2008 Minivan-what Do You Think About Models, Navigation, DVD?

The Honda Odyssey is the best hands down. I have been doing a lotof research on minivans because i want to get rid of my 2006 Dodge Caravan also. All the research points to the Honda Odyssey. Now, it is also very expensive which is why i don't have one yet. But, it's coming.

We have an Odyssey with DVD. Love the DVD, but would get a Sienna next time. I think it is roomier inside....easier to get in and out when you are carpooling a bunch of kids and some need to stay in the car! As for watching too much on the DVD, I have instituted a policy of educational DVD's in the car. We have the complete set of The Electric Company and all the Leapfrog DVD's and they love it. Maybe they all have this now, but another consideration is the back hatch going down with the push of a button. That would be great. Good luck!

We have the 2005 Town and Country. Love it! The only downside is it is a little harder to get to the back seat, but I think they have improved it on newer models. Love the stow and go seating. Navigation system is fine, you just have to know that you can't play with it when the car is in motion. I actually use it quite often. As for the DVD player, I really liked it at first. Now all my kids want to do, 2 and 4, is to watch the TV. I like it for long trips, but if I had it do do over, I probably wouldn't get the DVD player.

We've had our T&C touring for almost five years now. I LOVE it! I was none than thrilled when I knew we had to get one but I am SO not a mivivan person!! But with four kids... had to. I am flat out against SUV's!! (that's a whole new thread! LMAO!) Now I am lookin at the 2008 because my biggest problem is the back windows didn't roll down. Now the new one's have that!! Yippee!! Not to mention the added screen for another DVD or satelite tv! With two pre-teens and two little one's. Settling on one movie to watch was NEVER possible!!! Who'd thought I'd be looking forward to buying another van!!
Also, we researched back then; things may have changed. But the room inside the other vans you were looking at was awful!! No room for strollers, kids, backpacks and groceries! I have no idea how people function with those small vans!!!!!

happy shopping!
Mom to four busy kids

I have the 2007 Odessey with Nav and DVD. I do LOVE the Navigation, but I don't like the woman's voice. You can program while driving, which in my hubby's Infinity you can't. This makes it easy for the passenger to get the directions while on the go. I know some cars won't let you do this unless you are in park, but I like it cause if you are stopped at a light you can look at it or the passenger can input info while driving. I don't like the reverse camera, the screen is too dark when the sun is out and I can barely see anything. At night it is better. My husband's Infinity has guide lights that actually show the location of your tires and what you will or won't hit on the reverse camera screen. I wish Infinity made minivans, I'd buy one!
I had a problem with the DVD player after a month and The service at the the Honda in Morton Grove was amazing, put in a new player within an hour and since works great. (I bought mine in Schaumburg and didn't want to go that far for the service dept)
The ease of getting in the 3rd row is very easy unless you have 8th seat in, I store mine under the floor. I used to have a Chevey Trailblazer so I do miss the 4x4 capibility of climbing up a steep driveway loaded with snow. Anyway, it is what it is a minivan, so my cons that I have encountered are: I was spoiled by automatic lights with all of my previous cars and I had to remember to turn them on and off when it got dark, that annoys me because of the price of the mini-van should have this basic technology, the NON-heated sideview mirrors, in Chicago this stinks. I usually have to slam the back hatch to make sure it closes. The wiper fluid sprayers freeze easily (even though I bought the "best" wiper fluid available) Most of my cons are winter in Chicago issues like ice and snow stuff.
It was great in the summer when I had 2 carseats in the middle row and 3 people could easily get to the third row. I would like to see what others say about the Toyota and the Chrysler for my next purchase. Hope this helps!

We have a Toyota Sienna and love it. The bench seat in back is comfortable so if you are ever planning on having anyone sit back there try it compared to the dodge. No comparison!

We have the Sienna, not the fancy one you are looking at, but it has the automatic side doors and the DVD. The DVD was my doing...we only use it on trips more than an hour or if I have to nurse our son while they sit and wait. I love it! Love the van as a whole too!
Good luck, buying this van was the most stressful time, we went back and forth between all the vans for over 2 months and then finally decided on the Sienna.

