2013 Minivan Comparison DriveSuccumbing to the need for a minivan doesn’t have to mean relinquishing your manhood and everything that makes you an interesting human being. Seriously. “Minivan” is almost as dirty a word as “station wagon,” when it comes to family vehicles, but it doesn’t have to be. Just because you need a practical, seven-seater-plus ride with plenty of cargo space and amenities to the nines doesn’t necessarily mean you have to skimp on performance, driveability and vehicle appreciation.
Our latest comparison drive proved just that. Minivans can be cool, even fun to drive, and there are a few viable options out there, even for the most discerning minivan shopper. From the go-to, has-everything-for-a-great-price model to one that could carry a prestigious badge, there may not be a plethora of options but there are options. Why the urge to do a minivan comparison drive? Well, after looking around the office at the half-dozen employees who actually own late-model Dodge Grand Caravans, we got to thinking: What about the others out there? So, we looked to the numbers (as you do); for 2012 minivan sales, the results were staggering. The Dodge Grand Caravan outsold its three competitor’s combined sales by nearly 250%. Add to the fact that two of the comparison drive’s three testers have young families and we had the perfect combination for a minivan drive day. Armed with two baby seats (two children under the age of 2), two strollers, two golf bags, and a bike we embarked on the day’s drive in the 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew Plus, the 2013 Honda Odyssey Touring, and the 2013 Toyota Sienna SE. Noticeably absent from the drive was the Nissan Quest. Why? Unfortunately, the Quest was unavailable on Nissan’s press fleet at the time of our drive. Since the Dodge Grand Caravan has been the bestselling minivan for some time, and is one of the top 10 bestselling nameplates in Canada, we wanted to remind ourselves how good it really was, and given there are so few options out there in the minivan segment, we also wanted to see who came out on top.
3 – 2013 Toyota Sienna (75.5%) By far, the best looking of the bunch the Toyota Sienna also turned out to be the sportiest. Decked out in SE trim, the 2013 Toyota Sienna is an upper-level minivan for the family willing to spend a bit more for quality and looks over quantity within. First, it’s important to note that while the other two minivans on the comparo drive were decked to the nines with options and amenities, the Sienna was a bit bare bones and sitting midrange in its model lineup at $37,205. Sans DVD screens in the rear, navigation, heated seats/steering wheel, nor blind spot indicators; the Toyota Sienna was already falling to the back of the pack in terms of bang-for-buck content. Where the 2013 Toyota Sienna gained its points was in exterior looks and the drive.
First, the looks: When lined up side-by-side with the likes of the Honda Odyssey and Dodge Grand Caravan, it was head and shoulders above them styling-wise. We’re not quite prepared to call a minivan “stunning,” but the Sienna is at least attractive in the sense that it has a certain sportiness to its exterior lines. Short overhang in the rear and a snubby front end keep the spirited-driving look going. Inside the 2013 Toyota Sienna, the good looks kind of fizzle out: While we all agreed that the seats in the Sienna were the most comfortable in the threesome, the ergonomics of the cabin pushed it to the very bottom of every list possible. Toyota clearly focused on the outside and left the inside to the wayside. The layout of the centre stack is just ridiculous, with buttons way too spread out, much too far away from the driver, and screens that are unusable in bright sunlight. With a removable middle “jump seat” for the second row, the 2013 Toyota Sienna has seating for eight, if need be. Installing the middle seat is a breeze, as is installing two baby seats (both forward-facing Britax convertible seats) in the captain’s seats of the second row. Ingress and egress is quite good, especially getting to the third row. We affectionately referred to the 2013 Toyota Sienna as the “racing snail” on our drive, as it was soon made clear to us that the Sienna likes to boogie, but only to the best of its minivan abilities, of course. Decked out with a 3.5L V6 DOHC good for 266 horsepower and 245 lb-ft of torque, the FWD Sienna felt sportier than the others. Perhaps it was the heavy steering, or the happy-to-rev-high-and-be-pushed engine (and the noise that accompanied the push), but there was something fun about driving the Sienna -- that we all agreed on. And despite our happy right feet throughout the drive day, the 2013 Toyota Sienna still managed a decent 12L/100km average. Where the 2013 Toyota Sienna falls behind (and why it landed in third place) is overall value. Sure, the Sienna is a well-built, good looking van that offers a bit of an upscale feelt. However, when you consider the price and what you’re getting for it, you just can’t match it up to other options out there (which we’ll get to in a moment). The Toyota Sienna’s redeeming quality is its available AWD, which makes it a viable minivan choice for larger families in the Northern United States and Canada. However, that’s not quite enough to make it the very best choice out there. 