Best Minivans

Full-size minivans: Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna

For the first time since Chrysler invented the genre a quarter-century ago, it does not make the best-selling minivan nameplate. In 2008, the Honda Odyssey (*Est. $26,355 to $41,005) captured the crown, topping the Dodge Caravan. (It's worth highlighting some of the public-relations semantics here: combined sales of the Caravan and its fraternal twin, the Chrysler Town & Country, still outpace the Honda Odyssey by a large margin.)

Almost every top expert says the Honda Odyssey is the best full-size minivan. It is one of the safest cars you can buy, with the highest resale value of any minivan. Critics add that it's also the only full-size minivan that's actually fun to drive.

However, there's a close runner-up: the 2009 Toyota Sienna (*Est. $24,540 to $37,865). Both the Odyssey and the Sienna are equally reliable, according to one top test, and they're the only minivans that can seat eight people. Critics prefer the Honda's agility, styling and safety, but they say the Toyota is a fine choice -- and it costs a little less. Also, if you need four-wheel-drive, the Toyota is the only minivan that offers this feature.

Reviews use words like "royalty" and "aristocracy" to describe the Honda Odyssey, with its smooth ride, car-like handling and reputation for quality. Its higher trim levels include a Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system, which discreetly shuts down two or three of the Odyssey's six cylinders while cruising to increase fuel efficiency from 18 mpg to 20 mpg combined city/highway. That's still only slightly better than most other minivans, including the Toyota Sienna (19 mpg combined).

Some testers say eight passengers is a stretch. "The second row's center seat is kind of a throwaway," says Lori Hindman, who tested a loaded 2008 Honda Odyssey for MotherProof.com. "It works best for short rides and small people."

However, most testers' quibbles about the Honda Odyssey are minor -- such as the "flimsy" backseat cup holders noted in one review -- when compared with some other minivans' reliability and safety problems.

Reviews often gush over the Toyota Sienna without mentioning that it lags slightly behind other minivans in frontal and rear crash tests. Testers usually criticize more readily apparent aspects of the Sienna -- its "bloated-bean styling," as Samir Syed puts it in a review at The Truth About Cars, or the "mind-numbing tranquility" of its engine, drive system and interior.

Although reviews say it's not as nimble as the Honda Odyssey, the Toyota Sienna's ride is well cushioned. Critics especially like two of the Sienna's safety features: Standard auto-reverse doors prevent kids from slamming their hands, and optional dynamic cruise control detects slowing traffic ahead and automatically begins to brake. Reviews find no fault with the Sienna's luxurious cabin, as they sometimes do with the Honda minivan's.

Compact gas-miser: Mazda5

For smaller families, a full-size minivan may be overkill. Critics adore the compact Mazda5 (*Est. $17,995 to $22,675), the only six-passenger minivan on the market. Reviews say the Mazda5 avoids most of the big-minivan flaws: It's sporty-looking, easy to maneuver, gets better gas mileage (24 mpg with the standard manual gearbox, 23 mpg with the automatic) and it costs thousands less than other minivans.

The "small" Mazda5 minivan is actually about the same size as Chrysler's original 1984 Caravan/Voyager, Frank Williams points out in his review for The Truth About Cars. He compares the Mazda with its closest competitor, the Kia Rondo wagon (*Est. $17,495 to $22,295). Although it lacks the Mazda5's minivan-style sliding rear doors, the Rondo claims to seat seven.

However, "There's only enough room for preteens (or adults you hate) in the back of either minivan," Williams writes. Even booster and car seats are a tight squeeze in either vehicle's third row, which Williams calls "the torture chamber."

Neither vehicle could handle a family of six along with all of their luggage, reviews say: The Mazda5 offers more cargo room than the Kia with the third row folded down, but neither has room for more than one suitcase otherwise. Critics say the Mazda5's worst misstep is that it doesn't offer electronic stability control (ESC), which tests show is important for avoiding accidents (ESC is standard on the Kia Rondo).

Still, About.com guide to cars Aaron Gold calls the Mazda5 "a brilliant car, and one whose time has most definitely come." Consumers apparently agree: while other minivans were tanking, sales of the Mazda5 jumped 77 percent in 2008.