Cant decide between Quest, Sienna, Oddesy

Hi,

You were comparing apples to oranges, or vs versa.

Infiniti to Lexus is different than Sienna to Quest.

Quest I would rent when going for vacation with the kids as I did. But Buying to last many many years I am afarid I am deciding on the Sienna.

Reply to
Erina Mashes
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hi again

If I may mention that Toyotas rust much faster than GMs? Should I be concerened down the road with my (new?) Sienna? Is there any way to protect rust for many years to come on a brand new car??

THANKS AGAIN nice people, E.

Reply to
Erina Mashes

Perhaps years and years ago GM had a better sheet metal than Toyota, but now days I think most of the modern designs and manufacturing processes are about the same and sheet metal bodies are just as good? You should not have any more of a problem with body rust on a Toyota than any other brand. If you live in an area where a lot of salt is used on the roads then in some years down the pike ALL cars will suffer some surface rust.

Also the 04 and up Sienna is quite larger than the earlier versions. Are you sure you were in a 04 Sienna? There is a noticeable difference between my 94 Grand Caravan and my 04 Sienna LE, size wise. The Sienna being larger and more roomy inside.

Reply to
Dbu,''

AWD = All wheel drive = full-time 4 wheel drive. The big advantage to AWD is better traction in poor weather conditions like heavy rain and snow. One could argue that the improved traction is there on dry pavement as well but most minivan drivers will never take advantage of that added traction.

On a Sienna, the disadvantage of AWD (from what I've read in this forum) is that there is no spare tire. Instead, you get run-flat tires, which cost more to replace. AWD vehicles tend to consume more fuel than front or rear wheel drive vehicles and there are more components to maintain or repair.

If you do not have any trouble driving in the rain or snow, then the Front Wheel Drive version should be good enough.

Reply to
Ray O

How aboutsun roof all over the Quest? Nicer colors? Bag hooks (vs. so many cup holders)?

If the big glass roof in the quest does not have some kind of shade, it is probably going to get real hot in the summer.

Reply to
Ray O

I'll answer the questions I can.

Most automotive glass has some tint. The darker tint in a van helps keep the interior cooler in the summer but it is not so dark that you cannot see through it. It also helps reduce glare from other headlights at night. The only drawback is some reduce visibility at night but if your night vision is still OK, then that shouldn't be a problem.

IMO, most consumers cannot tell the difference in traction, cornering ability, or ride comfort between a 16" and 17" tire unless they try both back-to-back to compare. The 17" tires will cost more to replace but give the vehicle a more substantial appearance and provide a little additional ground clearance.

Again, if you compare the standard audio system with the upgraded one, you will be able to tell the difference. My recommendation is to listen to both.

An in-glass antenna is much less prone to vandalism and breakage and does not create wind noise like some mast antennas do. If the vehicle is equipped with both a mast antenna and an in-glass antenna, a diversity system in the the radio monitors the quality of the signal from the 2 antennas and "votes" or switches back and forth to the antenna with the best signal. This feature is more useful in an urban environment where signals can bounce off of structures. Also, the horizontal orientation of the in-glass antenna is theoretically better for FM reception.

I believe that it is power in the XLE and manual in the LE.

Most of the difference is in equipment and option availabiltiy. Some of what is standard on the XLE is optional on the LE. You can go to Toyota's web site, click on the vehicles link, then click on the Sienna link, and use the comparison feature.

Reply to
Ray O

If I can add, the best rust preventative is to wash the vehicle as soon as possible after driving on wet, salty roads, and touch up scratches and chips as soon as they appear. Avoid additional rust-preventative treatments sold by dealers as they provide little, if any additional protection.

Reply to
Ray O

A car I once owned was prone to rust where paintwork had failed through to metal. (A Mini 1000, FWIW.) The fix may still work for you. In UK it was called "phosphating gel" and may go by the same name near you. From a small plastic tube, you squeeze out a dab of milky gel onto the rubbed-down metal; leave for 30 mins; wash off (water then light alcohol); and paint. It passivatated the surface nicely.

That was probably a well known commercial process, packaged for domestic use. Newer technologies may have superceded it.

But if a "brand new car" shows rust, go complain at someone. You should be invoking the multi-year warranties cars now come with.

FWIW/HTH.

Reply to
Andrew Stephenson

If you want to drive your minivan in the mountains or hilly areas in the winter, then AWD is a God send. I have a 2000 Sienna and it is horrible in the snow. It's all right if its flat but as soon as you try to go uphill it starts to lose traction on the front wheels and is worthless. I had to leave it at the bottom of the road to a friends cabin because it could not make it ~60 yards up a ~10 degree inclined snow covered road, even with chains. I even need to get a running start to make it up a relatives semi steep gravel driveway. I think this is typical of heavy front wheel drive vehicles. So if you want a snow vehicle, and especially if you want to drive in mountainous or hilly terrain, you do not want a minivan without AWD or buy something like a Suburban.

Reply to
ToMh

10 degrees = 20% slope; that's fairly steep for a road - think beginner to easy intermediate ski slope.

Much of the driving public is convinced (thanks to auto manufacturer's propaganda) that front wheel drive offers superior traction in the snow. This may be true on level ground only. When going up an incline, gravity puts the weight of the vehicle over the rear wheels and traction at the front wheels decreases. When fully load with cargo, occupants, or a trailer, the same things happens.

