Toyota Sienna <> Honda Odyssey

"QX" <nomail DeleteThis @nospam.com> wrote in message
news:dp2573lrqu2g15dkep00h7mu1eb3sqnt1k@4ax.com...
>I have narrowed my search to the Sienna and Odyssey..
> Right now I drive a 10 year old Dodge Caravan so I have no brand
> loyalty to either Toyota or Honda. Need the van to carry a power
> chair for a handicapped family member, and will be removing (folding
> down) the rear seat and installing a chair lift. The van will be kept
> for 10 years or so.
> Opinions?

Toyota and Honda both offer up to $1000 reimbursement for qualifying
modifications. Toyota offers a Certified Mobility Dealer program where
Toyota has pre-approved some modifications. It does not appear that Honda
has this program so you have to do more of your own research.

Check out http://www.toyota.com/html/mobility/ for information about
Toyota's Mobility Program.

--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

I had a 2000 Odyssey from June, 2000 through May, 2007. It was great, but a
bit noisy on the highway. It got about 24 MPG on the highway, and about
17MPG around town.

We replaced it with a 2006 Sienna. It's getting about 27MPG on the highway,
and 19MPG around town. It's a lot quieter than the Odyssey ever was.

Back in 2000, we bought the Odyssey because it was about $2K less than a
similarly equipped Sienna. Now, however, the prices have turned around, and
Siennas cost less than similarly equipped Odysseys. This will also mean that
the Sienna would cost [marginally] less to insure.

But...

Our Sienna is about 2 inches higher than our Odyssey was. When parking the
Odyssey in the garage, the door would bump into my lawn mower. The Sienna's
door opens comfortably above the lawn mower. When getting into or out of the
Sienna, I notice that my legs have to stretch a good deal more than they did
with the Odyssey. My wife, who is somewhat shorter than I am, notices the
difference even more. My mother (80 years old) had a lot of trouble getting
into my Odyssey -- she'd have even more trouble with the Sienna.

If you will need to drive the handicapped family member, this additional
height could be a problem. Then again, the Odysseys could've gotten higher
in the ensuing years (I haven't measured). I would definitely check this out
before going one way or the other.


" dbu,." <nsp DeleteThis @einp.com> wrote in message
news:nsp-FBA929.08054515062007@comcast.dca.giganews.com...
> In article <dp2573lrqu2g15dkep00h7mu1eb3sqnt1k DeleteThis @4ax.com>,
> QX <nomail DeleteThis @nospam.com> wrote:
>
>> I have narrowed my search to the Sienna and Odyssey..
>> Right now I drive a 10 year old Dodge Caravan so I have no brand
>> loyalty to either Toyota or Honda. Need the van to carry a power
>> chair for a handicapped family member, and will be removing (folding
>> down) the rear seat and installing a chair lift. The van will be kept
>> for 10 years or so.
>> Opinions?
>
> After owning a caravan for ten years I bought a Sienna. In my opinion
> the Sienna is THE best minivan out there. The Ody would be my second
> choice. If you want to find out more goggle "The Siennaclub" Loads of
> info there and may even be a page on handicapped mods.
>
> If you are interested in the Ody goggle "The Odyclub"
> --
>
>
>
> "I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers.
> We are the President." Hillary Clinton
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

Xxxxx wrote:
> I had a 2000 Odyssey from June, 2000 through May, 2007. It was great,
> but a bit noisy on the highway. It got about 24 MPG on the highway, and
> about 17MPG around town.
>
> We replaced it with a 2006 Sienna. It's getting about 27MPG on the
> highway, and 19MPG around town. It's a lot quieter than the Odyssey ever
> was.
>
> Back in 2000, we bought the Odyssey because it was about $2K less than a
> similarly equipped Sienna. Now, however, the prices have turned around,
> and Siennas cost less than similarly equipped Odysseys. This will also
> mean that the Sienna would cost [marginally] less to insure.

Not necessarily. The insurance companies also look at the crash rates
and repair costs, not just the value of vehicle.

> But...
>
> Our Sienna is about 2 inches higher than our Odyssey was. When parking
> the Odyssey in the garage, the door would bump into my lawn mower. The
> Sienna's door opens comfortably above the lawn mower. When getting into
> or out of the Sienna, I notice that my legs have to stretch a good deal
> more than they did with the Odyssey. My wife, who is somewhat shorter
> than I am, notices the difference even more. My mother (80 years old)
> had a lot of trouble getting into my Odyssey -- she'd have even more
> trouble with the Sienna.
>
> If you will need to drive the handicapped family member, this additional
> height could be a problem. Then again, the Odysseys could've gotten
> higher in the ensuing years (I haven't measured). I would definitely
> check this out before going one way or the other.

The family member will have a lift. The extra height could be a bonus,
because the person on the outside of the van might be at better height
to help the person.

