Which Minivan?

I couldn't decide between the Honda and the Toyota, either. Then, I got to test drive a couple of each.

After that, it was a very simple decision. They drive very differently. The Toyota has a much sportier feel to it. I chose the Honda, and it was replacing my car so my choice was THE choice, but my husband (who drives a non-minivan Toyota) greatly preferred the Toyota. It strongly depends on which driving-style you prefer.

Test drive them both. It will make the decision for you!!!

I'm on my 2nd Honda Odyssey and loved them both. I didn't really factor cost into my decision because I knew we would keep them a long time. The first one we had for 11 years and had about 150,000 miles on it when we traded it in for the 2nd one. We've had that one a little over a year and plan to keep it for the long haul too. So I splurged and no regrets.

My husband OBSESSED over this for a solid month, so check out the question I asked back in late March/ early April because I got some really great responses!

We went with the Honda Odyssey and we LOVE it! The Sienna was a nice van as well, but we like some of the seating options in the Odyssey and we did not want the entertainment system, which comes standard in many of the vans.

Having test driven the Honda, Toyota and Chrysler I would just say avoid the Town & Country. It looked/felt/drove "cheaply" but it was not "cheap". It was also very loud. My husband and I were sitting in the front during the test drive and going 45 mph we could barely hear eachother using a conversational voice.

http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/7584593886308401153

Just don't buy a Kia. Also, if you can't decide, get the VIN from the ones you are considering and get a quote from your insurance agent. There could be a huge difference in premium and that might help you decide. Good luck!

We have the 2004 Sienna LE and LOVE it!! We also looked at the Odyssey but it was waaaayyyyy toooo EXPENSIVE!! We bought the 8 seater but now have taken the 8th seat out and keep it as a 7 seater most of the time. We camp a lot and can't believe how much stuff the car can hold!

Good luck with whatever you decide. The Sienna, Odyssey, and the Mazda are all good cars!

We have a Honda Odyssey and ran into the same issue when buying. It was down to this one and the Sienna. What swayed things for us was #1, the dealer: Our local Toyota dealer is horrible and passed us on to four different salespeople before we even got a test drive! It felt like we were on Candid Camera. #2: The difference in the higher end models. We got more with the Honda than the Toyota for the same price.

The handling was pretty much identical with both. However, this was all in 2005, so models have changed it bit with both brands over the years so I can't say with current models.

We love our Odyssey. It's super low maintenance and easy to drive. It handles just like other Hondas we've owned. I also love the backup camera. That's really an essential with any minivan. The fold down seats are easy to use. No complaints at all with this minivan.

We have a 2004 Toyota Sienna CE with 8 seats. It is a fantastic car. It is easy to drive and control. There aren't any real blind spots. We can fit 3 car seats in a row in the middle row, albiet the Sunshine Radians which are a little narrower.
We intentionally did not get the LE because we did not want the DVD player at all and I do not like side impact airbags with babies still in carseats. This is the other reason we bought the Sunshine which have the side impact protection. We also don't like automatic doors or leather seats.
We had a friend that bought the Honda just before we bought out Toyota and they had a couple things they didn't particularly like that we weren't keen on ourselves.
We poured over the Honda and Toyota and ended up liking the Toyota. Comsumer Reports rate both almost level with each other each year. Sometimes one will "up" the other on little this or thats.
The best way to make your choice is to test drive both of them, bring the kids so you have to put the carseats in to really get a full picture. We knew the Toyota was our winner when we went for our test drive and our youngest that usually hates car trips fell asleep and slept the whole test drive!
When we need to replace our current minivan we will be getting the Sienna once again.

We have the Odyssey (2011) and like it because we can do 3 carseats of basically anything across the second row. We have three harnessed seats across, and they fit beautifully for the baby (rear-facing), 4 and 6-year-old. And the 3-year-old rides rear-facing in the back, center. We're adding another child so can easily put in 5 carseats. We didn't want any features, but we wanted the 8th seat so had to get that package.

We bought a used odyssey touring. Love it. The Toyota had a few recalls, and I trust Honda. They make great cars.

Buy a gently used, fully loaded odyssey. You won't regret it, and you should save a bunch of money.

Honda Odyssey! My husband did a ton of research. His top 2 choices were based on safety overall. They were the Odyssey and the Toyota. At the time our triplets were nearly 3 and our other son was 12. My husband had just started Recruiting Duty with the Marine Corps and was working 90+ hours a week. Since he wouldn't be around much he wanted the safest van he could find for us. In the end, he chose the Odyssey. There were 4 levels. He chose the second to highest, not the touring one. He wanted leather seats with the kids. We bought our van in 2007. It is still a great van, great shape, travels well on long trips. The jump seat in the middle is nice. We've never folded down the back seat because we still use 5 point car seats, the huge Britax that are now discontinued, unfortunately. He checked out the Toyota but it didn't have the same comfort and the steering wheel wasn't as comfortable and didn't adjust as well. I didn't care for it as well either like the Odyssey. Over the last year or two I have suddenly seen blue Odysseys everywhere! I almost climbed into the wrong van once at church. I'm constantly pulling up to a light next to another blue Odyssey. The safety can't be eat. My husband had an accident some years back with it alone on the freeway and it stood up great! My husband wasn't smashed and the engine didn't push in on him or anything. The hit distibuted like it was suppose to do as designed. We were impressed.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

Odyssey :) I've owned 4 Hondas and Loved them ALL...