Used Honda Odessey or Toyota Sienna?

Hi K.-

We have a 2005 Odessey and love it. Our van currently has about 74k miles on it and I still love it. We looked at both the Honda and Toyota minivans, and ended up buying the Honda simply because you got more for your money at the time. I think that now they're about the same price. My husband has a Toyota Highlander, and we love that car too. I don't think you could go wrong with either. I would just search for the best deal and go for it.

Good luck!

-L.

I preferred the styling of the Odyssey, but it came down to who gave us a better deal...and it was Toyota. We have a 2006 XLE...it's nice. I've owned 2 Hondas and this is my 2nd Toyota...I had way more problems w/ my Hondas than I did with my 1st Toyota. I've only had this one for 1 year..no probs so far...let's hope that lasts for a LONG time!

K.,

We bought a 2002 Odyssey new and have loved it. At the time, Odysseys gave us the features we wanted for a little less money than the Sienna. I priced Odysseys and Siennas again about a year ago and the situation reversed - but that was specifically for the features we were looking for. The two models are really competative on price, safety, performance, etc.

My only complaint is that the automatic doors have started to stick and jam a lot in the last year. I am not the only person who has said this. We had trouble with the back hatch, but it was because someone on their cell phone hit us from behind in a Suburban going about 35 mph when the car was a few months old. I was amazed at how the vehicle absorbed the impact. My 21 month old didn't even cry; she was just concerned that a drink spilled. I was 38 weeks pregnant at the time and delivered a perfectly healthy little boy the next day. Oddyssey is a safe, solid family vehicle, but I think you could be just as happy with a Sienna.

Good luck,
S.

we have a 2008 sienna and love it! my parents bought a 2008 odyssey and both my parents have told me they wish they had gotten a sienna instead!! since we'll have the sienna for a long time, we did go with a higher end model and love the electric back door, and the buttons in the front to open/close all doors. i know my parents odyssey don't have those features and they wish they did!!

I LOVE my Honda Odyssey. It's the 3rd Odyssey I've driven. I leased the 1st 2 times, and each time the lease was up I chose another Odyssey! My current Odyssey is a 2007, and I finally learned it was better for me to own rather than lease. I'd stick with a newer model since they've made improvements over earlier models. I love the ease of putting the back seats down when I need to haul something large and the option and ease of putting in the middle row 8th seat. It handles well and is quiet and smooth on the road. I wouldn't consider buying a different van.

When we had to replace my little 1995 Toyota Tercel because our daughter's carseat wouldn't fit in the back seat I was very opposed to getting a mini-van. I had driven some company mini-vans and hated how they drove. My husband convinced me we should buy one. We are a very Toyota family (I think my brother and sister-in-law are the only ones on both sides of our family who don't own Toyotas) so we bought a Sienna (2008). I love it! I don't know about the older models, but ours has a lot of little features that I like. The front passenger seat will fold forward so it can be used as a changing table. I have more cup holders than I will ever be able to fill. The rear seats are very easy to fold down and the middle seats are very easy to remove. I also like that the middle pilot seats can be put in a couple of different positions. I especially like how the Sienna drives. I don't feel like I am driving a mini-van which was a big deal for me since I have always driven small cars. I have owned Toyotas since 1989 and have found them to be very reliable, even when you hit high mileage. My parents have owned Toyotas for almost as long as I have and have driven them well beyond 10 years. We have had very few if any mechanical issues with them beyond the basic wear and tear. And we have gotten good trade-in deals even when they are over 10 years old.

We have a Toyota Sienna. I really like it. It is a little smaller which is nice for me because it handles more like a car. (I can make u-turns that would have ended up as y-turns in our other van.) The back windows also roll down like a car and the kids absolutely love that. Even though it is smaller we have plenty of room (even with carseats, my oldest is 8 and we have 5 kids and often 1extra)My van seats 6 in the back and the driver/passenger seats in the front. I do have to say that it isn't the greatest van in snow either, but most vans aren't. Maintainence has been very easy.

We bought an Odyssey brand new in 2007. The model we bought has all the features you could want, navigation, back up camera, leather heated seats, dvd player, etc. However, we paid a big price for it. We don't regret it and even though it has been 2 years since we got it, I still get in it and love it! We also tested the Sienna's and they seemed so cheaply made, at least that year they did.

We have a 2000 Odyssey that we will probably be replacing soon with another Odyssey, although I am open to suggestions and willing to shop around. I have really liked our Odyssey. I love the way it handles and drives--like a car. I love the "magic seat"--the third seat in the back--because it just tucks down into the back of the van and I can do it by myself, sometimes even with one hand. I put it up and down a lot depending on whether I'm transporting groups of kids or lots of hockey gear. I love the amount of cargo space. It's been a reliable vehicle. My only complaint is that there is a lot of engine noise and when I am driving it is very difficult to hear the kids talking to me even though they are right behind me. When the AC or heat is on it is downright impossible to hear anyone except the passenger in the front. I've heard they have redesigned this and it is no longer a problem in the newer models, but it might still be an issue in the models you are considering.

