Whenever I travel I try to and experience as much as I can.
Oh jeez, OK, my apologies I can't beleive I wrote that. I know thats a dumb way to start a travel based story. I mean who doesn't try and experience as much as they can? However since this is an automotive oriented site you probably figured I was alluding to something automotive. If you did your were correct and in the case of this article I am talking about rentals. I mean if you're away from home and have to rent a car anyway why not use the opportunity? So this time flying into Oahu with my family, we had a Honda Odyssey lined up. It and the no longer with us Nissan Quest were the only two American Market mini vans I haven’t driven yet. So I thought it’d take this opportunity to check one off the list.
The Honda Odyssey was a Turo rental and our first time using the Turo service. The guy that owned The Honda and the Odyssey were both pretty nice. This was our first time using Toro. The rental and pick up went just fine, though it felt sketchy. I wasn't sure how things would go and the directions had me giving the in app/email replies and my phone serious side eye. The Van was to be waiting for us at the airport parking garage with the keys on the windshield. you read that right a public parking garage keys just laying out on the windshield. I was like... Soooyouuuuuu just drop your car in an airport parking garage, drop the keys on the windshield by the wipers and just walk away? That's a ten four. Turns out the guy has 15 cars that he rents through Turo and thats how he does them all!? I fully expected to have to rent something else figuring surely this van would be stolen. Well I guess things are different in Hawaii because just as he’d said, there it was. Yes it worked but I certainly didn't like that aspect of the Turo rental. I am not sure how other renters do it but after talking with the guy he said it was super common. I asked why not use a used car lot style lock box. He'd said he tried that and people lost the key holder part or just left it in the window and the vehicle got broken into as it was an obvious rental. or the box got lost altogether. We talked about other ideas on where a key could be stashed but I couldn't come up with anything he hadn't already tried. I can't believe the whole leaving keys on the windshield thing is pretty common Turo practice so he just does that. Crazy. The return instructions were the same which I liked even less. As I am sure you've figured out by now I just couldn't get comfortable with the whole idea.
So how was the Honda Odyssey?
Well in short. I absolutely see why they are consistently toward the top of the mix, review wise. How ever I also see why they rarely break into the top two of the list. Long term followers will know I am a pretty big guy. At Six foot six and around treefiddy fitting in anything not a full sized american pick up is a challenge. In order to fit in this odyssey I had to put the steering wheel all the way up and out and the seat all the way back and down. This puts the seating position in the Honda much lower than the Chrysler or Toyota Sienna. Normally I would put this down to a my size being the issue. As I mentioned the Chrysler, Sienna and even the Kia all require the same adjustments but door shape and ergonomics make getting in them much easier for me than the Honda. Power is pretty decent though not anything to write home about. Typical mini Van meh, not bad, not great. Surprisingly the Odyssey seemed to handle pretty well. More firmly than most other vans I have driven. Throttle response was snappy and the transmission seemed to shift pretty well without much hesitation. We had a continuous struggle getting the Apple Car play to respond in the Honda. When it did it was spotty. There are USB connections on the dash just below the radio. You would think this would be the one to connect phone to stereo. On this model the Honda radio wants you to use a different USB hidden in the center console for some reason? Not a bad thing per se but it was counter intuitive and of coaurse nothing is labeled and we only discovered the in console port by chance.
Rowing gears with a manual or a simple column or console mounted lever works like a champ. Why are so many car companies messing with with what has worked so well for decades?Re inventing gear selection seems like a dumb place to innovate. The Honda uses a huge stack of push button options to control the trans taking up a roughly two inch by 7 inch section of the dash below the stereo. I am not sure why this choice was made. I wasn't a fan of the location or the buttons feel. Actually using the buttons while odd when you do touch them, even though they don't feel great and are wasy to big admittedly they work and work well. The gear change occurs immediately, no detectable delay. With the Honda I found moving between forward and reverse the trans reacted pretty fast. While Ia m talking about reversing. For some reason the last few rentals I have had have all had an odd issue with the back up camera. For some reason the back up camera image wants to stay on the screen for several seconds after switching to drive and moving forward. This is an issue I have seen with all of the big three and now Honda and Toyota as well. What's with the delay? Is this a bufg or a feature or some new "safety" requirement? its not a big deal and the Chrysler at least gives you an option to x out of the window if you dont want to wait but, yeah, that threw me off. experiencing it on so many vehicles both US and Japanese I gotta wonder if its on purpose.
The Honda's ergonomics made getting and out a little more strained for me than in other vans and unless the steering wheel was all the way up it’d catch my knee every time. Also this version didn't have the captains chairs in the center which made getting into the third row a bit of a pain. Even for my very active 9 year old. I know that captains chairs are an option for the Odyssey. But the lower roofline and center bench caused some strife in the time we had with never kid wanting to play with the folding middle seat or climbing over it to get into the third row.
