I am the crazy van lady.
We had an '08 8 passenger. Loved that van EXCEPT that the trunk leaked. Warranty ran out. We kept pouring time and money in to figuring the stupid leak out and finally gave up. (Will ALWAYS get the extended warranty now)
We got the Odyssey and I actually tried to buy my old Sienna back (dealer turned around and certified it, still leaking!) - they wouldn't sell it back to me. Long story. Craziest thing I ever heard but I swear every word is true. So I was stuck with the Ody.
Couple weeks ago found a 2010 8 passenger with 30k on it and went and looked and put a deposit down and in the end backed out. It's a tough call. That old Sienna still calls to me.
We did not have AWD. It was never a consideration when we bought the van - never had a vehicle with it - but I have read many crappy things about the AWD. You won't get as good mileage and those runflat or whatever they are called tires wear out fast and are expensive to replace. (The AWD has no spare tire because the gear box or whatever takes up the space it would go - so they use run flat tires. Some people replace the tires with normal tires and then just make sure to have roadside assistance in the event they get a flat which is probably a good way to handle it - honestly I have only ever been stranded with a flat one time in 15 years of driving and that was my own fault so...) Our township is anal retentive about removing snow so I can't really tell you too much about how the Sienna handled snow.
So. The best points of the old Sienna. Each of the 3 middle row seats was comfortable enough for sitting and each of them had LATCH. Access to the 3rd row was wide and easy by tumbling a seat. An outboard seat could be removed and you still had 2 usable seats in the middle row. Trunk is bigger and 3rd row is wider than anything else on the market new or used, as far as I know, minivan wise. 3rd row windows open. Comes with roof rack with adjustable cross bars.
Biggest thing, ease of access to 3rd row, I guess. (You can put the captains chairs together in the 7 passenger to have easy access back there)
Now the Ody... I didn't realize the seats SLIDE forward vs tumble, so rear row access is not QUITE as easy. It's not HARD, it's just not as easy. And I also didn't realize the 3rd row windows don't vent. Both of these features I took for granted as things all minivans had so I didn't check at the dealer. (And yes, yes I do feel stupid after the fact) The 2nd row seats can have the back made flat, which is how it was when we looked at it, and I assumed it was just not tumbled - you can do this with the Sienna as well, on the way to tumbling or on the way back - so once we bought it and I realized this I was kind of annoyed. The biggest annoyance with the Ody seats is you have to push on the BACK of the seat, vs the leg part, to lock it into place. So if my girls get in the 3rd row and don't lock the seat back, from the driver's seat, I can't reach it to lock it and it is bonking around back there and drives me crazy and I have to pull over to fix it. The Sienna seats just fell down and locked.
We ended up just taking the outboard passenger seat out and it is now in our living room. Very classy
. The middle seat works for a car seat and my oldest is behind the driver. Two girls in the back row. I WISH the Ody 8th seat were more comfortable like the old Sienna - and I wish the seatbelt were seat mounted rather than ceiling, since it blocks the DVD player if in use, which defeats the point of shelling out for that - but by the time the baby is too big to use LATCH for his car seat, the girls will be old enough that I can trust them to put the seat back properly when they climb in the back row. So it works.
We are done with 4 kids so that middle seat being more of an "in a pinch" seat still vs. a seat you'd want to use every day or on a long trip is not a huge deal. If you have the whole 2nd row assembled like a bench, it's not bad. But take out an outboard seat and it is like sitting on a ledge.
Now, going back and driving the old style Sienna I noticed I really prefer the Ody handling. I never had a problem with how my Sienna handled but the one I test drove, I felt like I had to mash on the brakes vs. them being much more firm and responsive in the Ody. I thought maybe there was something wrong with the Sienna I drove but looking at reviews, "sponginess" comes up wrt Sienna brakes, so I don't know. I def feel my Ody drives better. And I def. feel the driver's seat is more comfy. The arm rest locks higher up so it works better. It just feels nicer. It actually feels like a luxury car, which is really part of why I was so unhappy with it at first - it's like going from jeans to an evening gown, fun for a test drive, not so fun when you realize you have to dress like that EVERY DAY - but it has grown on me and that driver's seat really is comfortable.
