Toyota sequioa or honda odyssey?

Freekel

New member
Help me choose! I am trying to decide between a 2011/2012 Toyota sequioa and a 2011/2012 Honda odyssey.
I know the are two very different cars but there are things I love about both!
I have 3 kids and will possibly add a 4th to our family in 1-3 years.
My kids are:
5.5 years old harnessed, will move to hbb around 6 or 6.5 yo
3.5 year old ff
1.5 year old rf in blvd now but want to move him into a radian to rf until 3 or 4

So, which would you choose?
Thanks for any input!
 
ADS

tl01

New member
I had a Mercedes GL 450 (their big SUV) before my 2011 Odyssey. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the GL450... but I wanted something with easier access. With little kids it is hard to beat the convenience of a minivan. Do I miss my GL...? Yes, I almost traded in the Ody over Thanksgiving weekend for another GL... and then I remembered that the GL didn't have enough space for me when traveling (plus I've paid the taxes on the Ody already and that's a lot of money to throw away;). Anyway.... my vote is for the Ody.
 

TXDani

Senior Community Member
I would go with the Sequoia since I love the Sequoia. We had it narrowed down to the Sequoia and the Yukon XL Denali when car shopping last year...we went with the Denali but there are days I wish we would have gotten the Sequoia.

If you get a Platinum you CAN remove the center console between the captains chairs to allow easy access to the third row. If you get a Limited or lower trim level you can get captains chairs (without the console) or a bench. I like that with the bench all 3 seat fold independently of each other so kids can load from either side or you can flip the center seat forward so it is more like having captains chairs.

We had a minivan for about a year because I *thought* that is what I wanted. We got the nicest one available at the time and it just wasn't for me.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
With 3 younger kids and 1 on the way, the Odyssey will be very handy with sliding doors, easy 3-across in the middle, full complement of LATCH/tethers, better fuel economy, top crash test results all around from the IIHS and NHTSA and a lower upfront price when similarly equipped, too.

Pros to a full size SUV are off-roading, heavy duty towing (above 2000 lbs) and, of course, no minivan image lol. I recently switched from a minivan to an SUV. It's workable because we have only 3 older kids, but you do lose a lot in convenience.

Check out all our coverage at www.carseatblog.com for the Odyssey. We've put a lot of carseats into it!
 

luckyclov

New member
With 3 younger kids and 1 on the way, the Odyssey will be very handy with sliding doors, easy 3-across in the middle, full complement of LATCH/tethers, better fuel economy, top crash test results all around from the IIHS and NHTSA and a lower upfront price when similarly equipped, too.
Yeah, that.

I'd typically go Toyota over Honda any day of the week (for my family), but with your current family size/status, and possibly adding a 4th down the road, I'd go Odyssey. You're also going to get way more cargo space (all seats in place) in the Ody vs. the Sequioa (38.4 cubic feet vs. 18.9 cu ft, to be exact).:)
 

Freekel

New member
Thanks for all the input! I was afraid this was going to be the answer, lol! I love my odyssey now, I have a 2009, but really love driving an suv! But, the mini van does have some really great features I would miss! Maybe a mini van now and an suv when my kids get a little older.
 

luckyclov

New member
Maybe a mini van now and an suv when my kids get a little older.
Don't hold your breath.;)

Kids get bigger as they get older...and their friends get bigger. And stuff-hauling increases. Strollers are replaced by fullsize soccer goals and ginormous bags of balls, hockey sticks, bicycles, camp chairs, wardrobe/costume suitcases. There's no way we'd be able to cut it with an SUV, at least not one I'd be willing to drive. And my two oldest are only 9 and 7.

Embrace the minivan and all it has to offer. And love it. Even if it's a forced love.:p
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
We downsized to a Highlander. It works fine for our 13, 11 and 6 year olds. We don't carry a lot of stuff day-to-day. A couple teens can fit in the third row to go to a movie or whatever. The 6-year old rides there normally in a high back booster. The main drawback for us is that on long trips, we'd now have to use a hitch carrier for cargo, especially if we have another adult like my Mom along for the ride.

