Honda Odyssey Vs. Toyota Sienna

We went with Sienna and absolutely love it!.
My husband did research and it seems that Odyssey's have too many problems with transmission, that's why we went with Sienna...

You can't go wrong with either one. I have an Odyssey. I absolutely LOVE it! My neighbor has a Sienna and she absolutely LOVES it. Go drive them both and see which one you prefer. Either way, you've made a good choice.

People who have one or the other just LOVE which ever one they have! I'm a Sienna person. I had a wreck two days before Christmas that totaled my beloved Sienna, and yep -I've found another loaded one that's perfect at Car Max, and I'm getting it this week!

When I was originally looking I test drove the Sienna and the Odyssey several times. I did the same this time. The main difference to me is that the Odyssey has a "sportier" drive -more get up and go and a sportier handling to me. The Sienna has more of a luxury feel to it. It's smoother and has a smoother acceleration. So -it depends on what you like as to which one you will probably prefer. I also have other friends with Siennas and several with Odysseys and we all love ours -both! They're both really good automobiles.

I will tell you -I was amazed at how well that Sienna took that wreck! A woman turned out in front of me from a side street when I was literally almost ON her. I swerved instinctively, but the front right part of my Sienna smashed the front side of her Jeep Cherokee. It took the FRONT END off of her Cherokee! It smashed that corner of the Sienna in, airbags deployed, etc., but they were able to drive my Sienna onto the tow truck. Unfortunately the frame was bent, but it made me feel even better about how well made they are and the safety of them.

this was years ago....we have a 2004 sienna.

Sienna's 3rd row was MUCH easier to put down and up than Honda's. I'm short and it was a leverage thing - the odyssey was designed for a taller person. but, it means that my early elementary school kids can do it on their own because we chose the sienna. also, the captain's chairs weighed less in the sienna, which means I can do them by myself (barely).

The odyssey felt "cheap" for lack of a better word. For $35000, I don't want cheap plastic on my dash. The sienna felt much more luxury for the same money.

Sienna felt like it handled slightly better. we were coming from a jeep grand cherokee.

more safety features. Sienna had more air bags all the way down the sides of the van (they were an option). Sienna had what I think they call VTAC - a stability system for overcorrecting a swerve and odyssey didn't. I've only engaged it once, but made it worth it!

but, you really can't go wrong with either!

Hi D.,

I test drove both of them on same day and liked the overall ride much more with the Toyota Sienna. I LOVE it and bought it new in 2004. I still have it and my twins are now 10 yrs. old.

I think it's worth the extra money to buy leather seats especially with messes that young children can make. My mini van has never had any problems either... knock on wood! Just your typical maintance and it runs fine. I feel very safe in my van. I think the Honda Odyssey has great safety ratings too... but the # one reason I went with the Toyota was the ride (even though it was a bit more money) and number #2 reason was that I liked the way it looked just a bit more. The best thing about mini vans, in general, is not having a door swing out when you are trying to get your baby/young kids into their car seats. I loved having the sliding doors for this reason. The second best thing about mini vans is being up higher when you drive. (I just think I can see the road overall, better.)

Good luck with your decision!

I have a 2005 Honda. Bought it new so we've been driving it for 6 wonderful years. We, too, narrowed it down to the odyssey & sienna but ultimately chose the Honda because we didn't care for the way the sienna looked. We didn't even test drive it so I can't say how it rides but our odyssey has been amazing. Regular maintenance is easy and reasonable. Never any major issues. Smooth ride. I have leather seats and I def reccomend that for those with young kids. Also, get the navigation system if you can swing it...so worth it! I love my Honda but know many sienna owners that feel the same way about their vans. If you can, test drive them both and you'll probably know straightaway which one you prefer. Good luck!

love my Sienna. my husband read reviews that most people preferred the features in the Sienna. I took his word for it. Can't tell you how much I love remote sliding doors and trunks that open with a button. Also, I think we have better shocks and a smoother ride.

Honda! I just got a new Honda Odyssey in December and so far I love it. I also was considering the Sienna. I really liked them both but I ultimately decided on the Honda due 100% to the treatment that I got at Brillance Honda in Crystal Lake. Just seemed to be less BS with the trade in value of my other van, and a different level of respect. The Toyota salesman didn't seem as eager to negoitiate knowing we were considering both vans and I felt like as a female buyer they didn't treat me with the same level of respect as I got at Honda. Plus Honda's service department has great hours (I think they are open until 11:00) and they said there is no problem borrowing a loaner if your car is in service. All in all, not a bad thing to say about the Sienna as a vehicle, but Hondas Sales Crew was top notch!

