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iTrader: (2)

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Honda Odyssey, but for what you can get a loaded Kia Sedona for, I could invest the money I would have spent on the Odyssey.

Everything I read says it's a great van, not an Odyssey, but it's still one of the best.

Fully loaded (no navi available) for $31K MSRP where the Odyssey Touring (no navi) will run me $37K.

Is the Odyssey really work $6K?

And what with Honda never discounting the Odyssey, it'll probably be more than $6K.

Plus the warranty on the Kia seems much better. Just good piece of mind.

I like the fact that the middle seats on the Honda fold flat, but how often will I truly need that?

Anybody have any real-world experience?

Probably gonna go test driving both soon.

LuvMyTSX

I wouldn't touch a Kia, and $31k is definitely overpriced.

Man, I can't believe minivans cost so much.

Just remembering now...someone I work with has a Sedona (not an 06 though). They went in for a routine oil change, and the tech forgot to refill it with oil. A week later she had a dead minivan. Luckily they fixed it under warranty (thank God for that 100k warranty!).

Bdog

Honda resale > Toyota resale > every other car manufacturer > Kia

youngTL

Well I haven't driven the Sedona, but I HAVE driven the Odyssey. Let me tell you, it handles like a freakin' car! Better than ANY minivan I've ever driven that we've either owned or test driven for family members (and I've driven several: Dodge Grand Caravan, Mazda MPV, Toyota Previa (MT!! ), and Toyota Sienna).

Also, consider cylinder deactivation (in EX-L and up). 3 cylinders shut down while cruising, giving this van similar fuel ecnomy numbers to an automatic V6 Accord. Besides the added comfort and convenience of the features in the EX-L, that's really nice to have. And the 244hp puts a smile on my face; you'll blow every other van out of the water and most cars too if you should feel the urge to pass. . Shocking, for a minivan. No other van was capable of doing that. The Sienna was the quietest though. The 5 speed AT is a very smooth shifting tranny. The Toyota's was almost the same but it hunted for gears more.

I'd say the precise and FUN drive of the Odyssey is worth the $6k. Plus it looks sweet for a minivan. I got addicted to VTEC on this van. It even SOUNDS sweet!

Think about it this way: Do you want to feel bad about having to drive your minivan, or do you want to be happy to get behind the wheel?

And pricewise, the EX-L is almost as good as the touring if you can live without navi and the rear entertainment system. It saves you about $3k if you go without those features that are unavailable on the Kia anyways...

F23A4

VIP Honda (Plainfield, NJ) just sent me this on Monday:

*This offer is valid toward in-stock vehicles only. $4500.00 in-store incentive will expire at the close of business on 5/20/06. Offer valid while supplies last. $4500.00 in-store incentive applies toward Select Models of Odyssey at vehicle MSRP. Purchaser is responsible for all applicable fees and tax.

I have not tried the Sedona but have driven the Sienna and Odyssey. Should our 00 Quest die on us , we will probably get an Odyssey EX-L w/Navi to replace it.

youngTL

Okay, I had it wrong, the price is actually only $31k for the EX-L! It's a no brainer there. Honda > Kia by a long shot, especially for driving dynamics.

For the extra $6k for the touring, you get

-run-flat tires (stupid IMO)
-premium sound system w/sub and 6CD changer
-power adjustable pedals
-power tailgate
-memory seats

If you can live without these things for 6k you're good.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Touring doesn't come with navi. The touring navi version does and that's touching $40K

The cylinder deactivation, if you read the reviews really doesn't gain you that much in fuel economy.

Kia = 244hp, 3.8L V6 DOHC

She also wants the power liftgate, which is only on the touring.

youngTL

The J35 in the Odyssey will return better fuel economy than the Kia's 3.8L. And it has equal power. Is Navi a must have for you? If you were going to get the Kia, on which Navi is NOT available, why not just get the EX-L Odyssey?

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

The touring doesn't come with navi, the navi touring model does and it's not important.

youngTL

Yes I know it's an option on the Touring. But are hte other features important? Power liftgate/pedals etc?

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Resale means nothing to me. I drive my cars into the ground (99TL with 100K). Why do I need to worry about what I will get 5 years from now? I'd much rather have the 6K to invest and make up, many times over, the resale loss.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

could we live without it? But when you compare apples to apples:

Honda Odyssey Touring: $37K
Kia Sedona: $31K

Yeah I could go with the EX-L but I give up a lot of options and the price is right where the fully loaded Kia is.

Not necessarily directed to you youngTL, it's not a Honda, but have you been in a hole? Look at all the quality problems Acura and Honda have. Built in America.

SakiGT

This is a brand conscious website. From cars to vacuum cleaners. Expect a fight when you argue Kia to Honda

Now that Ive said that, Id rock a used minivan over a brand new anything. Id get the Toyota Sienna

F23A4

In all fairness, the Sienna is built in America (Indiana) but I have not heard of any quality issues. (Sidenote: I will say that the Sienna has a DEFINITE Lexus feel to it.....it unfortunately has as Lexus price tag when optioned accordingly.)

That said, checkout Odyclub for some insight from Odyssey owners.

dom

Out of curiosity, have you priced out a Hyundai Entourage. I'm sure your aware its the Sedona's twin. For brand recognition alone, I'd rather drive a Hyundai than Kia.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

My brother-in-law has Sienna and has nothing but problems with it. He is planning to lemon law it.

SodaLuvr

Neighbor has an '03 Sedona EX w/about 50K on it. They like it, and its been mechanically sound, but fuel economy is only about 17-20. Keep in mind that this van is ridiculously heavy compared to other vans, which really causes its fuel economy to suffer.

