Hi all. I searched, but couldn't find what I was looking for. Who out there owns either a Sienna or an Odyssey as their second car? Prior to purchasing, did you look at the other car? Which one did you end up with and why? We're in the process of replacing our 2002 MDX and have narrowed it down to these two minivans. Thanks in advance for any help.

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I owned a 00 Oddy which I relapced with a 04 Sienna XLE AWD

I like both vans, I have not driven the current gen Oddy or the 07 3.5L Sienna.

I didn't have any major problems with the Honda, but did have recurring problems with the power sliding doors which the dealer was not able to fix. They would fix but then a few months later they'd stop working. But even when they stoped working it was only an intermitent problem. Other than that 48K miles without any out of pocket except oil changes.

Now I have the Sienna with 61K miles and it's been mostly trouble free, except needing a new battery at 3 year old and new brakes at 51K miles (which I think is early). But the routine service has cost me 4x as much as the Oddy. Partly because I have owned it longer, but also becasue it's the AWD and costs more for the services. But all said I love the Sienna.

The reason I switched to the Toyota is that of the two it's the only one with AWD. I don't NEED AWD, but I wanted it. I dislike FWD cars with wheelspin, I drove a FWD Sienna in Florida for a rental. It's not the worst, but given the choice I'll pick AWD over FWD.

PS, 4 of my sister-in-laws also have Sienna 3 with AWD one with FWD.

The AWD does get worse mileage (i'm averaging about 21-22 mixed driving) and it costs more to service and it doesn't come with a spare tire (4 runflats). But overall until Honda builds an AWD I'll stick with Toyota.

I plan on keeping my Sienna for another 3 years and waiting for the next gen Sienna or Oddy in 2010 (or so).

BTW, the Pilot and Highlander (both seat up to 7) will be all new this year, not minivans, but I may replace my wifes Trooper with one of those (still keep the Sienna).

 

the oddy has better handling, however the ride is considerably harsher. also the build quality of the sienna is far better than the oddy, i was very disappointed on the quality of that car. i believe the sienna got a larger engine (someone please confirm), the old one was not that poweful, but the new one would be better i suppose

overall, i would get the sienna for sure. the comfort and build quality win

 

Thanks guys. That's really helpful. We've looked at both, and right now we're leaning towards the Sienna. The Odyssey Touring comes with run flats, but they are special run flats, and the salesman told us that when it comes time to replace them, you have to replace the ENTIRE wheel/tire assembly. Can you believe that? It almost doesn't make sense, but given that a Honda salesperson told me that, I have to believe it's true.

As for the Sienna, I would get the AWD, but I really want to stay away from the run flats. The FWD will suit our purposes just fine. The one thing the Sienna has going against it (and this may sould really stupid) is that the rear seat DVD entertainment system is controlled from the rear seat. The DVD's are loaded in the ceiling of the car, and the player can only be controlled from the back seat with a remote. How dumb is that? If I'm driving and my kids want me to put in a different movie, you literally need to pull over because you can't change it from the driver's seat and obviously the kids can't get out of their booster seats while you're on the move. Someone told me that the dealer-installed DVD player is much better in this respect. I'm going to check it out.

Keep the responses coming.

Hey Henry. Check out my 90k thread in the 2GS section. You won't believe it.

e

 

New Sienna has got a 3.5 (for 07) the Oddy always had a 3.5L.

Have the 3.3L in my Sienna and honestly it's got some *****. I don't mean its beating Mustang GTs, but in everyday driving its fine even with a full load of people. The Oddy (IMO) had the better engine up to now, but the new Sienna takes that away.

I thought of my old Oddy as being more sporty (tight handling) while the SIenna was more comfortable.

 

If you're hungry for power, something tells me Honda will probably drop in a detuned version of the J37 that's found in the MDX.

The quality of the EX touring model is MUCH better than the regular EX model.

You can't go wrong with either minivan.

 

My parents have a Sienna which I drive sometimes. It's almost Lexus like. It does surprise me with its power, I was able to keep up with a Crossfire in it one time.

The Odyssey has power, but does feel a bit cheap inside. The Sienna is more towards comfort.

 

I think what he is referring to is that some of the new tire pressure monitoring (TPS) systems are easily damaged by people who change tires and are not fluent with the technology. If the sensor is damaged, it must be replaced.

 

No, it's not that. I actually did some research on it and it's something called the Michelin PAX system. Do a quick Internet search if you're interested. It's the craziest system I've ever seen. There's actually a some sort of support ring that encircles the center of the rim and the tire is physically attached to it.

 

I agree that you can't go wrong with either.

I do notice one difference in them though. I have driven both when both vans were carrying full loads, and the Sienna felt more powerful. The torque of the Sienna pulled it well, at any speed even with a full load while the Honda lacked a bit of that punch IMO. I don't really think the interior of the Ody is that bad, but not as good as the Sienna's. There may not be such a thing as a sporty minivan, but if there ever was, the closest thing would be the Odyssey.

 

i frequently drive a 05 Sienna CE for picking up kids and such at church..and i have to say, i'm thoroughly impressed by its surprising ability to carry all the people, and still give me a sense of pulling power--it's more powerful than it seems or looks.

 

The Odyssey Touring comes with Michelin PAX System tire/wheel duos. There's an inner support ring, and the tires are made like normal tires but use a special bead that locks onto the wheel. Besides being odd-sized like the Michelin TRX used on older BMWs, it needs a special machine to change the tires and no one but Honda and some Michelin dealers(not Costco, even though Michelin and Costco are bed buddies) have the equipment to change just the PAX tire alone.

 

A year ago, my mom T- boned an Armored truck at 50- 60mph. Yes, I said 50-60mph and an Armored truck(you know the box trucks that carry money). She ran a red light and SMACK, the front of her mini-van hit the side of the truck dead on. The front of her mini-van looked completely flat. As if there was never an engine. She unbuckled her seatbelt and walked away. Not a single scratch on her

Oh and my 110 lb yellow lab was in the back sitting on the 2nd row seats, he landed up front. He was completly fine, just won't ever get in the car with my mom again.

What was she driving??? A 2005 Toyota Sienna. If the safety of you and your family are important. This is a no brainer on which to pick.

Oh and the armored truck had a slight dent on it. My mom said the guys in the truck came jumping out the back with shotguns, thinking they were getting robbed.

 

lol, guess my wife and i are too spoiled with our gs400 and sc430 we drove the sienna and constantly think it's not powerful enough on freeway though, it's pretty decent

oh btw, seems like lexus is coming out with a 7 seater soon

 

Wait till you see the 3rd gen. Odyssey sold in Japan, Australia/ New Zealand & in parts of Asia!


The JDM-spec Odyssey Absolute, is the family sports car, literally!

http://www.honda.co.jp/ODYSSEY/
http://www.honda.net.my/
http://www.honda.co.nz/site/new_cars/index.html