2011 Minivan Comparison Test

We love the honesty of minivans. While crossovers sucker you into believing that you can reclaim your old, cool, coffeehouse life behind their fashionably hinged doors, you know exactly what you'll find when you tug a minivan's sliding door.

Of course, the automakers that build the vehicles that haul our obligations can call a do-over any old time they like — even all in the same year. And so we have the 2011 Chrysler Town and Country, 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan, 2011 Honda Odyssey, 2011 Nissan Quest and 2011 Toyota Sienna — all of which are substantially revised for 2011.

A 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite already won a shoot-out against a 2011 Toyota Sienna XLE, but this time we gathered the whole gang for a comparison (except the aged Kia Sedona and the terrier of minivans, the Mazda 5) and set a $40,000 price limit.

The Winner and Everybody Else
So how did this one end? The Toyota Sienna — an SE model ($34,684) this time — rebounded to win this test. The 2011 Quest SL ($38,610) and 2011 Odyssey EX ($31,730) deadlocked for 2nd, followed in order by the 2011 Town and Country Touring-L ($36,770) and 2011 Grand Caravan Crew ($32,760). That looks like a grim outcome for the Chrysler minivans, but a mere 6.6 points separate the 1st-place Sienna from the 5th-place Grand Caravan in the overall scores. All of these vans are viable family transportation options — the handful of points distinguishes the good from the great.

We've scored this test the same as we would any other Inside Line comparison, but tailored the weighting to the nature of the minivan beast. Accordingly, performance (that is, our instrumented testing results) counts for just 10 percent. Meanwhile, key feature content (see the "Top 11 Features" tab) is weighted just as much as the as-tested price (20 percent each), because we've never met a minivan owner who didn't slavishly monitor his household budget.

A 29-point evaluation by your favorite IL editors counts another 25 percent, while fuel consumption (based on each van's EPA combined mpg rating) is weighted 15 percent. For the remaining 10 percent, we ranked the vans based both on our gut feelings (the personal rating) and the sage advice we give to people we like (the recommended rating).

Our Gut Takes a Backseat
Our gut tells us to buy the minivan we like driving the most, but when we're looking at vehicles with three rows of seats, our families get to have a say, too.

Until this year, our families held the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country in low regard, and justifiably so, as their cabin materials quality and fit and finish were bottom of the barrel — as Chrysler executives have candidly admitted in recent months.

In the 2011 Chrysler minivans, the previous Wal-Mart vibe gives way to a warmer, classier decor, particularly in the leather-lined Town and Country. These sibling vans still look alike, of course, but they have their own gauge packs and steering wheel detailing, while the Man Van Dodge has a full front console instead of the usual, minivan-style open floor plan (normally, this is where the diaper bag lives, but real men stuff all that in their back pocket). Run your hands along the steering wheel, dash and console, and it all feels supple and substantial — better than the cut-rate gray paneling in the 1st-place Sienna, and on par with the Odyssey EX's respectable if drab furnishings.

Nobody can touch the upscale Quest in the materials department, though; it's the most expensive van in the test and it feels like it. The Nissan also has the best fit and finish. We still find the most instances of misaligned panels in the Dodge and Chrysler, but this time everything that matters is solidly affixed.

While we're clucking to ourselves about build quality, our families get down to the business of making themselves comfortable. Only Honda and Toyota build vans with eight-passenger seating, so if you need that second-row center seat, you're going to end up with an Odyssey or Sienna — and only the Honda can fit an adult derriere in that seat. These vans also have the roomiest third-row accommodations, though everyone grumbled that the Odyssey's sliding doors don't slide back far enough for unimpeded access.

If you only need seating for seven, the 2011 Nissan Quest is compelling, with its luxurious captain's chairs in the first and second rows and serene cabin (it had the lowest decibel reading at a 70-mph cruise). You won't coax adults into its third row, though, because a low-mounted bench creates an untenable legroom situation, published specs notwithstanding. Third-row accommodations are also tight in the Grand Caravan and Town and Country, but their second-row captain's chairs offer respectable comfort considering they're of the Stow 'n Go persuasion.