I agree that the Sienna is a good van. I wouldn't go and say that it is
the best one. Dodge has a pretty cool minivan coming out this year. It
has a center table and a layout in the back that might be really good
for the wheel-chair user.

Jeff

PS, please don't top-post. It makes it hard to follow the different
posts in the thread.

> " dbu,." <nsp DeleteThis @einp.com> wrote in message
> news:nsp-FBA929.08054515062007@comcast.dca.giganews.com...
>> In article <dp2573lrqu2g15dkep00h7mu1eb3sqnt1k DeleteThis @4ax.com>,
>> QX <nomail DeleteThis @nospam.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I have narrowed my search to the Sienna and Odyssey..
>>> Right now I drive a 10 year old Dodge Caravan so I have no brand
>>> loyalty to either Toyota or Honda. Need the van to carry a power
>>> chair for a handicapped family member, and will be removing (folding
>>> down) the rear seat and installing a chair lift. The van will be kept
>>> for 10 years or so.
>>> Opinions?
>>
>> After owning a caravan for ten years I bought a Sienna. In my opinion
>> the Sienna is THE best minivan out there. The Ody would be my second
>> choice. If you want to find out more goggle "The Siennaclub" Loads of
>> info there and may even be a page on handicapped mods.
>>
>> If you are interested in the Ody goggle "The Odyclub"
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> "I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers.
>> We are the President." Hillary Clinton
>
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

Jeff wrote:

> I agree that the Sienna is a good van. I wouldn't go and say that it is
> the best one. Dodge has a pretty cool minivan coming out this year. It
> has a center table and a layout in the back that might be really good
> for the wheel-chair user.

For long-term reliability, Sienna IS the best minivan. Odyssey would be
second even despite that some model years had tranny issues. However, Honda
extended the warranty for 4-speeds and issue recalls for 5-speeds. On the
other hand, Crapsler never did anything about their minivan tranny problems,
which were more frequent than Odyssey. Neither did Ford for that matter.
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

On Jun 15, 4:54 am, QX <nom... RemoveThis @nospam.com> wrote:
> I have narrowed my search to the Sienna and Odyssey..
> Right now I drive a 10 year old Dodge Caravan so I have no brand
> loyalty to either Toyota or Honda. Need the van to carry a power
> chair for a handicapped family member, and will be removing (folding
> down) the rear seat and installing a chair lift. The van will be kept
> for 10 years or so.
> Opinions?


They're both great vans. Any real differences are minor. Buy the one
you can get the best deal on and don't obsess about it.
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

"QX" > Right now I drive a 10 year old Dodge Caravan so I have no brand
> loyalty to either Toyota or Honda. Need the van to carry a power
> chair for a handicapped family member, and will be removing (folding
> down) the rear seat and installing a chair lift. The van will be kept
> for 10 years or so.
> Opinions?

If this helps, we bought a 1998 Sienna new then, put 190K miles on it to
date, beat the hell out of it on the way, and it still just goes.
Tomes
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

I posted some useful infomation for you regarding lifts at your post in the
honda group


"QX" <nomail.DeleteThis@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:dp2573lrqu2g15dkep00h7mu1eb3sqnt1k@4ax.com...
>I have narrowed my search to the Sienna and Odyssey..
> Right now I drive a 10 year old Dodge Caravan so I have no brand
> loyalty to either Toyota or Honda. Need the van to carry a power
> chair for a handicapped family member, and will be removing (folding
> down) the rear seat and installing a chair lift. The van will be kept
> for 10 years or so.
> Opinions?
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

Top posting is the accepted method unless you're answering point-by-point
inline. In your case, you consistently fail to trim sufficiently, rendering
your inline posting a pain in the ass to wade through. Once you've been
elected usenet king, then you'll get to dictate posting methods. Until then,
go pleasure yourself.


"Jeff" <kidsdoc2000.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:dzxci.4$tI5.2@trnddc08...
> PS, please don't top-post. It makes it hard to follow the different posts
> in the thread.
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

This message is not archived
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

On Sun, 17 Jun 2007 04:02:46 GMT, "Xxxxx" <Not_gonna_give.DeleteThis@all.com>
wrote:

>Top posting is the accepted method

Accepted by what authority? Show us where it says so. <G>
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

This message is not archived
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

Xxxxx wrote:
> Top posting is the accepted method unless you're answering
> point-by-point inline. In your case, you consistently fail to trim
> sufficiently, rendering your inline posting a pain in the ass to wade
> through. Once you've been elected usenet king, then you'll get to
> dictate posting methods. Until then, go pleasure yourself.

And I hope you have a lovely father's day, as well.

Jeff
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey 

This message is not archived
 >> Stay informed about: Toyota Sienna <&gt; Honda Odyssey