We're trying to decide between the EX-L with Rear Entertainment System (RES) vs the Touring (or the Touring Elite) before the twins get here.
There's a huge price difference between the EX-L RES and either of the Touring Models but turns out we can basically get the Touring Elite in the color we like for almost the same price as the Touring.
I'm just trying to decide if the extras on the Touring models is worth it-the extras on the Touring I like are the rear sensors (even though they all come with a cameras), 3rd row sunshade and fog lights, and Nav...the rest of the extras are nice but I don't care as much.
The Elite would add the Honda Vac and the wider split screen entertainment center (ETA DD is almost 4 and will be in the 3rd row and the twins will be here in December and we'll probably have the car for at least 7 yrs) and better stereo system. It has blind spot sensor instead of "lane watch", ETA which is a camera that shows you the right side of the car.
What says MMM? If you have a 2014 or later, which model did you get and why?
Post by ilikedonuts on Sept 20, 2014 23:23:05 GMT -5
And I'm 5'1 and my husband is 6'5 and we only drive my car when we go somewhere (my husband drives a company truck) which is why the seats are huge for us. My old Chevy Traverse had them and it wasn't something I could give up with the jump to a minivan.
We have a 2014 Touring Elite. The big reason we got it over the EX-L was the memory seats and the harddrive.
I love lane watch. Its only the right, but I would miss it if we just had the sensor.
My kids are RFing and DD1 will still be RFing when we get a new one so we didn't care about the split screen DVD of the Touring Elite.
So your Elite has Lane watch? Cuz theyre telling me that the Elite only comes with blind spot, not lane watch.
My DD is almost 4 and will probably sit in the 3rd row and the twins come in December and we'll probably have this car for at least 7 years
wait! I looked it up. Its just blind spot, but it still lets you see the lane next to you when you turn the turn signal on. (just for the blind spot side)
if you are going to have it for 7 years, I'd get the one with all the features you want.
And I'm 5'1 and my husband is 6'5 and we only drive my car when we go somewhere (my husband drives a company truck) which is why the seats are huge for us. My old Chevy Traverse had them and it wasn't something I could give up with the jump to a minivan.
I can see how the seat memory would be handy, especially if you were already used to having that feature. I'm 5'8 and H is 6 feet so that's not as much an issue.
Hmmm, I don't know. I have a 2014 Toyota Sienna. We went with the Sienna over Odyssey because we wanted the AWD.
I'll just say the features we love most are sliding doors, rear view camera, and because j is still rear facing and will be for a while, the middle row captains chairs. The captains chairs leave a nice big space making it super easy to walk to the back row. All the other features are something we could live without.
If they are features you think you can use, and you'll have the car for a while, then I would recommend getting the highest package level that you can afford now.
If they are features you think you can use, and you'll have the car for a while, then I would recommend getting the highest package level that you can afford now.
Those people at Honda are smart with their pricing. It's like more than 6K difference for just a few features that I really like plus several others that I don't really care that much about.
If it was a smaller differential, like 3K, I wouldn't think about it so much
I have the Touring Elite (well, in Canada it's just called the Touring but is the same as the US Touring Elite).
We had to go with the Touring if we wanted the entertainment center. We make long road trips so it was important for me to have the Rear DVD screen. DS1 loves it!
The Blind Spot monitoring is great. The Honda Vac is just a gimmick. Don't base your buying decision on that feature. It's a good vacuum and it works really well but you can just use a handheld dirt devil or something much cheaper than a built in vacuum.
We have the 2014 Touring, and I love it. Love the right turn camera (though I want to know why they don't have it for left turns too). Love the backup sensors. The sunshades are really nice. I like having the GPS built in so it doesn't come crashing down all the time. I have no regrets about getting the higher model.
Post by ilikedonuts on Sept 21, 2014 9:49:08 GMT -5
If they came out with the blind spot monitoring for both sides and it was only on the Touring Elite, I would buy that one just for that! DH says he hates going back to his truck after a long trip with our van because he gets so used to the blind spot monitoring!
