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Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans - READ ONLY

7485 messages,  Last post on Mar 23, 2008 at 7:43 AM

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What is this discussion about? Dodge Caravan, Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Town and Country, Chrysler Voyager, Plymouth Voyager, Van

#62 of 7485 Odyssey in snow by caviller Feb 27, 2001 (6:45 am)
Our 2001 Odyssey LX (with traction control) was fine this winter (Chicago). No problems on cleared or uncleared roads, though the traction control does engage a lot. The Odyssey is good for a front wheel drive vehicle. Unless you drive a lot on unplowed roads, a front wheel drive car with good all-season tires should be fine. One with snow tires and traction control may well be as good or better than one with AWD/4WD with OEM off-road tires.   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.
#63 of 7485 enternamehere by h20guy Feb 27, 2001 (4:46 pm)
I'm glad you got your full size spare (choice), and I got my fold down magic seat(choice). I won't argue with you about how much you like your van more than any other, but I CHOOSE my ody for many reasons and the main one was the extra room I can gain quickly and easily with the magic seat. It was not because DC is a terrible van (because it is not) I considered many vans and purchased the one that suited my families needs. Happy Trails
#64 of 7485 DC in snow by enternamehere Feb 27, 2001 (4:55 pm)
I have the '99 DC AWD and it is great in snow. It engages automatically and came in very handy this year with one trip to the Berkshires in a snow storm (very steep snow laden driveway leading to Inn where FWD could not go) and then a ski trip to Vermont through very icy road conditions. AWD feels very secure.   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
#65 of 7485 h20guy by enternamehere Feb 27, 2001 (5:01 pm)
I hope you don't have to ride in the "magic seat", it's very uncomfortable due to the slender design and need to fold it into the floor. Takes about 2 seconds to push the DC seat forward. Not so bad!   h20 wrote: "Happy Trails "   Thanks, I Guess I won't see you there my friend...
#66 of 7485 h20guy by enternamehere by johng14 Feb 28, 2001 (7:30 am)
Just to be curious, how much room do you gain by pushing the seat forward in a record time of 2 seconds? and how long does it take to to remove the seats all together?
#67 of 7485 How much do you gain by moving the seat forward? by cweeks78681 Feb 28, 2001 (8:11 am)
johng14, I believe the 3rd bench seat in my 2001 Grand Caravan Sport moves in 3-inch intervals. There are 3 positions so the full range of back-to-front covers 6 inches (back=0, middle=3, front=6).
#68 of 7485 HELLO by h20guy Mar 01, 2001 (8:18 pm)
It's awfully quiet in here. Happy Trails
#69 of 7485 Seating Flexibility by hayneldan Mar 02, 2001 (11:25 am)
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.
#70 of 7485 Where do you put the flat???? by hayneldan Mar 02, 2001 (11:51 am)
If you have a flat tire in a Odyssey, where does the full size flat go???? Answer, in the plastic bag supplied by Honda, inside the car, or on the roof rack, as it will NOT fit in the hole the donut came out of!!! You pay your money and make your choice!!!

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