Looking at vans

[IHateMyJob2004]

UPDATE:
Thanks to all. Today we signed the paper work. It was the Toyota LE with the number one package. The number 1 package is basically a passenger side power sliding door. This is actually what I was hoping for. I guess it has premium sound whatever that means. I could care less. We also went with the 7 seater, not the 8.

It basically came down to the fact that my wife likes it and she test drove it. It has a timing chain. My wife likes it. It's the model I wanted. The wife likes it. And I have to admit, I like quiet and the Sienna does a good job in that department. And my 3 year old son is very excited over the fact that we are getting a "new big car mama".

Next stop, sub $15K car this summer for me. That's another thread though.



Original post:
Well, my wife wants a van. She can pick it herself but I have one requirment. A quieter ride.

So, we so far have eliminated the Kia.

We are considering a Toyota Sienna. We test drove it and it was OK. Not great in my opinion but my wife liked it.

I am leaning towards a Honda Odessy (sp?). Is hte Honda a quiet ride? Of course, we will test drive it.

But in terms of quiet, what vans should we consider and simply ignore? From what I understand the Toyota is one of quietest vans, if not simply the quietest.

Any thoughts?

 

[MiataNC]

The only way to know for sure is to take an extended drive in each van you are looking at on the highway to get a feel for noise levels.

Make sure the sales person does NOT turn on the radio or chat the whole time. They do this to cover up noises and distract you.

One of the biggest contributors to noise is tires. Generally the harder (higher mileage) the tire, the more road noise it will generate.

 

[cardiac]

Check out Chrysler's Town and Country. You might be surprised....

 

[nwfsnake]

The Sienna is going to be quieter and smoother (less sporty, if you can even say that about minivans) than the Ody.

 

[funboy6942]

Get a Astro van with a 350 v8

 

[programmer]

Yeah, I agree with nwfsnake. I found the Sienna, at least 3 years ago, to be a softer and quieter ride. The honda is "sportier", but a little more noise. That said, I went with the Odyssey because I found the front-row, and especially the second-row seats, in the Sienna very uncomfortable.

 

[thomsbrain]

IIRC, Chrysler makes the quietest current minivan. That doesn't mean it is the best, though. Buying a car purely for noise level is like buying a house purely for countertops.

The Odyssey is generally regarded by the press to be the best minivan available, but your taste may vary. And it is almost certainly not the quietest.

 

[vi edit]

One thing to note on the Sienna vs the Oddy is that Toyota offers power sliding doors and hatch as a $500 option on the base models.

If you want that on the Oddy you have to step up to more expensive trims.

 

[raildogg]

I think that the new 2008 Honda Odysseys look great. Test drive one.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I think once Memorial Day sales start, we will try out the Odyssey. I think the power sliding doors are stupid, a waste of money and just another thing to break. Why on Earth it is standard on all non-base Odysseys is beyond me.

I think the second level trim option (2nd of 4 trim levels) is what we will go after.

Like I said though, once the Memorial Day sales start.

My wife liked the Toyota. I personally didn't get wowed by it.

 

[ponyo]

Power sliding doors are great and well worth the money. Handful of stuff and you don't have to set it down to open the door.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

A vote for the Town and Country here. Very pleasant to drive. Extremely quiet. Not to mention Chrysler group's new warranty is just about the best in the industry.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: Naustica
Power sliding doors are great and well worth the money. Handful of stuff and you don't have to set it down to open the door.

I'd rather be paid $500 for the "inconvenience". Man, America is getting lazy.

With all my research (alot of it re-affirmed here), I am basically down to the Dodge/Chrysler, the Toyota and the Honda.

The Town and Country sounds as though it is well liked. It's the only one we havn't seen yet. The dealership was closed Sunday so there was little we could do to help that.

I like the interior of the Honda over the Toyota.

Honestly, the biggest problem I have is that my wife is so in love with the idea of a new van that she would probably buy the first one she liked. Hell, we almost ended up with a Kia..... having read more there is no way I'd buy that thing.

