[court5505]

I never thought the day would come when I would research minivans as I have always insisted that I would never be one of "those" moms that drove a minivan. However, with the upcoming adoption of #2 (hopefully it all works out), a minivan is becoming more of a reality. We will only own Hondas or Toyotas, so I really only have 2 options as far as vans go. Does anyone have any input on these two vans?

[sambob]

You can't go wrong with either one! I drive a Sienna with all the bells and whistles and I love it! I love the convenience of the automatic sliding doors (great for kids and groceries), lots of safety features, seating options with folding or removable seats. Holds lots of people and lots of stuff. Sooooo glad we made the jump to a minivan.

[Fran27]

Whichever you can get the best deal on I think... they're both great. I wish we could afford one.

[aclee]

I have driven both, and prefer the Sienna in the snow if you live where there is a winter, I would go with Toyota. Otherwise, I would go with Honda and get the window shades that pull out of the door. My mom has those, and I'm SO jealous. I have a Honda Pilot, and I freaking love love love it. I drove a Windstar before my pilot, and for me, I love the SUV because we have such bad storms. Either way, with a minivan and winter, I really strongly recommend a good set of snow tires. They are all decent in the snow, but there will be that one or two (or 5) times when snow tires will really make you feel a lot safer.

Have fun! I love car shopping (I do ALL our negotiations!)

[Lovebug]

I'd say the Odyssey....our neighbors have an '07 and LOVE theirs. There are a few Moms at school that have Siennas and aren't too thrilled with them. We have a Dodge Grand Caravan....HATE IT! next time around, we'll be going with the Pilot or the Odyssey.

Good luck!

--Renee

[gigigeorge]

the new siennas have the pull up shades in the doors too - the only difference (besides the much higher Honda price is that the Sienna comes in an AWD option which the Honda does not...

g,

[mommmmy]

I love my Sienna! (well I would rather not have a minivan but for what it is - it's great!) It's an 06 and I have the pull out shades. I bought it used from CarMax and got a really good deal on it.

[akcskye]

IMHO, Hondas or Toyotas only is seriously limiting yourself.

I used to own a Mercury Villager. It was a 1996. Absolutely LOVED it...but then hubby wrecked it.

It's successor is the Nissan Quest (or was, I'm out of the "mini-van" loop now), and was just as nicely appointed and more dependable than a Honda.

That being said, I own a Pontiac Vibe, whose brother is a Toyota Matrix, and I love it.

However, had my Villager not been wrecked, I'd still be driving it today.

Just my .02 Not chastising you about your vehicle choices...just wanting you to look outside the "box" that just considering 2 brands leaves you in.

***ETA: You're adopting #2...but will that be just your second child, or do you have more children than those you've adopted? The reason I ask is because my Pontiac Vibe fits my family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) just fine, and it comfortable, and much better on fuel economy than a mini-van...while keeping an SUV's functionality. Mine is a 2006 and I love it, and like I mentioned, being it's a brother to a Toyota...perhaps something like that would make you happy???***

[court5505]

Originally Posted by akcskye

IMHO, Hondas or Toyotas only is seriously limiting yourself.

I used to own a Mercury Villager. It was a 1996. Absolutely LOVED it...but then hubby wrecked it.

It's successor is the Nissan Quest (or was, I'm out of the "mini-van" loop now), and was just as nicely appointed and more dependable than a Honda.

That being said, I own a Pontiac Vibe, whose brother is a Toyota Matrix, and I love it.

However, had my Villager not been wrecked, I'd still be driving it today.

Just my .02 Not chastising you about your vehicle choices...just wanting you to look outside the "box" that just considering 2 brands leaves you in.

***ETA: You're adopting #2...but will that be just your second child, or do you have more children than those you've adopted? The reason I ask is because my Pontiac Vibe fits my family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) just fine, and it comfortable, and much better on fuel economy than a mini-van...while keeping an SUV's functionality. Mine is a 2006 and I love it, and like I mentioned, being it's a brother to a Toyota...perhaps something like that would make you happy???***

I know we're limiting ourselves with only Toyotas and Hondas, but we swear by them and will not drive any other cars. Of course we would drive a Lexus or Acura because they are part of Toyota and Honda, but they don't make minivans. We have had horrible luck with all other cars. Right now we have a Toyota 4 Runner and a Honda Accord. Both have close to 100K miles on them and we have not put a PENNY into them other than routine maintenance (oil change, fluids, etc.). I guess we did get new tires on both of them, but that's to be expected with that many miles. We had Fords and Chevys before and we were constantly taking them into the shop for one thing or another. My husband keeps all receipts and actually added it up one day. Factoring in purchase price and repairs, we spent more $$ on the Fords and the Chevys than we have on the Toyota and Honda. I would rather pay a little more up front and not have to constantly worry about taking it into the shop. This is actually our second Accord. The only reason we got rid of the first one was because it was a 2 Door. It had over 150K miles on and again, we only did routine maintenance.

