Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna

5223 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 2:56 PM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Car Comparisons, Van

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#4664 of 5223: Re: Which one to purchase used? [bobber1] by ateixeira; Jul 31, 2008 (8:13 am)

Replying to: bobber1 (Jul 23, 2008 5:13 pm)

Different strokes for different folks

That sums it up pretty well. The Ody is better for drivers (more feedback in the steering), but the Sienna is better for passengers (quieter, more isolated).

Drive both and you should be able to identify your personal preference.

For us, there are more passengers than drivers, and we wanted a quiet van for long road trips so the kids could watch movies and the wife could nap. We dropped in a 12" DVD player in a Sienna and found just about the perfect vehicle for our needs. Our trip mileage has been excellent so that was icing on the cake.

My other car is a Miata. If I had to drive the minivan every single day (for my commute and for personal use) I may have given the Ody stronger consideration, but I still don't have any regrets. I don't drive the van aggressively, not ever.

That C&D article was really good, anyone here should check it out. The Sienna was significantly quicker and still managed to get better mpg, and it matched the Ody in lateral grip despite being handicapped with smaller wheels. C&D gives a lot of weight to steering feel and the Sienna's is more isolated than my Nintendo Wii Remote, so that's probably what kept it from winning. In terms of hard numbers it killed the Ody by a wide margin, in fact I'd say the Dodge came in 2nd (also quicker and more fuel efficient than the Honda) and the Ody was a distant 3rd.

dantana01 (Jul 31, 2008 1:17 pm)
- ateixeira (Aug 01, 2008 9:13 am)
bobber1 (Jul 31, 2008 6:29 pm)
- ateixeira (Aug 01, 2008 9:11 am)

#4665 of 5223: Re: Which one to purchase used? [ateixeira] by dantana01; Jul 31, 2008 (1:17 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Jul 31, 2008 8:13 am)

I think in 0-60 and 1/4 mile times, the Kia was actually the fastest of all the minivans? I also believe it had the best lateral grip too, in fact I think C&D even tested it against a Ferrari 308GTS, ridiculous I know but they wanted to make a point of how far cars have come in 20 years.

ateixeira (Aug 01, 2008 9:13 am)

#4666 of 5223: Re: Which one to purchase used? [ateixeira] by bobber1; Jul 31, 2008 (6:29 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Jul 31, 2008 8:13 am)

Oh I won't disagree the Honda may be a bit louder than the Toyota, but my goodness it's not that bad. My kids watch DVD just fine and my wife snoozes all the time on the road. I remember when we test drove both vans, we made a point of one of sitting in back and the other in front and turning off the radio and talking to each other. We didn't notice much difference at all. As a matter of fact we thought the Toyota engine noise was louderr(that was when it still had the 3.3 engine).

ateixeira (Aug 01, 2008 9:11 am)

#4667 of 5223: Wonder if it's the tires? by speterson1; Aug 01, 2008 (8:38 am)

I also agree that the Ody is louder than the Sienna, but I wonder how much of that is due to the tires? Our Ody only has about 16K miles on it (bought in January of 2007) so it'll be awhile yet before I get new tires, but when I do, I'll be anxious to see how much that will improve the road noise. I'm not real crazy about the OEM Michelins.

#4668 of 5223: Re: Which one to purchase used? [bobber1] by ateixeira; Aug 01, 2008 (9:11 am)

Replying to: bobber1 (Jul 31, 2008 6:29 pm)

The 2007 Siennas got more sound insulation in the firewall and in the door jambs. That's also when they moved to the 3.5l engines.

I actually have diagrams of where they added insulation in the firewall.

#4669 of 5223: Re: Which one to purchase used? [dantana01] by ateixeira; Aug 01, 2008 (9:13 am)

Replying to: dantana01 (Jul 31, 2008 1:17 pm)

In that comparo, the Sienna was the quickest.

At one point I scanned in the performance data, let me look for it.

Toyota was first, Dodge was 2nd.

I like comparos because they drive all the vehicles on the same day, under the same conditions.

#4670 of 5223: Found it by ateixeira; Aug 01, 2008 (9:14 am)

Click to see larger image.

Minivans.jpg
631x464 (88kb)

#4671 of 5223: Re: Found it [ateixeira] by hansienna; Aug 01, 2008 (8:36 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Aug 01, 2008 9:14 am)

NICE link. Morale of the test:

If a person wants a fast, fuel efficient, noisy minivan: Sienna

If a person wants a quiet minivan cruising at 70 MPH: Grand Caravan

If a person wants a gas guzzler: Hyundai or Quest

If a person wants a nimble, fun to drive minivan: Honda Odyssey (Not shown in the graph but described in the C&D Article). The over-hyped VCM Odyssey engine was obviously designed to trick the EPA test and does NOT deliver the advertised fuel economy in the real world.

ateixeira (Aug 04, 2008 6:35 am)

#4672 of 5223: Re: Found it [ateixeira] by dantana01; Aug 04, 2008 (5:51 am)

Replying to: ateixeira (Aug 01, 2008 9:14 am)

Nice link. I think the data I had read was definitely pre-08 and not a 4.0 Dodge or 3.5L Toyota, but the Kia definitely has a sporty feel almost (not quite) similar to the Honda. I test drove the 08 Dodge and it did indeed felt faster than the Kia, but the road feel was a little more vague and not as stable or confidence inspiring as either the Kia or Honda, but it sure has some great entertainment features. The 1/4 mile time for the Toyota is pretty impressive considering it is only .2 liters more than their previous motor.

Hansienna, I thought the VCM did turn in better real world MPG ratings than without? Of course, your results may vary. Thanks for you opinions in previous post, very honest and informative.

Dodge now is dealing big time on their vans, they weren't even on my short list but I might have to change that. Reliability still scares me on these and resale value.

#4673 of 5223: Re: Found it [hansienna] by ateixeira; Aug 04, 2008 (6:35 am)

Replying to: hansienna (Aug 01, 2008 8:36 pm)

It's noisy at idle and at full throttle, but note that at cruising speeds it's right at the class average.

The reason is the new engine - they went to noisier timing chains, rather than belts, like your 3.3l has.

It's a van, so I rarely floor the throttle, so overall I would not call it noisy at all. Road and wind noise are actually well contained. You do hear the engine when you gun it, though.