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Okay, I have little pride left. I am entering the realm of the mini van.

If you have also crossed over to the dark side, which one do you think is best and why?

Yota feels more sporty and is cheaper. While Honda interior is a lot better and comfy

Honda is superior in terms of Quality and resale Value.

Yes! Whatever you do, don't buy an American made vehicle.

I'm on my third Odyssey in a row. trade-in value is always high and in demand.

We have the Sienna. I think the big differences for us were price and cargo space. The Odyssey was maybe more comfortable for passengers, but we didn't think it would do as well for long-distance camping trips where we'd need to pack a fair bit of gear. Gas mileage may also have been better, but I'd have to look again. I used to drive a Camry, and switching from the Camry to the Sienna was a very easy transition.

We also looked seriously at the Dodge Grand Caravan. My in-laws have been driving those for years. However, research seemed to indicate the quality on those has gone down lately, and my Toyota Camry never gave me a moment's trouble. More than I can say for any Ford I ever drove. I've got to give Ford credit for not taking bailouts back when, but I'm still not sure you could pay me to drive one off the lot.

If you can, go to CarMax and have them open up one of every minivan model on the lot. Climb around and sit inside and poke in all the corners. Fold down the stow 'n' go seats and see how it works, all that jazz. Definitely helped us decide.

Beiruty wrote:Honda is superior in terms of Quality and resale Value.

Not on resale value according to Kelley Blue Book. It ranks Toyota Sienna as first for 3 out of the last 4 years.

Top resale values in Minivans:
#1 Toyota Sienna (39.4% at 60 months)
#2 Honda Odyssey (38.8% at 60 months)

http://www.kbb.com/new-cars/best-resale ... -van-2013/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In terms of total cost to own, the Sienna is $0.53 per mile, the Odyssey is $0.55 per mile. The Toyota is $2,000 cheaper over 5 years.

http://www.kbb.com/new-cars/total-cost-of-ownership/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Truth be told, they are both good choices, competing neck and neck. I would fully expect to drive either one for 5 years with zero quality issues.

We're on our second Odyssey. Drove the first one for 10 years, 150K+ miles. Very reliable, no major problems during that time. Buying the second one was a no-brainer.

Honda. All the way! We have owned the van, Accord sedan, and wagon over the years and I would not hesitate to recommend Honda to anyone. We had the wagon for 7 years and drove it all over Europe without a single problem. I used to say I'd be able to drive it to Russia and back without problems. Hubby takes excellent care of all our cars and only ever uses Mobil 1. We have never had to take our cars in for repair only scheduled maintenance. The battery on the wagon lasted a crazy 7 years. Yes, you get a lot more fancy gadgets with other makes and models, but what it comes down to for us is reliability and lasting value. We sold the Odessey at a year and made a profit! I like paying them off and being able to go another 5 years without a car payment. If you could do that with American made, we would buy American.

Go for Honda, you will not regret it.

When we learned #4 was on the way, we knew my crew crab Chevy Silverado 2500 HD's days as the family vehicle were over.

We went down the minivan / 3rd row seat SUV rabbit hole of comparisons, test drives, pros, cons, etc.

We ended up with a Chevrolet Express G3500 LT 12-passenger van with the same 6.0 liter V8 gas engine that my truck had.

- It's like butter on the freeway, a little rigid around town on poor streets
- A little tall if you deal with downtown parking garages a lot
- If we learn we're expecting #5, we won't need a new vehicle
- We can still tow a camper
- Mommy can get to all the kids during a road trip
- The sliding door gives her stand-up access to the first two rows. Much better if you have more than a couple of kids needing help with their car seat situation.
- Gas mileage is actually slightly better than my truck. (Probably the 6-speed transmission vs. 4-speeder on the truck and 3.42 rear vs. 4.10 on the truck, and lack of 4x4.)
- A much more capable and durable drive train than you'd get in a mini-van
- AMPLE cargo room (that's why we went with the 12 over the 15-passenger van that is two feet longer)

My mom had an '05 Odyssey that seemed to just always have something to work on. The last one was an exhaust leak that Honda couldn't locate, so she spent the last six months with the windows cracked and wouldn't let the grandkids ride with her. The resell comment was right - she told them about the issue and the Ford dealership still took it as a trade at a more-than-fair price when she changed to an Expedition.

We know the people they sold the Odyssey to, and they promised to fix the problem. I hope they did. I also seem to remember that the Odyssey has an unusual wheel / tire size that limited her options to shop around. That's our only real experience with them.

If I was picking a minivan right now, I'd also give consideration to the Kia. It's probably at least worth a test drive.

fickman wrote:exhaust leak

I should clarify. . . I think my mom was always complaining of a "gas smell", not specifically exhaust. But it was fairly strong and the dealership couldn't find anything wrong, even through they did confirm the problem.

Oldgringo wrote:Yes! Whatever you do, don't buy an American made vehicle.

The Toyota is made in Indiana.
The Honda is assembled in Alabama.
The Dodge Caravan is made in Canada.

Had an Odyssey for 3 years (only leased vehicle I ever owned) when the kids were wee. It was an excellent vehicle. Very user friendly, not a single issue with it. You don't realize how useful all those silly "features" are until you try them.... Roll up window shades to keep the sun off the baby.... oodles of space and more cup holders than anyone can ever need.. incredibly convenient. And the thing moved pretty good too. Handled better than any SUV I've driven.

I don't think you can go wrong with either the Honda or Toyota.

Despite OldGringo's grumblings about buying American, the Odyssey is assembled in Lincoln Alabama and the Sienna in Princeton Indiana, placing them #4 and #5 on the Cars.com "American Made 2013 Index", best of any similar vehicle.

ETA: The residual value on the Honda lease was pretty high. When it came time to turn it in, I sold it on Craigslist for ~$2,500 more than residual and just bought it out of the lease. And I think I could have gotten another $1K out of it if I wanted to be patient... I listed it at what I thought was a fair price and sold it in less than 8 hours. While the wife was out of town on business, 3 days before leaving on vacation (road trip to Colorado).... I was... ... Wife was...

I'm still....

MotherBear wrote: my Toyota Camry never gave me a moment's trouble. More than I can say for any Ford I ever drove. I've got to give Ford credit for not taking bailouts back when, but I'm still not sure you could pay me to drive one off the lot.

That's the funny thing about personal experience. After all of the problems we had with our Toyota Rav4 including the well known pre-mature shift condition induced by the computer and subsequent destruction of the transmission, you couldn't pay me to own another Toyota. It wasn't just the actual problems but also Toyota's bungling of the situation, attempts to cover it up internally and the like. They eventually made us whole after a major class action lawsuit but the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

Alternatively our Ford vehicles have all been reliable and hardy. I know Ford has had issues in the past, especially with the Pinto and Police Interceptor exploding gas tanks but right or wrong, personal experience definitely is a consideration. That's no different from choosing an EDC I suppose.

Oldgringo wrote:Yes! Whatever you do, don't buy an American made vehicle.

Hondas and Toyotas are made in the South my friend, and typically have a higher domestic content then Ford or GM vehicles sold in Texas.