Best Minivan?

I had a Grand Caravan Sport and loved it. I would still have it if it had not been stolen. One of my husband's friends knew someone downsizing and selling their Odyssey. I want Grand Caravan again. odyssey just seems smaller, especially in the back.
I did not have any problems with my van and had it for 12 years.

Love my Honda Pilot. 2013 Highway I get 24 miles, around town 19 to 20.
It will automatically switch to the "econo" mode V4 from V6 which is a real plus. Third seat folds down. I am so not a minivan person. Did not drive one when my kids were young and won't drive one now. Chevy Traverse is a great vehicle too. Good luck. Test drive several cars.

Toyota Sienna is awesome! Also, contrary to popular belief, they're assembled in the USA. Honda Odyssey a close second, but after seriously considering both, we chose the Sienna hands-down. Good luck and have a little fun shopping!

Oh, and we're totally NOT minivan people. We're Chevy/GMC suv people. Just couldn't pass up what the Sienna had to offer for a family with kids. (If we had no kids, would never have considered a minivan.)

Btw - we have an AWD which does wonderfully in snow. Sorry, can't speak for the non-AWD ones. I agree that they may not do great in snowy conditions compared to 4x4 SUVs. :)

Love my 2012 Odyssey! No, it does not require premium gas... in regards to the person that only drives a 5 seater SUV due to gas costs, my Odyssey gets 29-30mpg on the highway and 18-20 in the city, better than our SUV by far. I looked at the Routan, but there were so many consumer complaints I couldn't do it, and the price was really no different - over all VERY pleased, the Sienna was my second choice, very nice vehicle!

Deanna:

What are you looking for in a car?
Storage? Suburban or minivan. You already know the problems with the Yukon and Expedition....there is an Extended Class Expedition. Have you looked at the extended class Escalade? REALLY nice...The Suburban is 8" longer than your Yukon, MAYBE 12". If you can handle the Yukon. You can handle the Suburban. You won't get the automatic doors with the Suburban. but you will get the room and storage you are looking for.

I LOVE the Suburban!! Hate the gas tank at fill up! However - the room is AMAZING!! I've only rented one - never owned. My brother owns one. It handles like a champ!! We got 25 MPG driving 80MPH at running the A/C on it. Around town the mileage sucks - on the road? ROCKS!!

We have a Honda Odyssey. It's a love - don't like relationship. I don't like the look of the newer (2011 to current year) models and couldn't see spending $45K on a brand new car that would drop in value the minute I drove it off the lot...

Love the dependability of my Odyssey. DO NOT like the cup holders. I know it sounds sooo trivial...but cups do NOT fit well in the holders in the drivers compartment - soooo I am forced to hold my cup or not drink while I'm driving (not alcohol beverages...ANY beverages).

I owned a Grand Caravan (2001) prior to my Honda - loved, loved, loved my Grand Caravan....hated the maintenance issues.

I've rented a Toyota Sienna. Not bad. It was nice...but didn't handle as well as the Odyssey. My Odyssey does NOT have the GPS system or back up camera - it's a 2006. However, I am considering a newer year - more like a 2010 - which has the GPS and back up camera on it.

Get in each one. If you have car seats...bring 'em with you...strollers? bring 'em with you...you need to know your stuff fits....if you like a coffee while you are driving...bring it with you...put it in there...drive it around...sit in the back...sit in the middle...when I bought my Odyssey- I brought my girlfriend's daughter and her friend with me first...had them get in and out...try to talk to me while we were driving...etc.

We ruled the Routan out for us just by them getting in the back seat and their heads hitting the ceiling...they weren't tall. I didn't like the "hollow" sound of the van when doors closed. It's a nice looking van though. Had a lot of "extras" that was nice too.

Good luck!!

I am very happy with my Honda Odyssey. I just got it in December (2013 model) and we got the Touring, which is the second highest level now that they have added a Touring Elite. The third row stows flat when not in use, so you have a very big cargo space in the trunk if it's folded down. You can fold down all of it, or just 1/3 of it if you want extra space but still need a seat back there. Even with the seats up, there is still good storage back there - it is deep, but not wide, so things stack on top of each other. I can fit several bags of groceries, plus a big storage thing that is always there with the third row up.

