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Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans
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Comments
Since both the Ody and Sedona are made in USA, the eyes are no longer slanted!! The workers are like you with straight eyes. If that is what you mean :0).
Back to the Sedona: There is nothing new or innovative about it or in it to write home about. It is just another wannabe as some reports have said.
"Round Eyes" (Round Headlights) have not been popular on any vehicle for many years. Some vehicle headlights just don't have the extreme appearance of the Odd and Sienna. :sick:
Buy cheap get cheap.
If I thought the Odyssey was worse I would say so.
Oh just be happy your not sitting in the stow and go. Go sit in a Ody second row and then a DCX van with stow and go. The DCX van has had a recall and will probably have one for the airbag sensors. They probably use the same vendor but DCX is hopeing to avoid replaceing them! They usually have to be forced to recall! Read all the reviews of the DCX vans they will tell you how unrefined they are, I know I owned many. It's not like the Honda seats aren't easy to put down or remove, I hear the second row of the DCX isn't so easy to use! I haven't put it down myself! I have 7K on my Honda with none of the issues dennis says I should have! So who do you believe someone who owns it or someone who bashes it???
Wasn't Sedonna the first Minivan with shifter on center console...long before Toyota and Honda? Now they have the most powerful engine in it's class, and all the high tech gizmos like stability control etc.. all for thousands less than Honda/Toyota.
I'd say that's innovative.
I have, and friends of mine have been in 4-5 hour trips to Chicago/Toronto in them, and find the seat quite comfortable, fully adjustable...no complaints. Keep in mind the seats aren't thickly padded due to use of higher cost, denser "space foam". It provides a firmer seat that conforms more to your body, as in German cars. The only annoying thing about the seats is that the head restraints need to be adjusted once removed from storage to protect passengers. Of course, this should be done by all passengers in any automobile before driving.
They usually have to be forced to recall! No real basis in fact here, just your opinion, and actually if you look at total number of recalls, you'd probably find more recalls for DCX than Honda over the years. Maybe Honda needs to be forced to recall more?
It's not like the Honda seats aren't easy to put down or remove, I hear the second row of the DCX isn't so easy to use! I haven't put it down myself!
Put down? Do Honda's middle seat fold flat like Nissan's?? "I've heard" the Honda seats weigh a ton and are a real pain to remove and store, ALTHOUGH, I haven't removed them myself!
Some Honda owners are very lucky, especially 2005 owners if they haven't been effected by the recalls, or had the numerous issues on this forum and others!
I wonder how many of you DCX flacks have actually spent any amount of time in a 2006 Odyssey? Do as I did and spend a day in the model you are knocking then come on here with your BOLD type declaring how the DCX is the greatest.
THE HONDA ODYSSEY IS THE BEST MINIVAN AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN THE U.S. AS OF TODAY.
Obviously I made this post tongue in cheek because I know that many of those options are not available on the T&C. By the way, the side windows that roll down are awesome. Thanks to Toyota for bringing that feature into play.
What I was really looking for was a dollar value on the closest vehicle that you could get to the Honda EX-L from Chrysler.
How much have people actually paid for such a vehicle? Then you would have to add to that for the more powerful engine, the 5 speed auto, stability control and I am not even going to talke about reliability or resale value of the Honda. If you go down this path, I don'y think that the prices are that different.
Number of posters mean nothing. How many posts in there were of actual problems, by different owners, an equal ratio of DCX vs Honda (based on sales), and the like? You can't get this information by counting posts, b/c many posts are repeated (kind of like this one, which has been seen here before), many offer solutions, and some are even praise reports or updates about their previous problem.
People like JD Power and Consumer Reports DO such samples about reliability, taking a fair number of each, and reporting 'problems per vehicle' not 'problems per forum' as you say.
I look around at the number of posters that are common here, and common in problem forums. In about 100 posts, I see around a dozen different posters. By your logic, if a dozen posters are found in 100 posts, than they must have 100 problems between them, but we all (Hopefully) know this isn't the case.
Now, that we have talked about other forums, let's come back to this one.
Resale values are trending down, but how much? I figure it is probably due in part to the increased capacity of the Alabama plant, now, putting more vans on the market. When these (1999-2004) vans first came out, they were being made at a rate of 60,000 cars per year; by 2003 that number was up to 120,000 per year. I don't know what the current numbers are, but they appear to be much closer to matching consumer demand than they were once able to do.
Back in 2000, we waited 3 months for our Granite Green EX Ody to come in. We traded it in in October on my new Accord, and got $13,500 for it (paid $27,000 new)5 and a half years later. Resale appears to be holding just fine, IMO. If it is falling, it is finally falling to reasonable, while still much higher-than-average levels.
