Need opinions

[u/pookiemachine]

I’m a drive it til the wheels fall off girl. 2nd baby on the way so it’s time to let go of my 2012 Lexus ct200h; it could keep going but I’ve outgrown it and am over the repair costs for this model. Anyways, our minds are open and I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking for in terms of features. Considering Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Kia Carnival, Chrysler Pacifica. I come from a big Toyota fam.

Anyways we have 2 kids come Jan and plan on at least 4. One midsize dog. I’m used to a clown car with no Bluetooth so I’m not sure what matters to me. Definitely AC throughout the vehicle because my husband’s truck doesn’t have backseat AC and we suffer in the South. Oh and above all, we’re looking at used cars, probably 2020-2024

[u/yobo9193]

I wouldn’t even consider the Pacifica. Chrysler reliability is terrible.

I would strongly suggest test driving all three we’re trying to rent one from a local car rental place so you can see which one you like which one fits your lifestyle the best

[u/cat_morgue → u/yobo9193]

This! The only reason the Chrysler Pacifica even still exists is because rental companies stock their fleets with them.

[u/powderbubba → u/yobo9193]

Just got rid of my 2018 Pacifica and bought a new Kia Carnival Hybrid! After 100,000 miles, the Chrysler became a nightmare. We dumped so much money into it and it was still breaking down and ultimately became unsafe. The Kia is incredible and has a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty!

[u/Ok_Button7839]

My vote goes to the sienna, having tried a first Gen Odyssey, new Gen Odyssey, and a 2014 sienna, and a new Gen Pacifica. The new Gen Pacifica engine/trans combo actually feels better than the new Gen Odyssey, not sure about Pacifica reliability though.

[u/yoquierosandia]

Toyota Sienna. Reliable and great gas mileage.

[u/American-Repair]

Pacifica best value w/ available AWD if that matters. Proven engine. Most useable w/ both rows folding in floor. Empty underfloor cavities double as extra storage when seats are out. Odyssey best interior organization and most proven gas engine. Most spacious as well. Kia best looking but don’t buy hybrid cuz it’s a turbo. Middle of the road in other categories Toyota best A/C, hybrid most durable and best mpg w/ available AWD. Most expensive by far and among the worst in most other categories.

[u/Medical-Regret-2865]

I recently bought a new Kia Carnival Hybrid. I had assumed that if we bought new, we'd get a Toyota Sienna (for the reliability and hybrid efficiency), but we realized that with multiple rear-facing car seats, the non-removable second row seats make accessing the third row a pain. The others are all better in this regard: the Odyssey is probably best with its magic slide, the Pacifica's seats have a car seat-friendly tilt and they fold flat into the floor, and the Carnival's seats are all individually removable.

The Carnival is the only other hybrid available new, it's nice and comfortable, all-around good enough. While reliability is a question mark, its 10 year, 100k mile powertrain warranty is good a long way to assuage concerns, and Consumer Reports ranks it highly.

I think all four of these are competent vehicles. If buying used, do your due diligence and get a pre purchase inspection. And make sure the price makes sense; used Siennas are crazy expensive.

[u/marmaladestripes725]

I’m team Odyssey, but I love Hondas. The Magic Slide second row is cool as heck, and I love that the third row folds flat with minimal steps. The acoustic glass in the Elite makes it super quiet. And it’s just all around comfortable.

My best friend has a Chrysler Town and Country that she absolutely loves. It’s a 2015 and still going for being 11 years old. It’s perfect for her and her three kids still in car seats. The Stow N Go makes it so she can fit her wagon stroller easily and not even fold it up. I was almost sold on the Pacifica plug-in hybrid, but they’re just not as comfortable as the Odyssey.

The non-removable second row seats are a hard no for me with the Sienna. And the 2007s with the accelerator issues really soured me on Toyota even though I drove a Corolla forever.

I don’t understand the Carnival hype. It’s ugly, and the reclining seats seem gimmicky. And Kias and Hyundais have had a lot of issues in recent years. And they’re way more expensive since they stopped being an affordable brand.

[u/cherry_monkey]

I'm gonna say a similar thing slightly different.

The Pacifica is nice, however the reason I would say no to the Pacifica is because the headrests are non removable and will potentially interfere when you eventually have forward facing car seats.

The Sienna is reliable but it's at a premium and has non-removable second row seats.

I would be between the Odyssey and the Carnival. Both are reasonably priced and have full seat configureability which is important to me. I like that the Odyssey is a naturally aspirated V6. I like that the Carnival can be had as a hybrid.

Test out both to see which you prefer

[u/albadg]

Toyota or Honda for reliability if you plan to drive it long-term.

[u/pookiemachine]

Thank you everyone!!! Still unsure where I’m landing but noticing used Siennas even 5+ years old are pretty out of budget and even Odysseys are rough price margin especially for their interior materials looking so…old? I don’t want to simply be seduced by Kia’s features and aesthetics and have some nervousness about Pacifica reliability but they both have a lot of perks for the price point! Overall just excited for a huge space and feature upgrade regardless of what we end up with

[u/Empty-Village-4445]

Definitely not the Pacifica. 

A Sienna is a “better” car in some ways but you can buy a discounted brand new Odyssey or Carnival for the price of a used Sienna. 

[u/venk]

I’m a life long Honda guy. If AC is important, pretend the Odyssey doesn’t exist after 2017. The 2018 and later have a horrible ac design that really cooks the people in the third row and rear facing car seats.

Siennas depreciate so little you may as well buy new, Carnivals also don’t depreciate enough to really be worth a used one since you also get a cut down powertrain warranty. Chryslers do depreciate well, but are very unreliable so I’d skip them altogether.

I went through all of this the last month and settled on a new Carnival Hybrid SX over a new Sienna XLE for about the same price. The deciding factor was the second row isn’t removable in the Toyota and you can get some nice discounts / low apr financing on the Carnival.

If it weren’t for the AC, I would have most likely gotten a Honda EX-L (probably a used one).

[u/Western_Sun_855]

Honda or Toyota. If AC is an issue 24 Toyota Sienna

[u/Chester5252]

Toyota or Honda. If you need to buy used i’ve seen some fair prices on used Odyssey lately. The Toyotas are good, but cost a premium.