Head to Head: The Toyota Sienna vs. The Honda Odyssey
If you are looking at getting into a new family vehicle this year and you want something that is both spacious and safe, then your search needs to start by taking a hard look at your minivan options. With design and technology upgrades that improve both power and handling, today’s options provide a lot for a driver to enjoy, without compromising on the features that make then a perennial favorite. Today, let’s take a look at the most recent entries from two top brands.
Sienna vs. Odyssey
Toyota and Honda have been incredibly competitive lately, releasing models that have very competitive specifications with one another and vying for the ability to claim that their offerings offer the lowest cost of ownership in the class. This year, the Toyota inches ahead in a few key categories.
For starters, the Sienna offers comfortable seating for eight with plenty of room for bags and other cargo, sporting an impressive 150 cubic feet of cargo space. The Odyssey is close at 148 cubic feet, but remember, those last two feet represent one fair sized cooler or a couple medium-sized backpacks.
Looking past the basic creature comforts like space, the Sienna continues to keep itself slightly ahead of the competition. This year’s V6 model manages to exceed the power of its rival, topping the Odyssey with 260 horses to its 248. While this places their performances close, it’s important to remember the way that power helps you make use of a vehicle’s weight—for larger vehicle classes, a small increase can sometimes bring fairly substantial improvements in handling.
Wrap-up
By just about any measure, the Toyota inches ahead of its competition in direct comparisons, making it a slight but clear winner. While you keep in mind how close those performance statistics are, keep in mind each company’s relative reputations as well—there’s a reason that Toyota is routinely congratulated for its ability to control overall ownership costs, and that might be less apparent when you first put it head-to-head with its competition. Over the course of a full ownership lifespan, though, Toyota’s investments in fuel efficiency, durability, and warranty protection will also show through.