Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

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joelly
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Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by joelly »

Hi Everyone,

I need a car for commuting to work 1-2 times a week, running errands and occasionally short-distance road trip.

Hubby is suggesting either the Honda Odyssey (he knows I like this one) or Lexus NX.

We are a family of 3 consist of hubby, 4-yo DD and myself. Currently we have a Toyota rav4. So the new one will be our 2nd car.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks!
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Beachey
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by Beachey »

How often would you anticipate having more than the three of you in the car? Grandparents? Friends of your daughters?

I have an Odyssey but the killer functionality is my wife and I, my two kids and my parents all fit in it, even when they were still in car seats. The biggest issue I have with Odyssey is it is a big vehicle and takes some time to learn to park in tight spaces (grocery store parking lots, etc.). My wife won't drive it. Still, the most functional vehicle I have ever owned.
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burritoLover
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by burritoLover »

If I'm going minivan, I'm going Toyota Sienna - way better mpg than the Odyssey plus available AWD. Probably arguably more reliable.

That said, I'd rather have an EV for commuting, errands, and short-distance trips as a 2nd car.
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joelly
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by joelly »

Beachey wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 3:59 pm How often would you anticipate having more than the three of you in the car? Grandparents? Friends of your daughters?

I have an Odyssey but the killer functionality is my wife and I, my two kids and my parents all fit in it, even when they were still in car seats. The biggest issue I have with Odyssey is it is a big vehicle and takes some time to learn to park in tight spaces (grocery store parking lots, etc.). My wife won't drive it. Still, the most functional vehicle I have ever owned.
Since my in-laws have both passed, DD has only one set of grandparents from my side of the family and they live in Asia. They don't often come to visit. At the moment, her Oma (my Mom) came to visit. The last time she visited, it was before the pandemic.

It's not an annual visit so it will be mostly just the 3 of us.

Her friends? I think I will worry about that when she's 7 yrs old or older.

I like Odyssey because of one of the fact that we can change her in the car if we want to.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by ClaycordJCA »

This topic is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (vehicles).
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Tubes
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by Tubes »

So I'm a childless, parentless owner of an Odyssey. Wife won't drive it because it is big.

It is the most versatile and useful vehicle I've ever owned.

I use it for driving around, but especially for hauling stuff... A lot of stuff. I have back problems. I like that a minivan is lower than an SUV, and especially a pickup truck. It keeps stuff dry. Sliding doors allow easy access. It has comfortable, luxury features. I can remove or stow all the seats. Lots to like .

I bought mine used at 201k miles. I know the warts an Odyssey can have. If I were looking new at a minivan, I would go Sienna. The problem is Toyota and their horrible supply issues.

The Odyssey is good, but the Sienna is better when it comes to reliability. Honda has slipped. They constantly fight transmission issues, and some engine issues are slipping in too. Too many recent owners having tranny problems at 60k to 100k. Honda has this issue 20 years ago, fixed it, and now it's back. Too bad.
cmr79
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by cmr79 »

These are incredibly different vehicles. The NX is basically a nicer version of your RAV4...how well does that vehicle suit you?

We used to change our kids in the trunk of the SUV with the liftgate up.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by delamer »

We own a Volvo XC40 Recharge.

Fully electric and would work fine for your expressed needs and family size.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by Barsoom »

When I was shopping to replace my wife's 2001 RAV4 in 2021, we looked at the Lexus NX (3 years ago) and thought it was cramped for a luxury car.

We ended up getting the Acura RDX and my wife is quite happy with it.

-B
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by YeahBuddy »

It doesn't sound like you need the Odyssey. So if the only other option is the NX, that's my vote for your situation.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by TheOscarGuy »

joelly wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 3:52 pm Hi Everyone,

I need a car for commuting to work 1-2 times a week, running errands and occasionally short-distance road trip.

Hubby is suggesting either the Honda Odyssey (he knows I like this one) or Lexus NX.

We are a family of 3 consist of hubby, 4-yo DD and myself. Currently we have a Toyota rav4. So the new one will be our 2nd car.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks!
These vehicles dont compare directly. NX is quite small. If that is acceptable you can cross shop with other similar sized vehicles.
Does odyssey come in hybrid version? nx does.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by NYCaviator »

joelly wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 3:52 pm
Hubby is suggesting either the Honda Odyssey (he knows I like this one) or Lexus NX.
These are polar opposites. I’ve only driven the Odyssey as a rental and it drives and parks like a big vehicle. I test drove an NX and it feels small. Either will have more than enough space for a couple adults and one kid. I’m firmly in the camp of disliking minivans. Most of the rest of the world outside of the US gets along perfectly well with kids without needing these massive gas guzzling SUVs and minivans. The odyssey only gets 19MPG in the city. Not great if it’s just going to be you driving around doing errands.