The 3rd row of the Ody has more leg room and the seats felt better, to me, vs. the old Sienna. New Ody has hideous headrests that poke you to encourage you to raise them - once they are up they look awful but feel good. I think as my kids become older, the 3rd row will be better. (Even with the 2nd row all the way back, I had ample leg room. Don't get me wrong the old Sienna 3rd row is OK for an adult but the Ody is better)
The 2nd row outboard seats, with the "plus one" seat as an armrest, were more comfortable than the Sienna seats. Now we did go from cloth to leather and my son grumbles at the leather - I kind of miss cloth in some ways - but shape and size wise, the seats are very comfortable. Whereas in our old Sienna we had 3 OK seats, we now have 2 awesome seats and an "it will do" seat. Like I said, we're done with 4, so that's OK. If you have 5 or 6 kids, old Sienna wins.
My old Sienna did not have a back up camera. I do like this feature. A LOT. Our garage is way at the back of our property so we normally just park in front of our house but if we want to load or unload bikes on the van it makes for backing up the long skinny driveway much easier. Also no more backing over scooters or toys in the driveway. Some of the old Siennas had a camera but not the 8 pass.
Our old Sienna did not have a DVD player. If we had it would have been controlled from the back. New Ody, we got the DVD player and it is controlled from the dash which is the ONLY way to go if you have 4yo kids in the very back. (There is also a remote though so if older son is with me he can control it)
New Ody has tethers all across the back row - one of my girls was not tethered in old Sienna, now both are. You can work around this, but it's a point for me, given how I prefer to lay out the kids in the van. Old Sienna has tethers in the middle and passenger outboard spot and I couldn't put 2 frontiers like that so one of our seats was untethered. Below 65 pounds it is recommended not required so not a HUGE issue but nice to have.
New Ody has smaller trunk and Honda nickle and dimes you for parts - does not come with roof rack, which husband insisted we never used so we didn't push for it in the price - but also didn't realize how much smaller the trunk was (about 5 cubic feet). We may or may not end up getting a roof rack. We will have to make a few big trips and see.
Anyway. IMO Ody wins in terms of passenger and driver comfort. For 4 or fewer kids I think it is better long term, Toyota 8 pass is better short term. 7 pass. Sienna fits both age brackets kind of well (this is all assuming you will be using the 3rd row)
If you really need the AWD I will point out that with 3 kids in car seats - you'll still have 2 extra spots in that back row. With the new Ody you can fit 2 people and a car seat snugly but not 2 car seats and a person. So depending on layout, the 7 pass Sienna or 8 passenger Ody might hold the same number of people, with car seats in the equation. With either car you may be maxed out with 5 back there.
I don't know if this helps or muddies. There's not a CLEAR winner. Four days into my new Ody I would have argued the old Sienna was better but I feel like we are safer and more comfortable in the new Ody now, even if we gave some stuff up. But I have 4 actual kids, vs. 2 with 1 on the way and one more theoretical. Your needs will change depending on if the theoretical arrives and what that spacing ends up being.
If we were to go back to Sienna, I don't know if we would do 7 or 8 passenger. I think the middle row kids would be more comfortable in the captains chairs vs the bench deal in the 8 pass. But then you lose a spot, even if it is an in a pinch spot. The Ody kind of gives you more of the best of both worlds.
I do wish the Ody's 3rd row was just a few inches wider though. Make it a true 8 passenger even for car seats.
eta - as far as certification - the toyota could still be under original warranty, which you can then extend by looking for a toyota warranty place on line. Should be 800 bucks or so. SHop around, make calls.
eta again - we got an ex-l and added speakers to the 3rd row, which you might want to do with the touring. only the elite gives you 3rd row speakers, crazy!!!