I have the Hyundai Entourage and I absolutely love it. We have a 2007. My Father in law just bought the 2008 and he loves it too(he buys a new car every few years, does major research). Mine is fully loaded(no navigation system, so I cant help you there). I do have the DVD player and let me tell you, with a 4 year old and taking alot of road trips.....it is a blessing!!!! Happy car shopping!!!

Hi Geraldine,

We have a 2005 Odyssey and have love, love, loved it! We had the DVD player (our kids are 2 1/2 and 4) and have used it when we've gone on driving trips...it was very handy to have! Our lease is up soon and we're going to get another Odyssey, this time the Touring model with the navigation system. We think it would be nice to have, plus that edition has a power tailgate. There is also now a place to plug in iPods (and other MP3 players) which would be great.

Good luck!

P.S. I'm an older mommy, too! I had my son at 38 and my daughter at 40! Go, us!

We have the Honda EXL w/Nav and DVD. We LOVE the Nav (and the car). You *CAN* use points of interest and all the searches while the car is in motion (we are often looking for the closest....gas station, rest, etc...) It also has a back-up camera, which is invaluable w/kids (we can park, navigate parking lots, etc with ease). The touring has 8 seats now, so I'd do that if you can afford it (just for the rear lift gate!) We did the EXL to get the 8 seats vs. the 7 that was on the touring in 2007. We liked the drive/handling the best, and the car gets so warm so quickly! Oh- and w/one button (holding down the unlock button) all 4 windows roll-down, which cools the car in seconds, before you arrive at it in the summer....which is great!

A little about me:

Older Mom with 2 boys, 4 and 22 months, and a third due in July (go Mini-van!)

We have a 2007 Honda Oddysey. I LOVE it. It drives like a car, not like a truck or a van. We also drove the Toyota Sienna. I didn't like the ride at all on that one. It's really personal preference. I've had Hondas for the past 14 years and can't say enough good things about them. They last for ever with standard service.

It's really easy to get to the third row if you take the middle console seat out like we have. And unless you're going to have a truly full car, it makes sense to just take out the middle seat and keep it in the back just in case you need it. I LOVE that there's a well in the rear cargo area. The rear seats just fold down into it and then the groceries and other things you carry around don't roll all over the place. It adds about 12 cubic feet of cargo space, which I think makes a huge difference.

If you do go with the Honda, Muller Honda has excellent service, and really great non-pushy sales people.

We don't have the nav system, didn't think it was worth the extra amount of money. You can buy a separate system and have it installed for *way* less money. And then you get exactly the features you want. Just a thought.

I can't say much about the specific models you are looking for, but my advice is this - I just purchased a vechicle with navigation and DVD. My husband has both in the portable format that requires you to pull them out, plug them in, and then hide them again when you are done. Otherwise you risk having them stolen, and if you ever read the police reports in the papers, GPS thefts in cars are one of the most popular crimes. If you think you will use either feature, I suggest getting the manufacturer model just for safety and security's sake. We love the DVD, the only minus might be that my daughter loves it TOO much and wants to watch it even for a 5-minute trip, but that's where we parents get to set the limits. The only plus to the portable GPS is that you can do more while driving - I have a Cadillac GPS and can't do much execept at 0 mph or in park. Hope that's helpful!

We have a Toyota Sienna - love it ... but have to laugh, as my husband was big into getting the all wheel drive but not interested in the navigation of DVD possibilities ... our first son was not yet born then ....
2years later (and a second baby) ... we have a portable navigation system, and he is looking into getting a DVD player for the van.
(he also swore that our children would never do video games, and is now wondering about a wii)

I hope what I offer helps - we have a 2006 Honda Odyssey EXL (no navagation system).