The NX is just a fancier Rav4 as others have said. If you like the Rav4 you’ll probably like the NX. And it comes in a hybrid.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by ScubaHogg »

We’ve got a 2021 odyssey and we love it (two toddlers in the family). I’d get two if I could justify it

*”most of the rest of the world” gets along without most things Americans take for granted. Zero particular reason to single out minivans or “gas guzzlers”, whatever in the world that means
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by Tubes »

NYCaviator wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 7:51 am
joelly wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 3:52 pm
Hubby is suggesting either the Honda Odyssey (he knows I like this one) or Lexus NX.
These are polar opposites. I’ve only driven the Odyssey as a rental and it drives and parks like a big vehicle.
Ha ha, I had to quote that. I normally drive a Toyota Matrix or Subaru Legacy. The Legacy was my "big car." When I test drove the Odyssey (complete with the owner's kid in the back!), I almost drove off the road. I wasn't used to the long wheelbase and wide stance. In retrospect, it is funny. At the time, I got everyone to stop talking. :happy

I get about 22mpg if I'm heavy on city driving. I get 27 on highway only. These are not great, but not horrific considering the size and weight of the vehicle.

It is all a trade off. The Odyssey has incredible flexibility of use cases. My Subaru Legacy does not, however, I appreciate the 27 mpg city driving I get out of it, so it is still my short-run go-to vehicle.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by leeks »

I am very happy with our 2017 Toyota Sienna (bought used in 2020) but I don't think I would get a minivan unless you expect to have more kids or plan to do a lot of group carpooling or some other regular activity with extra passengers. It is perfect for roadtrips though, can bring a cooler of groceries and bikes for all four of us and sleeping cots for kids, etc.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by jeffG »

Like somebody said, the mentioned cars are polar opposites. That said, we bought our first dodge minivan in 1984 and have had one continuously since. My wife loves them. I cross shop all of them every time we are ready for a new one (usually around 200k miles) and always end up back at the chrysler version. Mainly because all the seats will fold flat for hauling. Plus I’m tall and the Japanese vehicles are more claustrophobic to me.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by NYCaviator »

Tubes wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 8:45 am
NYCaviator wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 7:51 am
joelly wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 3:52 pm
Hubby is suggesting either the Honda Odyssey (he knows I like this one) or Lexus NX.
These are polar opposites. I’ve only driven the Odyssey as a rental and it drives and parks like a big vehicle.
Ha ha, I had to quote that. I normally drive a Toyota Matrix or Subaru Legacy. The Legacy was my "big car." When I test drove the Odyssey (complete with the owner's kid in the back!), I almost drove off the road. I wasn't used to the long wheelbase and wide stance. In retrospect, it is funny. At the time, I got everyone to stop talking. :happy

I get about 22mpg if I'm heavy on city driving. I get 27 on highway only. These are not great, but not horrific considering the size and weight of the vehicle.

It is all a trade off. The Odyssey has incredible flexibility of use cases. My Subaru Legacy does not, however, I appreciate the 27 mpg city driving I get out of it, so it is still my short-run go-to vehicle.
Definitely flexible, and you can fit a lot in a minivan :D But if you don't need the room most of the time, I'd rather have something that's easier to park and gets 27 mpg city (which many crossovers can get these days)
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by NYCaviator »

ScubaHogg wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 8:09 am *”most of the rest of the world” gets along without most things Americans take for granted. Zero particular reason to single out minivans or “gas guzzlers”, whatever in the world that means
I'm just making the point that having kids does not make a minivan or full size SUV a necessity. Sure, people may want them (nothing wrong with that), but there are a lot of similarly practical, safe, and comfortable vehicles that get much more than 16-19MPG and still carry kids and all of their accoutrements.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by Texanbybirth »

