Odyssey or Sienna

[KCR4]

I have the Honda Odyssey '03 and am halfway through our three-year lease term. I love it. I definitely will be getting another minivan - wouldn't drive anything else at this point. But....I hear the new Toyota minivan is pretty cool. Anybody have any advice/comparison stories? As background info, in terms of car usage, DS #1 has just turned 3 yrs old (forward facing in a Britax Marathon) and DS #2 is 10 months (rear facing in a Britax RA) and we aren't planning on anymore.
Thanks!

[Jeanmick]

I posted a msn.com link in the lounge:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=37&topic_id=114449&mesg_id=114449&page=2

Hope that helps you.

Edited for grammar

[stillplayswithbarbies]

we looked at the Odyssey and ended up with a Sienna because it had more features and because the Ody did not have enough leg room for me.

The buzz on the Sienna boards is that the Ody just might beat it out this year with the new features on the '05 Ody since the '05 Sienna is pretty much the same as the '04.

...Karen
DS Jake Feb 91, DD Logan Mar 03
http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/superpower.gif http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/borntobebreastfed2.gif

[hipmaman]

YOu might want to wait until the Odyssey '05 comes out to decide. I hear great things... But if I were to compare the pre-2005 Odyssey and the 2004 Sienna, then I would probably pick the Sienna. I own an Odyssey, btw...

Here are what I like about the Sienna over the Odyssey (not in any order, except whatever pops into my head, lol):

1) 40/60 split third row. This is great if you happen to have more than 4 passengers and need to transport something long and requiring the back row to be 'half' stowed

2) roll-down windows for the second row. Big huge windows that can be rolled down. I love this feature since we don't tend to use the AC and love to have the windows rolled down somewhat for the kids. Some people don't like this because their kids might throw things out the windows, lol.

3) head rests for the third row can be retracted into the seats themselves, unlike the Odyssey headrests needing to be taken off if you were to stow the third bench. Cumbersome...

4) Option of having 8 seats. This is very neat and might be neccessary for some family. I personally would probably take the 7-seat option for larger captain chairs anyway.

5) tether anchors for carseats for the third row in the Sienna is right behind the third row bench. Unlike my 2001 Odyssey, they are across the cargo bay. I think the 2003 has them behind the 3rd row though.

What I like about the Odyssey over the Sienna is that my middle model (EX) has two automatic sliding doors while the middle model in the Sienna only has one automatic sliding door. It's not a make-or-break a deal, but one gets spoiled with having automatic sliding doors, lol

Have you looked at the Nissan 2004 Quest? It has pretty much all the features the Sienna has AND in-the-floor stowing second-row captain chairs. And a few other nice features like the moon roofs/panels. But a bit more pricey

Hope that helps.