Uh oh.

Almost a month into having our second child, I'm finding that my wife's Mazda5 mini-minivan is quickly becoming just two small for our needs.

The middle seats are captains-chair style and are set up with the car seats for the infant and the 2.5 year old. We have the rear seats folded down into a decent sized area for holding luggage, groceries, etc.

The problem is, I just assembled for her a big fancy beast of a double stroller that basically barely fits in this space but leaves no room for anything else. Having her moving it in and out of the house isn't going to work as that thing is pretty big and heavy.

I'm thinking she needs a minivan; her parents have a Honda Odyssey and love it and I've driven it and it's pretty sweet and feels like you're driving a sedan instead of a big minivan. Her sister and husband just had child number 3 and recently bought a Toyota Sienna and they also seem to really like it as well.

Between the two, what do you all think? I'm leaning toward the Honda just because of the name and I know how it rides, but I'm thinking I will have the wife drive her parents Honda and her sister's Toyota and let her decide which one she likes better, as she will be driving it 90% of the time.

And NO, we don't like SUV's so they are out, we love having sliding rear doors that only these vans (and her Mazda) have.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PASig,

I've only seen one member post about having an Odyssey while a few have Siennas.

One of our neighbors just went from an ~03 Odyssey to a new Odyssey. Another is looking at all to replace her Expedition (Odyssey, Sienna, Pacifica) but hasn't decided yet. Co-worker has a newer Sienna (#2 for them) and a former boss just got a loaded Pacifica.
Personally, I prefer Honda, just from prior experience. I think the Sienna looks the best of the 3 & the tech in the Pacifica is quite nice.

It'd be a tough call for me, and I'd work on getting an overnight test drive in each to see how they are to live with for more than an 'around the block' test drive.

What kinda wheels ya gonna put on it....


I'd take her to a dealer and let her drive them without the influence of the two owners, Honda folks are going to like the Honda, Toyota are going to like the Toyo.... Both are good, both are similar either would be a good choice.


You might also look at the New Chrysler Mini Vans, they started this whole genre of vehicles the Pacifica is getting pretty good reviews and some awards a Best Buy from Consumer Reports,IIHS top safety award, Kelly BB best buy, Edmund Best Minivan . Lots of good features and 0% financing and rebates.

https://www.chrysler.com/pacifica.html

They even have a hybrid with close to 600 miles range.... Pretty neat stuff.

I don't have experience with either but think they are both very good.

I might give a slight nod to the Honda but don't know why

My mom used to drive a Sienna. I drove it a few times and was impressed.

That said, a friend of mine started having kids a few years back. He's almost as obsessive as I am when it comes to comparison shopping. He ended up between the Odyssey and Sienna as well, but the Odyssey easily won. I forget his reasons. Something about the way the seats work, I think.

So there you go.

Either one is a solid choice as far as reliability, etc.

-Rob

We've had an Odyssey since '07 and it will be replaced with another Odyssey. I've never been impressed with the Sienna. The ones that I've looked at seemed cheaply built and lacking in features for the price Toyota is asking.

When we were looking for a vehicle for a vacation home a few years ago, those were the two main contenders and we picked the Odyssey. We've been very happy with it.

I rented a Sienna on a recent family trip and didn't like it at all, but it isn't really a fair comparison. Our Odyssey has one of the high-end options packages and the rental Sienna was an absolute base model and had been used hard.

She needs a tractor to drive some of those Pennsylvania roads. Toyota is the #1 selling brand. I like the Sienna van more than Honda. I had 3 Honda Accords. Good vehicals but a Toyota is just better quality. The Toyota parts warehouse I worked in made me a believer. Now, wheres my Sequoia or Tundra? Oh OK, I will settle for a Avalon.

It is personal preference. They will both be reliable and top of class.

family members grew their 2-grade-school kids & 2 dogs into teens in Odyssey with good service; I rode in it around Tampa for a week with 6 people & 2 dogs much of the time and came away quite impressed with the package despite my initial misgivings.

Local friends nurtured a couple kids thru high school multiple athletic team sports & 2 dogs, with no major mechanical issues in their Sienna.

Both of them changed vehicles to a different entire class of rig once their family UHaul needs diminished.

We've had two Odysseys, and will likely replace this "new" ('06, bought in '015) Odyssey when it expires in another 150,000 miles (110,000 on it now). The earlier Odyssey had transmission problems, they all did, and we had to have the transmission rebuilt. AFAIK there are no such systemic problems with Odysseys of the past two generations.
Note if you are looking to buy new, a new generation Odyssey is coming out very soon.