As for DCX value, they had nowhere to go but up, and while resale for stow-and-go vans is up, I am willing to bet that the resale value equation will hurt the pre-stow-and-go vans even more, because of their total lack of in-floor seat storage.
My friend wanted to trade in a 2002 Accord on a 2005 Accord but the dealer would not give him near book so he went to Mark Miller Toyota where he got a better trade-in and now drives a 2005 Toyota Camry LE. He feels he got a better car for less money.
i have one thing to say about DCX vans - solid rear axle wit hleaf springs - this is the 21st century, what the hell is a solid rear axle (not to mention leaf springs) doing on a minivan?
I love my ody - yes, i have had to replace the transmission, but it cost me not a penny.
by the way - mazda was the first to put "roll-down" windows in the sliding doors of their minivan back in 99 (i think it was 99) - at the time, toyota took all the best ideas and put it together (although in a not very attractive package)
I just saw a 2005 Grand Caravan with the stow and go seating and many options (PM, PW, PL...) still under warranty at a dealer for $12,500 and not just a one off. How much was that vehicle four months ago when new?
I got on line and found this at the Chrysler web site. For about a $5000 higher MSRP than the Odyssey EX-L you can get the following 2006 TOWN & COUNTRY LIMITED X Pkg. What would you really pay? I don't know. Maybe some readers can fill that part in.
However, I still would not consider this van equal to the EX-L if only for drive trane (engine, stability control, 5 speed trans) and suspension differences and I feel that there are others.
2006 TOWN & COUNTRY LIMITED X Pkg. $35,735.00
modify
- Primary: Midnight Blue Pearl Coat Included
- Interior: Dark Khaki/Light Graystone Included
modify
- 3.8-Liter V6 OHV Engine Included
- 2.37 Overall Top Gear Ratio Included
- 4-Speed Automatic Transmission Included
modify
- Luxury Leather-Trimmed Bucket Seats Included
- 215/65R16 LBL All Season Tires Included
- 16" x 6.5" Aluminum Chrome Clad Wheels Included
- Infinity(TM) Speakers Included
- AM/FM Stereo with CD Player/GPS Navigation Included
- In-Dash 6-Disc CD/DVD/MP3 Changer-Reqd w/Rear Video Included
- Supplemental Side Curtain Air Bags In All Rows* Included
- Rear Air Conditioning with Heater Included
- Anti-Lock Brakes Included
- Passenger-Side Power Sliding Door Included
- Driver's Manually-Adjustable Lumbar Support Included
- Security Alarm Included
- Removable Center Front Seat Console Included
- Power Sunroof $1,005.00
How much was that van four months ago?
I think that it was a lease return or a demo. Don't know, don't care. It sure is cheap!
I am still trying to get someone to say what they paid for a Chrysler which is close to the Odyssey EX-L. Silence is deafening!
Also, I actually get very close to posted EPA mileage values.
Let me ask again. How much did you pay for your Chrysler Town and Country with similsr features (other that engine, transmission, suspension all worse) to a Honda EX-L? It is simple.
I
The added bonus of the T&C vs Odd is that Comfort and Convenience can be purchased for less money than the High Tech engine.
Chrysler T&C comfort and convenience is more important to many buyers than the ability to brag about a high tech engine. Odyssey owners are willing to give up comfort and convenience for the bragging rights of the VTEC with VCM. :confuse:
An extra 5k to put in the college fund sure is nice!
"Odyssey: State-of-the- minivan-art"
I'd say that's innovative."
What's innovative about a shifter on the center console? If it is where I think it is, it comes in the way of moving to the back easily from the front and defeats minivan practicality. It provides no added performance. It may as well be in the driver's forehead.
Engine power is said to be comparable at 240+hp but with a bigger (by 300 cc) displacement than Ody's. Sounds like "under-innovation"
It is not as refined as the Ody's and I can bet you that I would out accelerate the Sedona in the straight and especially around corners. I would wait for you in the curvy off-ramp. Of course if you are not inclined, then less athletic performance would suffice in a wannabe.
Because people like to make there own choices and not have the manufacture make the choices for them. I agree that these features should be standard, but not only on Daimlerchrysler minivans but all vechicles. If you didn't know, you can purchase the side curtain airbags as an option. Remember, price is a factor for a lot of people and vechicles are not an investment, unless they are antique. (Some come across as if they bought a house or a piece of land. As if vechicles bring us equity) Resale only makes you money if you trade in or sale it. So for those that have an Ody., to use the resale that most have bragged about, you need to sale or trade it. Which would mean, in the long run, you would have paid a lot more on these vechicles. It would be interesting to see how much in interest each Ody, T&C and DGC owner would have paid for the same % over a five year car loan with -0- down at signing. :shades:
Because when dealing with heavy loads, 1800 lbs of cargo and passengers for most minivans, a solid rear axle with leaf springs gives better stability and less sag in the rear, then independent suspension with coil springs. If you look at trucks, they have a solid rear axle as well as most SUV's.
