Options
Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
That said, our Odyssey it is not as good in snow/ice as our 2000 Outback Automatic (AWD with limited slip in rear and automatic clutch-actuated center differential). The Outback is noticeably better in poor conditions than any front wheel drive car we've had.
Of course, AWD/4WD systems vary a lot. Some are no better than a front wheel drive car if all the differentials are open. I see a lot of SUVs stuck when cars get by just fine. I suspect its a combination of over-aggressive driving, poor handling, not knowing how to lock their differentials, having mediocre tires or having obsolete 4WD systems. An AWD vehicle with a viscous center differential and open Front/rear differentials is not going to be anywhere near as good as something like a Jeep with the optional Quadra-drive or an Audi with a Torsen combined with 4-wheel traction control.
When you look at the price you will notice that it costs more for AWD, but you get alot of extra options with the AWD package i.e. load levelers, 4 wheel disk brakes, 3.8L engine...go see for yourself
h20 wrote:
"Happy Trails "
Thanks, I Guess I won't see you there my friend...
Geoduck or some other poster mentioned the seating problem with three kids and having enough storage for trips. While the Honda and Mazda Magic seat allows a quick change from 7 to 4 passenger seating, the storage space is limited to the area behind the third seat or in front of the third seat passengers with the center row removed, since the third row seat is not removable. The DC vans on the other hand allow for 5 passenger seating by removing the center buckets or 2 passenger seat, and moving the three passenger bench up to the second row, allowing all the storage behind the passengers and maybe enough room for a dog. This is in my opionion easier to load kids in the DC van, without crawling all the way back to the third row to buckle them in (over the stored items) in the Honda and Mazda. You pay your money and make your choice.
We test drove a couple DC vans and really liked a lease return Grand Caravan ES. The salesman was too much of a shark for my taste and was really low balling our trade so I told him I would think about it. Next day the Honda dealer calls and had a cancelled order for an Ody LX. We went with the Ody and have no regrets. They gave us a better price on our trade and charged MSRP with no add ons.
So about that spare tire. First of all, extracting a DC spare tire requires retreiving it from the undercarriage of the car, which strikes me as being messier than pulling a donut spare from the spare tire well behind the drivers seat.
Second, I can count three times in 14 years and over 250,000 miles of driving where I had a flat that required me to mount a spare. Tires have improved so much that some new cars have no spares. For add security, I do carry a can of Fix O Flat, which I had in our old Taurus wagon (1 of the three cars I had to mount the spare) which would only accomodate a full size rim in the third seat foot well, not the spare tire well on the left side of the cargo area where the donut resides.
Third, yes the Honda has a plastic bag to house the flat and also the flat can be bolted to the floor in the rear cargo area until it can be fixed.
So each design makes compromises for a perceived customers needs. We like the magic seat and for us to bring cargo, unload and then carry passengers offers us the flexibility the Caravan couldn't provide. If the Odyssey hadn't been on the market, then we would have purchased the Caravan.
So look, research and spend your money on the vehicle that offers you the best utility and piece of mind. That's what the Ody offers us.
S.
PS My older brother has a '92 Caravan 3.0 Ltr with 120,000 miles. No major problems.
We would buy another GC SE today instead of the Odyssey if we could get the good deal and get a perfect GC. However, at MSRP the Odyssey is a much BETTER buy than a GC at MSRP. My sister and brother in law will soon be ordering their Taffeta
White Odyssey EX based on my recommendation and explanation of advantages of each. I suggested they also consider the Sienna which is also a very good minivan.
Why do you keep pasting the same message over-and-over again?
1. Didn't like pricing of GC. Gotta have option EC if you want RB and so on. The price kept growing, too.
2. The magic seat. Oh yes, this was a seller for me. I've removed considerably lightweight rear seats from a CJ5 and Bronco, and it got to be a pain every few weeks...plus finding a place to put it. The thought of lifting a XX lb seat out of the GC wasn't exciting.
3. Reputation of the Chrysler transmission. I just couldn't take a chance on this.
4. Resale. I don't plan on selling this for many years, if ever. But if something comes along we've "got to have," I'd like to unload a minivan with some residual value.
