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Vans & Minivans Honda Odyssey Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna
5221 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 5:37 PM
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I was set on getting a Sienna with package 5 primarily because I had hear that you couldn't get 3 car seats in the middle row of the Ody. Since #3 is on the way and we don't want to lose the storage behind the 2nd row that is the primary reason we are even getting a new van. On a whim last week, we went to see the Ody. We really liked it and part of me is wishing we hadn't even looked at it because we're now spending all kinds of time figuring out if we can get an infant carrier in that 8th seat. If you compare the EX with cloth to the LE w/ option 5, the EX is better. It is disappointing to me that Honda would make a minivan and offer this 8th seat, but make it pretty much useless. A minivan is supposed to be laregely a child carrier, why wouldn't you make sure it is usable as such. Oh well, maybe I'm just upset that we may have to get the van we like less(even if only a tiny bit less) because of a feature that should be available.
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Replying to: 96corolla (Jun 13, 2005 4:47 am) Please post again if you find any other options for the third car seat. Always nice to find other people with my problems! |
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Replying to: firstdaddy (Jun 12, 2005 8:30 am) In my quest to find a minivan, I actually found the Sienna to have a better lease than a Honda Odyssey. In fact one Honda dealer told me they couldn't touch Toyota's leasing program, for now at least. Also, leases change every month, so depending where you live and which month, this can change. But I leased an XLE for $359/mo with $0 vs. $440/month for a Honda EX cloth. They both sold for about the same price (roughly $26,500) but the Sienna either had a better residual, or Toyota Finance arm is more aggresive at the moment. I do agree though, if you are to purchase outright, the Odyssey EX may be a slightly better deal overall. I liked that van better, but think the Sienna is very good overall, and an excellent value for what I have to pay. irg |
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I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post other sites on here, but check out odyclub.com they have lots of info on putting the child seat in the 8th seat. I researched that all weekend(my wife is ready to kill me) and the long and short of it is that if you can get the seat to be secure, you are supposed to be fine. Those people have actually contacted honda directly and their answer is on the site. Bottom line - some people say no way, some people say no problem, but their are child seat experts on there that say if you can get it installed per manufacturers directions, you are fine. The nice thing about the Ody is if you CAN get it to work, in the long run it will be better because the two remaining seats are nice and big. In the Sienna 8, to get that 3rd seat in there, they shrink the other two seats. If you look at the 8 vs the 7, you'll see what I mean. So, in the ody as your kids grow and you no longer us the middle seat, they'll have nice big(ger) seats to sit in. Regarding access to the 3rd Row, it is a problem, but for me, we hardly ever use it. I know on the Sienna, you can pop up the middle row seat - like getting in the back seat of a 2 door - so someone can sneak behind it and get to the back. Not sure if the Oddy has that option. My kids are 4, 2 and 0 (on the way) and the way I figure, the 4 year old won't last too long in the 2nd row before he wants to head to the back. However, while he is there I want to make sure the kids are comfortable and SAFE. As I stated somewhere, as much as I like the Ody, I don't want emotion to lead me to the wrong decicison. Depending on the ages of your kids, I have read that it is much easier to get a booster seat in that middle seat then a regular car seat. We'd like to keep the baby in the middle though, so again not very useful for us. I think the only way I'm going to really know is by taking the base to the infant carrier to the honda dealer and trying it out. That is my next move.
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Replying to: 96corolla (Jun 13, 2005 10:23 am) I would not put a car seat of any sorts in the middle seat.
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Replying to: nwng (Jun 13, 2005 11:13 am) My kids are 3, 1.5, and 0. So after the infant carrier runs its course, we will have 6mo to a year with 3 full size tethered car seats. I haven't bothered to check, but I would be amazed if there were anchor/tether attachments for 3 seats in any of the middle rows. So we will probably send the 3 year old to the back. She can almost buckle herself in and out ... in the meantime, we'll be crawling back there to help. In the long run, the larger seats on the 7-seat Sienna or Ody will be more useful once the kids are just in boosters or free to argue over where they sit. I know the Ody lets the two middle seats push together. Does the Sienna have this capability? I could see the infant and my younger in the middle seats pushed together allowing easy access to the back. All this and we naturally have Chrysler/Dodge/Ford/Mazda employee discounts available. I really want to figure out a reason why stow n' go helps us in any way with car seats affixed all over the place.... 
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Maybe if your kids are grown and you don't have car seats or you use the van for work - hauling stuff - then they'd be more useful. For most of us hauling around toddlers and the like, they aren't very useful and buying and are worth the extra risk/cost/dis-satisfaction of owning a dodge or ford. You're points are all valid. I just like having all that space behind the 2nd row which is why we want to put all 3 in row 2 for now. If I didn't really want the space, I'd keep my 00 MPV which we really love and skip the 25 - 30K debt that I'll be going into. It is funny, there is some guy on the Ody club site who basically tells people like me(want 3 kids in row 2) that we are idiots and should learn how to pack properly and at some point we'll be trying to keep the kids apart. The guy has a point, but he is just funny. From what I understand, the Ody seats slide across similar to the MPV. I think the toyo seats move over but they may have to be picked up or something. It is not as easy in the toyo. I don't know what to do, really confused at this point. Going to see the darn Ody has put me into a tailspin now I've got to go do a full blown analysis/comparison.
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Replying to: 96corolla (Jun 13, 2005 12:18 pm) We're replacing an Escape with the minivan. The back of the Escape has been great for everything from strollers, coolers, bags, groceries, clothes, and the all too frequent flat area to do a diaper change. I'm expecting that we'll use the 60/40 split in the back just to have a flat space to change a kid while we are out and about. So I fully appreciate the need for the extra storage space.... I just wish my Detroit/Ohio relatives' employee plans were for minivans that were more useful for our needed seating arrangements. The only advantage I see of the Stow system is the storage it provides since we'd never have the seats down. I double checked the Sienna after your comments. They do show an interior picture on their website with the two middle seats together. That would suffice for our needs I think. I don't need them to slide, just moved over would be convenient for rear seat access with car seats in the middle buckets. Thanks for the info. And there is a website out there for people with/expecting triplets. The only minivan I saw discussed there was the Sienna for it's three seats in the middle row capability. Most of those people were putting another two kids in the back seat as well..... so my problems don't seem that insurmountable. |
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Maybe if your kids are grown and you don't have car seats or you use the van for work - hauling stuff - then they'd be more useful. For most of us hauling around toddlers and the like, they aren't very useful and buying and are worth the extra risk/cost/dis-satisfaction of owning a dodge or ford That is where your wrong. Stow-n-go is a perfect van for three car seats and easy access to all three in the third row. You stow the middle passenger side seat and you have an easy way to get at the third row. Mom could even sit in the other second row seat not stowed, to be close to them if needed. Stow-n-Go is very family friendly. They work much better than Honda or Toyota in getting to the back row seats. They're not just good for hauling stuff. They're perfect for families.
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Replying to: marine2 (Jun 13, 2005 2:43 pm) |
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