NYCaviator wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 10:58 am
ScubaHogg wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 8:09 am *”most of the rest of the world” gets along without most things Americans take for granted. Zero particular reason to single out minivans or “gas guzzlers”, whatever in the world that means
I'm just making the point that having kids does not make a minivan or full size SUV a necessity. Sure, people may want them (nothing wrong with that), but there are a lot of similarly practical, safe, and comfortable vehicles that get much more than 16-19MPG and still carry kids and all of their accoutrements.
Agree with you, especially for 1 child. We have 4 small kids (think strollers, diaper bags, backpacks, etc), and a minivan is an absolute blessing for us. However, our other car (my commuter) is a Toyota Yaris iA. We can get 3 kids in that, too. It's nice to get 35 mpg city without trying in at least one of our vehicles. :D

OP, why are you narrowed down to two such different cars: a minivan and small-ish SUV? They're not really in the same class, and would seem to serve two different situations. While we had our first child, we got along fine with a Toyota Yaris and a Ford Focus. A RAV4 would have felt huge to us.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by ScubaHogg »

NYCaviator wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 10:58 am
ScubaHogg wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 8:09 am *”most of the rest of the world” gets along without most things Americans take for granted. Zero particular reason to single out minivans or “gas guzzlers”, whatever in the world that means
I'm just making the point that having kids does not make a minivan or full size SUV a necessity. Sure, people may want them (nothing wrong with that), but there are a lot of similarly practical, safe, and comfortable vehicles that get much more than 16-19MPG and still carry kids and all of their accoutrements.
“Necessity” is a pretty high bar to clear. I’ll say sliding doors alone makes them awesome and just a genuine improvement over literally all other car doors

Btw I’m averaging 20.5 in my odyssey over the last 10k miles, mostly around town, which is quite a bit more than 16. And I enjoy not spending money on gas as much as anyone, but the absolute line item gas savings in going from 20 to 30 mpg is pretty small unless you are putting huge numbers of miles in your car. In terms of overall budget, really optimizing that one item is much about emotion as anything
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by cmr79 »

ScubaHogg wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:23 pm
NYCaviator wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 10:58 am
ScubaHogg wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 8:09 am *”most of the rest of the world” gets along without most things Americans take for granted. Zero particular reason to single out minivans or “gas guzzlers”, whatever in the world that means
I'm just making the point that having kids does not make a minivan or full size SUV a necessity. Sure, people may want them (nothing wrong with that), but there are a lot of similarly practical, safe, and comfortable vehicles that get much more than 16-19MPG and still carry kids and all of their accoutrements.
“Necessity” is a pretty high bar to clear. I’ll say sliding doors alone makes them awesome and just a genuine improvement over literally all other car doors

Btw I’m averaging 20.5 in my odyssey over the last 10k miles, mostly around town, which is quite a bit more than 16. And I enjoy not spending money on gas as much as anyone, but the absolute line item gas savings in going from 20 to 30 mpg is pretty small unless you are putting huge numbers of miles in your car. In terms of overall budget, really optimizing that one item is much about emotion as anything
Technically speaking, any car that is under EPA combined 22.5 mpg is considered by the US government to be a "gas guzzler". Yes, I am aware that minivans, SUVs and trucks are not subject to the gas guzzler tax, but it seems like a pretty low bar to consider any passenger vehicles below that threshold to be a "gas guzzler". I would personally consider any vehicle that gets under 30 combined mpg to be a "gas guzzler", so the government is much more forgiving than I am!
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by bottlecap »

Not a big fan of Lexus drivers, but it doesn’t sound like you *need* an Odyssey, good vehicles though they may be.

If you can use the space, Odysseys are easy to drive and use.

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joelly
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by joelly »

Thanks everyone for the responses. I really appreciate it.

I rethink this again and I think I want a bigger SUV (bigger than RAV4 but smaller than an Odyssey).

Any car comes to mind? Help please.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by cmr79 »

joelly wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 11:23 pm Thanks everyone for the responses. I really appreciate it.

I rethink this again and I think I want a bigger SUV (bigger than RAV4 but smaller than an Odyssey).

