Purchasing a New Van, Nissan, Toyota, or Honda

We have the Honda Odyssey and absolutely love it.. know 2 other moms who just bought one and love it as well. Good luck.

We have a Toyota Sienna. We love it. We have had multiple Toyotas and they are very reliable vehicles.

We just bought a Dodge Grand Caravan and I love it .. but Honda is also a really good brand... so I think either will do very well for you.
P.

T.,

We have had a Toyota Sienna since October and we love it. The back seats are so easy to put down my 8 year old can put his own bike in the van to bring to a friends house. Smooth ride and comfortable too. Great safetly ratings also!

Hi there,

I was in your same position last year. I was going back and forth between the honda and toyota. They are both amazing, but we went with the honda. We got a better price, and I just liked the look of it more. Also, honda's, I think, have a better resale value.

I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Have fun! Welcome to the minivan sorority!!

Jolie

I too only ever drove small cars. When my mom moved in with us, we needed more room & went with the Sienna. I was scared to drive it at first, but now I HATE driving my hubbys car LOL I love my van! The 2nd row windows come down, the 2nd row seats we got are cpt. chairs, but can slide together, and the 3rd row folds flat. Also, in each row you can control the temp/air. Good luck deciding & don't be afraid to drive it :)

Hi T.,
Have you checked out the new Hyundai Entourage? They just came out for 2007 and I bought mine in August. I absolutely love it! It's actually bigger than the honda odyssey and a little less expensive. I paid 32,000 for a limited edition with everything on it. Just in case you were open to looking at others, just thought I'd suggest it.
Good luck! Mini vans are so much easier with the kids.

My husband is the type of person who measures the water for Mac N Cheese. Having said that, he did about 1000 lbs of research on all 3 vans and decided that the Toyota was the best buy. Insofar as I said i would never become a van owner or driver, I have to say I do love our Toyota. It's reliable, gets 25 mph driving, about 21 mpg for city driving. Plus, we just got the Consumer Reports best for 2007, and, well the Prius won top honors in all categories, but the Sienna was right up there next to Prius. We took one of the seats out of the 2nd row and put our 2 kids in the back seats (fwd facing car seat & a booster seat), the back seats tilt back for easy napping. W/ the 4th seat in the middle row it's pretty cramped trying to get to the back seats if you need, esp for tall people, but still workable. Lot of room, except for the very back, but we were still able to pack up good to drive to our family reunion last Aug, and still able to make room to take a bunch of toys back given to our kids as gifts when we got there. I say, i do love my minivan. I never though i'd say that! :) Good luck to you in whatever you choose -- my gfriend has the Odyssey and loves hers too. My husband also recommends them.

T.,
I have a 2006 Toyota Sienna, and I love it. I have 2 girls, 4 and 2, so You'll love it too.
We bought it last year after looking around, the Quest is smaller than the sienna, and the best minivans in the market are the toyota and the honda.

Good luck!
C.

we were considering the nissan because my husband loves his nissan car maxima what are the bad points of the nissan van ihave not drove it but it looks cool

I am a mother of 3 (a 5 year old and 15 month old twins). Last fall I purchased a 2006 Toyota Sienna. We considered the others you mention, but I just liked the Toyota best and am very happy with it. I know a few other people who have also recently purchased the Toyota and are very happy as well. Good luck!

We have the Hyundai Entorage(not one of your choices). We bought it in September and I am in love!!!!!! Got execellent saftey ratings too! Just thought I would pass that option along. Good luck!!

Make sure you get one that has the folding in seats, we had one that didnt before and those stink.

Hi T., We purchased a 2006 Honda Odyssey and absolutely love it. There is tons of storage, seats move around AND it rates high on safety. We have a 2 year old son, and he always wants to ride in the van. We have a great track record with Honda - we also have an Accord. (previously a Civic and CRX in my single days). Also, if you are considering purchasing, I would go to Honda Lisle, we've had service trouble with Valley Honda.

Good Luck!
Chris

These are my 3 tops picks too! I am looking to get a van in July. i need 6 carseats/ passengers( kids) so I am also looking at the Honda Pilot.
Please let me know if you get any personal messages on this.
I will read the replies here. Also let me know what you decide on.
I run daycare and need to take my 4 year old to preschool this fall.
____@____.com
www.gottotsinc.com

Hi T.,

I just got my Parents magazine issue for April yesterday. They have an article on the best cars, minvans & SUVs for families, safety ratings, etc. Might be something worth checking out. Good luck!
~F.

We have researched all 3 because we are also looking to buy a new van. Nissan is the worst out of these 3 vans.

T., I Bought a Toyota sienna in 2005 and I love it. Lots of room for my two boys and all their stuff including the double stroller. The back seats fold flat and if need be the second row of seats either come out completly or fold up against the front seats.I havn't had a problem with it ever. Hope this helps.

Hi T. -- we have 2, a Honda Odyssey and a Toyota Sienna. The Toyota drives like a minivan. The Honda is built on an Accord foundation and handles more like a car. Both are great vehicles and will take you to 200K miles and more with regular maintenance. Don't know enough about Nissan's to give an opinion.
Good luck!
S.
Lisle, IL

T., We purchased the 06 toyota sienna last summer. Its a very nice van. Although I wish we would of gotten a different color. When you go out from shopping sometimes its hard to find your none descriptive mini van in the lot. A mini van is a mini van its really how much money do you want to spend on it.

