2012 Sienna/Ody Compare

jeno · Feb 17, 2012

Has anyone exclusively researched these recently? I'm specifically comparing Ody Touring Elite vs. Sienna Limited Loaded.

I finally broke down and test drove the Sienna today per my husband's request. Was pleasantly surprised by the keyless start and power folding rear seats. It seems at first glance this may be a bit more luxurious than the Honda. Wanted to get all my ducks in a row before I head out to drive the Honda. Would love some opinions/thoughts. At this point, I think its going to come down to the extras.

I'm well aware of the complaints on the Sienna regarding the LATCH. How big of a deal is that exactly? I've got a RFacer, a booster and a FFacer. I don't see myself needing more than 3 top tethers at any given time. I don't haul other kids except on the VERY rare occasion.

I think I like the bucket seats vs. the 3 across. I already have a nice 3 across situation going in my MDX. I probably wouldn't be willing to give up my vehicle for a van unless I knew we'd be utilizing that 3rd row on a daily basis. Now the question is which kid sits back there. I'm not sure either of my big kids is going to volunteer.

Guest · Feb 17, 2012

How often do grandparents come? When we went on a roadtrip and rented Siennas, it became a minor issue. Not deal breaking, but it was just a bunch of little things adding up. If they come, it can be nice to split the kids up btw the two back rows and have an adult sitting next to them.

What do you think of the seat tracks on the Sienna? I kept tripping over them and they just look to be a magnet for crumbs and toys and crap.

Have you tried the reclining seat feature? It's useless and you're paying for it. You have to push the front seats all the way forward and when it reclines, no one can sit in the front or the 3rd row. What's the point? Don't you have a couch more comfortable at home?

Touch the plastics, particularly in the front. Check that wood trim. Push down on it. Run your fingers along the inside lip of the map pocket, for example. I nearly had a finger sliced open on one Sienna. The Siennas I tried had HORRIBLY cheap interiors. Hard cheap plastic that just seem to beg to be scratched by a sharp fingernail, toy, pen, etc. Just LOOKS cheap even.

You actually have a 3 across option with the Ody. Not with the Sienna. No way do more than 3 seats fit in the 3rd row, and that 8th seat is too dinky in the Sienna. You at least have that option on the Odyssey.

On the plus side, I like the keyless start but I can't remember how the keyless doors worked. My Lexus is nice b/c there's some infrared scanner or something that detects your hand. Some systems require you to push a button which I find no better than needing your keys. Plus, I like the LED taillights on the Sienna. It's a safety thing (ok, and it looks cooler).

Also, how hot/cold is it in your area? I found the rear a/c system on the Sienna to be lacking enough oomph for a SoCal summer (low 90s). Since it gets over 110 around here, a Sienna isn't gonna cut it. I was very surprised when I tested the Ody at how strong the rear a/c was.

jeno · Feb 17, 2012

Awesome! Great info. I will be going back for sure and checking the Sienna out again if we decide to go with a van. It was so cold today that I didn't get to touch the inside as much I'd like to but I will before I drop $40k on anything that's for sure. They had a van inside, but it was a basic model. They are significantly different.

Not hot here, just COLD. I will check out the heat back there though.

Guest · Feb 17, 2012

Make sure it's a Limited and try and check a Touring Elite right after.

One other thing is to feel the leather of the 3rd row vs the 2nd. I think they might be the same, or they're supposed to be. I remember being weirded out by the 3rd row of the Sienna, but I can't remember which model it was. I coulda sworn it was a Limited, but it mighta been a XLS.

