Sienna or Oddesy?

[starann]

DH and I need a new van (REALLY, ours has just baout 200,000 miles on it and I drive it everyday praying that today won't be the day it dies. WE have 3 children and 2 dogs, so we need something with a 3rd seat.).


The Toyota Sienna and the Honda Oddesy are the ones we are looking at. We are HOPING to get a new one, but depending on the payment, we may need to look at a gently used one.


Does anyone have anything to say about either, or a cheaper alternative to these mini vans?

TIA!

 

[kinntj]

I have the Odyssey and love it. I liked the Sienna too, but it came down to the packages and how it drives. I loved the car like feeling of the Honda. My DH loved the Sienna, but since I drive it every day I won. He thought the Sienna drove really smooth and couldn't feel the bumps in the road as much.

Test drive them and see which one you like. We had 5 dealers send quotes and went with the lowest. I did a lot of research on the Sienna and Odyssey forums on the internet. They are great help with how to ask for out the door pricing and getting a great deal. Warranty pricing is a little trickier, but we felt we still got a great deal.

 

[bnhasak]

We just bought a new Odyssey. We tried out every van and we loved the Sienna and the Odyssey and even considered the Kia Sedona. We eventually went with a new Honda EX simply because it was the best price. Toyota had no wiggle room. We looked at a fully loaded 2 year old Odyssey EX-L but it was only a $1000K less than the new EX. Since we drive a lot (Disneyworld from PA) we needed the mileage of the new instead of the luxury items.

I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Good luck.

 

[Neesy228]

I have a Sienna that I love. Had it for 4 years now and no problems or complaints. We bought ours used (had 28,000 miles on it when we bought it) because we found our local Toyota dealers pretty unwilling to bend on the price of a new one...so we went to another dealer who had a used one sitting in their lot and bought there.

I think that you need to do what a PP said and do some test driving. I think once you get in, you'll see things you like/hate and those will be the things that ultimately make the decision for you!

 

[starann]

Thanks for the replies so far!!!!


I plan on test driving them both.....the poster who looked at the Kia Sedona...what did you think of it? I was looking at them online tonight and noticed the price wasn't much lower than the other 2.


I drive daily for work (I am a visiting nurse) and need something comfy and good on gas that we can drive on long trips with the kids so they can be comfy (NC to see family and WDW, but that is not gonna be for awhile...poop!).


I'll have to tell DH about Toyota not having much wiggling room as far as price is concerned!

 

[vegasnative]

I have the Odyssey, mine is an 07, and I love it. I love that it drives like a car, that was huge for me because I have never been a mini van driving kind of gal. When we went to LA for Spring Break last month we rented a Sienna. I think it felt a bit roomier inside than my Odyssey did, especially because the second row of seats are full seats as opposed to my second row is like 2 1/2 seats. I have 3 kids also, but I have 1 that sits in the 3rd row, the other 2 in the second row. The thrid row gets rotated each time we stop, so the 2 oldest kids have to swap each time we stop and get out of the van. In the Sienna, there was room for all 3 (all in booster seats) to sit comfortably in the 2nd row together.....however, I didn't care for the way it drove, it felt bigger, more like a mini van.

Do you live in snow (I didn't look). The Odyssey is FWD as opposed to Sienna's AWD. THe AWD is supposed to be better in snow, however, we get snowy winters and my Odyssey has been fabulous in the snow. I'm very pleased with mine!

 

[GOOFY D]

We've had 3 Odysseys and love them. I would buy one in a heartbeat.

 

[hugabearjo]

I too have an Odyssey, 2000, it has way more miles than any van should. It is getting to the point where it isn't worth fixing and I have to tell you I am sad. It is like losing a friend. I have loved my Odyssey and will buy another as soon as our other car is paid off.

Good Luck, it is hard to decide on a new car.

 

[Melrosgirl]

I had had both. I had a 2004 Sienna and I have a 2008 Odyssey. I like the Odyssey more. Sienna excels at being a little smoother and being more family friendly (as in they have their sliding door controls, sunroof controls in the center so both people in the front seats have access). Odyssey drives better, has better turning radius and is a car that everyday I think "I love my minivan."