We researched all these vans this time last year and ended up getting a Kia Sedona (it's the same thing as the Entourage, pretty much). The safety ratings are GREAT and we really like it.

Hi T.!

My parents bought a Honda Odyssey and they love it. I dont know much about the other two, but my dad is someonen who reads into it all, and checks out everything about them. Ive driven it a few times and loved it myself. I own a Element, which is also Honda and I always here good things about Hondas. Not sure where you live but we got ours in Aurora. I went from dealer to dealer and they were the best prices and people. Even for service, they have always been outstanding!

Dani

Hi T.-

We just bought a Toyota Sienna one week ago....WE LOVE IT...we used to have a Lexus truck...so we were afraid the transition would be rough...but it hasn't been..it's a great ride and lots of great features too! I would highly recommend it.

Carolyn (____@____.com)

Hi T.,
I would HIGHLY recommend the Toyota Sienna. I'm driving a 2005 and love it. I have twin 3 year olds and there is tons of room. The windows in the backseat go down half way, which is rare for mini vans. Never had a problem with it. If you decide to purchase one, I would recommend John Miller at the Naperville (ogden ave) dealership. Hope this helps. :)
M. B.

We recommend the Honda Oddysey, hands down! We read Consumer Reports and they also agree.

We did a lot of research before we decided. The Toyota Sienna was also comparable, but the packages it comes with are much more pricier than Honda. The ride is not as comfortable as Honda, and the inside finish is not impressive. The toyota dealers we went to when we were checking out the Sienna were not very good - they were not willing to negotiate and they had this air about them.

For years the Odyssey has been the #1 van according to Consumer Reports. However, this year it was the Sienna, only because now it comes in all wheel drive. That is the only reason why.

The Honda dealers were much more nicer and willing to negotiate. We got ours from O'Hare Honda. The packages that they offer for the Odyssey are much more reasonable and include more. They will try to push you to buy the Odyssey Touring, which is the top of the line for Odyssey, but don't dig it. The only difference with the Touring models is they have foglamps, automatic trunk, and more cup holders. Whooeee!
We got the Navigation package, which comes with the rear camera which is A GODSEND when you are backing up.

However, we don't recommend the Nissan. It has consistently gotten bad reviews from Consumer Reports and others. Reliability is poor, inside placings of things are haphazard and odd. It is not recommended at all by many people.

Since you are used to driving small cars, the odyssey drives like a car. It has a great turning radius as opposed to the Sienna. Both have great crash test results. The reliability, resale value, and quality of the Odyssey is excellent. We love our Odyssey and my daughter loves watching the videos in the DVD player. We've had no problems with it. Why do people buy Honda and swear by it? There is a reason -- they are reliable, solid cars. Good luck.

I am currently driving my 2nd honda odyssey and I am in love with it!!! The best thing about a honda is that it keeps its resale value much longer than any other brand. An Odyssey with close to 100,000 miles will still cost close to 10 - 14,000. They are known for lastine mileage wise until 200,000. It is the best investment for you money. The only reason that I am on my second one is that I had one of the first Odyssey's that came out and you had to special order them and wait. My husband was driving by a dealer and saw the Odyssey that I had originally wanted (leather seats because nothing sticks and easier to clean up spills), heated seats (like a mini massage after a long day at work and lifting kids all the time) and it was available. He bought it for me for Chirstmas and for having our 4th baby. I love our Odyssey and will never buy anything else but a Honda!!!

Planet Honda in Matteson is wonderful. I teach automotive repair and they didn't treat me like a "dumb girl" who was just dropping off the vehicle for her husband. They were wonderful. They even fixed a flat tire for me at 10 p.m. and then gave me the tire for free and charged no labor!!!!

Good Luck!

S.

the Odyssey is fantastic! It like a luxury car for the family-- and toyota couldn't beat the price either. I test drove both and the odyssey completely out performed the sienna. You can pick up speed quickly (such as when passing) and really get this thing moving. My old toyota RAV-4 was much more of a "dog" than this van. The DVD system with headphones for the kids in back is nice too if you go on long trips. Good luck!

We've had a Honda Odessy for 2+ years and we love it!

Hi T.,

I shopped almost 2 years ago for a mini van, and my 3 choices were the same as yours. I was able to decide easily after test driving all three of them. I enjoyed how the Toyota Sienna drove the best. I have had no problems with it at all. Besides not having an interior light in the trunk area, I absolutely love my mini van. (Maybe they have added this feature in the newer models now.) I really like how it looks inside as well as the exterior. We had a little spoiler (I guess it's called that) added to the back of the van. The dealership charged $400 for that feature. It feels good knowing that it tested highly in crash accidents. We went to 2 or 3 Toyota dealerships to get the best deal. I would definitely recommend the Sienna! Good luck!

J.

My SIL drives a Toyota Sienna and loves it. We just purchased a new larger car ourselves (used to small cars) and we went with a VUE (SUV) instead of jumping right into mini-van. It's hard to decide! I would check out online or at local newsstand the 2007 Consumer Reports Guide - it helped us a lot and has great advice. Good luck.