 

[Mursilis]

We just bought a 2007 Odysssey (EX-L) in Dec. Great, great van, and got a great close-out deal. We looked at the Toyota, but they weren't offering the incentives Honda was. Also considered the Dodge, but had heard too many horror stories about that vehicle, plus the resale value was terrible.

As for best time to purchase, you can wait for the Memorial Day sales, but market conditions dictate prices, not holidays. If dealers are moving inventory then, they won't be in the mood to negotiate. If you can't do what we did (wait until the end of the model year), now's as good a time as any. Honda's offering "marketing support" of $2K cash to dealers on most Odysseys, so that's $2K off right there. Hard to say whether prices will be lower in May.

 

[SuperjetMatt]

Hell, we almost ended up with a Kia..... having read more there is no way I'd buy that thing.

As I am about to buy either a Kia or Hyundai van, may I ask what you found about the Kia that made you turn from it?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Make sure it has a wizard painted on the side. Or dragons. One of the two.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: SuperjetMatt

Hell, we almost ended up with a Kia..... having read more there is no way I'd buy that thing.

As I am about to buy either a Kia or Hyundai van, may I ask what you found about the Kia that made you turn from it?

Kias are the cheapest van you can buy. With some research, you can quickly understand why. carsdirect.com does write up on all the cars. It's basically a cheap piece of junk. There is a reason that people toss the Honda, Dodge and toyota names around. You pay a bit more but for a reason.

Sorry, I don't have hte specific reasons memorized. I basically tossed it off the list and out of my mind. I am leaning towards the Honda and Toyota. Honda basically has the nicer interior. The Toyota is supposed to be quieter. The Honda cost slightly more. I still need to check ot hte Dodge/Chrysler.

 

[SuperjetMatt]

I was asking because I'd been reading quite a number of reviews of the 2006-2007 model years of the Kia as well, and found overwhelmingly positive reviews and very good reliability ratings. I've test-driven two and was impressed.
I will check out carsdirect, thanks.


EDIT: Even carsdirect.com has hardly a negative thing to say about it.

Anyway, sorry for the derail.

 

[Chunkee]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: SuperjetMatt

Hell, we almost ended up with a Kia..... having read more there is no way I'd buy that thing.

As I am about to buy either a Kia or Hyundai van, may I ask what you found about the Kia that made you turn from it?

Kias are the cheapest van you can buy. With some research, you can quickly understand why. carsdirect.com does write up on all the cars. It's basically a cheap piece of junk. There is a reason that people toss the Honda, Dodge and toyota names around. You pay a bit more but for a reason.

Sorry, I don't have hte specific reasons memorized. I basically tossed it off the list and out of my mind. I am leaning towards the Honda and Toyota. Honda basically has the nicer interior. The Toyota is supposed to be quieter. The Honda cost slightly more. I still need to check ot hte Dodge/Chrysler.

They do have crappy resell...however, we have two KIA sedonas, my wifes is a black ex with leather etc. Mine is a white EX with power package. We drove all of them I am sorry, but for what you get, the others simply are not worth it, unless you are going to sell it in two years. The KIAS/Hyundais are feature packed for much less...and even the features are more than the others offer at 8 to 10 grand more. Safe, better warranty, stronger engine, better roof rack (165lbs); fog lights, all power doors and liftgate, TWO power seats, windows roll down on second row..all the climate stuff, 17 inch wheels with nice tires. Going on two years and have not had any problems. On the contrary, I know peeps who have the others as well. We had a Dodge Grand Caravan for 8 years and not one problem. Friends have hondas and toyotas, crap is breaking, or not working right, more rattles, steering, braking...etc.. so, if you want resale value only, then get the Honda/Sienna..but fork out a great deal more money.

2cents

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Chunkee

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: SuperjetMatt

Hell, we almost ended up with a Kia..... having read more there is no way I'd buy that thing.

As I am about to buy either a Kia or Hyundai van, may I ask what you found about the Kia that made you turn from it?