Pros
- rated best minivan, at the time it's less expensive for the similarly modeled Toyota
- excellent inside, everything is at our fingertips
- great gas mileage (uses regular unleaded gas)
- dvd player can be controlled from front OR back seat (there's a removeable remote in the ceiling), loads in the front right under the CD player AND doesn't obstruct the rear view mirror
- LOVE the removeable "jumpseat" between the two second row captains chairs
- LOVE the extra storage in the middle where the spare tire used to be. There's even a turn table to organize things!
- much more convenient for our small children to get in and out of, as compared to our former SUV
- the third row seat is comfy, easy to flatten and I've been told the DVD player can be seen fine
- the headphones for the rear seat are easy for my small children to manage
- LOVE the build in sunscreen shades for the second row seats

Cons
- a little noisier than the Toyota (road noise on open roads)
- would have had to pay more for the automatic opening tailgate (but I don't need it anyway). This was a "standard feature" of the Toyota of a similar model, but they didn't have the extra "jump seat" for another person, or the extra turntable storage in the floor.
- the front bumper/undercarriage seems low, from the first day we had problems pulling it into our garage because it scraped on the step - FIX: pull it in rearfacing

Negatives I've heard of the Toyota (my brother sells them)
- uses PREMIUM gas
- DVD loads in the back seat
- no extra jumpseat in the second row
- no extra in floor storage that the driver/front passenger can access
- DVD obstructs rearview mirror when in lowered position
- more expensive for similarly equipped Honda, however Honda has been rated slightly better

Hope this helps you make an informed decision!

We have a 2005 Odyssey and love it. Do NOT get the navigation. The built-in navigation systems are not as good as the portable ones (Garmin or the like). My parents have a built-in navigation and they never use it now that they have a TomTom (they said it is sooo much better). However, I would definately get the DVD. My hubbie had to convince me to get that feature and I am SO glad that he did. We use it on long trips or even short trips!! ;) It is helpful when I am stuck in traffic or nursing my son in the van in a parking lot or whatever ...the girls can watch a movie while I do it! ;)

Good luck with your decision!

We have a Honda Pilot 2007, with the DVD and we love it. My in-laws are out of state, so it is a wonderful thing when we have the drive there! I have heard nothing but rave reviews from anyone who has the Honda Odyssey - you can't go wrong there. We have had at least 12 Honda's in our family/extended family over the past 25 years, and all have been wonderful cars.

I am also a little-older first time, currently SAHmom to a wonderful 30 month old daughter!

I have a 2000 Toyota Sienna that I purchased in late 1999. It now has close to 95,000 miles. I have never once had a serious problem with this van, and I love it. Yes, I would like a car with a navigation and a entertainment system in it, they did not have it back then. But, it has been nice to have such a dependable, safe vehicle. I will drive this until it refuses to go anymore. Toyotas are legendary for running forever.

I can't speak to the navigation system, as we don't have one. However, we love our Toyota Sienna XLE, which we've had for several years. It's great for trips, the back seats are not hard to get to, and the DVD player works just fine for either the driver or front passenger.

We have a 2007 Odyssey and LOVE LOVE LOVE it too! We got the mid-range package -- the one that come with navigation/dvd player but not the Touring model (only difference in the Touring model is more cupholders, bigger wheels, foglights, and other little nonessential items). The drive is very nimble and like a car, excellent safety track record, well-finished interior with good quality materials. Access to 3rd row seats is easy, and the seats are very comfortable. The controls are intuitive and logical and not cluttered. One can operate the DVD (from the front, OR with a remote that comes with the van) while driving, unlike the Crysler town and country.
The DVD player plays movies with no problems and the sound system is excellent. My daughter loves watching the DVD's.
The Navigation is such a life-saver! SO worth it. Not only does it give directions in a clear and concise way, but has many additional features that are helpful as well.
We also explored the Sienna, and though the pricing was cheaper, the packages were expensive. You got so little in each package, and the interior is cheap. It indeed does have a smoother drive than the Odyssey but that's really it. The Toyota dealers were not very helpful when it came to questions and such; in contrast, the Honda dealers were very open and easily answered all our questions, and expressed genuine interest in selling us a car.
Lastly, Honda drives forever, we all know that. That is why the Odyssey is priced a bit more, but it's worth it, becuase it won't give u any mechanical or reliability problems unlike American cars like Crysler, GM, etc.
So we highly recommend Odyssey, hands down. There is a reason every 2nd minivan out there seems to be an Odyssey, and there is also a reason it's rated America's top minivan.