Had I not driven the Odyssey on an impulse last year, I would not have traded in my Sienna bc I was happy with it. Once I drove the Odyssey though, I knew my Sienna would have to go. Just one of those things.

 

[Mililani Mouser]

www.odyclub.com is an honda odyssey forum, which helped me tremendously when i bought my ody. there is a "prices paid" thread so you can see what people are paying for their cars across the country. they also list places you can get the best deals on the car and the extended warranties.

when i was in cali, i rented a sienna, and it made me miss my ody so much!

 

[Hankshouse]

I have to say, we've owned a Hyundai Entourage for almost three years and absolutely LOVE it! We looked at both the Sienna, Odyssey and Kia Sedona (which is almost the same vehicle as the Entourage) but settled on the Entourage since it has a slightly longer wheelbase. This means more cargo area which we need since we transport my DD wheelchair. The price point on the Entourage is lower than the Sienna and Odyssey but slightly more than the Sedona. We also have had no issues with van and love the warranty.

 

[Colinsmom]

We were shopping for a new Sienna or Odyssey last month (ended up waiting to buy since my dad might sell us his gently used Odyssey later this year) and found that Toyota was more willing to negotiate on price than Honda. Compare the option packages, too - for what we wanted (more than the base model but not the fully loaded model), the Sienna sticker price was several thousand less than the Odyssey sticker price.

We have a 2003 Odyssey at home with 93,000 miles that we love. The new van would be in addition to this since we will soon have 4 young kids (twins on the way this summer) and both need the ability to drive all the kids at any time, given our weird work schedules. We had a Sienna rental at WDW last year and were quite happy with it, too. I don't think that you can go wrong with either!

 

[simonsmom]

we are on our 2nd Odyssey and love it!

 

[Belle5]

Hyundai Entourage, Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey and Kia Sedona...which of these offers seating capacity for eight? Thanks!

 

[burnsoc]

We checked out both and went with the Sienna. I liked the smoother ride better. It comes in either FWD or AWD. As far as price, I researched the exact one I wanted on edmunds and paid less then what they posted would be a good true market value. Go to the websites of your local dealers to check out their inventory, that way you have a good idea what you want before you go. I drove forty miles to a dealer and talked to them before I went, so I cut out a lot of the haggling and hassle. They're both good minivans and I don't think you'll go wrong with either. I never thought I'd be a minivan person, but now I love my 18 cupholders.

 

[burnsoc]

I know the CE and LE versions of the Sienna can be bought with an eight passenger configuration.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

www.odyclub.com is an honda odyssey forum, which helped me tremendously when i bought my ody. there is a "prices paid" thread so you can see what people are paying for their cars across the country. they also list places you can get the best deals on the car and the extended warranties.

when i was in cali, i rented a sienna, and it made me miss my ody so much!

Thanks for posting this link. While I pray that we will not be in the market for a little while, this will be very helpful when the time comes!!!

 

[FINFAN]

We checked out both and went with the Sienna. I liked the smoother ride better. It comes in either FWD or AWD. As far as price, I researched the exact one I wanted on edmunds and paid less then what they posted would be a good true market value. Go to the websites of your local dealers to check out their inventory, that way you have a good idea what you want before you go. I drove forty miles to a dealer and talked to them before I went, so I cut out a lot of the haggling and hassle. They're both good minivans and I don't think you'll go wrong with either. I never thought I'd be a minivan person, but now I love my 18 cupholders.

18 cup holders? that's a LOT of refillable mugs!

 

[keywestbride]

I love my Sienna! It handles so nicely, has a ton of features that I adore- the cup holders, seat heaters, DVD player, etc, and I love the way it handles. I think both are great vans- it's just a matter of personal preference.

 

[Justsyd2]

We've had a Sienna for 6 years. We absolutely love it. It drives so well. There's plenty of room, and you have to love all of the cup holders!