Pros: Nicely different design (I've been getting tired of all the rounded designes available lately), easy to wash surfaces, simple/functional layout (not too complicated to get the seats out if you need to), great fit and finish (America wishes it could build a car this well!), smooth engine and tranny (are you listening Ford?), quiet on the road, great space around all occupants as well as for cargo (who needs a Suburban?), and the typical Honda reliability.

Cons: Terrible stereo, (although I do like the volume/station controls on the steering wheel), church pew seats (c'mon Honda, think NSX seats and you'll get the picture), drum brakes in the rear? (It's 2000 for Pete's sake, get with the program!), you call that a roof rack?, how about a white exterior with the tan interior?

I paid only $250 deposit when all other dealers in Texas wanted $500 and I paid sticker when all others wanted MSRP plus $500-$1500 over. Had to wait 8 weeks for delivery, which was unfortunate, and the salesman called me the day before delivery to tell me that he misquoted me and that I would need to pay another $100 for HIS mistake (over my dead body!), but otherwise, it's been a great vehicle. Already have several thousand miles on it in a very short time so it gets lots of use. Wife loves it and my little girl likes having her own seat (hard to keep her out of the back seat so I have to fold it up when we take her somewhere in it!)
I would definitely recommend this vehicle before buying into the SUV craze that everyone is doing. We considered several SUVs but they were too expensive, too rough riding for family travel on the highway (where 99% of them are used), too much of a gas guzzler, and they can't manuever as well as a mini-van with it's lower center of gravity.

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Drove all the domestic mini-vans (to be fair) and none of them can hold a candle to the Honda (or the Toyota) as far as fit and finish goes, reliability, ease of use, and versatility. The Chrysler Town and Country was just too darn expensive for what they consider "luxury" (plastic bag hooks in the back seat? Gimme a break!) appointments. The interior of every domestic product I looked at and drove just reeked of cheap parts and parts-bin sharing. The Toyota was close but was too small and too costly.

It has unique styling, excellent handling and extra smooth engine. With Honda's name on it, who can ask for anything more.

Interior material can have more touch and feel. It feels a
bit plain compare to other features provides. I am putting
leather steering wheel to improve that.

It has unique style when you drive on the road that will attract people's attention. The handling is like a dream sometimes you are wondering sitting in an Accord only with much larger view. The power train lives up to all the expert describes. I paid the list price, although if you look hard enough and even willing to travel to remote area then the price would probably down a bit. In numerical review and comparison test from different magazine and internet site (at least 5 of them), Odyssey has been number one all the time. I do not need to recommend it, the shortage itself tells the story.

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Mercury Villager -
Odyssey brought back the fun of driving.

engine and transmission, interior/seat arrangement and cargo room, sliding doors, overall styling, Honda reputation

uncomfortable seats, slightly noisy (exterior/engine), poor dashboard control and shifter knob placement, cheap speakers

Paid sticker-$27000 w/o nav.system (my father would roll over in his grave). Mine came w/o nav. system-a nice option that may not last 10 years(?).Best mini-van on the market. Biggest, best engine and smooth trans. that can tow 3500#! Amazing turning radius. Amazing, smooth acceleration, power, smoothness. Great styling with beautiful fit and finish. Very stiff, uncomfortable typical Honda seats-stiff fr. seat, short pass. leg room and short thigh support; no left arm-rest. May have to change them out! Really CHEAPO speakers for a $27000 vehicle. Ge the cargo mat and seat- well liner- both indispensible. Power sliders are great and amazing cargo room and flexibility with the amny easy to cahnge interior configurations.

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better than Quest, Chrysler; MVP, Toyota not tested

We love the style and comfort. It has been great and versatile for our family of 4. We have hauled everything from 7 passengers to sheets of drywall. We are still very happy after 11 months and 15,000 miles.

I am 6'2" and the driver's seat is a little short on thigh support. I wish it was a deeper seat. The only other minor issue was a missing piece of trim on the roof rack, which was repaired at no cost under warranty.

Great car. I would buy it again without hesitation. Great options for the $$. I gave our Odyssey such rave reviews my friends parents bought a 2000 Odyssey and they love theirs too. Now my friend is looking at selling his 98 Windstar to get a new Odyssey.

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Previously we had a Mercury Villager for 4 years. It was ok, but was too small for our growing family on road trips. The Odyssey blows it away.

A 215 horsepower minivan with independent suspention all around. Swallows a 4x8 with 4" left in the back and 1" on each side.

Too bad its not 4 wheel drive.

WOW! This is by far the best minivan ever. First of all the engine, 215 hp on a dyno. 0-60 in under 8 sec empty. Next the suspension. Its independent front and back. You get a smother ride then Mercedes ML320 or ML430 on dirt roads. Same handling as a BMW 325I on wineding back roads. Well all this an a seating and cargo capacity for 7. 30,000 miles ago I questioned the vans performane as I took it on a 1,200 mile trip to Canada. The van was so good, that on the way home (D.C.) we visited Florida too. This is a great minivan because it challenges Dodge in price and size and KILLS Dodge in RELIABILITY. ITS A HONDA OF MINIVANS

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Grand Caravan
Windstar

- Smooth and quiet engine and transmission.
- Versatile and unique design with the "movable" captain's chairs and fold-away 3rd seat.
- attractive syling
- Plenty of usable space.