The DVD is a Godsend!!!! For 7 years we have had a DVD player for the kids. If you travel a lot it is a MUST have!!!
Even those short trips - an hour or so makes the time fly by when the kids are young! Your little one will probably sleep in the car for a while! PLUS you can buy a portable one pretty cheap!

I don't know about the 2008, but we have a 2006 Town & Country and really LOVE it! I was one of those "I'm not going to ever get a minivan" people, but the T&C won me over right away. It has a really nice smooth ride, and so much more convenient with the kids. We have the navigation, which is nice. We don't use it a lot, but when we've needed it, it's a great feature. We do not have the DVD. My kids were still too young to want it, and we couldn't have a sun roof if we had the DVD. We are just going to get a portable DVD to use - much cheaper, and we get our sun roof. You cannot use the navigation while the car is running, that's true. For the couple of times that I would have wanted to, it was no big deal. Overall, a great car. I completely recommend it!

Just thinking "outside the box" - does it have to be another van? Unless the family is much bigger than three, you might do well to look into regular cars or station wagons. Visibility is better, esp. in parking lots, and safety is comparable. Unless you're moving a LOT of stuff on a regular basis, or are the center of a car pool, you may be able to get away with a car. We used to have a VW Passat Wagon and loved it. There have been predictions this week on $4/gal gas before the year is up, and def. crossing $3.50 this spring. Remember that any transition in vehicle will feel awkward; I generally drive the two-seater to work every day, but when I drive the family van, I feel like I'm driving an 18-wheeler or something - I can't see around me and handling is weird. My wife, on the other hand, can feel crowded in the two-seater, and handling can feel 'twitchy'.

Back to the van. We have a DVD system in our vehicle and how often you use it depends on your threshold for TV time. We generally don't flip it on for trips of less than half an hour, but some people turn theirs on for every trip; make a decision on where you stand with respect to 'how much TV is OK' even outside of the car. What HAS been wonderful is that it has an "iPod/gaming" hookup, complete with a video cable; we have video-playing iPods and have transferred about 60 of our kids' DVDs to the iPod, so we have the whole library in the car, and also several thousand songs.

We also have a pocket GPS unit that we can use in any car or even hiking - it was very cheap (under $100) and definitely works while the car is moving! Unless you do lots of 'off the beaten path' trips and don't get to look things up on Google or Mapquest first, you may find you never use the GPS other than a neat gimmick to give you a feeling of always knowing where you are.

Just went through the same thing. Looked at both the Honda and Toyota. My opinion, you can't go wrong with either. They are so comparable with standard features these days and run about the same amount. We chose the Toyota Sienna Limited because I liked the interior more than the Honda. (Although I liked the DVD control in the front on the Honda better. More convenient). The seats were more comfortable and the ride a little smoother than the Honda. It was more "luxurious" (for a minivan) with the wood grain features. My husband even loves it. They are both highly rated in safety features, but I think Honda is a little higher in some categories. I think I went with Toyota also for their standard of quality and service. I have had 4 Toyota's in my life and had no issues with them at all. We bought this one from Elgin Toyota and was very pleased with their sales team and love their service department. Very accomodating. Good luck with you decision.

We have the Dodge Grand Caravan. Best vehicle i have ever owned. The DVD player gets used every day. The stow and go seats are the best invention ever made as far as vans go. We hae the middle row down most of the time and the kids sit in the back. We bought this in 2005 and its the firt vehicle we have bought that I was not looking to replace withina year. Its been 3 and I still love it as much today as I did the day we got it. Good luck.
S.

