Caravan V.S. Honda Odyssey

[moon111]

This started out as two Canadians arguing over the Odyssey and the Grand Caravan being in different markets based on price.

I have seen REALLY inexpensive Caravans before. Don't see them selling at Dodge.ca anymore. And the difference I get is just over $6000 on base price. That's still allot of money, but not as much as I was hoping for in my arguement. :)

Anyways, he is stating that the Odyssey and Sienna have more standard features, so that's why they cost more. Standard traction control and side airbags that are extra on a Grand Caravan. I tried to find these as options, but couldn't. Are they included? He's stating that will equal the competitor's cost or even surpass it.

Also that the Jap scrap have better horsepower and similar gas mileage.

Can anyone give me some ammunition (a.k.a. facts) to shoot this down? LOL!!! :flamer:

Maybe I should ask if the Volkswagen Routan is 100X better to?

[dodgefan360]

The Routan is a rebadged GC SXT wth some tweaks that VW has installed to make it their own. The Routan doesn't include Stow & Go seats that fold into the floor.

By years end the '09 Grand Caranvans will sell for around $20K as they have in the past with the "Canadian Edition". That price doesn't include stow and go seats either if you're into that sort of thing. Traction control as you mentioned isn't standard on base models, but is on SXT 4.0L and Chrysler Town & Country vans.

All three, GC< Odyssey & Sienna have similar standard features. The Sienna offers an 8 passenger option, which the Odyssey and GC do not. The Odyssey offers cylinder deactivation, but not on the base model - EX and Touring only, which to me doesn't make much sense why it's not standard across the line. The GC is also quieter at 70mph than the other vans. The Sienna looks like an alien space craft (to me at least). The Odyssey has the worst rebuild cost: if you clip the front bumper, a new one will cost you over $2K!

All vans are built at plants in North America, to have better parts availability. I still can't understand why import parts, even though they are produced here, cost more over domestic parts. Brakes are expensive in particular. I've changed out two sets of rotors and pads on a 2004 Sienna, and I get a slight discount on top of it and they still ran nearly $300. I changed my Durango's pads and rotors with PREMIUM parts for $160. I managed the labour.

At the Toyota dealership in Kitchener, ON, here. They have an assembly line for oil changes. They are busy enough to warrant it, but they claim it's to lower the customers costs, yet a simple oil change costs just as much there as any other dealer and it's done in about five minutes.

The main reason that the GC are less expensive is base power; not necessarily standard features. Dodge wanted to keep a flex fuel option for fleet sales, so that meant utilizing the good old 3.3 V6 that puts out a healthy 175hp. Both the Odyssey and Sienna pump out over 250hp...and you pay for it. If you opt for the 4.0L V6 in the GC then prices are more on par with a midlevel Odyssey of Sienna LE. The Sienna also has optional AWD, which for some people is a huge selling feature alone. Before you look at the top of the line prices, note that the import vans have some features not available on the GC (check the website to know more), but are standard on the Town & Country LTD. Everyone in the world is sold on Toyotas for build quality, which makes them an easy vehicle to sell without incentives and dealer cash to push them out of showrooms. All the vans ride a bit differently loaded and unloaded, so what it really comes down to is personal preference. If I had an extra $60K lying around, I could get a loaded Sienna or Odyssey, or I could get two base Grand Caravans for the same price. Just a shame I'm not into owning a mini-van!

Many buy imports for slightly better resale value as the value of a vehicle after three years is generally half of what the original cost was. Sad stuff. If your after an economical family hauler for 7, the GC is a hard value to beat and it boasts best in class interior space, 11 cup-holders and a chiseled exterior look.

Base prices before incentives & current discounts...plus taxes, freight, fed A/C tax, and other associated fees:
GC - $25,061 SE 3.3L
Odyssey - $31,490 DX 3.5L w/o cylinder deactivation
Sienna - $28,990 CE 3.5L FWD, $33,895 CE AWD
Town & Country - $34,148 Touring 3.8L

Top of the line models:
GC - $39,327 4.0L V6 SXT with travel, trailer, flexible seating & leather seat packages
Odyssey - $48,890 3.5 Touring with cylinder deactivation
Sienna - $47,770 3.5 Limited AWD (Limited is AWD only)
Town & Country - $44,239 Limited 4.0L with Entertainment group, power 3rd row seat, flexible seating group and trailer tow group

[mrbizness1]

I recently rented a 2008 Sienna from Enterprise. It was a LE fwd 3.5 v6. This is really a nice riding and handling van. The v6 is very fast and smooth. If I was in the market for a van I would have to consider this one. It is a little shorter than my 98 g/cv but when I put it in the garage it looks so big. I think it is the high hood that makes it seem so large.

[hcmq]

I have owned a 2002 GC EX and currently own a T&C Limited so I clearly like these vans.

At my last job I worked with City Halls all accross the country including NYC. When NYC found out that the crown vic was going away they started testing alternatives. The best for the money and size was clearly a minivan. So they went with the fleet favorite which is a GC because of cost,availabiltiy, & made in the US.

Well guess what?? They fell apart very quickly because of the abuse on the NYC streets. So the city took a huge loss and started trying other vans including the Nissans and Hondas. They ended up with the Toyotas. They were the only vans that stood up to the punishment similar to the crown vics.

Just watch any current news show in NYC and all you will see is crown vics and toyota mini vans. As the vics age out they replace them with toyotas.

My .02

[moon111]

I guess Dodge minivans are garbage. RIP Chrysler.

[mrbizness1]

I guess Dodge minivans are garbage. RIP Chrysler.


I don't think they are garbage, but I do think that Damler did alot of damage to Chrysler and now it shows. Their interiors are not as nice as they were and they made their vans larger while eliminating the swb awd van. I hope the company survives.
Toyota and Honda products have problems also.



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