Granted, the Highlander is a lot smaller than the Sequoia. I got the hybrid model, because I couldn't justify changing my minivan for an SUV that both cost more money and also got less fuel economy. If I was going to switch to an SUV at all, it was going to at least be a tradeoff. My main complaints about the minivan were mediocre fuel economy and the noisy ride. At the very least, the Highlander Hybrid gets great fuel economy and has a very quiet and smooth ride in exchange for the convenience and space I lost! After being soccer dad for 10 years driving a minivan, it's a nice change of pace too;-)

On the other hand, my wife would rather I kept the minivan!
 

TXDani

Senior Community Member
If you don't want a minivan again...don't get one.:p

Here is the way I see it. I spend A LOT more time actually driving my vehicle than I do loading and unloading kids into it. I also spend a lot of time in my car with all our activities and running around. I want to love my car. I want to be happy in my second home. Whether you go with the Sequoia or the Odyssey you are going to be dropping a lot of money on this purchase and you should buy what you want.

Now people always say "minivans are so convenient with kids". I just don't get how and why they say that over a SUV?? The only thing that I can think of that is so much more convenient with a minivan is the sliding doors. Having sliding doors is a moot point for me because I always park far out in end spots...always. So I always have room on at least one side of my vehicle to open the rear door all the way for everyone to pile in and out.

I am not anti-minivan at all. If you want a minivan get one. But if you want an SUV remember they aren't horrible for kids. I have four kids and no matter how I look at it I just don't see the extreme difference between minivan and full sized SUV (beside the aforementioned sliding doors). I have had both and like I said after buying the top of the line minivan we ended up trading it in when our third baby arrived because it just wasn't me.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
For convenience, aside from sliding doors, a minivan like the Odyssey also offers more LATCH and tethers than most SUVs. Our Highlander is pretty sad in that regard. Not sure about the latest Sequoia, though. Also, the third row of most minivans folds out of the cargo space, leaving a nice, deep well behind it when it is in use. That's very handy for cargo when you have a full load of 7 or 8 passengers and is one of the things I miss in my SUV.

Minivans like Odyssey and Sienna offer a lot more space than midsize SUVs and even a little bigger than some full size models like Sequoia. For example, Honda lists cargo volume as 148.5 cu ft behind the first row, 93.1 behind the second row and 38.4 behind the 3rd row vs. Toyota's numbers for the Sequoia are 120.1, 66.6 and 18.9, respetively.

I know price, fuel economy and crash tests aren't the most important buying factors to everyone, but Odyssey really comes out ahead compared to just about any full size SUV in those areas. Comparing the Touring Elite to the 2WD Platinum, the Sequoia is close to 33% higher in cost (60k vs. 45k MSRP), while the Odyssey gets almost 50% better fuel economy (22mpg overall vs 15mpg overall). That's a real difference when you don't appear to get any more space, maybe even less. Most full size SUVs have minimal crash test information to compare to the Odyssey's top results.

I was pretty much looking for any way to be done with a minivan and I really like driving my midsize Highlander Hybrid, but it's definitely a step down in space and seating. Of course, you don't lose as much utility if you go to a full size SUV, as long as you don't mind the higher price tag and worse fuel economy. And, as I said before, if you really do need heavy-duty towing or off-roading capability, you'd want the truck based SUV.

Lots of people put 4 kids in a full size sedan and aren't any worse for it:) If you can afford the cost of a new Odyssey or Sequoia, you'll likely be very happy and fortunate with either one!
 