Sienna! Bought mine in 2005 and never had an issue with it! It's great to have with the kids (we have twins, who are now 8). It's always on the top 5 in safety list that they out every year and I was told by a mechanic that most mechanic's do not like Sienna's, because they never come in for repairs!!

Highly recommend it!

Hubby looked at both also. He preferred the Sienna, but theToyota dealership was not willing to work with us. I only looked at the Sienna online, so I can't tell how it handled or anything. I have owned Honda's for years. So we bought the Odyssey (used) in November. I love it. Handles great. Easy in and out.

We bought a 2011 Sienna last year and LOVE it. Drove the Odyssey as well, thought the Sienna was smoother. The Odyssey was also more expensive, based on what we wanted. In fact, we saw a used Odyssey that was a few years old with over 50,000 miles that was not much less than what we ended up spending for a new Sienna XLE. Good luck with your shopping.

We bought a used Sienna in April of last year. I know both are great vehicles. We picked the Sienna because it had great safety ratings and it was what was available in our price at the time.

You can't go wrong with either car, but make sure you test-drive them. We bought our Honda Odyssey two years ago, and I LOVE it, but we test-drove both. I don't think either is actually superior to the other, but they handle differently, and have a very different "feel" to them. They have the same safety ratings and very similar features for very similar prices, so I really recommend you go drive each one, check out where everything is placed on the dash, look at the different seating options, and I suspect you'll just know which one suits you best.

I bought an Odyssey. I've always been a Honda driver....But, we were going to buy a Toyota. We even started negotiating prices with two different dealers. They tried to up sell us hard ( you can't get a navigation systems without the DVD player, etc.) and by the time they were done, we didn't like the price tag. Also, at the time, there were tons of recalls on Toyota's. Honda's are great, never any problems, etc. so it was a simple decision for us.

We bought a 2 year old Honda, fully loaded, and saved ourselves 20k. If you are going to buy, see if you can pick up a 2 year old car with less than 20k on it. It seriously will save you tons of money!

we looked at those and the Nissan Quest and the Nissan was cheaper and a better drive by far, you might want to expand your search. We have had ours 8 1/2 years now and we are still in love with it.

Sienna.
Just liked it better and per the research we did.
Our kids are now 5 and 9.

We bought the '11 Odyssey at the end of last year for baby #3 (born in March). It was also between the Odyssey and Sienna for us as well. On paper they're very similar and both great cars, but my husband just thinks Hondas have a better-designed and nicer interior. (We went through this in '08 when considering either a CRV or RAV-4 and went with the CRV.) Now, my BIL works for Toyota and, as immediate family, we would have been eligible for his employee discount, so maybe that says something about our preference for Hondas since we opted not to take advantage of a considerable discount twice now.

One of the key features with the '11 Odyssey redesign is that the end seats in the 2nd row can slide out an additional 1-1/2" so that the middle row can accommodate three of the widest carseats on the market. Also, if you put the infant in the middle seat, that seat pulls up about 5" so that it's easier to reach back for a paci or anything else. When our baby was born, we did have all 3 in the middle row. The problem was that we didn't have access to the 3rd row, so we weren't able to take additional passengers. It seemed ridiculous to me that I would have to tell someone I couldn't give them a ride when I have a minivan. After our oldest turned 4 and is now in a booster, we put him in the 3rd row and took out the middle seat in the 2nd row. It is more of a pain to have to climb into the car and buckle him in, but I will also sit in the third row and nurse the baby when given the choice rather than in a restaurant or other public place.

I LOVE this car and my husband does as well. Also, when he talks about what a great car it is, he doesn't even add the qualifier "...for a minivan." The minivan is my car, and we live in the city. It is a pretty nimble car for city driving. BTW, my co-worker was a lifelong Toyota driver and went with the Odyssey as well. She felt that the Sienna handled better but also felt the Honda was just a nicer car.

I picked the Honda. I didn't like the wood grain on the inside of the Sienna - thought it looked ugly and it came standard with the trim line I was looking at. I was a previous Honda driver so that consumer confidance factored in, as well. They are pretty similar and both very great mini vans. You won't go wrong with either one.