Roomy, powerful, comfortable, good mpg, versatile, safe.

I'd like the telescoping steering wheel to telescope further out. I'm 6'2" tall, and the steering wheel is too far away on ALL vehicles with airbags.

It could use a more torquey engine. It's got plenty of power, but downshifts a lot. Of course, then the gas mileage would suffer a lot, so it's a trade off.

I just wanted to make a couple of comments on our new Sienna. We had a 2001 Honda Odyssey, and this Sienna is much nicer, and I could get it without that stupid climate control. I hate climate control. It's quieter and gets about 1 mpg better gas mileage. We're averaging 20.5 mpg according to the trip computer. I get 22 mpg at 80-85 mph in California traffic (on and off the gas constantly) and consistently get 19 mpg in town. I don't have a light foot either. Anyone complaining about poor gas mileage and squeaky brakes probably brakes with the left foot and rides the brake all the time.

As for the side airbags, they are fine to use for kids; that's what they're designed for. It's the FRONT airbags that are dangerous for short people.

My dealer has been amazing for the two little piddly things I took the van in for (slight blemishes on head restraints).

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2001 Honda Odyssey

Configurability, utility

Reliability, accelerator action, interior materials

This has to be the most troublesome vehicle I've owned in many years. Three recalls and numerous repair in less than three years have made me weary of an otherwise decent vehicle. Dealer service has been attrocious as well. From door mechanisms, lift gate closers, A/C condenser, and belt tensioner, there have been far too many problems given Toyota's reputation. I even bought the extended warranty offered by the dealer but have had to fight tooth and nail to get Fidelity warranty to cover needed repairs. I only bought a Toyota based on the company's reputation for reliability.

As far as the vehicle I mostly like it otherwise except for the fly-by-wire accelerator, which is quirky and sometimes difficult to get it to do what you expect.

Good handling. No mechnical problems.

Some electrical problems. Sometimes heating/ac for the rear seats don't work. "Check engine" light came on once, the machinic changed the cam senor. Trunk is really small and seats do not fold flat but I knew that when I bought the van.

I bought this mini van when it had 55K miles on it and now it has 95K miles. In the past 3 years I had enjoyed it without any problems.

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Nissan Quest

Mileage for the 2005 Sienna is listed at 19 in the city. Two mileage checks, using car in light traffic, reveals that, in fact, the car gets less than 12 mpg. This is just plain deception, and consumers who care about mileage ought to beware.

Good looking, handles well, comfortable seating.

See above A couple problems can really turn a great car into a real lemon and feeling ripped off.

Ordered this vehicle with air bags completely around car as I have a toddler. The dealer told me it would be much safer for my child. WRONG!!! Airbags are the worst for any child under the age of 13. I leased the vehicle for 4 years I am 1 1/4 years into it. Child will be no where near 13 when it is time to turn it in. Toyota will not disengage the rear airbags. So what is one to do? I was also told by toyata that I would have no problem pulling a small pop-up trailer. Well the vehicle cant even go over a speed bump with only a trailer hitch, can't imagine hooking up the trailer. No one can find heavy duty shocks, air shocks or lifters of any type to get its rear end off the ground. Dealer I purchased from has no interest in helping with anything they cant even get my leather seat fixed that was damaged at delivery. Will be taking further action to get these situations rectified. Don't want to go 3 3/4 more years with a major safety issue for my child, not to mention I will probably leave the back end at the bottom of a hill somewhere. I don't find the gas mileage to be very economical.

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Caravan

The engine and transmission. It's still better than our Mercury Villager

See above

I've come to realize that Toyota makes some things really well and other things really bad. The price you pay for this vehicle doesn't seem to equate to what you get. Problems we've had include: Rapid tire wear. Alignment that always seems to be out. Check engine lights..A lot of stupid things. The air pressure light for the tires that we've learned to ignore. Almost everything that has a cover or draw on it in the cab, hanging loose or falling off. A left rear window that fell out while on the Merrit Parkway one winter night( sorry to the VW behind us, I hope it did'nt scare you too much.) A back-up light relay that went bad. Brakes and an engine that squeel too much.

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Mercury Villager Dodge Caravan

Great Ride, Quiet, Reliability rating, tight turning circle & good bumber impact rating.

Have to pay sticker price. Vans difficult to back up.