I have a honda odyssey and I love it. (that surprises me because I never wanted to drive a minivan) I do have the dvd/ navigation and the xm radio. I wasn't totally sure that I needed/wanted either but knew if I did I'd heavily regret it later. Well - I use it all the time. The dvd is fantastic because the kids can wear earphones and I can listen to radio. We have gone on a lot of long car trips and this has been fantastic! (we don't allow it on short trips around town or in the morning)
The navigation is awesome and has been helpful in more situations than I thought. You will definately use this. Also- it is becoming more standard and will help resale.

the xm radio - well - that really is just a sweet bonus for not being able to drive the mini cooper that I'd love.

I have had the mini van for over a year and it has given me no problems. I looked at the Toyota too... and I liked it - the only thing I didn't like was that every single feature was an extra item (padded with profits for them) so I found for the same features - Honda was cheaper. I also negotiated with the salesman for free carwashes when I'm in the neighborhood.
Oh - the other thing I did was research the car first.... and then I went from Honda dealer to Honda Dealer and compared their prices. Each one was willing to try to beat the other one. YOu can do this on selling price of the van and then again on the price of the trade in. (unfortunately you have to have patience and an open schedule to do this)

Best wishes

I love the T&C! I am not even sure where to start to tell you about the wonderful features. You didn’t say which year you were getting as the new T&C came out this year and their features are different from last year. I love that the mirrors have this shade to them when car lights hit them in does not reflect in your eyes. Also, they are heated so no ice and snow on them. I like the fold down seats as we mostly have them hidden and only pull them up when we have more than three kids in the van. Love the heater with all the controls and the digital. I like that they are split from driver/passenger/back. Love the DVD player, which you can also hook up Playstation and Xbox. Didn’t think that I would like the back up sensor! Use it all the time! The button to open and close the back are very useful. The seat memory, thank you Chrysler. Love all the plugs so the kids can plug in their Ipods, cells, or anything else that needs charging. Navigation which is another option I didn’t think that I would use so much …. How do I live without now!

Things I don’t like … no handle by the front passenger. The passenger seat doesn’t have 5 way mode only 3 way. I am not sure what to do about the rugs for the back when the seats are all up, looking into buying different ones. The passenger can’t use the Nav system when car is in motion. You can change the views but not change the place where you want to go unless it is already in there.

Ok, just to let you know I am NOT a salesperson. Just a mom with 3 kids and a following of a lot more. We are always having tag alongs with us. We do many road trips and practically live in our van. Good Luck and maybe if you are still undecided, rent one for the day. Some sales guys will let you take it for the day so at least you can use it for you daily life.

Geraldine,

I, too, was "an older first-time mom" at one time. Children are grown now, but one thing I decided early on and that I followed through on was that anything that interfered with real person-to-person interaction or actual "thinking" stimulation and interaction would not be allowed on the road. Unfortunately in my mind, many parents use the dvd and other techno "toys" to to give them a "break," especially while traveling. I'm not advocating no techno "stuff," but I do see traveling time as an opportunity not only for "teaching" but also for "listening." Our vehicle always had a good supply of age-appropriate stimulating things to do, not to mention good, old-fashioned conversation. So, I say, pass on the dvd and start this parenting adventure with your 20-week old little girl.

J.

My mini van has a dvd player in it and it is the best part of the van. Long trips the kids are occupied, short trips the kids are occupied. The sound system with it is great also. I don't think I would ever buy another car without one in it.

You are in luck!!!

I just got back from my mail box and what was in there?? The 2008 annual issue of Consumer Reports Best & Worst cars! So I open it up to the mini-van section for you and find this:

Best overall is the Toyota Sienna. It is considered one of the best vehicles you can buy today. It has an extremely low repair rate, and a very high safety rating. It had the least road noise. The only negative listed is "confusing options packages". One of its best features is how the seats go up and down easily.

Second up is the Honda Odyssey. Its only negative is road noise. It is considered the safest mini-van there is. It costs about $4000 less than a Sienna.

The Sienna and Odyssey both average 19 mpg overall.

These are the only two mini-vans that are recommended.