We've ridden in Siennas and they were comfortable. Word I recall from car mags is: Odyssey is more agile, Sienna, more luxury.

You will not go wrong with either one. I wouldn't say that about the CFA Pacifica.

Yes, we are very much minivan fans over SUV's, just much more sensible if you don't need to tow a trailer or need ground clearance.

Edited to add: just got new tires, Michelin Defenders, 90,000 mile warranty; they are very quiet and now our old Odyssey feels even more luxurious, but very easy--dare I say fun?--to drive.

You might give it a bit longer... unless you have the free funds burning a hole in your pocket that is.

We raised 3 girls and had a few strollers along the way but found we just rarely actually used them so they got shuffled to the back of the garage most of the time, except for a very small folding one, or special occasions like a trip to the zoo.

We have the Honda, and it works well for us. We recently rented a Sienna on a trip, and it did not work well for us at all. As mentioned above, the seats work in completely different manner than the Honda -- in the Sienna, the middle seat of the middle row was not a full-sized seat, and we couldn't get a car seat or a booster seat to work correctly in that spot. And the back row wasn't any better. In the Honda, we can put three full-sized car seats side-by-side in that row (and in our 06 Volvo XC90).

Given it was rental -- and I'm not sure of the year, but it didn't have a ton of miles, so I'm thinking it couldn't have been that old -- I was not impressed by other issues as well. As I said, the Honda suits us much better.

Here's a First Drive report on the new '18 Odyssey:

Motor Trend: 2018 Odyssey First Drive

One thing Honda still does that Toyota did away with several years ago, is use a damn timing belt. So on Honda you have to change the timing belt every 100K miles. Unless you tow a lot then they recommend the 60K interval. That is the ONLY con between the two brands. We own a 2001 Odyssey, bought used. Its my grocery getter. Will be selling it soon though, I have a truck but use the Honda for daily running around. Replaced it with a Pilot for the wife a couple of years ago. She drove van for 8yrs. Loved it but really wanted an SUV. Definitely great for kids in strollers. The only reason we got a van was for the sliding doors to get kiddos in/out those big ass (though safe) car seats and the strollers. But once the kiddos were big enough to buckle themselves and no longer needed those big as car seats, she wanted an SUV. We both personally much prefer the SUV than the mini van at this point. The van was the bomb in the beginning years but now the SUV is it. Love how much better it drives, like you can actually drive it and feel the road. The van always felt soft and somewhat float like.

Personal preference for sure. Go drive both models and choice from there. They both are pretty much the same thing except for brand names and the timing belt vs chain.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
The earlier Odyssey had transmission problems, they all did, and we had to have the transmission rebuilt. AFAIK there are no such systemic problems with Odysseys of the past two generations.

The Honda transmission issues affected 98-04 V6 Automatics. More of a when than if situation. My Acura TL was on its 3rd trans & my sister's Accord on its 2nd.
My neighbors that just replaced their 03 Ody got lucky & got it up around 100k miles without a single trans issue. One of the few I've seen that got that kind of mileage issue free.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
The earlier Odyssey had transmission problems, they all did, and we had to have the transmission rebuilt. AFAIK there are no such systemic problems with Odysseys of the past two generations.

The Honda transmission issues affected 98-04 V6 Automatics. More of a when than if situation. My Acura TL was on its 3rd trans & my sister's Accord on its 2nd.
My neighbors that just replaced their 03 Ody got lucky & got it up around 100k miles without a single trans issue. One of the few I've seen that got that kind of mileage issue free.

Exactly. We absolutely loved our '03 Odyssey but we had to replace the transmission at around 95,000 miles. We replaced it again (under warranty) about 11,000 miles later. At 150,000, it was still like new inside but the third transmission rebuild caused us to give up. We traded it in for another vehicle a couple of thousand miles later.

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
It is personal preference. They will both be reliable and top of class.

I'm not a mini-van guy but I agree with this.

Family of 6 and never went with a mini van.

Just could never do it.

---------------------------

My 06 Odyssey is my second one (I buy used cars, not new). It is currently sitting in the body shop and I think it will be totaled. I have shopped for both but I think I will stay with my Hondas. It's quiet and drives nice. It does reasonably well on fuel. And it's the right tool for loading up and transporting grandkids. A DVD player is nice when you're doing that.