Sadly the Honda was hit while parked at a grocery store. Not terrible but bad enough I am sure the rear bumper will probably be replaced. It doesnt look that bad in pics but trust men those scratches are DEEP! Deep enough to feel serious grooves and crack it in a couple places. Thankfully the damage didn't make it into the rear quarter. I only noticed it when we dropped it off and while Turo insurance had a crazy high deductible my own insurance covers rentals so we will see how that works out
Mini Van Number Two
Old faithful.
I'd post pics of the chrysler but I honestly just didnt take any we've all seen them juts your run of the mill grey metallic Chrysler mini van.
For rental number two we went with Sixth again. They are a relatively new rental agency and they have done me right every time I've used them. Unfortunately this trip will be the true test as I hurt their van pretty badly.
Dodge and Chrysler minivans seem to make up the bulk of most rental car fleets and for good reason. While the Chrysler isn't flashy it's not bad looking either. Just enough brightwork and detail to keep things interesting. No wild wings, intakes or louvers like it's Japanese competition. No the Chrysler isnt exciting but its straight forward and full of the features that matter. Ours was not loaded. far from it. No sun roof no seat heaters or rear window vents but it seemed to have at least two charging ports to every seat. Which is a good thing for obvious reasons. it also seemed to have a cup holder on every surface where the Honda had them but not as many. The Chrysler may not handle as firmly or sporty as the Honda but I am used to the American suspension float. In fact I find that squishy suspension comforting and welcome especially on long distance drive. The Apple car play was the normal plug and play easy that I have come to expect, thank you Chrysler. And since I have had several of them as rentals I knew what I was getting into.
Throttle responsehasnt been great on any of the chrysler minivans I have rented but this one seemed painfully slow. especially in comparison with the Honda. The only thing slower than the throttle response was the Chrysler transmissions willingness to down shift when attempting to over take or pass. These Chryslers may have similar power outputs on the spec sheet but the Honda, Toyota and Kia offerings sure out class the Chrysler engine and transmission wise. At least by a seat of the pants comparison. and as stated before every Chrysler I have driven has had similar lag. How's that Honda meme go? Honda owners are mad cause they got all that turbo lag and no turbo? well thats how every Chrysler minivan I have ever driven feels. Mash the gas, the Chrysler goes "bwwwwwwWWWWWAAAAAAHHHHH" does it down shift? maybe, probably not? Trying to over take or even just merge feels a lot like trying to leave the line in a 4 cyclender car using 3rd or 4th. I guess if you know what to expect you can kind of plan ahead but that doesn't make it awesome. Not to beat a dead horse, pun intended, but the Toyota, Honda and Kia are all so much better Engine trans wise. Admittedly it really only becomes an issue in the over taking and passing or merging into freeway traffic situations. You know nothing important, insert eye rolling here. I have talked baout this before but since I spent so much time on Hondas weird Trans selector stack situatioin I shopuld mention the Chrysler. For some reason Chrysler went with a dial close to the stereo which blows my mind. Every time I drive one I am paranoid that I am gonna roll the trans into park or reverse trying to adjust the radio volume. I literally find myself staring at the knob threateningly thinking to myself I will not fall for this trap! So stupid.
Fit and finish.
The Honda beats the Chrysler hands down for materials and over all fit and finish. Both vans had above 40K miles on them. The Honda was hiding and weathering its use way better. Now to be fair the Chrysler was a full time rental and I dont know how much of the Honda’s life is with its actual owners or rentals. I am sure we can agree this is an important distinction wear wise. The Honda being privately owned and according to its owner part of a small personal fleet of rentals was received far cleaner than the Sixth rental Chrysler. Not my typical Sixth experience. This was the first time I received a car from Sixth that was in rough shape. The Chrysler smelled like hot curry farts and was shockingly full of sand. Yeah its a Hawaii rental you expect some sand but this thing had enough sand in it I had suspicions the weight might be killing the Chryslers power. This despite having been washed/detailed right before pick up, literally. We had to wait 30 minutes for the Van because it was being "re cleaned" and it was still dripping wet as the guy pulled it up to us. SO I can only imagine how bad it must have been. The paint wasn't bad but it did have significant paint protection in the form of heavy calcium build up from probably hundreds of hard water washes. How bad were the water spots? The water spots were soooo baaad...
The build up of water spots was significant enough to make seeing out of the side view mirrors a challenge. No joke. This would become an issue later.
While the interior of the Honda seemed to be holding up well. I'd wager it being all black certainly helped. Other than the sand, the carpeting in the rear trunk/basement area of the Chrysler had delaminated completely from the plastics. The tan from the window like up pillars and headliner had lots of spots from drinks spilled and splashed and more than a few drag streaks. In the rear areas skid marks from luggage carelessly tossed in hitting the roof were legion. The Honda may have had many of the same stains and scars but with a dark interior they weren't visible. Both had a few rattles and squeaks but as expected the Chrysler seemed to have way more. Shockingly it wasnt the delaminated carpet in the rear cargo area or the spots and scrapes that bummed me out most interior quality wise. It was the "leather" seating materials that somehow looked like trash bags? I dont know how or why? maybe Chrysler uses some magical getsworse over time leather? maybe Sixth uses special cleaning solution had been used compromising the finish? Hard to say but all the seats in the Chrysler while not overly worn or torn just looked terrible. Bad enough that everyone at one point commented on it in one way or another.