2 – 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew PLUS (76.1%) When we booked our minivans for this particular comparison drive, we all kind of chuckled and said we could write it before we even took the vans on the road. Well, it’s a good thing we didn’t (proper journalistic ethics and all that…). You’re all probably thinking we rigged the results at this point to add a bit of shock and awe to the whole thing, but trust us, we didn’t. Here’s the deal: Not only are we a group of new parents who know the need for space and amenities, we’re also drivers and enthusiasts who don’t want to be punished for buying a minivan. Let’s start with the good: The 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan is the minivan to buy. There’s no doubt about that. There’s a reason over 50,000 of them sold in 2012 alone (by comparison, just under 9,000 Odysseys rolled off dealer lots in 12 months), and why it’s the minivan of choice amongst Auto123.com employees. Chrysler has been pumping out Grand Caravans (and by association, Town & County vans) for decades now. They know what people are looking for. They give parents and families what they want and they give it to them at a price that’s almost unbeatable in the segment. The fact that a $37,995 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew PLUS comes with two DVD screens, heated seats, heated steering wheel, navigation, Bluetooth, power everything (including pop-out rear windows for added ventilation), and the renowned Stow ‘N Go seats is reason enough to see why it’s so prevalent on the streets. Add to that the fact that the 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan boasts the most muscle (283 horses/260 lb-ft of torque) and largest engine (3.6L V6 DOHC), and you’ve got a pretty attractive package, on paper. Especially since that muscle can be had across the Grand Caravan lineup (that starts at just $27,995). However, in real life, the Grand Caravan is anything but attractive. That’s where the 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan lost the most points: styling and fit and finish. Chrysler realize they needn’t bother with exterior updates/looks and instead focused on being able to offer the most to their clients for the best possible price. Here’s where the value of a minivan really comes into play: the quality of the interior of the Dodge was less than stellar (think LEGO with some fabric) but that’s fine because it does what it’s supposed to do. It’s a practical, easy-to-use, amenity-loaded minivan. Done. The 2nd row seats in the 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan CREW feel as if they were made of hard plastic, and that’s mostly to do with the fact that they need to be thin enough to fit into the Stow ‘N Go slots in the floor. The third row is so severely angled, that our shortest tester (Miranda) found her feet fully off the floor when she sat properly. Ingress and egress were the best in the 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan CREW thanks, in no small part, to the Stow ‘N Go seats; and installing baby seats was a breeze. With the worst gas mileage of the group (at 13.55L/100km on our drive), the Dodge Grand Caravan only missed the top spot due to our tester’s discerning needs for interior quality. We all thought the Caravan’s drive to be “good enough” and had no complaints about the onboard computer or HVAC system (all of which were a breeze to use). 1 – 2013 Honda Odyssey (82.9%) Ah, the Honda Odyssey. Sitting pretty (truly) at the top of our minivan comparo drive, it nabbed No. 1 because it offers a happy medium to everything -- rather like the winner of our 2013 Compact Crossover Alternatives Comparison Test. While the Honda Odyssey is another Grand Caravan wannabe, it manages to copy the go-to minivan in the best way possible: with plenty of available amenities, quality materials, a stylish exterior look, and a drivability none of us could ignore. From the outside, the 2013 Honda Odyssey is the most sophisticated looking of the bunch. While also the most bulbous and van-like, it’s modern and stylish enough to get away with it. In bright white, the Odyssey is quite an attractive minivan. And from the front, the instantly recognizable Honda grille keeps this vehicle in line with the rest of the Honda family lineup. The Honda tradition continues inside the 2013 Odyssey, another reason this minivan finds itself in the top spot. There’s something about a Honda interior: it’s organized, ergonomically designed, comfortable and tech-savvy. Space in the Honda Odyssey, up front, is great with everything at arm’s reach for the driver and/or the passenger. Storage abounds, and the rear