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Vans & Minivans Honda Odyssey Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna
5135 messages, Last post on Nov 09, 2009 at 1:03 PM
You are in the Honda Odyssey Forum. Your Host is Karens
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Replying to: dz6t (Nov 30, 2008 10:50 pm)  Two Honda dealerships and one Toyota dealership were excellent. The other Honda and Toyota dealerships in our local area will NEVER sell me a vehicle. #6. Not only is center portion of the Sienna dash UGLY, but the reflected glare off the poorly designed center portion is a safety hazard,  However, if you need the largest cargo space behind the 3rd row seat and must have a trip computer, buy the Sienna. 
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Hi,I have a 2007 honda Odyssey which I don`t really like.I was looking to trade it in for a 2007 Sienna.I wanted to know if I am making a correct choice here. My Odyssey has just 6500 miles,so I am OK with it.i like the drive and it has had no problems.But after reading all the reviews and comments,I am worried about the long term drive,comfort and reliability. I am planning to keep it upto atleast 100k miles.My concerns are: 1.Will the ride get harsher and will the road noise get more pronounced as i put on more miles say 30k or more?How bad is the road noise after 30kmiles.i am really worried about this.Also I heard the ride over rough roads and on highways gets very rough with vibrations on the Odyssey.How much of this is a factor?I really hate rough rides over bumps and the road noise.And does the steering get tighter over time?B`cos right now it is still very taut for my comfort. 2.How is the transmission holding up?Upto 50k miles,no car has any problem,but after that?Can any high mileage Odyssey owners give an insight into this ? 3.Also,are Honda parts more expensive?And do the parts on Odyssey break down more than on the Sienna? So my main concerns are- Ride quality,Road noise,tight steering wheel ,vibrations with rattles and Honda transmission reliability. Will I be wise to get the Sienna based on my preferences assuming I plan to keep the minivan for atleast 7 or 8 years and that comfort is a big issue. My Ford SUV is much quieter and has a better smoother ride with less road noise than the Odyssey.But reliability was not that good. Again,I am not complaining against the Odyssey lovers,but my priorities are different. My wife and me right now are really torn on this decision. Your help is greatly appreciated.Thanks.
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Replying to: deltheking (Feb 03, 2009 11:12 pm) Reliability is a probability game and that probability is built into the resale pricing. Any reliability difference between the Sienna and the Odyssey will be more than washed out by the trade costs- that is especially true in the first few years of the vehicle life. |
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Replying to: deltheking (Feb 03, 2009 11:12 pm) To answer your questions... 1. Depends on the tires. Old tires can get noisier, but otherwise there should not be a significant degredation in noise suppression. 2. Trans have improved, AFAIK. They keep revising them, though I'm not sure if the 2007 has all the latest improvements. You're OK for 60k miles anyway (powertrain warranty). 3. Not sure, but consider getting a 7/100 warranty, because those are under a grand for both of these vans. Basically you seem worried so an extended warranty would probably address your concerns better than trading for a used Sienna, which you wouldn't know the history of and could give you worse problems. Around me the 2 year old Siennas are mostly program cars, not privately owned. I doubt the drivers take the best care of those. |
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Not sure if this is important to other people, but one of the reasons we chose to go with the Odyssey over the Sienna, is that in the Sienna we test drove (XLE AWD I think) the 2nd row captain seats, barely reclined and when they did they were very uncomfortable (lumbar pushing into lower back). We found the Odyssey seats reclined more but maybe are still a bit uncomfortable (a cushion to raise you up might help that.). This was a big issue for us because our kids like to recline the seats and sleep on long trips. Our old Grand Voyager van had 2nd row seats that would almost completely recline. Interestingly, the same issue was why we rejected the GMC Acadia and other crossovers that we were considering. In general, I also much prefer the interior of the Odyssey. We bought a 2008 EX-L RES. ..Roger
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Replying to: rpc3 (Feb 09, 2009 7:28 am) When it comes to straight-up people moving, vans still beat crossovers any day of the week! |
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Greetings fellow minivan drivers! I was the proud owner of a 2000 Odyssey EX which I recently replaced with a 2009 Sienna Limited AWD. I feel I am supremely qualified to comment on their differences, so please hang on to every word I say. The Ody was still running well at 9 years and 135,000 miles, but it seemed reasonable to replace it at this point. In fact, I kept postponing buying a new car because I wasn't particularly excited about it. I was hoping hard for a hybrid minivan, but the tyranny of the majority prevents it from happening, and I suppose we're lucky enough that there are minivans at all. Initially I was leaning towards replacing the Ody with another Ody, but it was only a small preference. But then my wife insisted we should get an AWD (for skiing) and that pretty much settled it. Interestingly, she would have preferred a Highlander