Any car comes to mind? Help please.
Given what seems like a penchant for Toyota/Honda products, you should consider the Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX350, Honda Pilot and Acura MDX. The Toyota/Honda vehicles prioritize space, while the Lexus/Acura vehicles are slightly smaller (despite being on their same respective platforms) but with a more premium interior trim. Up to you what you value and how long you are willing to wait...availability of mid-sized SUVs from other brands will almost certainly be better.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by gotoparks »

No recommendations but I think on the practical side you want to make sure you can park the new vehicle in regular parking spaces with cars on each side. I purchased a 4-wheel drive truck when I lived in the country to get in and out of where I lived in the winter. I moved to a suburban area, and it was a totally different experience parking and fitting that truck into tight spaces. After about five years of this, I traded in the truck and got a car that works out much better in my environment.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by ScubaHogg »

cmr79 wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 7:12 pm I would personally consider any vehicle that gets under 30 combined mpg to be a "gas guzzler", so the government is much more forgiving than I am!
So 29.9=gas guzzler. 30.1=<whatever we call that>?

It’s a silly, arbitrary cut off for a what is in fact just a continuous spectrum. One could just as easily say someone who chooses to live 10 miles away further from work is a “gas guzzler” compared to the person who lives near it. Why compare MPG and not “total gallons burned”?
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by FireSekr »

Why not consider the new Accord? It has a lot more interior space than your RAV4 and the hybrid version gets 51mpg city and 44 highway.

I realize it’s a sedan, but the interior has a lot more space than your rav4. The biggest limitation is if you have to fit large items in the trunk, but you already have the rav4 for that
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by tm3 »

Tubes wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 5:13 pm So I'm a childless, parentless owner of an Odyssey. Wife won't drive it because it is big.

It is the most versatile and useful vehicle I've ever owned.

I use it for driving around, but especially for hauling stuff... A lot of stuff. I have back problems. I like that a minivan is lower than an SUV, and especially a pickup truck. It keeps stuff dry. Sliding doors allow easy access. It has comfortable, luxury features. I can remove or stow all the seats. Lots to like .
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by joelly »

Tubes wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 5:13 pm So I'm a childless, parentless owner of an Odyssey. Wife won't drive it because it is big.

It is the most versatile and useful vehicle I've ever owned.

I use it for driving around, but especially for hauling stuff... A lot of stuff. I have back problems. I like that a minivan is lower than an SUV, and especially a pickup truck. It keeps stuff dry. Sliding doors allow easy access. It has comfortable, luxury features. I can remove or stow all the seats. Lots to like .

I bought mine used at 201k miles. I know the warts an Odyssey can have. If I were looking new at a minivan, I would go Sienna. The problem is Toyota and their horrible supply issues.

The Odyssey is good, but the Sienna is better when it comes to reliability. Honda has slipped. They constantly fight transmission issues, and some engine issues are slipping in too. Too many recent owners having tranny problems at 60k to 100k. Honda has this issue 20 years ago, fixed it, and now it's back. Too bad.
I have considered owning an Odyssey since before DD was born in 2019.

I will give Sienna a test drive too now. I did a little research last night. Turns out Sienna is a little smaller than Odyssey but bigger than a RAV4.
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by cmr79 »

ScubaHogg wrote: Thu Jun 08, 2023 5:18 am
cmr79 wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 7:12 pm I would personally consider any vehicle that gets under 30 combined mpg to be a "gas guzzler", so the government is much more forgiving than I am!
So 29.9=gas guzzler. 30.1=<whatever we call that>?

It’s a silly, arbitrary cut off for a what is in fact just a continuous spectrum. One could just as easily say someone who chooses to live 10 miles away further from work is a “gas guzzler” compared to the person who lives near it. Why compare MPG and not “total gallons burned”?
Commuting distance isn't relevant to OP's questions, but fuel efficiency is. If OP's needs can be met with a smaller or more fuel efficient vehicle, that is a reasonable thing to consider. 20.5 mpg is significantly below the US average for vehicle fuel efficiency...certainly below what we've ever gotten driving multiple kids around in cars and smaller SUVs.

My threshold for considering a vehicle to be fuel inefficient (i.e. a "gas guzzler") is obviously different from yours, and that is fine. These are purely opinions, and they may or may not be relevant to OP's own opinions on the matter.

Incidentally, I think the colloquial term for a fuel efficient vehicle is a "gas sipper".
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Re: Honda Odyssey or Lexus NX or others?

Post by ScubaHogg »

cmr79 wrote: Thu Jun 08, 2023 2:57 pm If OP's needs can be met with a smaller or more fuel efficient vehicle, that is a reasonable thing to consider.
I was commenting on the pejorative “gas guzzler” and pointing out it’s a silly, arbitrary term. Not answering the OPs question, which I had done earlier
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