We're Fired Up To Stow
Yes, indeed, those nifty second-row seats in the Chrysler and Dodge are handy. Within 30 seconds, you can whisk them from fully upright to completely gone into the floor.

The downside is that Chrysler engineers had to limit front-seat track travel to package the stowage repository. It's particularly bothersome in the 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan, where the long-legged driver soon wishes he had fold-flat femurs.

In the 2011 Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey, stowing the second-row seats is a more traditional process that involves going into your garage while carrying a big mass of seat. The Odyssey's seats are lighter, but you still need a strong back. Nissan assumes you're not crazy enough to haul around seats in your sleep-deprived parental state, so the Quest's middle-row seats merely fold down. If you want them out of the van, get your tools.

We get it, guy; your 3 Series mops the floor with your wife's Odyssey.

Most of the time, of course, you'll just be loading strollers and laundry detergent into the back of your minivan. Right off the bat, the 2011 Honda Odyssey makes this a hassle, as the EX model doesn't offer a power liftgate (or Bluetooth, a back-up camera or a USB input, but we digress), and the gate is heavy, with a poorly designed handhold. If you're under 5-foot-8 and petite, have fun.

Honda compensates by offering the simplest fold-flat third-row seat design. The third row in the Chrysler minivans is the trickiest, as the "60" sections are consistently difficult to pull back up from the floor. The Quest goes its own way here with SUV-style seats that simply fold forward instead of catapulting into the cargo well. They deliver a flat load floor but one that's considerably higher than a van with removable seats. It also reduces the Quest's maximum cargo capacity by about 40 cubic feet.

Me Time
People are always telling us that minivans are a snooze to drive. We get it, guy; your 3 Series mops the floor with your wife's Odyssey. But if you can't find a way to enjoy driving that van, you're probably a snooze, too.

It's not like today's minivans don't have serious power. Every van in this test has a sizable V6 — a 283-horsepower 3.6-liter in the Grand Caravan and Town and Country; a 248-hp 3.5-liter in the Odyssey; a 260-hp 3.5-liter in the Quest; and a 265-hp 3.5-liter in the Sienna. The Chrysler, Toyota and Dodge have a six-speed automatic transmission driving their front wheels, while the Honda uses a five-speed automatic and the Nissan a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

The Quest is the editors' unanimous favorite in the drivetrain department. Mind you, it posted the slowest numbers at our test track (9.0 seconds to 60 mph, 16.7 seconds at 88.9 mph for the quarter-mile), but this is the most satisfying application of Nissan's CVT to date. This V6 is known for its torque (although it has the lowest peak rating of all five engines) and the CVT is adept at picking gear ratios that make the best of it — so much so that you barely notice the van has a CVT. The VQ-Series V6 is unusually quiet, too; the Quest logs the lowest decibel reading at full throttle.

If the Quest's aggressive throttle tip-in bugs you, chances are you'll prefer the Toyota Sienna, the quickest van in our test with a 0-60-mph time of 8.1 seconds. The engine feels powerful and smooth, and the transmission executes near-flawless gearchanges — it's the best true automatic in this group.

The Odyssey's V6 is a nice motor, too, but the EX's five-speed automatic doesn't take advantage of the power band the way the Touring models' six-speed automatic does. This translates to an 8.8-second 0-60-mph time compared to 8.1 with the six-speed. In everyday driving, the difference isn't a big deal, as the EX's drivetrain is plenty refined, but once you know there's something better out there, well, you want it. On the upside, the five-speed Odyssey still has class-best fuel economy ratings, and it returned slightly better mileage (21 mpg) than the others.