So there is my LONG answer as to why we only drive these two kinds of cars!

[akcskye]

Isn't it crazy how people's luck runs?

Take out Honda and Toyota and insert Ford in the GOOD part and put Honda and Toyota in the bad part (minus the Vibe so far, though...and honestly, had I known it was a brother to the Matrix, I'd have never bought it with the previous luck of Toyotas for me), and you would have my story. LOL

I'd still take a look at a Vibe unless you just WANT a van...I really DO like mine.

This is what a Vibe looks like in case you don't know (this is ours on the day we bought it).

Originally Posted by court5505

I know we're limiting ourselves with only Toyotas and Hondas, but we swear by them and will not drive any other cars. Of course we would drive a Lexus or Acura because they are part of Toyota and Honda, but they don't make minivans. We have had horrible luck with all other cars. Right now we have a Toyota 4 Runner and a Honda Accord. Both have close to 100K miles on them and we have not put a PENNY into them other than routine maintenance (oil change, fluids, etc.). I guess we did get new tires on both of them, but that's to be expected with that many miles. We had Fords and Chevys before and we were constantly taking them into the shop for one thing or another. My husband keeps all receipts and actually added it up one day. Factoring in purchase price and repairs, we spent more $$ on the Fords and the Chevys than we have on the Toyota and Honda. I would rather pay a little more up front and not have to constantly worry about taking it into the shop. This is actually our second Accord. The only reason we got rid of the first one was because it was a 2 Door. It had over 150K miles on and again, we only did routine maintenance.

So there is my LONG answer as to why we only drive these two kinds of cars!

[4everwaiting]

We are Toyota family too... I drive a 06 Toyota Tundra quad cab (fits 5 comfortably) other than normal oil change ect, we've never had a minutes trouble. We've also had Tocoma and Celica drove them 200+k miles (and still running), just got tired of driving them, so we sold them. I say go Toyota! They're comfortable and dependable!

S

[aclee]

Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna car comparison, compare auto pricing, specs, and features


Check this out

[court5505]

I'm so confused! I guess I have to just drive them both. Everyone I know that has either one of them loves them.

[stilldeciding]

I only buy Honda's and Toyota's as well. I have had practically EVERY brand of car and all have had major issues. My Windstar wasn't bad for the most part, and still have it..It has major, major miles on it and has been a good runner but I had a Ford Taurus that broke down, for real 3 times a week for months on end. I should have known it was a lemon when I bought the thing, on the lot it had a flat tire. And 2 days after I got it, the thing broke down, took it to the shop they fixed like 3 parts and 2 days later it broke down again, 2-3 more parts needing fixed. By the second week it had to be in the shop 2 more times and needed a new transmission. It was a year old car and had about 14,000 miles on it and it needed a new transmission already! They gave me another taurus as a loner and it stalled in traffic and I barely got it back to the shop at it was ready to break down too. LOL We tried very hard to get the shop to give us a new car after the 6 days and they refused to help us at all. After a year of owning that car, it was in the shop WEEKLY, 1-2 times a week for months. Then after we had it for a little over a year, a young girl ran a light and plowed right into my Dh almost killing him. So the car did one good thing, it saved my hubby, as the crash records on this thing was the reason I bought it. But the car was gone... ;-) I can't say I was unhappy about that. So now I realized we were just meant to buy that car so my DH would survive the accident so it was worth it. But I am sure glad NOT to have that thing anymore! Good Luck on either of your choices, we are going to purchase a new van sometime late next year or so and we are going with the Honda minivan. We own currently a CRV absolutely LOVE It.

[loveajax]

Court, my sister has owned both a Sienna and an Odyssey. She really liked both of them but has had fewer problems with her Odyssey and just generally likes the "ride" and "bells and whistles" a bit better. I have driven and both and liked both!!