A front-engined, rear wheel drive vehicle offers good traction over a wider range of road and loading conditions.

Manufacturers prefer FWD on lower cost vehicles because they are less expensive to make, especially on vehicles without a lot of horsepower. If you think about it, other than Saab, FWD started out in economy cars and gradually crept up to larger and larger vehicles while performance, luxury, and utility vehicles remained RWD. I think the public has caught on that FWD isn't all it was cracked up to be so the trend will be back towards RWD.

Reply to
Ray O

It definitely was less than a beginner slope, but it sure looks steep when you're sliding all over the place and stalling. I've also had trouble going out to my mother in laws place in the country when it snowed. Our old 626 with no chains, could make it up the hill with little problem, but the Sienna, even with chains, could not make it up that darn hill.

Reply to
ToMh

Slippery conditions and heavy FWD vehicles don't mix, especially with tires designed to be quiet rather than for traction.

Reply to
Ray O

Sounds like you live where there is enough Winter to justify buying a set of plain steel rims and dedicated snow tires for your car.

(Switching tires on one set of rims twice a year will kill expensive alloy rims fast, and it chews up the beads on both sets of tires from all the mounting and dismounting. Plus, you have to pay someone to do the dismount-mount-balance work twice a year, while a simple wheel swap is simple and fast - DIY in under an hour with a floor jack.)

With the proper 'snowshoes' on the car, you'll be amazed where you can go - even without chains or studs.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

The base LE has a single CD player with a cassette player.

The JBL upgrade has a single CD player with a cassette player (plus the JBL system w/additional speakers and subwoofer). The 6-cd/cassette version of the JBL system is only available on the higher-up models XLE+.

None of the head unit options for any model Sienna plays MP3s. The easiest options for MP3s is to get an IPOD adapter and use an MP3 player as AUX input, get a new/used Toyota SCION head unit that plays MP3s and replace the Sienna unit, or add an outboard CD-changer that supports MP3 playback and (using the appropriate adapters) play it thru the AUX input of the head unit.

YMMV

Reply to
Private Person

For one thing, if you want Sienna 4-wheel disc brakes than you have to go AWD. If you want AWD and a decent van that can take a sheet of plywood, then the Sienna is the ONLY choice. Most people (check out siennaclub.org e.g.) seem to be getting closer to 17MPG.

While the Sienna AWD doesn't come with a spare (Toyota really had their head up their * on this one -- they should have just SUV'd a rear side-swing door with a spare carrier) there are solutions, each with it's own set of compromises.

You can purchase a donut spare + carpeted cover box from Toyota that fits in the spare tire well behind the driver-side 3-rd row seat (and obviously you will have to remove it to flatten that 3-rd row seat). You can purchase a spare tire carrier for the roof rack. You can purchase a Bonarue II flip-down Spare Tire Carrier hitch assembly if you have installed a hitch receiver. Unfortunately all of these options are $500+ solutions to a problem you shouldn't have.

Reply to
Private Person

I have a 2004 Nissan Quest and so far its been a nice van. It did have a few things I had to get fixed at the dealer such as a door panel that came lose and one of the overhead lights came lose too, but the dealer fixed them quick. The drive of the Quest is second to none in my opinion as far as mini-vans go and it is very quick! I'm gong to be adding a trailer hitch soon so I can pull a small utility trailer on long trips. The styling is also second to none....... I'm not saying the Quest is better then the Sienna, but I sure like it. I'm sure if I had a Sienna I'd like that as well, but the added room in the Quest and how it drives is what sold us.

Good luck on whatever you choose.

Reply to
jack.leeper

Bet my Sienna will beat your Quest.

Reply to
Dbu,''

Four wheel disc brakes are standard with the XLE, not LE however. I get

19 city and 28 on trips with my LE. With AWD you will get less, quite a bit less. My opinion is unless you do a lot of back country driving in snow for much of the year then I would not get AWD. I live in snow country, not as much as around lake Tahoe or Buffalo NY, but enough to make the roads slippery and snow packed quite a few days of the year and I've found little use for four wheel drive Sienna. The AWD version comes with run flat tires so it eliminates the need for a spare tire, but the run flats are not the best riding tires I'm told and I don't think they wear very well. Avoid all the trouble, save your money and get the front wheel drive model and you'll be happy. Sienna is a great van, with very good ride, peppy, and handles like a sports van.......
Reply to
Dbu,''

Howdy,

I would prefer the phrase "radically less." I get less than

17 mpg in our rural area (AWD LE), and drive with a very light foot.

All the best,

Reply to
Kenneth

Hi

One thing I liked to read about the Quest is that its "quick". The one we rented in California was also 'quick' and felt so powerful! Could it be just becuse it has a softer gas pedal so it fools you to be more powerful and quicker? ..or because it has a shorter pedal depth so with a tiny press the gas funels more?

What does the Siena EXACTLY beat the Quest with? I am asking bevcause I want be convinced all the way with the final choice (possibly the Toyota Siena) we will be making shortly.

Thanks for this very helping community! Where does everyone around live in? I am in New York City.

kind regards, E.

Reply to
Erina Mashes

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