We've had it almost a year and driven just about 10K (not much, huh?) and love it. Even the elec. sliding doors are great. Everyone's choices and needs are different, and these were ours.
Consider these facts for 1999 GC SE and 1999 Ody LX:
VAN ....MSRP....Actual Price...Trade-in NOW...Depr.
GC SE..$27,490...$22,590.........$16,242......$6,348
OdyLX..$$23,615..$23,615..........20,232......$3,383
Trade-in now is average of 2 internet sources.
Notice the depreciation of 99 GC SE from MSRP is a whopping $11,248 ! Ody is a mere $3383.
Yes we love our 99 GC SE and it has been perfect...except for the perceived value. These facts tell me that apparently my GC is FAR BETTER than the average but who knows? Based on many reports, the odds of my transmission failing are much worse than are the Odyssey.
If my GC runs perfectly forever, I made the best deal as my initial cost was $1025 less than for the Ody LX...BUT, if I want to trade for a newer vehicle, the Odyssey would have been a far better deal. The retained value plus the deletion of Trip Computer on all but most expensive DC and the need to get a more expensive DC to get same power as base Odyssey simply cause me to state I would now get an Odyssey instead of a DC minivan. The Odyssey standard engine has MUCH more power than 3.3L of DC while delivering better gas mileage.
Wake up DC...switch to the Magic Seat and offer 3.8L V6 for every DC.
No matter what the product it's always supply and demand.
http://www.edmunds.com/roadtests/longtermroadtests/2001/dodge/grand/45220/
is it because this forum is only for the GC Sport and not the ES? anyway, this is really about the dodge grand carvan ES but it reads like a comparison between it and the honda odyssey. and, to think, i thought edmund's was really tough on their long-term review the ody!
NOTHING is mentioned about the inferior Heating/Air Conditioning system of the Odyssey EX compared to a GC SE. Imagine, NO separate temperature control for heat/air for driver and front passenger in the Odyssey! No quality stereo with DC AND Cassette Player.No heating coils at base of windshield to melt ice and snow.
The Odyssey is a VERY nice mini van and priced fairly at MSRP. It has most of the necessary features as standard equipment with a nice powerful, economical 3.5L V6 also standard. The Odyssey is the ONLY minivan to have rear air conditioning AND separate rear heater (with separate blower)as standard equipment on every passenger minivan. The "Magic Seat" is nice when you go to Home Depot and need to haul home a dozen sheets of sheet rock.
.....BUT: Why doesn't Edmunds notice how much quieter a DC mini van is than the Odyssey like virtually every other reviewer? Why didn't Edmunds notice the lack of Dual Zone Temperature control for driver and front passenger? Why didn't Edmunds notice the Odyssey did not have a Trip Computer like my 99 GC SE has? Why didn't Edmunds notice the lack of a quality stereo in Odyssey that is in my 99 GC SE?
Edmunds has provided a nice service with the Town Hall and pricing guides but as a source of accurate information on vehicles, Edmund's reviews fail miserably.
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
http://www.mtdemocrat.com/display/inn_2000_auto/W1130_A.txt
.
.
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
March 1999 and got the 99 Grand Caravan.
First hand information was more important to us
than the old wives tales of CR, etc concerning vehicle reliability. So far our 99 GC SE has had ZERO problems and has certainly been different than the doom and gloom drivel of CR. Our experience is the same as our many friends and we are extremely pleased with the GC. I think we would have been just as pleased had we got a 99 Honda Odyssey.
Since March 1999, the percentage of reliable of Honda Accords owned by people we know, has gone up. The neighbor who had the very bad 1991 Accord EX with electrical problems, traded it in on a new 2001 Accord and another neighbor recently traded the 1999 Maxima in on a new 2001 Accord EX, 4 cyl with 5 speed.
AND for all these comfort and convenience items we paid $1025 LESS than for an Odyssey LX at MSRP. I cannot understand why experts like Edmunds got a lesser discount ( $3690 ) on a $35,065 MSRP GC ES than we did ( $4900) on a brand new 99 GC with MSRP of $27,490 in March 1999...
WHY did Edmunds pay ABOVE MSRP for the over-hyped van with the
"Magic Seat" ?