IMO, a Chevy Uplander is the best buy for the $$$. The 3.9L V6 is very good, and the 4T65E unit has been pretty solid now. The Kia vans have had some isolated transmission issues from what I've heard...and Kia is notorious for difficulty in obtaining warranty service.

dom

Keep in mind that 03 Sedona is night and day compared to the 06.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Wow and I thought this board was bad. For once it would be nice to get a non-biased review.

There are a few guys on that board that praise what Kia/Hyundai have done but they get beat down pretty quickly from the Hondasnobs.

youngTL

You seem hell-bent on the Sedona. I can tell you really want it. Just get it.

youngTL

The Hyundai Entourage will be better than the Sedona for sure.

But again, driving dynamics, driving dynamics, driving dynamics. Honda wins there, by FAR and away according to my own driving and every review I've ever read.

I like what Hyundai has done, but Kia is still a step behind Hyundai even though they're related.

What do you get with the loaded Kia that's NOT on the Odyssey EX-L? I'm just curious. I think power pedals are one thing. But I can't think of anything else. Power pedals don't make up for a middling chassis IMO .

By the way, my 06 Accord 6MT has been flawless and I'm getting above EPA on fuel economy. You talk as if Honda has the worst quality vehicles on the market. Have you looked at any of the ratings from consumer reports or JD powers? Kia is still near the bottom. Honda may not be Lexus perfect, but they're at the very least equal to Hyundai. Hyundai is MUCH better for some reason. Hyundai > Kia.

Oh, and displacement will cost you money in fuel in this segment. The Odyssey and Sienna engines are PLENTY big enough.

dom

Its the same Van.

F23A4

NSXNext, if you are looking for approval, youngTL just provided it. Have at it .

youngTL

I thought Hyundai made some suspension tweaks and amenity tweaks?

youngTL

Oh, by the way, looking at the Sedona page, it looks like they got their horsepower and torque numbers using premium fuel.



The Odyssey gets its numbers under the new SAE procedures and regular fuel. The Sienna uses premium IIRC.

Do you want a minivan that uses premium? I wouldnt.

Moog-Type-S

Get the Honda Oddy EX-L

btw the Kia is in the first model year

DownUnder

I think the new Sedona is a good van compared to the rest of the others, the last one was a heavy POS. BTW, Sedona > anyother van in safety tests.

SodaLuvr

Safety doesn't ever seem to be a priority in my book...but not everyone agrees...

DownUnder

If I was shopping for a van (god forbid that ever happens) safety would be my #1 priority.

SodaLuvr

They're all pretty good anyway...

I'm willing to bet, however, that ANY '06 minivan will be at least somewhat safer than my current 92, or even an 00, fwiw.

Scrib

meh... While Kia has come a long way, I wouldn't consider it.

What about a nice, used Oddy? And 37K? Honda must be on crack. Then again, 31K for a Kia. That's laughable.

GreenMonster

Get the Oddyssey LX... Great bang for the buck (the Dodge Grand Caravan STX is right in there too)... My boss is looking at the 2 I just mentioned, and I've told him I wouldn't consider anything else got a minivan. He's had his Dodge for 125K miles, so resale means less to him, and Dodge is offering some veryt attactive rebates ($4500) right now. He's still debating what options/features are more important to him, but I wouldn't be suprised if he show up on monday with the Oddyssey.

But the Honda has a way better resale value... Cars are bad investments to begin with, why would you want to invest in a loser upfront... Go with a proven winner and minimize your losses

SodaLuvr

A604 transmission (GrandCaravan)= Ultrajunk

Then again, most transmissions nowdays are built fairly "cheap" and often last only about 150K.

You can get a Saturn Relay w/Rear Entertainment system for about $20K.

Tennisjon2002

we had a 99 town and country and it was bullet proof up to 75k when we sold it. It was a damn nice van to, we had the limited, leather suade everywhere. It was like 32 new or something.
I would consider a used pacifica. I know my tennis pro who just had twins picked up a preowned one for 20 something, rear dvd, navi and all. I would def consider that, also that halfway gets you out of the van image.

ilitig8

Have you done the actual transaction cost numbers? If so the 6K may grow to more like 9K or more. I personally would not shy away from the Korean cars particularly when true transaction costs are factored in.

nahooneyya

my moms 98 sienna went through the lemon law and was bought back by Toyota in 1999....

we purchased the van brand new btw..

wha...thats BACK in the day eh?

F23A4

...indeed. A 1G Sienna which was > Previa.

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iTrader: (2)

just trying to understand the what $6K gets me. The whole Honda quality is grossly over exaggerated, as we all know so please don't go there.

Hey I'm an incredibly loyal Acura/Honda owner, 3 Acuras between my wife and I. My brother has an Odyssey which blew a tranny but he still loves it.

This all started with "Anybody own an 06 Kia Sedona?" That was all. Just looking for a non-biased opinion.

Will I probably end up getting the Odyssey? Yeah probably.

You guys sure love to spend other people's money.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

The old Previa is almost as ugly as the previous gen Quest.

F23A4

If you want unbiased, you are better off looking to those who are actively shopping this category....such as myself. As evidenced in forums from Azine to Club Lexus to Maxima.org to Odyclub, there is never an underwhelming towards the prevailing ownership.

I am a loyal Nissan buyer but the new Quest does nother for me, other than its large dimensions. As an owner of the previous generation Quest, try not to on my driveway; it will upset the neighbors.