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Sienna vs Grand Caravan/Town & Country

140 messages,  Last post on Oct 23, 2007 at 12:22 PM

You are in the Toyota Sienna Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Town and Country, Van

Messages Page 13 of 15

#115 of 140 Re: Sienna vs Grand Caravan/Town & Country [hansienna] by thewraith

Dec 23, 2006 (7:51 am)

Replying to: hansienna (Oct 07, 2005 9:26 pm)
My wife and I have a '98 T&C SX that we just loved! It has been our primary "travel vehicle", and now has 152,000 miles on it. This past summer, we were in the market for a newer one. We looked at all 2005 models. We did exhaustive comparisons between the Toyota Sienna, Chrysler T&C, Honda Odissey and Kia Sedona. We quickly took the Honda out of the mix due to price. The Kia was "okay", but not as solid as the Toyota or T&C. We test drove both quite a bit, and talked to owners of both.
We went with the '05 T&C Touring. The past experience with Chrysler was key, as well as the Stow & Go seating - I was tired of having to store the back seat from the old van!
My wife wanted the power sliders on both sides, and the power lift gate. The van has all that, and we love it!
 
P.S. The '98 is for sale...

#116 of 140 Re: Sienna vs Grand Caravan/Town & Country [thewraith] by

Dec 25, 2006 (7:03 pm)

Replying to: thewraith (Dec 23, 2006 7:51 am)
Enjoy your new van. Each has advantages. We had a 2002 T&C LX, got a new 2006 Sienna LE and gave the T&C to our daughter. WE have test driven the 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2006 Odysseys as well has driven our son's 2001 Ody EX many times before it got wrecked.
     The Odyssey is not as quiet as the Sienna or T&C and the T&C is slightly quieter than the T&C...but had twice the cargo space behind 3rd seat as did the 02 T&C. However, the new Siennas have the MOST cargo space behind 3rd row of any minivan but the T&C has the additional space under the floor between front and 2nd rows.

#117 of 140 Re: Sienna vs Grand Caravan/Town & Country [] by bobw3

Jan 10, 2007 (6:24 pm)

Replying to: unknown (Dec 25, 2006 7:03 pm)
http://www-5.chrysler.com/vehsuite/VehicleCompare.jsp
http://www.toyota.com/sienna/specs.html
 
Based on the specs listed on the manufacturer's webpages, the Sienna has 2" more legroom in row 1, 3" more in row 2 and 6" more in row 3 and as far as cargo space:
Behind rows 1/2/3
Sienna 148.9/94.5/43.6
T&C 144.2/85.9/32.5
 
And both vehicles are the same length, width and height, so I'd say the Sienna wins by far for people space and even for cargo space. But if you're using it mostly as a cargo van and must have the stow-n-go, then get the T&C, but the passengers would probably rather have the extra space inside the Sienna.

#118 of 140 2007 T&C Limited VS Sienna Limited AWD by 5greyhounds

Jan 29, 2007 (7:44 pm)

It took some real deep thought about both (they both have their ups and downs) but we ended up with a T&C Limited. The stow and go was the clincher. We have retired racing Greyhounds so I needed the stow and go. The interior of the Sienna is hands down one of the most beautiful I have seen and at night the interior lighing is drop dead beautiful. However, the T&C is not far behind. I would have liked the AWD but I have a truck with 4WD and my wife has a Subaru with AWD so it was not a must. The 4k rebate did not hurt either. I did get the extended warranty due to the transmissions issues but from all I have been reading it seems that they have been solved. I traded in a Windstar SEL that while not great it was dependable but when I went to put the middle seats in I remembered why I opted for the T&C. Both ride nice and OHV or not, the 3.8 is as smooth as the Sienna. The Honda did not even enter the picture. The interior is what I would call "industrial". I saw some pictures of the 2008 T&C and did not like either the exterior or interior. I am not a big fan of the Aspen and that is what the front end looks like. The interior was "OK". So, I got the T&C and they paid me 4k to buy it. This is my first Chrysler ever so we will just have to see what we will see.

#119 of 140 Toyota Sienna Consumer Rating Abnormally Low by thegraduate

Feb 07, 2007 (1:46 pm)

If you go and read the consumer ratings for the Sienna, I can't help but wonder how dumb someone has to be to buy a car that they don't like so obviously. Seems to me a buyer spending over $30k would do a little more research.
  
Either that, or a couple of trolls have made some bogus reviews on the Sienna. (I'm a Honda owner, so not Toyota biased).
  