I agree with the previous reviewer that the stereo system is weak (especially the rear speakers!) for such an expensive vehicle and we have the EX which comes with the CD player.

- No leather or sunroof offered (the cloth fabric is just OK). Maybe Honda will decide to offer it next year.

We were concerned about the Caravan's reliability record so we didn't choose the Dodge

We seriously considered purchasing the Sienna for its nicer interior and better color choices and options offered but felt the Odyssey was just a better value, primarily due to its larger size, greater overall versatility, and more powerful engine.

A suggestion for Honda is to make the 3rd seat a 60/40 split seat allowing for even more flexibility, for example, carrying 4-5 passengers (most families) with long, large cargo.

I give it a 5 star value rating, even though dealer price gouging is prevalent and supply is short and I also give it a reluctant 5 star overall rating even though it isn't perfect.

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Test Drove the Caravan and Sienna

Quality first & foremost incl. fit & finish; power sliding doors, powerful & efficient engine, smooth transmission, great handling & turning radius, fold-down rear seat, dual zone a/c heat & auto temp system. An excellent & well engineered people mover.

I agree...very average sounding stereo system w/4" rear speakers! Minor weakness: the drivers seat bases are somewhat flat w/out much thigh or "butt" support; my thigh adjusts the tilt on the power driver's seat when I get in. No leather or sunroof option.

After owning six 4wds/SUV's I bit the minivan bullet (I'm a Dad now, and won't be 4 wheeling anytime soon) & got a '00 EX after a wait @ m.s.r.p.-can't do any better at this time. I have owned 3 Hondas, 3 Cherokees/Grand Cherokees, a Ford Explorer, an older Plymouth Voyager, and have had Suburbans & a Blazer as a company car (I do a lot of driving). Chrysler (G.V., G.C. & T&C) deserves the credit of being the minivan innovator, but I wanted something with better reliability. Have had 1 civic & 2 Accords, & quality for the price & durability is hard to beat. Ordered the EX w/out even looking inside. No regrets & worth the wait. Most options included in the EX package; the interior & exterior fit & finish are hands above Chrysler (*not familiar with Sienna, MPV or Windstar).
Effortless replacement of the f&r speakers w/Polk Audios ($160 for all 4), and got a significant improvement in sound. No need to change the head unit (& lose the steering wheel controls).
Although improved & the best looking minivan i.m.o., Chrysler hasn't proven it's long term reliability to me....Honda has.(Electrical disaster w/my Grand Cherokee).
People must be happy with their '99/'00 Odysseys, there are hardly any used ones for sale, and the few out there are selling at or above the original msrp!

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Older & newer Chrysler/Plymouth minivans. Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer, Old Toyota Landcruiser, Hondas, etc.

Large roomy interior, Dual sliding doors, moveable 2nd row seats

Shifter on column a little large

Great van! Ride is comfortable for my five passengers. The dual ac controls are great for the people in the back seats. Well that the rear seat fits in is great for storage. No complaints. I would recommend this van to anyone. Safetywise this van is rated very well, this is important for family's with small kids. If you are considering buying this van and are in Oklahoma, avoid Milo Gordon Honda in Lawton. I gave them a down payment to order me an EX and when it came in (after waiting three months) they sold it out from under me to someone who would finance through them. They then told me that there was an LX coming in 4 months that I could buy (customer oriented they are not). If you do go to Milo Gordon definetly avoid Jim Alsobrook. He's the pushy bastard who caused all the crap I went through.

Excellent Van, worth driving to Dallas to pick up. Honda customer service helped me find a dealer who could help me after I called to file a complaint against Milo Gordon.

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Generally excellent in most respects. Exceptions described below.

Although I really like this van, there are a couple of glaring weaknesses with it. The quality of the sound system is terrible. It's what you would expect from a $10,000 car, not a luxury mini-van. Ridiculous. I am going to have to put a new head and six new speakers in this vehicle. The driver's seat does not have a left-side arm rest, and because of my bad back I desperately need one. In order to rest my left elbow on the door ridge (which is very hard, not padded), I have to have the driver's seat much lower than i would like. So now I must have an arm-rest custom-installed, at great expense. At highway speeds, the interior of the van is very noisy, not like the other luxury minivans. Lots of road noise. The acoustic insulation in the bottom of the van is inadequate. Likewise, although the handling is superb for a vehicle of this class, the ride is extremely bumpy, not nicely damped like the Town and Country.

Generally outstanding vehicle, with a few glaring faults.

It has a powerful engine. Interior layout is great. The fold way third seat is a great idea. AC controls for the rear can be controlled from the dash or from a interior roof location.

Some of the controls on the dash could be moved for better access.

This van is in great demand because it is great package. There are some nits I would pick with different things, like the wiper/washer control, but it is a great package. The fold away third seat is great. The well for the third seat is a great place to put things, like grocery bags, that would otherwise get dumped over.

It has a tight turning radius, a fold down table between the front seats, lots of cup holders, etc.

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