Kias are the cheapest van you can buy. With some research, you can quickly understand why. carsdirect.com does write up on all the cars. It's basically a cheap piece of junk. There is a reason that people toss the Honda, Dodge and toyota names around. You pay a bit more but for a reason.

Sorry, I don't have hte specific reasons memorized. I basically tossed it off the list and out of my mind. I am leaning towards the Honda and Toyota. Honda basically has the nicer interior. The Toyota is supposed to be quieter. The Honda cost slightly more. I still need to check ot hte Dodge/Chrysler.

They do have crappy resell...however, we have two KIA sedonas, my wifes is a black ex with leather etc. Mine is a white EX with power package. We drove all of them I am sorry, but for what you get, the others simply are not worth it, unless you are going to sell it in two years. The KIAS/Hyundais are feature packed for much less...and even the features are more than the others offer at 8 to 10 grand more. Safe, better warranty, stronger engine, better roof rack (165lbs); fog lights, all power doors and liftgate, TWO power seats, windows roll down on second row..all the climate stuff, 17 inch wheels with nice tires. Going on two years and have not had any problems. On the contrary, I know peeps who have the others as well. We had a Dodge Grand Caravan for 8 years and not one problem. Friends have hondas and toyotas, crap is breaking, or not working right, more rattles, steering, braking...etc.. so, if you want resale value only, then get the Honda/Sienna..but fork out a great deal more money.

2cents

True, the Kia we looked at (EX with everything, essentially) had a few more features than the Odyssey EX-L with Rear Entertainment System we ended up getting. The Kia had a power passenger seat, power liftgate, and a longer warranty; I think that's about it. However, we didn't end up forking out a "great deal more money" for the Honda. If you know how to bargain, you can get great deals on the Odyssey, especially where we live - a major metro area with 10+ dealers within a 75 miles radius. We ended up under $27K on a van stickered at about ~$33K. The Sedona EX with power, leather, and entertainment packages was stickered about the same (~$33K), and I didn't try to see how low I could get that one, but I doubt it would've been much lower than the Honda. Right now, Honda's offering a $2K incentive, but Edmunds isn't showing any discounting from Kia for the Sedona. There are definitely deals to be had, even on Hondas.

 

[SuperjetMatt]

Very true when you're buying new. Heck, in your situation, I would have done the same thing.
As for me, I am looking for a 1-2 yr old used van, about $15k, so Honda is out.

 

[thecritic]

The Sienna will cost less to maintain in the long-run. The Odyssey requires transmission fluid changes every 30k and the Toyota does not (though I'd still change the Toyota's every 60k). The Odyssey also requires a $1000 timing belt, water pump, drive belts, etc job every 100k. The Sienna uses a maintenance-free chain setup.

Sienna's engine is also stronger than the Odyssey's engine. More low-end torque. Hondas are traditionally notorious for excessive road noise.

 

[Chunkee]

my wife got her kia ex loaded for 24, mine was 22500....

jC

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: thecritic
The Sienna will cost less to maintain in the long-run. The Odyssey requires transmission fluid changes every 30k and the Toyota does not (though I'd still change the Toyota's every 60k). The Odyssey also requires a $1000 timing belt, water pump, drive belts, etc job every 100k. The Sienna uses a maintenance-free chain setup.

Sienna's engine is also stronger than the Odyssey's engine. More low-end torque. Hondas are traditionally notorious for excessive road noise.

Holy crap. I didn't know that. I think the Toyota is going to be strongly considered now.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Thanks to all. Today we signed the paper work. It was the Toyota LE with the number one package. The number 1 package is basically a passenger side power sliding door. This is actually what I was hoping for. I guess it has premium sound whatever that means. I could care less. We also went with the 7 seater, not the 8.

It basically came down to the fact that my wife likes it and she test drove it. It has a timing chain. My wife likes it. It's the model I wanted. The wife likes it. And I have to admit, I like quiet and the Sienna does a good job in that department. And my 3 year old son is very excited over the fact that we are getting a "new big car mama".

Next stop, sub $15K car this summer for me. That's another thread though.