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Vans & Minivans Toyota Sienna Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna
5227 messages, Last post on Dec 05, 2009 at 5:09 AM
You are in the Toyota Sienna Forum. Your Host is Karens
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Replying to: thegraduate (Nov 04, 2009 6:30 pm) Thank You
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So I read through the past 10 pages of this forum and tough to get some good info. Here's the situation I'm in. I need a car soon - my current car is just about had it. My wife wants a minivan - 2 kids, another one on the way. We both prefer the Odyssey (by a slight margin), mainly based on exterior looks and a couple nice interior features. However, the Sienna is about 2K cheaper for the models we like for both, plus Toyota is offering 1.9% financing currently while Honda has nothing, making it more like a $5K difference when you factor in interest. I almost feel stupid going for the Honda for that much more when I think they are that similar. Any thoughts, opinions? I appreciate it...I feel like I'm lost here...
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Replying to: jsseinfeld (Nov 04, 2009 9:03 pm) i went with the le evp#2 and never looked back. i am very happy with the van and think it feels great when i "drive" it....... when i "push" it, i am in love with the power and response. i also feel the handling and ride are great for me and my family. good luck whatever your choice. |
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Replying to: tylerwku (Nov 04, 2009 7:12 pm) 
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Replying to: jsseinfeld (Nov 04, 2009 9:03 pm) I usually tell people to buy what you love. In this case, though, $5 grand is a whole heck of a lot of moolah. You've got 3 college funds to build. Get the Sienna but spend part of that $5 grand getting, uh, a TV for your bedroom.  You will find plenty to like - the engine, the smooth, quiet ride, and if you're looking at LE models, I strongly suggest the 8 passenger model. Your wife will love-Love-LOVE the front-and-center seat for the baby. She'll reach him/her from the front seat. The other 2 kids right there in the 2nd row, and 99 cubic feet of cargo space in the dungeon. Driving your 3rd home from the hospital, I bet you'll agree that was the right call. Good luck with whichever van you end up with.
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Replying to: tylerwku (Nov 04, 2009 6:01 pm) The Toyota salesman told me that the new Siennas all have active head restraints. I don't know if this will make a difference in the ratings for rear end collisions in the future. The Honda has better real world loss ratings (not by much), but both the Ody and the Sienna are above average. In the real world, it is almost always better to be in a large vehicle like a minivan or SUV than in a compact car. I can't even imagine what happens to those tiny smart cars in a wreck. No thanks!
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Replying to: ateixeira (Nov 05, 2009 8:54 am) I'm going to the Honday dealer Sat. morning and following it up with the Toyota dealer and will make a choice next week. I'm just going to tell the Honda dealer my situation and see what they say. It would be hard for me to justify an extra $5K for something we slightly like better... Then again, we've only test driven the Sienna up until this point, so we'll see. Interesting point on the 8th seat. My wife said that with the 8th seat in the Sienna, you lose the 2nd row bucket seats that come with the 7 passenger and instead get the bench like seats (my wife likes the bucket seats). My point was who cares - we have young kids. I'll definitely look into that though. It sounds like either way I go I won't make a bad decision. I just wish the Honda had some sort of deal going on now. Ah well... Thanks again for your opinions. Any others are welcome!
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Replying to: doggrandma (Nov 05, 2009 9:22 am) You can bet on it. Every single current Honda model scored better than its predecessor, both cars and trucks, when this feature was added. No exceptions. Ody was Marginal as recently as 2007. One generation ago, all Hondas scored Poor or Marginal. Now they all score Good. Rigdgeline was the latest improved model, for 2009. This is good because it forces manufacturers to improve their headrests to match the competition. The bad things is that the headrests are closer and may feel a bit intrustive, so try it out. I liked my 98 Forester headrest better than our 09, but safety is probably more important than comfort. Avalon and Corolla went from Poor to good for model year 2009, as well. |
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Replying to: jsseinfeld (Nov 05, 2009 9:36 am) You still get individual 3 bucket seats, only you lose the arm rests. So it goes from captain's chairs to bucket seats, basically. Keep in mind the kids will be in boosters and infant seats. You need as much width as you can get to fit 3 side-by-side. I simply got booster seats that had armrests (still using those) and cup holders. For sure take those seat with you. I doubt you can get 3 to fit in the Ody's 2nd row, and then the kids draw straws - loser sits by himself in the 3rd row. That's no fun. Also, with the middle seat all the way forward, they're staggered, so the baby is closer to mom. I'm not sure but I think in the Ody the seats move fore/aft together, so you can't really do that. Let me look for a pic...here's one, that middle seat slides several inches forward:  This pic is HUGE but it really demonstrates what I'm talking about quite well, note how the middle seat is half a foot closer to mom: http://www.familyeditors.com/craigslist/Sienna_flexseating-2.jpg Overall width is greater, too. What they did was move the outboard seats farther out, to make room for a 20" wide middle seat. The outer seats are 22". 3 kids will fit easily. I put 2 kids in boosters plus a nanny in the middle, and everyone is comfy. The back is so huge that way we can fit the kids' bicycles inside. The seating arrangement is the main reason I bought it. Unbeatable versatility for 5, at any price, period.
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Replying to: doggrandma (Nov 05, 2009 9:22 am) |
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