Hybrid, but I wasn't ready for a smaller car yet, and this is "my" car. The Highlander Hybrid with comparable equipment also cost about $8,000 more, which I would have recovered in about 8 years at $4/gallon. The reasons for initially preferring the Ody were basically two: looks (I know, it's subjective, and they are both fairly ugly anyhow) and the removable 8th seat. In contrast, I felt the Sienna would have noticeably more power (I test drove both) and would be quieter. I agreed that the current Ody seems to handle better than the 2000 model, but I didn't think it would make much of a difference. Either of them still handles better than most SUVs (possibly excluding the sporty SUVs like the Porsche or the BMW, which I haven't tried). And now my impressions on the Sienna AWD. The first impression is that the Sienna handles better than I remembered. I don't know if the AWD has the same suspensions as the 2WD, but they are quite stiff, without being jarring. The lean on curves is minimal. I have driven large american sedans that leaned a great deal more. The tire grip is excellent. It probably helps that these are M&S tires (Mud and Snow) which will probably wear out in 20k miles. The steering is fairly detached, but even the current Ody's steering is much more detached than the old one. And now, about power. I am coming to the conclusion that our perception of power is more influenced by throttle response than the actual available torque or power. The Ody feels peppy starting from a standstill because, starting from a closed throttle, a small push on the accelerator pedal produces a large change in the engine load, so large that it is often difficult to control it precisely. As one keeps pushing, the load doesn't change as quickly. More specifically, after reaching an engine load of about 80% (or about 4 gallons per hour at 2000rpm), it takes a bigger push on the accelerator to increase the power. I know these numbers because I have a ScanGauge. In contrast, the Sienna throttle response is a lot gentler at low power. But when reaching, again, a load of about 80 (which is also about 4 gph), a small change in the pedal position produces a much bigger change in the Sienna than in the Ody. The Sienna is also a lot more willing to downshift than the Ody. One consequence of this is that I believe one's driving style has a much larger impact on the Sienna's mileage than the Ody's. I have noticed that on the Sienna it's much easier to find yourself at 2500 or 3000 rpm sipping 8gph than it was on the Ody. The fact that I am driving an AWD may have some impact on this. Gas mileage on the Sienna AWD is 10% to 20% worse than the 2000 Ody. Interior and controls. Folks usually say that the Sienna is more refined, but I don't see that much difference. One item I like better in the Sienna is the gear shift knob. Instead of simply moving up and down like in the Ody, the Sienna shifter zigzags up and down and left and right in an apparently random fashion. But it turns out that the zigzag is not random at all, and in fact is quite helpful at reducing confusion about what gear you're in. This may not matter much in the flats, but we live in the hills and downshift often to save the brakes. I also like the radar cruise control a lot. It works very well even in heavy traffic and doesn't get confused in curves. My only gripe, which is the same as for any cruise control I've tried, is that it is too aggressive at regaining its target speed. So if your target speed is 70 but you're following a car at 60, and the car moves out of your lane, the cruise control will put you at 4000 rpm and 10 gph to bring you back to 70 as quickly as possible. I wish cruise controls had a "take-it-easy" option. (Same for air conditioning, by the way.) This is all I have to say for now. If I may conclude with one word of wisdom: these two cars are very similar and we're a bunch of nitpicking whiners who should get a life. Thank you very much.
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Replying to: semenzato (Feb 12, 2009 11:50 am) Really like your sense of humor as well. I like to ski too, but am going to stick with my Honda and bring along tire chains. Have not decided yet if that's a good or bad idea? My theory is if the roads are that bad, I'm just going to find a motel. Thanks! 
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We are moving with two kids from Oregon to southwestern Wisconsin and upgrading from our small Saturn to a van. It seems Honda and Toyota make the top two vans. My wife feels strongly about getting the Toyota with AWD because of snow in the upper midwest. We do lots of things outdoors with the kids, and I do think we will be off the beaten path frequently for cross country skiing and other winter activities. Sienna vs Odyssey seems debatable from looking at the forums and professional reviews. The Odyssey seems slightly better reviewed but I'm on the fence. My question is whether I need the Toyota with AWD or could I just get by with a good pair of snow tires for the winter on the Odyssey? The small rolling hills of Wisconsin are not the Cascade range of the northwest. Would AWD really matter that much? |
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Replying to: newvanner (Feb 12, 2009 9:01 pm) You have to used a little common sense. When you get 12 inches of snow, you should wait for the snow plow to go through before driving too far, however I've driven in those conditions and done okay. I did buy a set of tire chains this fall, just in case. There's maybe 2 or 3 days in the whole year that 4WD is necessary. Is it really worth the extra cost? I don't think so, but I'm sure other people will disagree.
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