TXDani

Senior Community Member
You make many good points Darren and maybe it's just a different viewpoint? But I don't view cargo space, price, gas mileage or crash test results as "convenience features". Sure, when car shopping if those are priorities then a minivan is going to be the answer the majority, or all of the time. What I am disputing is that minivans are so much more convenient than SUVs and like I said above after driving both a minivan and a full-sized SUV...I just don't think it is all that more convenient. Sure they are geared more towards families with children but they just are not that much more convenient for me to tell someone they should 100% go with a minivan over a SUV if they *want* a SUV. Now if I had to choose between a mid-sized SUV and a minivan I would choose a minivan for convenience...and my sanity...been there, done that with 3 kids in a mid-sized SUV.:eek:

Sets of LATCH and the number of top tethers is a good one I didn't think about as a convenience feature. Minivans do typically blow SUVs out of the water as far as third row top tethers. My SUV only has one in the third row (that can be used for two positions) and most of the other full sized SUVs were on par with just one for the third row. Luckily all of them offered full LATCH sets on the captains chairs.
 

luckyclov

New member
For me, sliding doors have little to do with where I park or the vehicles around me. Dolts are gonna ding my paint anyways, no matter what kind of door I have or how careful my rear passengers are loading/unloading. I, too, park way out and usually next to an island, if possible. I like having complete control over my rear doors from my driver's seat. I like being able to open the door and kick the kids out at school. I also like being able to close it/them myself once they're out...especially those times, when, say, your first grader, who got out last, runs off without closing the door behind her (this happened to me, like, the ONLY day I didn't have my van...and I had to park and get out all greasy, unshowered, and in my clashing PJs to close the door:p).

I fully admit, I'm not an SUV type of woman. I just don't like them. I like minivans. I've been driving one, by choice, since I was 25/26 and a mother of two. I like being lower to the ground. If I were to ever consider an SUV, the absolute largest I would consider is a Sequoia. But considering I use all 3 rows for passengers, the cargo space just wouldn't cut it...not even close. The cargo space in my Sienna (as does the Ody's) puts the Sequoia, and all other similarly sized SUVs, to shame. That's a huge, huge factor for me because of all the hauling of kids related junk we have to do on a daily basis. Not to mention the times we road trip and I don't have to haul anything behind me or mount anything to my roof.

Ah, I forgot about MPG. I mean, in reality, we wouldn't go to the poor house if we had to fuel a Sequoia, or similarly sized SUV, but with the amount of driving I do, it just doesn't make sense...especially when I get more of what I "need" and "want" in a minivan.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
You make many good points Darren and maybe it's just a different viewpoint? But I don't view cargo space, price, gas mileage or crash test results as "convenience features". Sure, when car shopping if those are priorities then a minivan is going to be the answer the majority, or all of the time. What I am disputing is that minivans are so much more convenient than SUVs and like I said above after driving both a minivan and a full-sized SUV...I just don't think it is all that more convenient. Sure they are geared more towards families with children but they just are not that much more convenient for me to tell someone they should 100% go with a minivan over a SUV if they *want* a SUV. Now if I had to choose between a mid-sized SUV and a minivan I would choose a minivan for convenience...and my sanity...been there, done that with 3 kids in a mid-sized SUV.:eek:

Sets of LATCH and the number of top tethers is a good one I didn't think about as a convenience feature. Minivans do typically blow SUVs out of the water as far as third row top tethers. My SUV only has one in the third row (that can be used for two positions) and most of the other full sized SUVs were on par with just one for the third row. Luckily all of them offered full LATCH sets on the captains chairs.

I wonder why they can't simply make a vehicle with the cargo space and fuel economy of a minivan, throw in extra LATCH and tethers, give it sliding doors, but otherwise make it *look* like an SUV. You'd think one of the lesser minivan makers would take a risk at some point to see if people would buy it.
 

luckyclov

New member
I wonder why they can't simply make a vehicle with the cargo space and fuel economy of a minivan, throw in extra LATCH and tethers, give it sliding doors, but otherwise make it *look* like an SUV. You'd think one of the lesser minivan makers would take a risk at some point to see if people would buy it.
No kidding. Mazda took a sorta-kinda risk by making the 5 (sliding doors on a "car like" frame) and it's worked out well for them so far. :shrug-shoulders:
 

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