Still, the key is to run through everything. I touched everything and tried as much of the features I could. THen, I went over to the competing dealer and did the same thing. DW was very good about keeping the kids occupied so I could try everything out w/out dealing with the kids. I mean, it's $40K so you gotta be sure.

jkrkmama · Feb 17, 2012

I have a 2011 Odyssey. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. One of our deciding factors was that the middle seat second row has LATCH and can be moved up a few inches and we fit our Marathon RF in that seat with no issues. The power everything is super helpful, esp at the grocery store. The trunk and doors open with just a touch of a button. Plenty of trunk space, we can fit our full size graco stroller and a maclaren / britax in there as well. There is an in dash cooling compartment, perfect for bottles or whatnot. It is decent on gas, lots of cupholders and storage space.

tl01 · Feb 17, 2012

I considered both and bought a touring elite. There was no competition for me. I found the interior of the sienna to be lacking. The dashboard seemed disorganized... I can't stand the swoosh of wood on the dashboard, and the seat
track channels were deal breakers. I can't stand dust and crumbs in my car and they attract mess in my friend's car like crazy. Also, the sienna is too softly sprung for me. The ody is sportier and much more to my liking. The ody probably isn't luxurious but I bought the ody for the improved functionality. I traded in a Mercedes gl450 for it... Which I loved!!!.. But I wanted sliding doors and easier third row access. I also love the three across in the ody. When I have three kids in the car, I prefer having them all together. With just two, an adult can easily fit in the center of the 2nd row.

luckyclov · Feb 17, 2012

I have a 2011 Sienna. After months of the whole pro/con/test drive thing vs. the Ody, I went with the Sienna. It's been a year and I'm still equally as in love. This is the first time I have ever owned a vehicle (except the Mazda 5) where I wasn't itching to get rid of it.

I do not have a Limited Loaded (we didn't want a car payment

), I have an LE with some package thing added on. But I can tell you - the LATCH stuff, not really an issue (for families without a crew of FF harnessed kids). Like you, I have a booster kid (9), a FFer (7 - moving to a booster), and a RFer. Even if we added a 4th child, still no problem. My focus was ceiling height (to acommodate the boostered kids) and seatbelt fit on kids (since I have kids on the closer end to outgrowing boosters). And also cargo space and layout since I have a fulltime 3rd row rider (and I'm obsessed with potential cargo-loading because I'm a freak).

The Sienna is taller, has more cargo space, and a better cargo area "floorplan" (with 2 strollers, a soccer goal, and 4 camp chairs, none of it even reaches the bottom of the 3rd row seatback).

Oh, and brakes. Brakes are a BIG thing for me. The Sienna's brake time put the Ody's to s-h-a-m-e. And I did much of my test driving in spring (spring in the south) - which meant puddles, wet roads, winds, downpours. It handled better in high winds, too. Some of this may have been tires as well, but either way, it wasn't even a contest.

Moving on back to that whole LATCH thing, Toyota defers to child seat manufacturer for limits. Honda has that whole lame 40 lb weight limit. I kinda like not living in "sin" as I drive around with my 58 lb DD top tethered. Well, not her personally - but her Frontier 85.

tl01 · Feb 17, 2012

clov878 said:
I have a 2011 Sienna. After months of the whole pro/con/test drive thing vs. the Ody, I went with the Sienna. It's been a year and I'm still equally as in love. This is the first time I have ever owned a vehicle (except the Mazda 5) where I wasn't itching to get rid of it.

I do not have a Limited Loaded (we didn't want a car payment), I have an LE with some package thing added on. But I can tell you - the LATCH stuff, not really an issue (for families without a crew of FF harnessed kids). Like you, I have a booster kid (9), a FFer (7 - moving to a booster), and a RFer. Even if we added a 4th child, still no problem. My focus was ceiling height (to acommodate the boostered kids) and seatbelt fit on kids (since I have kids on the closer end to outgrowing boosters). And also cargo space and layout since I have a fulltime 3rd row rider (and I'm obsessed with potential cargo-loading because I'm a freak).

The Sienna is taller, has more cargo space, and a better cargo area "floorplan" (with 2 strollers, a soccer goal, and 4 camp chairs, none of it even reaches the bottom of the 3rd row seatback).

Oh, and brakes. Brakes are a BIG thing for me. The Sienna's brake time put the Ody's to s-h-a-m-e. And I did much of my test driving in spring (spring in the south) - which meant puddles, wet roads, winds, downpours. It handled better in high winds, too. Some of this may have been tires as well, but either way, it wasn't even a contest.