The Town and Country is not considered a good buy for the money (it is on average the most expensive minivan there is). It has lower fuel economy (17mpg), and has poor braking distance compared to others. The 2008 model has not been tested in any independent crash tests yet.

Other minivans tested were:

Kia Sedona & Chevy Uplander did not score well in any cateogory except safety- the Kia did very well on that, while the Uplander was pretty good.

Hyundai Entourage & Nissan Quest Chevy had extremely low owner satisfaction ratings and did not score well on crash tests

Dodge Caravan is on similar ground, also getting the worst mpg of any minivan.

So there you go! Hope that helps. We are planning on buying a new van in the next 2-3 years (however long our current van lasts. When we bought our new car this summer (a Honda Fit, WE LOVE IT!) we looked over the Odyssey and were thrilled with it. I would prefer a Sienna, personally, but it costs so much more it may not be worth it for us. We may also consider the Hyundai Santa Fe, which is considered the best overall mid-sized SUV.

WE has 2 Hondas. We love them both (04 and 07, both Odysseys) The are great, the most comfortable and cost effective. We did not get the touring package on either of them mostly because I don't want my kids thinking TV comes with getting in the car. However our salesman suggested a $100 portable DVD player and a GPS from Best Buy. The cost difference without the touring is near 10,000 dollars, and this way you can use DVD only if you need to.
The TV issue is yours to decide, I just wanted to tell you that we really love our Hondas and find they are the best.

We have a 2006 Toyota Sienna and LOVE it. Our friends liked ours so much they bought one as well. And my father in law and his wife (who have younger children) are hoping to get rid of their Odyssey and getting a Sienna. The Sienna is on a Camry frame which makes it drive just like the Camry...nice and smooth and it has a fabulous turning radius. Our Sienna is basically like bubble wrap if we get into an accident... front airbags, curtain bags throughout the front AND back...we feel very safe. The CD player is fabulous...never had a problem w/ it. We have a six CD changer and I have controls on the steering wheel so I don't have to reach to the dash to do anything w/ the radio/CD player. The sound system is great, too.

Oh, and the back seat is a breeze to get to. One of the middle seats can be moved more toward the center of the Sienna to make the access to the back from the side (which is how ours is set up). Or, the seat can stay closer to the door to make the back access in the middle. And the third row is SO easy to put down/put up, I've done it w/ one hand. And it's nice b/c there is SO much "trunk" space even w/ the third row up.

One issue I've heard repeatedly w/ the Odyssey is that the transmission goes out even after just a few years. Friends of my parents had to replace theirs two times in six years before they gave up and got rid of it.

As for the navigation systems...we don't have one (nor want one) but did use my father in law's portible GPS when we went to Michigan in Dec. I have to tell you...it was quite distracting. We always found ourselve looking at it and relying on it. In fact, it wasn't even "current", which I've heard people complain about w/ navigation systems. We punched in the address of a restaurant and it took us there...but the restaurant was gone (converted into an insurance company office!). Honestly, it was just distracting and we felt like we didn't need the distraction. We MAY use one again on a long trip, but we don't feel the need for the navigation system in the car itself.

Obviously, I LOVE my Sienna. We've had a Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Corrola, Toyota Camry (which we've had since 2001), and a Chevy Blazer. We will NEVER buy American again and I think we're very much a Toyota fan. Even my family have all Toyotas! Ha ha! The Sienna is by FAR my favorite.

GOOD LUCK!!!

I love my 2005 Honda I never even look back once buying it.

I assure you you would feel the same.

ONE for Honda...

We got the Odyssey last year with the DVD player but without the navigation. The high end model with navigation can only seat seven, not eight. For our family of 6 that is a big deal. I have absolutely loved the car, the gas mileage and the safety factor of it. We got a plug in garmin navigation and I certainly use it, but not sure the factory installed ones are worth the money.

Navigation systems and extras on vechicles change yearly. Your best option is to call or e-mail the 3 dealerships and see what they have to say? Car and driver magazine will tell you which is the most dependable and be unbiased about each auto. Good luck.