Post by ilikedonuts on Sept 21, 2014 10:19:37 GMT -5
The front sensor when you are driving is horrible. I need to see if we can turn it off. "SLOW DOWN!" Ummmm no car I do not need to slam on the brake when I'm like 50 feet from the car in front of me and they didn't even slow down that much.
We have the ex-l and love it. I personally think some of the extra features aren't worth the price tag when I could buy alternatives for so much cheaper (get an iPad to watch shows on instead of split screen, get a sunshade, etc.) and I find the features like sensors more annoying than helpful. I think the camera is enough. But, I'm not you so you just have to decide if those features are worth the price tag. For me they weren't, but they might be for you.
The front sensor when you are driving is horrible. I need to see if we can turn it off. "SLOW DOWN!" Ummmm no car I do not need to slam on the brake when I'm like 50 feet from the car in front of me and they didn't even slow down that much.
Rear sensors are an expensive technology and I am so happy we have them on our mini van. It's really helpful when backing out or just driving on the free way and someone is riding in your blind zone.
If they are features you think you can use, and you'll have the car for a while, then I would recommend getting the highest package level that you can afford now.
Those people at Honda are smart with their pricing. It's like more than 6K difference for just a few features that I really like plus several others that I don't really care that much about.
If it was a smaller differential, like 3K, I wouldn't think about it so much
I guess there are a few different ways to think about it:
1. Sometimes a feature that seems like no big deal NOW might seem like a really big deal in a few years. Example: my 2009 Honda Pilot doesn't have Bluetooth, and I really wish it did. I don't know if I could have even gotten it with bluetooth...even if I could have, I probably would have wanted to save money by not getting it. But now, 4 years later, man I wish I had bluetooth.
2. Resale value. If you get more features, you might hold onto more resale value. Maybe. Again, if they are features you think you'll use (like the vacuum), then it might be nice to have in case you ever want to sell your car later. In 5 years, maybe all minivans will come with built-in vacuums, and it might be hard to sell your minivan if it doesn't have it. This is maybe a long-shot, and probably doesn't matter at all if you're going to keep the car for a LONG time.
Both of these assume that you can afford the next option package. I find with Hondas that there is one option package that feels "just right" and the next step up is like "Yeah, no way I'm paying for that." You just gotta find the sweet spot.
Post by vanillacourage on Sept 21, 2014 15:11:20 GMT -5
One of our family members recently got a 2014 Odyssey with what I'm assuming is Lane Watch - it beeps when you cross lane dividers? They ended up disabling it because it beeped every time they merely changed lanes on a multi- lane road and it drove them bananas.
One of our family members recently got a 2014 Odyssey with what I'm assuming is Lane Watch - it beeps when you cross lane dividers? They ended up disabling it because it beeped every time they merely changed lanes on a multi- lane road and it drove them bananas.
No that's Lane Departure Warning. They probably weren't using their blinker and it thought they were drifting. It shouldn't go off if the blinker is on
Lane Watch is a camera that shows you the left side of the vehicle
The front sensor when you are driving is horrible. I need to see if we can turn it off. "SLOW DOWN!" Ummmm no car I do not need to slam on the brake when I'm like 50 feet from the car in front of me and they didn't even slow down that much.
You can adjust the sensitivity on this, somewhere in the settings menu, I think.
Just cuz I know everyone is dying to know what we decided, we're going with the EX-L with rear entertainment center. The extra stuff with the Touring ELite is nice but I just don't think it's worth 6K extra. If it was more like 3K, maybe. Plus all the accessories we're getting (remote start, door visors, door gaurds, ding guards, window tinting, cargo mat) are going to add plenty on to the price.
Also, this way, I won't feel as guilty for wanting a new minivan in 6 or 7 yrs, lol.