Moving on back to that whole LATCH thing, Toyota defers to child seat manufacturer for limits. Honda has that whole lame 40 lb weight limit. I kinda like not living in "sin" as I drive around with my 58 lb DD top tethered. Well, not her personally - but her Frontier 85.

I'm not in agreement regarding the brakes.. Unless putting a car to shame is a 2 ft difference. The sienna stops 60-0 in 127 and the ody in 129. My ody has the larger tires and possibly more traction which could an edge. I think 2 ft is pretty negligible. Also, I found the pedal feel to be better in the ody.

luckyclov · Feb 17, 2012

tl01 said:
I'm not in agreement regarding the brakes.. Unless putting a car to shame is a 2 ft difference. The sienna stops 60-0 in 127 and the ody in 129. My ody has the larger tires and possibly more traction which could an edge. I think 2 ft is pretty negligible. Also, I found the pedal feel to be better in the ody.

There were 3 separate occasions when I test drove on wet roads in heavy rain. Each time, the Sienna brought me to a solid stop smoother and in less time.

There was also no studder in the Sienna's performance when I coasted/accelerated through large road-covering "puddles".

I live in the south, so those are the unfavorable road conditions I deal with...and which my research was based on.

None of that is negligible to me.

tl01 · Feb 17, 2012

clov878 said:
There were 3 separate occasions when I test drove on wet roads in heavy rain. Each time, the Sienna brought me to a solid stop smoother and in less time.

There was also no studder in the Sienna's performance when I coasted/accelerated through large road-covering "puddles".

I live in the south, so those are the unfavorable road conditions I deal with...and which my research was based on.

None of that is negligible to me.

Coasting and accelerating in puddles is tire related and I am not a fan on the continental tires than come on most of the non touring models. If one is purchasing such a model I'd opt for one fit with the michelins.

luckyclov · Feb 17, 2012

tl01 said:
Coasting and accelerating in puddles is tire related and I am not a fan on the continental tires than come on most of the non touring models. If one is purchasing such a model I'd opt for one fit with the michelins.

I agree, that's why I made a reference to tires in my original contribution. ;-)

Guest · Feb 17, 2012

Sienna has like 1 cubic foot of space more trunk space in the back. It's negligible.

To me, what's more important is that the Odyssey feels like it has a TON more leg and hip/shoulder room. It actually does, but just a few inches on paper. And yes, you can slide the front and 2nd row seats back and forth to adjust. However, if you load it up, the Odyssey just feels sooooo much more comfortable. We're not exactly big people (including kids) and we did NOT enjoy the Sienna on that road trip.

I have every reason in the world to buy Toyota. The only reason I have my Lexus is b/c it's a glorified Toyota Camry. I have two BILs who are Toyota mechanics (one is actually the shop foreman of a HUGE dealer). I get free maintenance, free/discounted parts, etc on Toyotas.

I'm still getting the Odyssey and one BIL (the more neutral one, but even the other is ok with it now unlike when I bought a Ridgeline over a Tacoma) because overall, I think the Odyssey is a FAR better vehicle. Not that the Sienna is bad, we all just think the previous generation Sienna was far better and Toyota took some huge steps back.

luckyclov · Feb 17, 2012

You're right, codex, on paper, the sienna has a couple more pennies cargo, but what mattered to me was how my daily junk rested back there (as I said previously).

I'm five foot two and dh is five foot ten. We aren't amazons, so the sienna is plenty roomy. Which brings me to another personal pro - the seatbelt fits me better, lap specifically.

Honestly, I went into the whole process knowing I wanted an ody. But because I had spent the last several years averaging a new car every year (because I was never happy), I didn't want to be stuck in the same boat. So I extended my research time and test drove, test drove , test drove. Kept lists and notes specific to my "needs". At the end of the day (which was really 8 weeks), the pros on the sienna outweighed those on the ody.

I just can't stress it enough - peoples' opinions are nice, but you gotta do your own research, too. What's a pro to some may be a con to others.

todzwife · Feb 17, 2012

We test drove both back in November and ultimately went with the Sienna because of Ody's known transmission issues and DH likes how the Sienna LOOKS better than the Ody. He was SO against a minivan, I was willing to compromise.