In the two Chrysler vans, the smooth-running Pentastar V6 is a welcome replacement for the previous 4.0-liter V6. It still isn't enough to give either the Grand Caravan or Town and Country an edge at the track, though. Both vans were a couple tenths slower than the Sienna, and, notably, the Grand Caravan is no quicker than our long-term 2008 Grand Caravan.

Curb weight is an issue, as both weigh 4,600 pounds (200 more than the Odyssey). Additionally, the carryover six-speed transmission (same gearing as last year) fumbled the 3-4 upshift during acceleration testing, and often got befuddled on freeway grades. "It's like it's practicing shifting," said one editor after experiencing a few less-than-smooth gearchanges. The Pentastar is noisier than the other engines, too; the Dodge and Chrysler had the highest full-throttle decibel readings.

Me Time, Continued
Brakes are important on any vehicle, but especially one that has you assuming personal liability for up to seven additional lives. Here the Sienna continued its winning steak, stopping from 60 mph in 124 feet. Second went to the Odyssey, which managed 127 feet while resisting fade in impressively un-Honda-like fashion. The Town and Country was right behind it at 128 feet, but both Chrysler vans exhibited fade on subsequent stops. The Quest brought up the rear at 134 feet. Fade wasn't the problem; rather it was the Nissan's P235/55R18 Toyo A22 tires' inability to grip the pavement.

The performance is disappointing, as the tires help deliver excellent ride quality otherwise. The Nissan nearly matches the plush ride quality of the Toyota — which remains the go-to van for out-and-out comfort — while offering a touch of the Honda's athleticism around corners, not to mention precise steering with spot-on effort levels.

Still, if you want a minivan that doesn't constantly remind you that it's a great big box, you want the Honda Odyssey. No, it didn't post the best slalom number, but there's a level of sophistication here that the others don't deliver. Tidy suspension tuning keeps it under control around any corner, while light, accurate steering provides extraordinary feedback.

The Grand Caravan and Town and Country posted the highest slalom speeds — 60.8 mph and 59.6 mph, respectively. Despite their slightly older underpinnings, the Chrysler vans take a set quickly and like to be thrown around a bit. The steering is heavy, so you have to be deliberate with your inputs. "The Dodge and Chrysler are like bad dogs," said one editor. "They do what you tell them if you've got a firm hand."

Bad dogs and high-effort steering can wear you down, though, especially when you're just running errands. Their ride quality isn't as polished as the other vans, either, as the Town and Country and Grand Caravan transmit more harshness over expansion joints.

Taste Them Again for the First Time
We still meet misguided souls who tell us they'll never, ever own a minivan, yet there are still nearly half a million minivans sold each year. This number may actually increase given this latest crop of revamped and much-improved vans.

An engine swap and an interior overhaul have lifted the 2011 Chrysler Town and Country Touring-L and 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew up from lowest common denominator status in the minivan segment. They're still a little rough around the edges, but they'll meet your basic requirements in addition to offering factory parking sensors and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic detection (not available on the others).

Meanwhile, the made-in-Japan 2011 Nissan Quest SL is much better than we expected with a rich and quiet cabin, well-sorted drivetrain and a pleasant ride/handling balance. Braking performance needs to improve, however, and the Quest might not work if you need seating for eight.

The 2011 Honda Odyssey EX will accommodate that eighth passenger, but you give up a lot of feature content. We're smitten with the way the Odyssey drives, but this test highlighted our frustration with how Honda packages the Odyssey. It shouldn't be impossible to get Bluetooth and a back-up camera in a cloth EX.

At the top, the 2011 Toyota Sienna SE is the all-rounder of Toyota's minivan line — and arguably the whole minivan class. It has a spacious, comfortable interior, a wonderful ride and strong brakes. It's quick, too, for a minivan. Best of all, Toyota gives you a reasonable features list for $34,684. So it's not a cheap minivan, but the Sienna SE is the best minivan — for now.

The manufacturers provided Edmunds these vehicles for the purposes of evaluation.