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/techcenter/articles/43855/article.html
You can? The only Touring I've ever seen stickered for $36k. if you know someone who paid 40 grand for any Honda, they're a sucker!
BTW, that "high-tech" gas guzzlin' engine makes an extra 30 horsepower and runs on less fuel than your (what, old tech gas swallowing?) engine. Don't play the 'my car has an option yours doesen't' game, or I will have to mention the remote-opening power windows, the four-wheel independent suspension, the front parking sensors, rolling-code theft immobilzer key, side-window sunshades, rear-passengers roll-down windows, Vehicle Stability Control, and the list goes on. You can do the same thing with stow-and-go etc, but the majority of us here knows who offers what. You keep your low-tech gas-guzzlin engine; we'll keep our reliable, high-tech, high-output, high-economy engine and extra safety features. :shades:
Truthfully, the van was immaculate (no dings at ALL or carpet stains) and had 39,400 miles on it when we handed over the keys, so blue book had it near $12k
Because when dealing with heavy loads, 1800 lbs of cargo and passengers for most minivans, a solid rear axle with leaf springs gives less sag in the rear than independent suspension with coil springs. If you look at trucks, they have a solid rear axle as well as most SUV's.
This is also why trucks have choppy, jittery rides unless heavily loaded. The DCX isnt really harsh, but less controlled and carlike in its motions compared with independent suspensions (ody and sienna).
Reliability of Ody???? LOLOLOLOL, I'm sure you guys don't want to talk about that!!! DISMAL!
And we DCX owners can now get side airbags with sunfroof for 2006. Subtract from Honda lack of Stow N Go, no power hatch, knee airbags, opening rear vents etc... I can play that game, then ADD the savings, usually many thousands, over an Ody, factor in less financing - interest earned over interest paid!!! There's a huge difference!
I can't speak for T&C, but my similar equipped DCX DGC SXT to Honda EX was almost $10,000 LESS!! That was a year ago exactly, with EP before (from DCX employee/friend) and all rebates/financing. Most DCX buyers can get $5k off easily. Not sure what "worst" means? For all of Honda's touted gizmos, they're within spitting distance in mileage, braking etc...many people note the DCX vans are quieter and ride smoother too. So "worst" in one's opinion, is better in someone else's.
I drove many Odys before buying the DCX, and what I remember most after driving them back to back was "I can't see a significant difference except price".
"Odyssey: Start-of-major-problems" is more appropriate
I bet the Sedonna doesn't have to be reved out to see that HP? and probably meets its EPA estimates better. Sorry Honda mislead you 2005 owners with its bogus HP ratings...testing engines with little or no accessories, or oil to give higher HP ratings. Same test engineer must have come up with the EPA numbers too, probably done under 40 mph while coasting down a hill in neutral.
Of course if you are not inclined, then less athletic performance would suffice in a wannabe.
99% of minivan owners wouldn't drive like an idiot on curvy off ramps. If you wanna do that, buy a real car instead of trying to convince yourself that a Minivan is similar to a sports car! If you're going thru a midlife crisis, go buy real car.
In the minivan class, the Ody rules in performance. By the way, some of my other family cars include a CTS-V, and a Maxima. My son just purchased a BMW 550i and also drives his in-law's M-B SL500, all new models. These are perfomance leaders in their own car class. You have to intelligently compare apples to apples, not car to minvan. In the minivan world, the Ody rules - many sources would support that, not just the average owner here.
Just gimme your vehicle license plate so that I would know when we are both exiting the ramp together. It would be a delight to have see/have you smell hot air from my (Ody) behind. LOL!
The DCX people can come on here and whistle 'til the cows come home but it is not going to change the fact that the Odyssey is the best, safest, most up to date technology minivan on the American market. The high tech VCM engine has the best gas mileage. It is also at the top in reliability. I know there is a certain non-profit consumer magazine the DCX folks like to slam but check out the frequency of repair numbers for both Odyssey and DCX. The DCX has dropped way down in quality (was it ever there?) while the Odyssey maintains its high quality.
Just because a van has an MSRP of $34,000 and a selling price of $23,000 does it become a $34,000 van. It is a $23,000 (soon to be $14,000 after a year's depreciation) rental fleet van. My EX-L cost $28,800 and will still be worth $24,000 next year, a little less the year after.
The facts are my friends that American consumers are leaving GM, Ford and Chrysler behind in droves and buying Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia because that is where the quality and reliability is. If Kia can get it why can't DCX or GM?