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The 2019 model year is here, so it’s time to return to our
comparison tests. The four minivans being compared here are always constantly
fighting to be the best people mover, and this year is no different. As minivan
sales slouch and SUV sales continue to increase, however, some van’s very
nameplates are at stake. Take the 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan, for example. 2019
appears to be the last year this vehicle will ever be in production, until all
Fiat Chrysler minivan sales are redirected to the Pacifica. Ironically, the
Grand Caravan still outsells the Pacifica handily, despite the van being
essentially 11 years old. The Toyota Sienna is a fan favorite and thousands
sell every month. Honda hopes to steal some of these sales with their
relatively new van, the Odyssey. Before we begin evaluating each vehicle, I
need to explain how I will conduct the comparison. I use a numerical
points-value system at the end of the article to assess every area of each
vehicle as objectively as possible. With that being said, let’s begin with our first area of appraisal:
value. Our first van, the 2019 Sienna XLE, starts at $37,090. Standard features
on the XLE include heated outside mirrors with blind spot warning and rear
cross traffic alert, power sliding doors, one touch door handles, a power
moonroof, 17-inch alloy wheels, and a three-zone climate control system. On the
interior, the Toyota has a 7.0-inch color touchscreen that houses Entune 3.0,
Toyota’s in-house infotainment system. The XLE version comes with a
subscription to SiriusXM, Toyota Connected Services with WiFi, and other
things. However, most of these items are on a subscription basis. All seats in
this trim Sienna are leather and the front two captain’s chairs are powered and
heated. Other features include dynamic radar cruise control, a leather trimmed
steering wheel, a 4.2-inch display in the instrument cluster, remote start, and
a smart key system also come in the Sienna. Parents will appreciate the
universal garage door receiver, ten cupholders, the wide variety of USB and 12V
sockets, and the power tailgate. They will further appreciate all of the active
safety systems preventing the Sienna from running into other cars and people:
included are pedestrian detection with a pre-collision system, and lane
departure alert with steering assist. Though the Sienna may seem as though it
is optioned well, the van was last fully redesigned in 2011, and it is starting
to show. It does not accommodate for new technologies, like Apple CarPlay and
Android Auto. However, the Sienna does excel at moving people and objects,
which is the main goal of a minivan anyway. Let’s move on to the 2019 Honda
Odyssey EX-L, which begins life at $37,610. The exterior of the van features
heated outside mirrors, power sliding doors, and a keyless entry and exit
system. The Honda will automatically lock or unlock the car after the key
either enters or exits an eight-foot radius around the vehicle. The moonroof on
the Honda is powered like the Sienna, as is the tailgate, however users can set
programmed height for the tailgate on the Odyssey. Push-button start and a
tri-zone climate control system as well as a universal remote and a
leather-wrapped steering wheel make life easier for Honda buyers. Additionally,
the front two seats can be power adjusted many different ways, and are heated.
The first two rows in the Honda are leather, and it also has remote engine start.
Bluetooth, and seven speakers with a subwoofer come standard and the Honda has
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability on the Honda’s 8-inch color
touchscreen. SiriusXM, collision mitigation braking, blind spot detection, a
lane-keeping system and a road departure mitigation indicator are on all EX-L
Odyssey’s. The 2019 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L starts at $35,945. Standard
exterior features include 17-inch, ten-spoke wheels, LED headlights and
taillamps, power sliding doors and liftgate, and heated exterior mirrors. On
the interior, the vehicle has heated front seats, and an 8-way power adjustable
driver’s chair. The Pacifica makes use of Chrysler’s excellent Stow-N-Go
system, which allows for the second and third rows in the Pacifica to be folded
into the floorboard with ease, so that the load floor of the rest of the van is
flat. This eases cargo carrying capability and makes life with the Pacifica
significantly easier. The Chrysler is dotted with 12-volt outlets and USB
ports, and it also has a tri-zone climate control system, all leather seating
and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. In the dash sits a 7-inch color
touchscreen housing Uconnect, which is Chrysler’s infotainment system. Weirdly,
the Pacifica supports Android Auto, but not Apple CarPlay. Fiat-Chrysler is the
first company I have seen contract with one technology company but not the
other. Six speakers, keyless entry, and push-button start round off the
interior. Active safety systems on the Pacifica are actually pretty slim, offering
only blind-spot detection and rear-cross path detection. It does have a parking
aid that will brake for you when you are about to hit another vehicle or
object, but other than that, more advanced safety systems will cost you extra. The
2019 Dodge Grand Caravan somehow manages to continue on into the year 2019,
with only changes to the curtain airbags. Originally, 2018 was supposed to be
the last year this vehicle was in production, but its sales have continued to
be strong so FCA renewed its lease on life. Unfortunately, though the Grand
Caravan sells in numbers, it cannot be the best van here. The Grand Caravan has
been around since 2008 without any major updates, and it cannot compete with
the likes of the Odyssey or even its own cousin, the Pacifica. However, since
it remains such a strong sales contender, it is worth comparing it to the other
vans. The top of the line Grand Caravan SXT starts at a comically low $31,750. On
