of a differnce in price from a new Odyssey to a used one. I was surprised! Not to mention that they are hard to come by. Also w/ a new Odyssey we got a better price because they are trying to get ready for the 2007's. Good Luck in your search.
Meg
I agree with Meg - the prices on new Odysseys (I can't speak about Toyotas) are so attractive right now that it makes little sense to buy a used '06.
Snow tires are fine if you live on a hill that doesn't get plowed quickly or have a steep, icy driveway or something. Otherwise, a good set of all seasons tires will be fine in most urban areas. In the future, I'll probably opt to save the money upfront and in fuel costs and go with the FWD. Granted, with the Subaru there wasn't a choice...
cosco / sam's club
www.edmunds.com
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/ViewTypeCenter/category=type/attrib- ute=minivanvan
also Incentives + Rebates (Cash or APR) and Advice and Tips
www.carsdirect.com
www.consumerreports.com
http://www.consumerreports.org/main/newaps/aps_home.jsp?aps_type=new&bmUID=11528- 92956203
www.carbuyingtips.com
before you start asking for quotes online or not.
I think the Sienna LE w/Pkg#3 is probably about $1,000-$1,500 less than the Odyssey EX, for which I figured I got a van that was a little more reliable and cushy, but handles less well and doesn't have quite as many features (like the driver side power door, power seats, and automatic climate control). We went with the 8-passenger Sienna and felt like the middle seat was more usable than the Odyssey's. I felt like it was pretty close to a toss up and probably would have gone the other way if the prices were the other way around.
I do not even use snow tires, just the all seasons. Now mind you, I can plow up to about 5 inches like that, plus the plowing area must be relatively level. But above that amount of snow fall, or an a hill, I have to install tire chains on the front.
So, here in Philadelphia, you will have absolutely no problem with a 2wd car. An AWD would seem to be an overindulgence.
Now why didn't I get an AWD Caravan, knowing I would use a plow on it? It was because the plow manufacturer does not offer an attachment for the AWD Caravan! Ha!
BTW - depending on mileage and condition of course, 27,900 for a maxed out XLE Limited AWD sounds like a real good price.
Uh, no.
Yes, there is a mileage penalty for awd. But it's more on the order of maybe 4-5 mpg on the highway and around 3-4 mpg penalty in town. (The fwd Limited is rated at 19/26 by the EPA; the AWD version is rated at 17/23).
I'm wondering which one is more quite Ody or Sienna. I drove 92 ODY and was pretty noisy inside. I know it is re-designed and says it is quiter. Anyone have noticed if it is quiter than old ODY's and how does it compare with Sienna.
Thanks,
Thanks for the poetic response, I really enjoyed it. I'm not joking. I do drive Caravan. This is much quiter than the old ODYs. And I have driven it 180K+ miles and have not quit on me yet. Maybe, it got lucky.
I'm thinking of buying ODY or Sienna. Both are great quality vans. I just want to get feedback about the quitness about both. Test driving for 10 minutes does not do justice to either one of those. I did rent Sienna for a week and was great. I could not find Ody to rent. I do like Ody better then Sienna because of features, packages and handling. And then I rent quit often Caravans as they're readily available at all the rental companies and guess what... they ride quite nicely:)
Thanka,
I'd recommend test driving any car for much more than ten minutes when contemplating purchase. If anything, drive two different models of the same vehicle to make sure one vehicle isn't an anomoly, if possible.
Go spend an hour or two with each van, that'll help you decide, and give you time to drive your regular routes and see which is quieter.
Thanks... that makes sense....But...
would the dealer allow to take the vehicle for that long? That's why I was hoping to rent one.
Both are fine vehicles and you can't go wrong with either. Pick the one that offers the total package that you'll enjoy most rather than focusing on one feature like lower noise. They are both so close that noise isn't a good tiebreaker. I can tell you from my keep both overnight experiences and reading many reviews by consumers and pros that the Sienna has a more plush compliant ride that by itself might create the illusion of being quieter even if the Ody lets in a scosh less road noise. Our Touring Ody does fine but had a bit louder road noise than an XLE Sienna, probably because the Ody has Michelin PAX tires, only the XLE Limited has runflats (Dunlop ones Toyota uses are terrible). The Odyssey handles much more like a sedan and is the more unvanlike van of the two, in fact it's probably the most sedan like minivan ever! In this world of varied opinions I think the majority of folks who drive both for ten minutes, an hour, or for years appreciate the minor differences and probably concur with this plush Sienna vs. sportier Ody assessment. It all comes down to what suits your tastes. I look forward to reading about your decision and how you enjoy your new van, whatever it may be.. other than another Caravan.
Another thing - be sure to take them over various types of pavement (i.e., concrete and asphalt) as there can be a MAJOR difference in the interior noise level.