The Reporter (Lansdale, PA)

2021 Toyota Sienna versus Honda Odyssey

- By Mike Schmidt Edmunds

Edmunds’ experts have ranked the Honda Odyssey as their No. 1 minivan since the 2018 model year. It has the expansive utility you expect from a family hauler plus a refined driving experience other minivans can’t match.

Or can they?

This year a familiar nameplate receives a full redesign: the Toyota Sienna. The new 2021 Sienna brings a lot to the table in its hope to oust the Honda. Most notably, every Sienna is now a hybrid, which completely changes the game for fuel economy.

Edmunds pitted the Sienna against the Odyssey to find out which one is the better minivan.

Engines and MPG

Honda sticks to minivan tradition. The Odyssey uses

a 280-horsepower V6 engine paired to a 10-speed automatic transmissi­on. Fuel economy is an EPA-estimated 22 mpg in combined city/highway driving, which is an average figure for a modern minivan.

The Sienna, in contrast, has a four-cylinder engine and a hybrid system with a continu

ously variable transmissi­on. It trades away some power — it has 245 horsepower — in return for a big boost in fuel efficiency. The EPA pegs it at 36 mpg combined. After driving several hundred miles, Edmunds experts recorded multiple tanks over 40 mpg in a Sienna. Toyota even offers all-wheel drive, which is

something you can’t get on the Odyssey.

WINNER » Sienna

Pricing and value

The 2021 Sienna starts at $35,635 (including destinatio­n) for an LE with front-wheel drive. The 2021 Odyssey LX has a lower entry price of $32,910. That’s a significan­t savings, but you’re not getting as many features either. The Odyssey’s next step up, the $36,310 EX trim, is more comparable to the Sienna’s base LE.

Want a luxed-out minivan? A fully equipped Sienna Platinum with all-wheel drive costs a little more than $51,000. At $48,940, the Elite trim is as good as an Odyssey gets. Overall, the features, and what you pay to get them, are similar throughout the trim level ranges.

Basic and powertrain warranty coverage are also similar. But Toyota does offer additional coverage: eight years/100,000 miles on hybrid components, 10 years/150,000 miles for the hybrid battery and two years/25,000 miles of free scheduled maintenanc­e. The Sienna’s higher fuel economy means saving more at the gas pump, too.

Sienna

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 ?? THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO VIA TOYOTA MOTOR SALES USA AND HONDA ?? The 2021 Toyota Sienna Platinum hybrid minivan, left, and the 2021 Honda Odyssey.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO VIA TOYOTA MOTOR SALES USA AND HONDA The 2021 Toyota Sienna Platinum hybrid minivan, left, and the 2021 Honda Odyssey.

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