2nd Oct 2008, 13:11
I have been driving a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan SPORT for 10 years (128,000 miles) It has been a work horse. Comfortable ride, good handling and great on long trips. I have never had a problem with the engine. That being said I have had problems with the power locks freezing and needing replacement more than once, a phantom wiper which was fixed many times, and a power window mechanism breaking.
We are in the market for a new van and are considering the Sienna. We test drove the Sienna and found the ride to be very similar to our Caravan Sport. I am looking forward to all the new safety features available and am hoping we get a model which lives up to Toyota's reputation. We will not buy an AWD with run-flat tires thanks to this forum.
My dad has been driving a Sienna for a few years and likes it a lot.
19th Oct 2008, 08:54
My wife and I love our Sienna van!!! We have taken lots of out-of-town trips and have never had a problem. We also have a Camry, and the Sienna gives us more room for the kids on trips.
The comment about the Chrysler vans and their high rating, is probably because the Chrysler van is cheaper and their owners do not know the difference between a good ride and a great ride. The Sienna is rated right along with the Odyssey and priced lower. Do yourself a favor and spend the money, get a Sienna van, and enjoy the ride!!!
23rd Dec 2010, 12:09
We bought out Sienna new in 2006. We liked it over the Honda Odyssey due to less road noise, looks, and eight full seats. We avoided American vans after owning a Ford Windstar that was costing over $2000 a year in maintenance.
Overall, it is a good vehicle, but we've had a lot of repairs - leaking transmission pan gasket, leaking steering rack, catalytic converter not working to specs, and alignment (I didn't have to align my outback until it was 14 years old). Overall, I'm disappointed with the quality and that is partly why we got Toyota.
We also had a weird situation where our A/C stopped working at around 70-75 MPH and then would kick back on once we slowed down to under 50 MPH. It happened for a weekend and then stopped, no mechanic could explain this.
The only other thing I don't like is the front wheel handling. They don't grip well in turns, even with non-stock high quality tires.
11th Jan 2008, 15:05
Last I checked, my dogs did not care a lick, wag or bark what make/model of I have as long as they are in the car with me. Also, you mention "Chrysler" almost as often as you do Toyota or Sienna. Comes across to me that you have deep respect for Chrysler's product, but just don't want people to buy it. You don't mention at all the other top selling minivan--the Odyssey.
Lastly, if the Sienna is going to be the top selling minivan, it has to out sell both the Dodge/Chrysler van and Honda's Odyssey, both of which are regularly on the top 10 "trucks" sold every month (wardsauto.com\key data) It has a long way to go.