It turns SO easily - seriously, it u-turns better than my Accord did. The automatic doors is a great feature. My kids love it. They are both still in car seats and sit in the middle row. For awhile, we had the console between them, but we removed it to make the third row more easily accessible.

My only complaint about the car is that there are so many buttons on the dashboard that it's hard to figure everything out! I'm somewhat of a techno-phobe, so figuring out new technology and new systems is hard for me. My husband has no problem with it. And, if I have the time to read the manual, I can figure it out too.

I do still spend $80 to fill the tank, but it is a pretty big tank. I probably get about 16-18 MPG. I do mostly street driving. When I do spend more time on the freeway, I get better mileage. On the bright side, I only need to fill up every 3-4 weeks, so the monthly charges aren't too bad.

I'm really happy with the car.

love my odyssey touring. we bought a used one, saved ourselves a small fortune. it's great! tons of space, even with three kids!

We too looked at the Sienna and the Odyssey and went with the Odyssey -- bought our first in '04 and just replaced in December with a '12 and love it. Also made in US (one plant here in Ohio, among others).

Eta - I've never had an suv, but my van does great in the snow!

I love my VW Routan, which, fully loaded, is about $10k less than the Toyota Sienna or the Honda Odyssey.

At about $4/gallon it takes about $70 to fill the tank and I get about 350 miles out of it. It takes regular, unleaded gas. I think the Honda Odyssey requires premium gas.

We have automatic start, auto sliding doors and hatch, push button stow & go 3rd row seats. The 2nd row seats are manual stow & go, but still very easy. There's a DVD player in the 2nd and 3rd rows.

Most of my friends have Honda vans. One has the Toyota van. They ride beautifully !! They tell me that they're not good in the snow though.

I will only drive a 5 seater SUV because of the gas cost (18 mph in city). But, I love both the Honda and Toyota vans !!! They are both great choices...All of my friends who have vans - Love them !

I love our Honda Odyssey. We purchased it new in 2005 when I was pregnant with our third boy. It has been a great vehicle for us. The mileage isn't too bad for such a large vehicle. I'm guessing the newer models are even more fuel efficient. We are considering trading our current one for a newer one. We will look at the Toyota Sienna but I'm betting we buy another Honda. I love how Honda's drive--they seem more responsive to me.
Deanna--I have to agree with you about the cup holders! :) I would change those if I could!
Good luck with your purchase!

We have the new Odyssey and LOVE it! We bought it specifically for the cargo space (even with the 3rd row in use). The Sienna and the Town & Country didn't fit our stroller with the 3rd row "up". The Town & Country was a "nice looking" but "cheaply made" van and it was LOUD. When we test drove it, I thought a door or window was open. The Honda and Toyota are very similar with the exception of the cargo space. You can't go wrong with either of those!

I asked this question last spring and got wonderful responses too!

I LOVE my Toyota Sienne XLE!!! It has dual sliding doors, and the DVD, audio system and cargo space are all great! I think it's also the best looking minivan. It's very stylish, and drives very smooth-like a car! Love it, love it, love it!!!!!

Town and country has all the features u just mentioned. Great price for the standard features. I looked at sienna, odessy, and town and county. Went with town and country for price/features.

Love the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna!! Safe, easy to drive, great features, great cars. They have automatic doors, and you can get DVD option. With the Odyssey, you can flip the third seat down, to have flat space in the back. I'm sure you can do that with the Sienna too (haven't owned a Sienna, just rented one once). I think they are good-looking cars too. Good luck with your decision.

I love my 13 year old Honda Odyssy. minivan. I bought it used at least 6 years ago. It still runs great . And looks good because they use the same color scheme's so it doesn't look dated. It is so old it still hasa cassette player instead of a cd , but I don't care about that. Also, I did not want video built in. I wanted my kids and now grandkids to look out the windows not at movies . Someday they can "read" a book on a trip ...(imagine that ) LOL