I have a 2000 Odyssey and I love it. I think the reason we chose it over the Siena was that the rear cargo area was larger. My sister has a newer Odyssey and it has lots of nice new features.

Mine is 9 years old and still running strong!

My Vote: Sienna. LOVED IT!

I have never owned either car but thought I would offer some imput from advice I have been given. A friend of mine 56yrs old has always bought a Toyota or Honda car and swears by them. No repair needed just normal oil changes and tires. My son-in-law has a '93 Toyota Pick-up and loves it he says that a Toyota is easier to repair than a Honda therefore lower labor charges if you need to take them in.
I hope this helps.

K.,

We have the Sienna. We bought it used (it's a 2006), and LOVE it. We test drove both and liked the way the Sienna felt better than the Honda. The seats are WAY more comfortable, especially in the back.

The only negative I have about the Toyota is that there is not as much interior storage space compared to the Honda, which has tons of cubbies and places to put stuff. For example, we carry a first aid kit in our car, and do not have a space to put it, so it's just tucked in under the seat, not my preference.

Good luck!
Jessica

Same boat! We are debating. I test drove both, 2009. They seemed the same. I would go with the Sienna as it's cheaper. I think we might buy used. My main issue is safety. Be careful you get side air-bags on all rows. This is only standard with newer models. Be sure to check but I think 2005 might be the cut-off for some.

A year ago we went through the very same dilemia. I was convinced I wanted a Honda Oddosey. We went to the dealer (in KC) to check them out. We looked at the 8 passenger vans because we have a large family. I was surprised that the "8th" seat that was in the middle was so small it couldn't hold a car seat, let alone one of my children. We also had been driving a 1999 Ford Windstar. For space, we felt the Honda Oddessey wasn't really much bigger. It did have better understorage in the back. We were looking at the 2008 models. They were about $28,000 new, off the lot. They were making a deal because all the 2009 models had arrived.

We decided to go check out the Sienna's the next day before making any decision, since we had heard that they were equally as good. Well, we found a van and we LOVE it! We found a used 2008 model that had 11,000 miles on it. It had been a rental. It is much bigger in my opinion than the Honda. It's wider and has more leg room for both seats in the back. Our oldest child is 14. He's 6 ft tall and weighs 240 lbs. He fits comfortably in the back of our Sienna. This would not have been the case with the Honda. Also, we paid $22,000 for the van. We got the 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warrenty only because of all the troubles that the Windstar gave us. (We put 2 transmissions in it).

We did have a battery go out in the Sienna, but it was replaced at no cost. They said it was just a bad battery which can happen with any vehicle. I LOVE my van!! I expect to keep it for a very long time. I'm pleased with the customer service with Toyoyta company also.

If you want to spend less money and get a bigger van - then go with the Sienna!!!

We bought the 2007 Honda Odessey. I have not liked it for the following reasons:
1. cup holders don't hold most cups
2. the very back windows do not open
3. the very back windows do not have defrost on them
4. we should have got the POWER back door
5. we should have got the DVD player already installed
6. wish we had memory seats for driver 1 and driver 2
7. my hubby does not like the special engine feature where it only works on 3 cylinders sometimes.

Hope this helps.
L.

I love my Honda!! I chose a older Honda over a newer Dodge, and never regretted it. I enjoy many of the features, like the second row can be captain's chairs or bench seating, and the trunk is ridiculously large. Mine is an 01, so many features are updated, I'm sure. But, I would totally recommend it.

I had an 06 Odessey and LOVED IT!!! I loved the space, seats, easy to clean etc. My only complaint was that it was not good in snow. I had to back up in to my neighbors driveway and gun it just to make it up ours (which is not steep by any means) I have always had Toyotas and Honda and have never had a problem with either. Because of my snow issue we switched to a Honda Pilot, which I plan on keeping until it dies. A friend of mine had a Sienna and liked it, but recently was in the market for a new car and got an Odessey. I think the safety ratings on the odessey are a lot better.

Before we looked at them, I thought I was going to want the Sienna, but when we actually looked, we ended up getting a 2006 Odyssey. Of the ones I looked at, the Odyssey had better/more features than the Sienna for less money. I'm not dissapointed at all. We LOVE it! We've had no problems at all. Good luck.

We have a 2006 Sienna, we love it. The Odyssey is equally nice. Either one would be awesome! Good luck!