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Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans - READ ONLY

7485 messages,  Last post on Mar 23, 2008 at 8:43 AM

You are in the Honda Odyssey Forum.

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

Messages Page 72 of 749

#707 of 7485 Regarding post by 4aodge by akin67

Dec 11, 2001 (9:50 pm)

Right Edmunds thought so highly of the Chrysler that is why Chrysler didn't come in first in the comparison tests. Oh wait they didn't come in second either. Hold on, not even third.
 
That is right, Chrysler came in 4th on Edmunds comparison test of 6 vehicles. And you know where the Odyssey came in? That's right number one again. But that is no surprise, the Odyssey has been ranked NUMBER 1 in every comparison test since it came out in 1999. YES Every comparison by every automotive authority.
 
What makes it even more pathetic for Chrysler is that Chrysler has been building minivans for over a decade now, and here comes along Honda and the first minivan they themselves build and it blows past Chrysler's top of the line Town and Country.
 
You talk about Honda quality and problems with the Odyssey, why don't we compare the Odyssey to all of the problems the Chrysler vans went through in the first four years of their introduction? Chrysler is notorious for having mass recalls after every new product rollout. Look they just came out with the new Jeep Liberty and sure enough not even out a year yet and they are already recalling 120,000 vehicles for airbag defects.
 
Please do not mention quality and Chrysler in the same breath. The American consumer knows of Chryslers quality or lack thereof.
 
And lastly Honda has been selling them as fast as they can build them. What other car do you know that still has a 3 month waiting list going into the fourth year of its introduction? Chrysler on the other hand can not give them away. 0% interest, cash back, they are using every gimmick in the book to unload their product.
 
You can say all you want, but the consumer has already determined which the better van is. In fact they prefer the Odyssey so much that they are willing to pay the full MSRP and more at times. And even waiting three months is not swaying their decision to buy the Odyssey.

#708 of 7485 Get Real Akin67 by 4aodge

Dec 12, 2001 (12:26 am)

That's right, the Chrysler Town & Country came in 4th place out of 6 vehicles tested in the 2001 minivan comparison test. Why? For two main reasons, it is expensive and it lacks a third row fold away seat.
 
It is too expensive? Oh common, when you test the ultimate minivan in terms of comfort features and luxuries, of course it is going to be expensive! It lacks a third row fold away seat? So what? Not everyone NEEDS that feature on their van and many seem to prefer the 50/50 split rear bench seat configuration over the third row fold away seat. Hey, it's whatever floats your boat...
 
Akin67, lets get real about reliability. The Honda Odyssey hasn't exactly been the penacle of reliability for that brand. If you want to talk about reliability, vistit the Honda Odyssey problem board here at Troll Hall where you can find all the horror and complaint storries you want about Odyssey owners with broken power sliding doors and failing transmissions.
 
Now, about the 2001 Jeep Liberty recall. If I can remember correctly, Honda issued one or two recalls for the 1999 Honda Odyssey. One of which was concerning the power sliding doors. These recalls are to be expected for first production year vehicles, such as the 2001 Jeep Liberty and the Honda Odyssey when it was first being built after its redesign in 1999.
 
As for what people prefer, you can site all of the rave reviews you want for the Odyssey and try and relate that to how much people like the car, but Chrysler still sells more vans than Honda. I think we all know that if Chrysler produced just as many vans as Honda does they too would not have to resort to rebates to quickly move their product as the demand would increase greatly. To me, that concept is very simple and easy to understand but it seems that some Odyssey owners just don't get it.
 
Along with our trouble free 2000 Chrysler Town & Country w/33k miles, we also own a 2001 PT Cruiser Limited. We have had the PT for about 5 months now and already have over 10k miles on it. This car rocks! My parents drive it an average of 80 miles per day and the car has been excellent as we have not had a single problem with it. Too bad many of the Odyssey owner's can say that about their vans here at Troll Hall.
 
Akin67, Honda did not "blow past" Chrysler on its first try with the Odyssey. If you do your research you would know the Odyssey, which wasn't very popular by any means then, was in production well before the 1999 model year...
 
-Adam (16/M/CA)
 
TWO TROUBLE FREE CHRYSLER VEHICLES
2000 TOWN & COUNTRY LX
2001 PT CRUISER LIMITED

#709 of 7485 2002 Chrysler by phkck

Dec 12, 2001 (7:59 am)

Well my 2002 T&C Limited is better than your Odyssey so there! OK would have said that when I was 12. I recently did buy a 2002 T&C Limited. Yes the issues of reliability were on my mind. The 7yr 100K powertrain warranty was enough for me to overcome my fears.
The Ody was a close second, just preferred the T&C. Both makes serve their purpose, can't we all just get along!

#710 of 7485 Get your facts right by akin67

Dec 12, 2001 (8:03 am)

Honda did not produce minivans before the 99 model year. They were rebadging the Isuzu van as they have been doing with the Isuzu Rodeo (Honda Passport).
 
So in fact it is a brand new vehicle in a brand new factory so if they had some quality glitches in the first model year it is certainly expected and understandable. I recall reading about dozens of recalls from Chrysler minivans when they first came out.
 
If you want to compare a comporable van to the Honda just compare the Town and Country not every other Voyager and Caravan. They cover for the most part a different (more lower end) segment of the market that Honda is not vying for.
 
Once again I reiterate since the Town and Country sells about the same number of Vans as the Odyssey why are people so eager to wait for the Odyssey and pay full MSRP yet the Town and Country needs significant rebates to sell the same amountof vans? Honda is pumping them out as fast as they can yet Chrysler is operating plants at a mere fraction of capacity.
 
And if you are so happy about your T&C why are you on the Honda Odyssey board always knocking the Odyssey (I don't mean this board we are on now, this is totally legitimate for you to compare the two vehicles). You will never catch me on the T&C board knocking the T&C? What is your gripe with the Odyssey?
 
Also I own a 2000 Ody EX and have had no problems with it whatsoever. And I am trading it in for a 2002 with a depreciation of only $4000 over 2 years. I bet you can not do that with your T&C.

#711 of 7485 Honda vans by vcheng

Dec 12, 2001 (8:09 am)

akin67: You have it only partly correct. The Honda Passport was a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo. BUT: The old Honda Odyssey with 4 car-like doors 4-cyl power and the magic seat was made by Honda, and rebadged for sale by Isuzu, as a reciprocal arrangement. This old body style is still sold in Europe as the Honda Shuttle.

#712 of 7485 I apologize and stand corrected by akin67

Dec 12, 2001 (10:00 am)

I was under the impression that both vehicles were manufactured by Isuzu and rebadged as Honda's.
 
Thanks

#716 of 7485 Fine, lets assume Edmunds is biased by akin67

Dec 13, 2001 (6:43 am)

Why do you assume that a review is biased because it rates the Odyssey number one. Were they biased when they ranked the Town and Country better in some categories? Or are they only biased when they are giving the Honda better reviews?
 
What about Car & Driver, Road & Track, MoterTrend, Automobile Magazine, Consumer Reports, Consumer Guide, Popular Mechanics, NY Times and basically every other automotive authority since the 99 Odyssey came out. Please tell me there is a worldwide conspiracy to to make the Odyssey out to be the best minivan when in fact it isn't. Man this is some conspiracy they even have the consumers collaborating.
 
We should get to the bottom of this. Lets get Ashcroft to investigate.
 
Folks get real.

Messages Page 72 of 749

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