I LOVE it. It drives like a car. It's comfortable. It's roomy.

The tracks are fine. Yes, they get crumbs/grass/dirt/sand, but when I vacuum the van out, I just get the little attachment and get them out. No big deal.

The 8th seat is kind of useless, BUT my son does fit there with his harmony backless booster in between his sisters' seats and I can sit there fine (I'm not very tall).

The lack of top tethers wasn't an issue for us because I have 2 older kids and 1 younger child.

Overall, I'm super happy with it, but I'm not picky...I would have been happy with any minivan!

jeno · Feb 18, 2012

Keep the thoughts coming. This is very helpful for me. I agree that doing my own research is key. I'm making lots of notes so I can go back, and back, and back again. I'm not in a hurry. My MDX purchase was 18mos in the making. I'm very thorough. Probably too much.

SafeDad · Feb 18, 2012

todzwife said:
We test drove both back in November and ultimately went with the Sienna because of Ody's known transmission issues

Is this really still an issue with the current generation or even the last model years of the previous generation? I thought that was primarily with the 1999-2001 models and mostly resolved with a few updates after that during model refreshes.

MySillyKids · Feb 19, 2012

CPSDarren said:
Is this really still an issue with the current generation or even the last model years of the previous generation? I thought that was primarily with the 1999-2001 models and mostly resolved with a few updates after that during model refreshes.

We had a 2005. The only issue we had was bump stops were failing because of the ECO mode (where the motor goes into using just 3 cylinders) They started failing during the van's 5 year mark. but other than that, we had ZERO issues.

Because of that, we bought a 2011 Odyssey. We've had 0 issues with it also. We've had it a year and 3 months now.

ETA: We bought a touring elite!

Guest · Feb 21, 2012

CPSDarren said:
Is this really still an issue with the current generation or even the last model years of the previous generation? I thought that was primarily with the 1999-2001 models and mostly resolved with a few updates after that during model refreshes.

I'm on Odyclub.com rabidly following this issue.

On the non-Tourings, there don't seem to be any reports of problems. So nothing on the 5 speeds.

The reported problems are on the Touring and Touring Elite (the 6 speed). However, they just did a poll and the overwhelming majority don't have any problems. So, while one likely does exist, it does seem rare.

Today, apparently an update to the transmission software just came out. One person who had a problem is posting like crazy telling people with problems to get it b/c it seemed to have fixed the problem on his car.

The other thing is I plan on getting the Honda Care Warranty. It's the official Honda one. No 3rd party warranties for me (they ALL seem to go out of business or something horrible like that). Not the Honda EASY Care, but simply Honda Care. That goes up to 8 yrs and 120,000 miles. If you're out of CA, you can even buy them online from a handful of Honda dealerships for about $1270-1295 (depending on their volume). That's basically cost. CA and FL have weird laws apparently. I'm still trying to figure out what the going rate is in CA.

SafeDad · Feb 21, 2012

Standard transmission/powertrain warranty is 5yr/60k right? I think that happened in 2006 model year.

codex57 said:
The other thing is I plan on getting the Honda Care Warranty. It's the official Honda one. No 3rd party warranties for me (they ALL seem to go out of business or something horrible like that). Not the Honda EASY Care, but simply Honda Care. That goes up to 8 yrs and 120,000 miles. If you're out of CA, you can even buy them online from a handful of Honda dealerships for about $1270-1295 (depending on their volume). That's basically cost. CA and FL have weird laws apparently. I'm still trying to figure out what the going rate is in CA.

Guest · Feb 21, 2012

CPSDarren said:
Standard transmission/powertrain warranty is 5yr/60k right? I think that happened in 2006 model year.

Yeah. I'm not as concerned about the years as I am the mileage. I, and a lot of people I know, can blow through 60k in a little over 3 years. Plus, the more outrageous examples of failed transmissions happen at the 70-80k mark. If I'm protected to 120k, that's about as much as I can reasonably expect. It'll either break right after that in which that's already quite a lot of miles and another $2,000 in repairs isn't so bad for such a high mileage car, otherwise it'll last so long I'll prolly have long sold the car.

2012 Sienna/Ody Compare

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