Here's someone who rated it 2.5:
  
Comments: Handles like it is three times as heavy as it is, underpowered, interior could use some refinement. Overall unpleased.
Favorite Features: Nothing special about the Sienna.
Suggested Improvements: More power and fuel economy, improved handling, upgrade interior.
  
These are things that should be evident from a test drive (except maybe fuel economy).
  
I think it's a bogus review.

#120 of 140 Re: 2007 T&C Limited VS Sienna Limited AWD [5greyhounds] by steliov

Feb 10, 2007 (10:59 am)

Replying to: 5greyhounds (Jan 29, 2007 7:44 pm)
We just purchased our first Sienna, a 2006 LE, so too early to tell. But after suffering with a 2000 GC and multiple transmission replacements, even a Yugo minivan would be an improvement. I've gotten more than 150 k out of every other vehicle I've ever owned. Not so with the GC. First tran went out at 48k. Chrysler's rebuild version went out at 111k. And that's not to mention probs with steering, breaks, AC and so on. The tran on my brother's GC died at just over 60k. If only we had heeded the warnings! Buyer beware!

#121 of 140 Re: 2007 T&C Limited VS Sienna Limited AWD [steliov] by 5greyhounds

Feb 11, 2007 (7:55 am)

Replying to: steliov (Feb 10, 2007 10:59 am)
I did this with some trepidation myself but I did get the extended coverage. This is a "third" vehicle for us. I have a suzuki XL-7 limited that I love and my wife has a Subaru Impreza outback sport that she loves. This is mostly for the dogs and trips with them. We are taking a trip to Jekyle Island Georgia in a few weeks and will put about 1.5k on the van. We will then see what it is made of. So far the navigation system has worked well. We did a test run to a friends house in Maryland and it took us right to the door. I did 7 years, 75K since I do not look at more than 10K a year on it. It seems everyone one, even Honda and Toyota, has problems. With my windstar it was the transmission gaskets. They would start to leak every 30 to 35k along with the power doors not closing properly. We have several people in our Greyhound Adoption Group that have the T&C and are happy with them so we have taken the jump. I did test the Toyota, XLE Limted AWD and was impressed but for the money the T&C came out ahead, especially with the with the stow and go. Just have to see. Good luck with yours and I hope we both enjoy our selections.

#122 of 140 Re: 2007 T&C Limited VS Sienna Limited AWD [5greyhounds] by 97xpresso

Feb 11, 2007 (9:24 am)

Replying to: 5greyhounds (Feb 11, 2007 7:55 am)
If you were able to keep a Windstar on the road, you should have no problem with your 07 T&C. I can't even find an ad in Sundays paper for any Ford or GM minivan. Like you said, "everyone has problems", but my 2001 Caravan has been trouble-free. They paid you $4K to buy it, and you gave them some back for your 7/75000, you should be able to enjoy this vehicle for many years to come.

#123 of 140 Re: Caravan transmissions and Payload by seatiger

Mar 16, 2007 (9:05 am)

Replying to: 97xpresso (Feb 11, 2007 9:24 am)
I have a 1999 Chrysler Voyager (mexican version) with the 3.3L and 41TE transaxle. It's approaching 65,000 miles without a problem except for the fan relay module which I changed (US$ 100).
 
What impresses me is the very light payload this van is rated for, on the glove box there it is a label which especifies the maximum payload for the van is 454 kgs. (1000 lbs.), which means my 200 lbs. body uses 1/5th of the maximum payload, so I must be carrying light stuff and forget about carrying 7 adults since I will go way past the maximum payload of the van, and maybe placing stress on the transmission which is designed for light cars like the Dodge Stratus.
 
Any thoughts of this?
(I might be 200 lbs. but I'm fit huh? i'm 6'3" )

#124 of 140 Re: 2007 T&C Limited VS Sienna Limited AWD [97xpresso] by mtnbrfl

Mar 20, 2007 (10:45 am)

Replying to: 97xpresso (Feb 11, 2007 9:24 am)
That is because both GM and Ford have discontinued their minivan lines. DCX is the only "domestic" left.
 
I myself have a 2004 Sienna XLE with 70,000 miles and love it. The only issue is the drivers sliding door lock broke. We recently had new brake pads for the front installed and routine maintenance.
 
At times the power does seem a little lacking. However that is solved with the new 3.5L engine.
 
Matt

Messages Page 13 of 15

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