If I had to choose between the Honda and the Chrysler?
The Hondas better throttle, trans response and better build quality couldn’t over come the low seating position and ergonomic interference of the steering wheel to my leg when trying to get in. The Honda gave me a bruise right above the knee on my left leg even though we only had it a few days. Yes Hondas better fit and finish was nice but the annoying button lay out of the shifter took up way to much of the dash. The car play was spotty and problematic.
Another dislike that we found on both cars was the electronic nannies were a serious pain in the ass.
Auto start/stop the feature that allows the motor to turn off when at a stop light then back on when you go to leave. I despise this “feature”. Disabling it on the Chrysler was as easy as pushing a largish button on the dash were the homes was I assume somewhere in the Dash menus and I never did take the time to find it. Another feature that caused me deep frustration was the auto breaking and lane departure “features” The Hondas Lane departure system was far more aggressive than the Chryslers. The feeling of the steering wheel resisting my desired action is one I cannot abide. The Honda seemed to nee very sensitive sometimes almost feeling like the wheels were in a deep rut and fought me consistently. The other system that I didnt like was the parking assist. Both vehicles seemed to have the same desire to break on its own without very much warning. The Honda system issued beeps as you got closer but the Chrysler stem seemed to only beep after it had applied the break on its own making aloud shuddering sound that was disconcerting to say the least.
While I absolutely see the benefit of these systems boy did I want them off and out of my way. I do like the parking sensors but I didn't think either experience was that great. They definitely could have been engineered better.
Funnily enough, the parking sensors sensitivity on the Chrysler wasn't enough to save me backing into a concrete column while backing out of Hawaiis crazy tight parking spaces. I dont know if it was the water spots build up or if it was just at the perfect blind spot but I clobbered the shit out of the drivers door and boy did I feel like an asshole about it. Not because I did anything technically wrong. OK other than hitting the column, But I wasn't goofing off or backing out egregiously fast It was just one of those things weird blind spot looking at other mirrors at just the wring moment kind of things. Still any time I cause damage I feel bad and this was our second mini van to be hurt of the trip!
Sometimes shit happens, what can you do?
Now I mentioned the Chrysler and Honda had similar miles. Again Chrysler was showing wear far more aggressively. The Chrysler had two tone interior a light tan on the top and darker shades of grey and black on the bottom. The Tan showed lots of scars from past renters moving bags and gear in and out. The lower black seats looked equally bad. Almost like the “leather” seating had been replaced by old school bus material. It looked terrible. The Chrysler showed serious beach time in that despite being “regularly cleaned” before each customer the whole car was full of sand. Every crack and crevice. This was actually something the Honda owner brought up. The Honda not having such exposed floor rails for the middle row seats and the door mechanisms seemed better sealed or sat least just not as visible as the Chryslers that were absolutely caked with sand. Despite the mass amounts of sand the Chrysler chairs and doors worked flawlessly. Maybe the Chrysler mechanisms are designed on the AK 47 principle of loose tolerances to allow for debris? I feel like this more than anything else is the greatest example of why despite the difference in fit and finish the Chrysler keeps coming in first or second in the mini van ratings.
It’s certainly not as exciting looking as the Honda and it doesn't feel as power full. That said though It’s more comfortable and roomy feeling than the lower and sportier Honda. The roofline feels higher and moving things in and out felt easier and less cramped with the Chrysler. Loading all our luggage both minivans swallowed our bags and suitcases with ease but the Chrysler somehow seemed easier to load and un load. Since for me a mini van wouldn't be about daily driving enjoyment as it would be a family truckster/long hauler. So space and comfort are paramount. I think I could learn to live with the lack of throttle and transmission response from the Chrysler in exchange for the better visibility, utility and comfort the Chrysler provides. Wow I really must be getting older taking comfort over sportiness but its about the right tool for the job.
Also while the Chrysler example I had this time was a bit worse from wear, as I mentioned I have had a few of them and this was the second worse. Judging by past experiences I have to think that a lot of that had to do with past users and not the actual unit itself. So with that caveat in mind between these two? I would pick the Chrysler.
UPDATE
I have waited to publish this till all the insurance stuff was completed
The Odyssey issue was completely handled by my car insurance after giving my info to the Owner of the van I only heard from my insurance company once to verify what was being reported and then that was it. totally easy
The Chrysler, rented from Sixth I always get the the "walk away" insurance and at least with Sixth walk away is not necessarily what I would call it. We informed the folks when we dropped it off what happened gacve a full description verified we had the insurance and split for our flight thinking we were done. Nope. We received a semi threatening letter asking for a formal written expklanation of damage and noticed they'd added a few things to the list. Aftyer a bit of back and fourth we finally did get things done but walk away ? Not so much,
James
The Lowered HMFIC
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