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
Interesting quote from Automobile Magazine editor-in-chief and one-time Chrysler employee Jean Jennings, writing about Chrysler's new German management team in the April issue : "The big opportunity will be to fix the festering quality problems that were never addressed in boom times."
Both are fine vans. You makes your choice and pays your money.
Most of the test reports I read on 99 GC and Ody stated the GC was quieter, had more comfortable seats and a far superior sound system. EPA gas mileage for MY 2000 had the 3.3L DC and 3.5L Ody both rated at the same 18 City/25 Highway...even though the Ody has more HP and torque. Compliments to Honda.
I agree that the "Magic Seat" is terrific if you want to haul a dozen sheets of sheetrock home each weekend from Home Depot. However, for my use the fully reclining 3rd seat with 2nd row folded flat forward makes a very comfortable place to nap on a long trip while the wife is driving. Our built in child seat is very nice for the small grandchildren. The more numerous heating and air conditioning vents with Dual Zone Temperature control provide a much better control and distribution of cooled or heated air. If I do not sell or trade my GC, the perceived trade-in value is meaningless.
Enjoy your Odyssey. It is a very fine van. We feel our GC SE has more of the nice features than the Ody so for us and many others, the DC minivans was the best choice. Since DC took off the Trip Computer as an option for all but the most expensive and DC does not offer the 3.8L in the lower priced DC minivans, I would now wait for and buy a 2001 Odyssey or Sienna instead of a 2001 DC minivan if we did not own a flawless GC SE.
Motor Trend comparison of Ody and 2001 Caravan: "We liked the Honda's seating better in all three rows, both feel and fit of seat, and the legroom offered." Headroom is better for all three seats as well.
EPA MPG 2001 Ody: 18/25
EPA MPG 2001 Caravan with 3.8: 17/23
I'd be surprised if the DC transmission downshifts upon touching the brake on a downhill. And I said nothing about sound systems, so there was no "error" there. The magic seat is amazingly useful and has nothing to do with hauling sheetrock. Why must you always exaggerate?
Motor Trend regarding Honda: "Supple ride"
Motor Trend regarding Caravan: "Rough ride"
For those who feel compelled to "nap," the Ody front seat back will recline to line up with the seat cushion of the second row seat (with headrest removed), so you can sit in the second row seat and rest your legs on the front row passenger seat. Riding in any vehicle with your seat "fully reclined" is an extremely dangerous proposition, by the way. Or do you nap in the third seat with the van in your garage?
Speaking of "danger," the pre-2001 DC minivans didn't exactly shine in their crash tests, as I'm sure you recall. And, as I recall, a DC exec was quoted as saying he didn't expect the 2001 to get top marks either. Said something about not thinking buyers felt it was very important, so I guess DC didn't think it was important, either. But the headlights do at last light up the road.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/studies/InsCost/
There's also some good notes at the top of this link reading claims data, and its relationship to safety.
Note this doesn't apply to the 2001 DC vans.
BTW: I think I know where your hot spur is!
As stated before, Honda was smart to copy the old station wagon fold-into-the-floor rear seat for those who want to haul home a dozen sheets of sheetrock from Home Depot each week...but for many people, the built in child seat, Dual Zone temp, quality stereo, Trip Computer, etc are more important than to have a minivan that was made to use primarily as a cargo van.
Notice that I include identifying data in my Town Hall profile as opposed to many who feel the need to remain anoynomous. I am not ashamed to let people know that we own a 1999 Grand Caravan SE.
BTW: There is no comparing the seats in an Ody to my LE, way beyond comparison, as is the Infinity stereo, and in addition to items you mentioned the full size spare tire, All Wheel Drive, 3 year road side assistance, heated mirrors, load levelers, factory running boards, stylish vs. breadbox looks etc.
Thanks.
The 2000 magazine tests you referenced involved the "older" generation DC minis--you know, the ones with "RV-grade acceleration" and no headlights--so those tests are irrelevant. By the way, you should check out the March 2001 Money magazine minivan recommendations.
Also check out trade-in value on 1999s. The Ody is worth about $5,000 more. So "buying at invoice" turns out to be a very expensive proposition two years later, eh?
Perhaps you can tell us just how much DC paid AMCI to declare the DC minivan "The Best Minivan Ever." Wouldn't say that's fraudulent advertising, would you?