Sienna 2004. Ahhh, Life is perfect. Ok, but the Sienna seems to be. I now have almost 14K with one vacation trip. It was a difficult move to go from a Park Ave, (1996) to a van, they just aren’t cool. The girls at work tell me only “old men & house wife’s” drive mini vans (oh well), but I like it. I just think the mini van is such a better value then the SUV’s. I drove work vans, the latest was five years ago, a 96 Caravan but the Sienna is much better. Consumer Reports issue on mini vans, October 2003 was excellent. My wife & I drove them all. I leaned toward the 2004 Odyssey, but too noisy and seemed too much like a truck. The Quest was very quiet & nice features packages, but not many shops for maintenance, and the Consumer Reports reliability not rated as good as Toyota, so why bother with out a price break. The Mazda MPV had a rebate at the time and I was on my way to buy it, because it seemed like the best value. However, just like the CR stated, it turned the ”bumps into thumps” and that was annoying, and not as roomy. (leg room front & back) I got the LE because I did not want the electric doors, but I miss some of the Park Ave. features. Cornering lights, heads up display, compass, electric seats, auto climate control, leather, etc. My wife is on her second Camry and I have been so impressed with the Toyota reliability & quietness, but I like a larger vehicle. The Avalon is nice but the van seemed to be a better value. On the van you get 16” tires, 6 cylinders, more room & not much of a hit on the gas mileage. You first realize you are pushing around a lot more weight, 4100 lbs. or so and that does change my driving style (no more zoom, zoom, zoom!) I slow down (but there is plenty of power if you need it), no need to push the RPM’s so high unless you need to blend in to traffic. I don’t push the RPM’s over 2500 unless traffic demands, but I am happy with the mileage. Seem to getting 21 ½-city and 26-½ average on my 1200 mile vacation. The air conditioner is good but it does seem harder to heat up such a large space in the winter. My legs stay cold, but maybe that’s just me. I was not planning on buying the extended warranty because I did not think I needed it on a Toyota but it actually seemed like a bargain. If I would have known I was buying the extended I may have ordered the electric doors. (Too many people I talked to had trouble with the electric doors & some ended up with a dead battery so I am still better off with out them.) Have to admit not 100% sold on vans like I thought I would be but there are very few negatives. I don’t like backing them up (too hard to see) & when you are lazy it may be easier to drive a car because they are smaller, but I like riding up higher, especially with all the other large vehicles around. I will probably drive this for 8 years or so and if I have not found a good reason to stay with vans may be lazy & go back to cars. That Park

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Camery

Enough room for 2 adults, 3 teenagers and a dog. Nice accessories and stereo sound.

Poor reliability on brakes and tires. Not feasable for towing "anything" Several recalls on major assemblies

We just happened to be at the dealer the morning they put the van, an XLE, up as one of those advertised specials that they only have 2 or 3 of. Got a good price and the van had everything on it but leather seats. Had them put on by a third party and really like all the features. The van rides pretty good with good acceleration and lots of room. We had a Ford Aerostar before and were worried that the reduced room would be a problem, but this has not been as issue. Over all we liked the van but at 17,000 miles we are beginning to have second thoughts due to some unexpected problems. Problems: -Had to replace the tires at 11k miles -Recalls on the steering hoses and radiator at 15k miles -A $450 brake and rotor job at 17k miles. -And a trailer hitch that hits the ground going over any small bump or down a driveway. We have had the same problem with the hitch that others have reported. We have only a small covered utility trailer but this, when empty, scrapes really bad. On our vacation, we had to just laugh when at every gas station driveway we went down, we produced a loud scraping noise and everyone within 100yds looked at us in shock! We were told when we bought the van that it would tow just fine. The dealer told us the solution would be for us to install air shocks. I told them it was Toyota's problem and so they should fix it but they said they could do nothing and so Toyota does not stand behind its’ products. We will be filing a NHTSA complaint, as others have, as we also feel the hitch is unsafe over bumps when no trailer is attached, and unsafe period when a trailer is attached. We are looking at trading the van in after not even a year, as we are afraid that this may just be the tip of a ‘lemon’ iceberg. I love Toyota cars, still drive a 1989 Camry, but we are not getting a good feeling about the Sienna van. Am considering the new Odyssey or Tundra w/cab pick up.

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Ford Aerostar van

Styling, SPACIOUSNESS!, handling, well equipped basic package.

None really

We have been very happy with the purchase of our Sienna. Although the overall quality is not quite as "perfect" as past Toyota/Honda products we have owned; this van has far outweighed our expectations so far. We bought the LE trim which is very nicely equipped. The vehicle is SO SPACIOUS! We have gone on several outings with other couples and they can't get over how much leg/head room they have (all are over 6 feet tall), even in the 3rd row seat. Not to mention the roomy cargo area. We leave the 3rd row seat up and store a large double stroller and a few "emergency" items in the rear and I always have enough room left over to fit my groceries. There are so many convenient storage compartments as well. The only issues we had so far were the sliding doors "creaking" which was promptly fixed by the dealership. Also, had the 3rd row seat stuck in the down position and this was also promptly corrected by the dealership - who we have been extremely pleased with as well. We do 30% or more of our driving on gravel roads and the rest is mostly stop/go driving and average 20.8 mpg which we are fairly happy with. This is a great van - the styling is even cool enough that my husband (who swore we would NEVER get a minivan) took it on a trip with his buddies.

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This is our first minivan. Previously owned '95 Corolla, '99 Accord, '89 Prelude (all were fantastic!)

Convenient for kids.

See review above. Also when it rains, drips onto front seats when door is opened. Gas mileage is also terrible if you do mostly city driving..about 16 mpg.

This vehicle developed a noise every time you release your foot from the brake pedal at 3,000 miles. Two service managers agree that there is a noise but don't know how to repair it. Toyota's District Service Manager claims this is a "normal operating condition" and refuses to repair the vehicle. Time to invoke the lemon law. Extremely disappointed in Toyota and will not recommend their cars. Does anyone have similar problems?