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2011/2012 Odyssey EXL Vs Sienna XLE

22 messages,  Last post on Jul 02, 2012 at 7:03 AM

You are in the Vans & Minivans Forum.

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

Messages Page 3 of 3

#20 of 22 Sienna by islandvan

Jun 04, 2012 (6:41 am)

I have a 2010 Sienna LE (8 passenger) currently w/ 44,000 miles on it and am very happy with the car. Looked at Ody, Nissan and Chrysler T&C also.
 
A few nits to pick but nothing major, it rides and performs like a mini van should, actually better. I have had a few friends / family that have driven my van and remark on how impressed they are in that it does NOT seem like a mini van.... " this thing flies and handles much better than I thought it would" Even my 20 something kids like it.
 
After the first 2 or 3 maintenance visits I have done all the maintenance via a local mechanic as I HATE dealerships and I have never gotten a break from them and feel they just wait for the opportunity to screw you over when something is not covered. Remember when Toyota and Honda would bend over backwards to make their customers happy?
 
I looked at this and an Ody and liked them both but at the time (Sept 09) Honda was the one NOT doing any dealing and it would have been a $2500 difference to get the things that came on the Sienna as std plus the discounts Toyota was offering (Honda would not budge, they let me walk!!) and while I liked the styling of the Ody a little better it was not enough to make me lose the $$.
 
Now I have read about the tranny problems on Ody and the sliding door problems on the older Siennas and have come to the conclusion that every car has it's problems, every manufacturer goes back and forth on how much they want to discount etc. you just have to catch them at the right time.
 
Bottom line is that I like the Sienna and plan on keeping it for a while. We use the capacity and folding seats a lot - I have a t-shirt / promo business and deliver lots of larger boxes. I actually took out the middle seat in the 2nd row as I do not need it too much and it is pretty easy to put in when I need it.
 
We also have a camp in Maine and I have toted everything from kayaks (INSIDE and on the roof), bikes and lumber, to kids and adults all over dirt roads and paved in all kinds of weather and am happy. We do not tow our boat with this car.
 
I will say that I came from a 2000 Chevy Venture 8 passenger and that lasted us 10 years w/ about 180k miles. Good van but Chevy had nothing to replace it with.
 
Good luck with your choice and safe travels.

#21 of 22 Am very happy to replace my Ody with a Sienna by jmooth

Jun 06, 2012 (11:11 am)

I had a 2006 Odyssey that was a problem almost from the get-go. All kinds of plastic parts breaking off (and I do treat my cars well), the infamous air conditioning condenser replacement, several brake re-dos, no auto headlights, lousy nav system (GPS Drive on my iPhone is far superior), and finally the transmission failure at 93K did it in. I had a 2005 Sienna that was totaled. Went with the Honda because I needed leather with eight-passenger capacity, which Toyota didn't offer at the time. Am now driving a 2012 Sienna XLE, and couldn't be happier. No more nav system that requires annual $150 updates, no more DVD that kids just fight over (got them their own Nook Colors instead, much better solution, and far cheaper than in-car DVD), love the blue lighted dash, love the USB and Bluetooth interfaces, the backup display is far better in the Toyota (though smaller, it doesn't wash out in sunlight, which made the Honda display useless, the 8th seat on the Sienna is much easier to deal with, etc etc etc. Toyota leather is much nicer. And I won't even get into the super-ugly new Odyssey styling.

#22 of 22 New Odyssey Owner by bonedoggie

Jul 02, 2012 (7:03 am)

I just purchased a 2012 Odyssey EX-L this past week and compared it to the Sienna LXE comparably equipped. We were prior Odyssey owners, having had a 2003 EX-L RES as well. That vehicle had transmission issues which are well documented on the net. Ours only had 92k miles and we had hoped to get many more miles from it, but it was not to be. That failure obviously had caused me to question the reliability of the newer vans as well and compare them to the Sienna. As a side note, the OdyClub forum group was of very little help as I posted a question on any reports of complete tranny failures on the newer models and was told to search other messages. There were no other messages specific to my query and the pissy moderator shut down the thread.
 
Regardless, we were forced to compare the two to obtain a new van. As a prior owner of an Odyssey we were immediately more comfortable with the new version. The controls and feel were similar and we liked the organization of the van. We even liked the 2nd row middle seat set up better. I would say I thought the vans drove very much the same. The Odyssey a little more tight, but the difference was negligible to me. I thought the leather in the Sienna was nicer and the airiness of the cabin was nice. I know it's subjective and I'm picky, but the Sienna was just a bit too unfinished for us. That said, the Odyssey was a few thousand dollars more. I don't think you can go wrong either way, but I'm taking a chance that they've fixed the transmission reliability issues and I get many years out of this new van.

Messages Page 3 of 3

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