entertainment system is fabulous (with a widescreen that can host more than one media at once) in the Touring edition (starting at $47,190). Ingress and egress are not the best in the 2013 Honda Odyssey, especially when getting to the third row. However, once in the third row, we found it quite roomy (fitting three adults across), and even discovered a host of AUX and HDMI plugs for external hookups. The Odyssey also had the most difficult seats to move in the second row. Where the 2013 Honda Odyssey truly shone was in the drive. Above all else, this was the defining factor for the Honda’s No. 1 spot. Here is a minivan that doesn’t drive like a minivan, it drives and handles like a car. Light, nimble almost, the Odyssey is a pleasure to drive and park: not something you’d normally hear one say about a bulbous minivan. Equipped with a 3.5L V6 SOHC good for 248 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque, the 2013 Honda Odyssey actually boasts the fewest ponies, and sits on middle ground for power off the line. Regardless, the performance is paramount over the others with a smooth-shifting and responsive 6-speed automatic transmission. Handling is key in the Odyssey, and undoubtedly is the reason we all felt like we were driving a slightly overweight Accord instead of an anorexic Pilot. Fuel efficiency in the 2013 Honda Odyssey was standard (at 12.88L/100km on our test), helping it keep that top spot. Why not a higher score if we found it overall the best of both worlds (quality and quantity)? Price. Where the Dodge Grand Caravan takes the cake on bang-for-your-buck, the Honda Odyssey has much to offer, for the right price. To put it into perspective, the top-of-the-line Dodge is still nearly $10k cheaper than the equivalent top-of-the-range Honda Odyssey. As we mentioned above, we’re a discerning bunch not only conscious about budget, but also about amenities, quality of materials and drive. When all those things are considered, the 2013 Honda Odyssey is the obvious winner amongst the trifecta of minivans.
Of course, you may have noticed at this point that we’ve not made any mention of the Nissan Quest, save for saying it wasn’t available at the time of the comparison drive. We did drive the 2013 Nissan Quest late last year, and so put together a short sidebar on it to round out the minivan lineup currently available in North America: N/A – Nissan Quest Although not an obvious choice as a minivan, the Quest has been around for 20 years, and Nissan has been a part of the minivan business for over 30 years if you include the compact Multi, introduced in 1982. With this in mind, Nissan should be a front-runner in the minivan race. However, the fact of the matter is that it is not. Up until the 1993-2002 Quest (and its twin, the Mercury Villager), all was well. Then, for the 2004 model year, Nissan took a turn for the worse. Sales dropped based in part on design, but also reliability early on. The Quest never recovered. If the 2011 Quest was to help improve its lot in the segment, it has not done so. In all of 2012, only 640 new units were delivered. Here’s a stat: 82.6 times more Grand Caravans and Town & Countries were sold in the same period. The current Nissan Quest is not a bad vehicle. Actually, we quite liked it as our ride to-and-from AJAC’s annual TestFest in Niagara Falls last fall. It is surprisingly comfortable, smooth, and refined. The long 1,500 km road trip went by relatively well. Our only complaint was the lackluster support to passengers in the 2nd row seats. They were, however, no worse than those in the Grand Caravan. The Nissan Quest’s polarizing style seems to be, once more, responsible for poor sales. Its price range is on par with the other Japanese offerings, but clearly consumers want nothing to do with it. The Odyssey, the next “worst” selling minivan, sold over 13 times more units… The bottom line on the 2013 Nissan Quest is if you and your family are looking for an original way to get around, this would be it. The mighty minivan for the masses If we learned one thing on this minivan comparison drive it’s that there truly is no substitute for a minivan. If you need the space and place for seven or more, you’d be silly not to consider a minivan. Shortly after this drive, we had a three-row Toyota Highlander Hybrid, and the third row was laughable compared to those in the minivans. And cargo space and access to it? Again, laughable in any SUV when compared to the cavernous space in a minivan. The mighty minivan exists for a reason: to be a spacious, easy-to-use, easy-to-drive people carrier. And when you’re in the market for a minivan there are three important boxes you, as the consumer, want to check: value, space and comfort. If we throw in the drive aspect, the 2013 Honda Odyssey comes closest to checking all the necessary boxes. While the Sienna and Grand Caravan boast space and value respectively, they don’t quite do it all as well as the Honda Odyssey.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||