the exterior, the Dodge is gussied up with 17-inch aluminum wheels, heated mirrors,
and a power liftgate and doors. On the interior, the Grand Caravan has a
tri-zone climate control system, the same fantastic Stow-N-Go seats for the
second and third rows seen in the Pacifica, and a leather-wrapped steering
wheel and shift knob. All seats are leather, and the driver seat is 8-way power
adjustable, but the passenger will have to adjust their seat manually. Here
again, the Grand Caravan has Android Auto but not Apple CarPlay. In the center
console is a 6.5-inch touchscreen housing the usual Bluetooth and SiriusXM found
in the other vans. The final two features on the SXT are remote start and
keyless entry. Next, let’s evaluate the powertrains and performance of each
van. The 2019 Sienna comes with a 3.5-liter V6 engine with 296 horsepower and
263 lb-ft of torque. This motor is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission
that drives the front wheels—AWD is optional. The powertrain is good for a 6.8
second run to 60 miles per hour, with a quarter mile time of 15.5 seconds. The
2019 Honda Odyssey also has a 3.5-liter V6, this time rated at 280 horsepower
and 262 lb-ft of torque. The Honda has the most modern transmission of the
group, a 9-speed automatic with paddle shifters. The 9-speed and V6 propel the
Honda to 60 miles per hour in 6.7 seconds and the quarter in 15.2 seconds. The
Pacifica has a slightly bigger 3.6-liter engine with 287 horsepower and 262
lb-ft of torque, and it matches the Honda’s 9-speed automatic. This setup is
good for a 7.2 second 0-60 time and a 15.3 second quarter. Let’s move on to the
Grand Caravan, which has the same 3.6-liter V6 as the Pacifica, but makes
slightly less power at 283 horsepower and 260 lb-ft. Unfortunately, because FCA
hasn’t put as much effort into the Grand Caravan as they have in the Pacifica,
it retains only a 6-speed automatic. This hinders performance, and the Grand
Caravan takes 7.9 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour and 16 seconds flat in the
quarter. Next, let’s try and look at how family-friendly these vehicles are,
because that’s what they’re designed for. The Grand Caravan and Pacifica have the
Stow-N-Go seats which make increasing the cargo space significantly easier. The
Pacifica has 165 cubic feet for passengers and can stow 140.5 cubic feet with
all the seats down. It seats seven comfortably, but 8 in a pinch. The Honda has
160.1 cubic feet for passengers and 140.7 cubic feet behind the front row of
seats, and seats 8. The Grand Caravan can hold 140.3 cubic feet of cargo space and
is unrated for passenger space but seats a maximum of 7. The 2019 Sienna has a
massive 150 cubic feet behind the front seats and is unrated in passenger space
and can seat 8 if need be. Now, let’s move on to safety. Of course, each van
has some array of active safety features, but let’s see what the
crash-worthiness of each van is, per the IIHS. The 2019 Sienna gets ratings of
‘Good’, the highest mark possible, except for the small-overlap on the
driver-side, which was ‘Acceptable’. The 2019 Pacifica is a top safety pick,
and the only area it gets an ‘Acceptable’ rating on is the headlights. The trim
we are comparing, the Touring L, has better headlights anyway. Oddly, the 2019
Odyssey gets the exact same ratings as the Pacifica, but the child seat-latch
anchors are apparently easier to use. This means it too, is a top safety pick. The
Grand Caravan is old, and as such wasn’t engineered to meet the small front
overlap test, where it gets a rating of ‘Poor’. Most of the rest of the ratings
are ‘Good’, but it wasn’t enough to give it a top safety pick. Let’s now look
at fuel economy, as this is something every minivan driver is sure to have on
their mind. The 2019 Sienna gets 19 miles per gallon in the city and 27 on the
highway, for a combined 22 miles per gallon. The Odyssey gets similar mileage
at 19 in the city, 28 on the highway, and the same 22 combined mpg. The
Chrysler Pacifica gets identical ratings to the Odyssey, but the Grand Caravan shows
its age with ratings of 17 in the city and 25 on the highway for a combined 21.
Next, let’s look at our most controversial segment, which is styling. This is a
subjective category, mind you, so take my ratings with a grain of salt. The
Pacifica is about as seductive as a minivan can be, both inside and out, and
manages to have the best looking exterior and interior. The Honda comes in a
close second in terms of exterior, as does the interior, though to a lesser
extent. I like the Dodge’s exterior better than the Sienna’s, but I like the
Sienna’s interior more. Again, as are many other features of the Grand Caravan,
the styling seems like an afterthought. This van was never meant to be
beautiful though; form always follows function with this particular vehicle. Finally,
let’s move on to our last area of evaluation, which is reliability. Of course,
families want their van to be as dependable as possible, and the Toyota has them
covered. According to Consumer Reports, the predicted reliability of a new
Sienna is much better than average, compared to the Odyssey’s average rating, and
the FCA cousin’s ratings of much worse than average. Well, that’s it for the
2019 minivan comparison! Here are the rankings of each van in each category on
a scale from one to ten. The Sienna and Grand Caravan offer the most features
for the money, hence their value scores. The Grand Caravan’s aging powertrain
set it back in the powertrain and performance category. Its age shows again in
the safety evaluation, where the two top safety picks each score a nine. The
two Fiat-Chrysler vans score low in reliability, and the Grand Caravan falls
behind again in fuel economy. For ease of use, the Pacifica and Grand Caravan
both make gains for the Stow-N-Go seats, but the Odyssey and Grand Caravan are
docked a point for seating one less person. Overall, the Sienna turns into the
most well-rounded vehicle.
