The Honda Odyssey is at the Top

The most popular minivan in the market has been the Honda Odyssey. This minivan has been able to give us the features we want, the qualities that make sense, the comfort we need for a family, and the versatility to be useful.
Whether you choose this model for the affordability, fuel mileage, powertrain, or the name, the Odyssey is a minivan that can handle all your family can toss its way. In addition to being an impressive choice, Honda is considered to be one of the most reliable and dependable names in the market and this minivan is part of what makes this brand trusted the way it is.

Hold on a Minute

While the Odyssey has been around longer and is still the most popular, one minivan that continues to gain traction and has turned many SUV owners back to the minivans that we want to drive is the Chrysler Pacifica. This newer model from Chrysler is considered to be one of the most luxurious minivans on the market and it gives you plenty of features to enjoy. Because we have two minivans vying for our approval, we need to figure out which one we like the most.

Drive for a While and Compare

Thankfully, the team at Car and Driver took these two minivans for a drive and put 40,000 miles on the odometer of each one to give us an idea of what they offer for the drive. During this time, the Honda Odyssey was able to average 23 mpg with the Pacifica making 220 mpg during the same amount of time and distance. The Honda cost $566 to service and maintain while the Chrysler Pacifica cost $572 for the maintenance needed. With the drive compared, you can see that both of these models are excellent choices.
If you want to have a vacuum cleaner onboard, both of these minivans offer you one to make sure you can clean up any messes that happen easily. Unfortunately, if you do want this feature in the Chrysler Pacifica, you have to give up the spare tire to receive it. You might be better off forgetting the vacuum if that’s the choice you have to make. When it comes to active safety features, the Honda Odyssey offers you a long list of items that come standard which are optional in the Chrysler Pacifica, setting the two apart a little bit.

Catering to Different Audiences

Some of the most important aspects of a minivan that you need to consider are handling, rear-seat comfort, and cargo-handling flexibility. It’s in these three areas where the Chrysler Pacifica and Honda Odyssey diverge, but they both have something for the audience they cater to. The Odyssey is capable of being the model that you want if you love to drive. This van feels well-sorted and competent on the road with the drive you’re looking for and strong acceleration into traffic to make it easy to handle the ride the way you want.
Inside the Pacifica, you’ll see a large knob for controls where the Odyssey uses push-button controls. When driving, the Pacifica will stop quicker than the Odyssey to give you the ability to be more confident from behind the wheel. As you’re driving, the Odyssey feels lighter on the wheels and makes you feel like you can drive it more aggressively to where you need to go. As for the seating and storage of the seats, the Chrysler has the Stow ‘n Go seats to put the seats into the floor, making it possible that you never have to remove the seats at all.

Which Minivan is Right for You?

Do you move the seats and open up the cargo space on a regular basis? If so, the Chrysler Pacifica is the right minivan to buy. Do you like to drive and want to feel an energetic drive when you get behind the wheel? If so, the Honda Odyssey is the right choice. Because these two minivans are extremely similar and cost nearly the same to buy and to drive, you need to choose the right one for you. Give them both a chance and see which family hauler will head home with you today.