CD Article: 2007 Minivan Challenge

[carcrazy]

Congrats JBrill! Over the weekend I sat in one of my friend’s brand new 2007 Odyssey Touring and I have to say I was very impressed. Nice, nice, nice....
If I was to buy a minivan, Odyssey would be the one and the Touring trim is very well equipped.

We love ours.  All the fancy doodads are cool and most are functional.  The voice recognition is 100000x better than the one we had in our MDX.  Sensors and powered doors etc....it's a family spaceship.

That’s exactly what I thought. It’s like a celebrity tour bus.
One thing I didn't understand was how the second row seats fold. I couldn't check them out b/c he had the car seats on them and we didn't feel like taking them out.
I also looked at the plastic quality - although plain hard plastic all around, it felt more substantial, but still cheap for otherwise a nice cabin; I also found few other cheap parts, but nothing major; of course the interior is very well put together in Honda's tradition. I think Honda makes a great (the best IMO) minivan and this Touring trim has pretty much all the nice stuff one could think of.
My only problem with Honda is that you have to go with the most expensive trim to get basic features like auto on/off headlights (found in some 20K cars) or fog lights. And than the Canadian pricing which I don't want to comment on....

[mdxtasy]

They don't fold flat into the floor....if you want a flat floor, they need to be removed. 

[carcrazy]

They don't fold flat into the floor....if you want a flat floor, they need to be removed. 

Do they tumble forward - CRV style?

[JBrill]

They don't fold flat into the floor....if you want a flat floor, they need to be removed. 

Do they tumble forward - CRV style?

No, the seatback can be folded flatish and the seats can be tilted forward for rear access but I would leave them tilted forward...

With that said, I've moved the second row seats so that the are side by side giving me more room on the passenger side to access the rear.

[KD]

The GM minivans are very nice. A lot of people write them off but it's tops on our list. Lots of power, good handling, lots of standard features and an affordable price. I also like the SUV look. I hope GM doesn't cancel these, they are good vans.

[rhp96]

I've been waiting for my confirm email for days and it finally arrived.

I am a Mazda 5 driver and I wanted to say the piece on the Mazda 5 seemed spot-on to me. I'm not a big fan of the car really, but wasn't willing to buy (nor able to afford) a more costly van at the time. I gave up a perfectly functional and well liked Toyota Matrix for the 5 because my family out-grew the Matrix.

The one thing I thought missing from the review of the 5 is mention of the car's heating system. It really is not well suited to a Canadian winter.

I have had the car since December 1, 2005, and the first weeks I had it I felt the heater was not producing any warm air on morning start-up within at least 20 minutes! That was too long to idle the car (not just because of the 4-minute idle by-law). I had the dealer I bought it from look at the heater and not only did they inform me the heater was correct, but they added that had I wanted a more robust heater, I should have bought a more expensive model such as a 6! Mazda lost me as a repeat buyer that day! I now have installed a heater that we run overnight (well, on a timer) when we know we will use the car first thing in the morning.

Cheers!

RHP

[jcon]

I had the dealer I bought it from look at the heater and not only did they inform me the heater was correct, but they added that had I wanted a more robust heater, I should have bought a more expensive model such as a 6! Mazda lost me as a repeat buyer that day!

Though I agree that a robust heater should be standard on all cars sold in Canada, I also don't see what is wrong with what Mazda said. Basically, you get what you pay for. If you want more performance, be it suspension, electronics, or comfort, you need to pay for it.

[AVToller]

I guess people who buy less expensive cars should freeze their asses off in mid-winter. Makes sense to me as they are much too coddled in this society already. 

[jcon]

I guess people who buy less expensive cars should freeze their asses off in mid-winter. Makes sense to me as they are much too coddled in this society already. 

No, which is why I made the disclaimer about 'cars sold in Canada'. My point was that, I don't see anything wrong with Mazda saying that you get more when you pay more (which is essentially what they were saying).

In Canada, all cars should be sold with improved heaters and block heaters standard. It's a reality of our climate.

Mazda has also taken a hit on their AC being weak.

[The Fuzz]

I had the dealer I bought it from look at the heater and not only did they inform me the heater was correct, but they added that had I wanted a more robust heater, I should have bought a more expensive model such as a 6!

The heater in the 6 sucks too. Maybe we need to buy a CX-9 next time so we can be warm!! 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

To Mazda's credit, they are now installing a beefer A/C unit with rear vents in the Mazda5. Dunno about improved heat output. That's a lot of space for a little 4-cyl to heat quickly.

