Anonymous
Post 07/27/2021 19:33     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
Pacifica AWD
Anonymous
Post 07/25/2021 04:04     Subject: Re:Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
Anonymous wrote:+1 to winter tires. I really liked the ascent but just got a 2021 AWD highlander hybrid. Beats ascents mpg by a lot & got better deal. Will def put snow tires on (live in Maine & ski)


I have no comment except I’m shocked the Highlander was a better deal. Must be the Subaru demand in Maine because in VA the ascent is much cheaper than Highlander.
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2021 23:23     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Soon to be family of five plus a dog. Live in snowy climate with lots of hills. I’m struggling to get past the idea of a minivan but know that we need space. We prefer the odyssey interior but appreciate the AWD and hybrid nature of the sienna. Never owned a Honda or a Toyota before. Love our forester and was really happy with the Ascent, but worried about space. I do feel confident that in the snow we’d be safe in it though. Thoughts? Recs?


This may be an extra hassle, but if you're ok with it, I'd go with a dedicated set of winter tires if you're an area with lots of snow. I'd rather have a 2WD car w/winter tires than 4WD/AWD with all-seasons. AWD is great for the extra traction, but for braking and once all four tires start slipping 2WD or AWD won't matter, all that matters is the compound of your tires' ability to stick to the ground and winter tires stay softer on cold temperature thus stick better. I've tried both, grew up in Scandinavia driving 4-5 months of the year on snow, crossing mountains etc. We went from owning a Subaru Outback AWD to Honda Ody w/winter shoes. Best of luck.


This is what we do. We live in Colorado and our Outback with winter tires has been to the trailheads for all 58 peaks over 14,000 feet. Amazing vehicle. And yes many ski resort parking lots with no issues.
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2021 23:19     Subject: Re:Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
+1 to winter tires. I really liked the ascent but just got a 2021 AWD highlander hybrid. Beats ascents mpg by a lot & got better deal. Will def put snow tires on (live in Maine & ski)
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2021 20:48     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Soon to be family of five plus a dog. Live in snowy climate with lots of hills. I’m struggling to get past the idea of a minivan but know that we need space. We prefer the odyssey interior but appreciate the AWD and hybrid nature of the sienna. Never owned a Honda or a Toyota before. Love our forester and was really happy with the Ascent, but worried about space. I do feel confident that in the snow we’d be safe in it though. Thoughts? Recs?


This may be an extra hassle, but if you're ok with it, I'd go with a dedicated set of winter tires if you're an area with lots of snow. I'd rather have a 2WD car w/winter tires than 4WD/AWD with all-seasons. AWD is great for the extra traction, but for braking and once all four tires start slipping 2WD or AWD won't matter, all that matters is the compound of your tires' ability to stick to the ground and winter tires stay softer on cold temperature thus stick better. I've tried both, grew up in Scandinavia driving 4-5 months of the year on snow, crossing mountains etc. We went from owning a Subaru Outback AWD to Honda Ody w/winter shoes. Best of luck.


Agree that winter tires are amazing.

Anonymous
Post 07/21/2021 20:43     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
Its hard to beat a Subaru for the conditions you’ll be in!
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2021 20:32     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
Anonymous wrote:Soon to be family of five plus a dog. Live in snowy climate with lots of hills. I’m struggling to get past the idea of a minivan but know that we need space. We prefer the odyssey interior but appreciate the AWD and hybrid nature of the sienna. Never owned a Honda or a Toyota before. Love our forester and was really happy with the Ascent, but worried about space. I do feel confident that in the snow we’d be safe in it though. Thoughts? Recs?


This may be an extra hassle, but if you're ok with it, I'd go with a dedicated set of winter tires if you're an area with lots of snow. I'd rather have a 2WD car w/winter tires than 4WD/AWD with all-seasons. AWD is great for the extra traction, but for braking and once all four tires start slipping 2WD or AWD won't matter, all that matters is the compound of your tires' ability to stick to the ground and winter tires stay softer on cold temperature thus stick better. I've tried both, grew up in Scandinavia driving 4-5 months of the year on snow, crossing mountains etc. We went from owning a Subaru Outback AWD to Honda Ody w/winter shoes. Best of luck.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2021 19:20     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
23:53 here—I should say that we’ve had 2011 ansn2018 Siennas, I can’t speak to the new hybrid ones except that I know they have less cargo space than my 2018 does.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2021 16:58     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
We have three kids (11, 8, 6) and a 100lb dog. We just drove across the country and back in our Ascent. We also have the AWD Sienna. Both are amazing in the snow, but we also use snow tires.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2021 16:18     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
I’m strongly considering replacing my 2014 Odyssey with a new Ascent. Not it nots quite as roomy but I thought the Ascent felt surprisingly large! I only have 2 children but carpool quite a bit. I would get AWD for sure if I lived in a snowy area.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2021 00:00     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
We are also a family of 5 and had an Odessey which was fine in Washington DC weather but not made for Boston metro area where we live now. Slide backwards down a hill I was going up once in winter and scare the bleep out of me. Would not recommend for snowy / hilly conditions.

We have had a Mazda 9 since kids were 4/4/5 (so booster seat not car seat stage) and that has been great. All wheel drive and 3rd row. Getting a bit snug now that I have 13/13/14 year olds (boys, not huge but getting taller) but I think we can eek out one more year.
Anonymous
Post 07/20/2021 23:53     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
Sienna AWD but you’ll want to ditch the stupid run-flat tires.

We live in Colorado, on the side of a mountain, and we skied every weekend for years because our kids raced. The AWD Sienna was better than any of the SUVs we owned. The only problem is if the snow is really deep the clearance isn’t great, but that’s pretty rare.
Anonymous
Post 07/20/2021 23:48     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
I’ve never driven a sienna but if it’s a minivan and it has AWD, it sounds like a sensible choice! I have an Ascent and love it, but I wouldn’t recommend it for 3 kids.
Anonymous
Post 07/20/2021 23:41     Subject: Sienna vs odyssey vs ascent- family of five in hilly snowy area
Soon to be family of five plus a dog. Live in snowy climate with lots of hills. I’m struggling to get past the idea of a minivan but know that we need space. We prefer the odyssey interior but appreciate the AWD and hybrid nature of the sienna. Never owned a Honda or a Toyota before. Love our forester and was really happy with the Ascent, but worried about space. I do feel confident that in the snow we’d be safe in it though. Thoughts? Recs?