[AVToller]

If you want to be really warm, you've got to go all out - buy a Yaris!  The A/C is only adequate though. 

[The Fuzz]

If you want to be really warm, you've got to go all out - buy a Yaris!  The A/C is only adequate though. 

That's because your breath is sufficient to warm a space that size. 

[AVToller]

If you want to be really warm, you've got to go all out - buy a Yaris!  The A/C is only adequate though. 

That's because your breath is sufficient to warm a space that size. 

Haven't you heard - It Takes Two! Fortunately, I have Daffi to help out. 

[JBrill]

Wow, anyone still following this "shoot-out"?  Not one comment on the Pontiac SV6, that has to be telling.

This is my first time back to see what Dave and Carolyn have been up to after a 1 month hiatus and after having made the decision to buy a Honda Odyssey, Touring Edition.  I have to agree with Carolyn that the door lock issue with the Honda is a tad annoying.  I've figure out how to have it unlock the drivers door when placed into park, but for the life of me, can't seem to find a way to have it unlock ALL the doors.  Online forums seem to indicate that you can't.  However, I disagree with Carolyn that not having a door close button on the B-Pillar for the side doors to be an issue.  Considering you can close them with either the inside handle, outside handle, key fob, or with the drivers side button, there isn't a lack of options to close the doors.  The only other annoying feature I have is with the DVD system.  Unfortunately, you can't go through the menu system from the front controls.  Only with the remote which can be a pain for selecting alternative language tracks (probably not an issue with most unilingual English folks) when already on the move. 

Now, to the Chrysler Town and Country.  I did test this one and have to disagree with Dave's and Carolyn's initial assessment of the YES fabric.  I hated it.  It felt like cheap vinyl and without seat warmers in the winter, these things are going to be cold!  In the summer, I highly doubt this fabric will breath like leather so it's going to be sticky and hot.  I did like the dual overhead DVD system and the intuitive front console navigation.  I didn't like the ride (too soft with rolling motion), and the exterior styling left me wanting.  Also, the US price on this thing is $6k cheaper before freight/PDI.  The cash back incentive doesn't narrow the gap by much.

In the end, I'm happy with my US bought 2007 Honda Odyssey Touring.  Feature for feature, the T&C would have been $1000 cheaper than the Honda with the only difference is having a second DVD screen and stow-n-go 2nd row seats but no back-up camera as on the Honda.  Add the swivel seats and the table, the T&C is more expensive.  Also, the VCM on the Honda is way more fuel efficient than the T&C.  Saving $8k-$12k off the CDN version is simply an added bonus that makes me smile everytime I go by a CDN Toyota or Honda dealership 

[mdxtasy]

I changed my van to unlock all doors when put into park.  Took 3 minutes.  Check the owner's manual.

[Radeo888]

Question ? Are the Customer Service comments really valid ? I mean dont they know your
picking up the vehicle to review it hence will be super nice to leave a good impression ?

Chrysler always comes up with new designs only to discover a year down the road they are not very good and
suffer from poor reliabity as a result of typical cheap build. I see no exception with this all new model. History speaks louder then words.

[JBrill]

And there you go, they have finally finished!

http://www.canadiandriver.com/minivans/conclusion.htm

Interesting to note they came to the same conclusions I did.  If price isn't an issue, Honda Odyssey and/or Toyota Sienna.  If price is an issue Kia Sedona/Hyundai Entourage.

Well Dave and Carolyn, I only have one recommendation for you:  You can get your cake and eat it too!  A fully loaded 2008 Honda Odyssey Touring can be had south of the border for under $40k (taxes included!).

JB

[Rupert]

The latest Chrysler van offerings have much style. Seing them in the showroom is one thing but on the highway they look great. Personally I think that the new offering will be successful. They still are the most practical. Suddenly even the latest of the competition seem to be old. I thought the previous model jelly bean looked better at first but I dunno...being won over.

[JBrill]

The latest Chrysler van offerings have much style. Seing them in the showroom is one thing but on the highway they look great. Personally I think that the new offering will be successful. They still are the most practical. Suddenly even the latest of the competition seem to be old. I thought the previous model jelly bean looked better at first but I dunno...being won over.

Not me, I'm so not a fan of the square box look.  The Caliber is another example of being fugly.  To me, even the Volvo's of yore were better looking boxes