My wife and I are looking for a new car. We currently have a mazda mpv, it's great for just the two of us and our daughter, but it's the smallest minivan out there and we'll soon be needing more room. This later summer/fall we're taking a long road trip and will need room for 6 (4 adults, 1 kid and 1 baby). We've narrows the choices down to the two cars listed in the thread title. We like the way the tribeca rides but aren't sure if dealers will be willing to deal on them at all. I have a dealer quote for $300 over invoice for the odyssey and it looks like it will have more room. Overall we like the tribeca better, we can't see the nose from the inside and the interior is a lot nicer. I just wanted to get some opinions/advice from the members on this board about out current situation. What would you guys do?

Hey know the feelin' refer to this thread here: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=785787
The Tribeca is a great vehicle but it is in no way, shape or form a true 6 or 7 passenger vehicle for any extended time, even for small kids. With all the seats up there is only 8.3 cu/ft of cargo space not much room for anything. The Ody is a stretched limo in comparison to the B9. Depending on which trim level of Ody you get you can get tons more equipment on the Ody, like memory seats, adjustable pedals, XM, OnStar, Back-up cameras, Lazy Susan in the floor storage, PAX run flat tires,255hp, 250ft/# of torque, 28 mpg but no AWD. Hope that helps. Also, if you are looking for a Honda I can recommend one that will sell for just $316 above invoice for an Ody in Oklahoma not too far from you. I am driving about 4 hours to save over $3000 in my area of NW Arkansas and SW Missouri. Mark Robert Honda 1-800-375-LESS their web is:http://www.markrobertshonda.com/en_US/ Ask for Adrian and tell him Mark told you of them. I have no finical interest in them but them gave me a great deal, esp. for a Honda dealer.

I forgot to add the the Ody Club is a great place to get more info on an Ody. Here is their link: http://www.odyclub.com/index.htm
Hope that is useful

Thanks for the info. Tulsa is about 5 hours away from me but the honda dealers here are hardly willing to go below msrp on new Odyssey's. I'll probably give them a call. Looks like they don't have a color I like in stock though (going by their website).

-Jeff

I have the original, small 4cyl. Odyssey 6 passenger (center cap chairs). It has more interior space than the Tribeca, which I test drove a few days ago. The new(er) Odysseys and Siennas will absolutely dwarf the TB.

For my $30-sumpin' thousand bucks, I'd look at the Sienna AWD van over the Odyssey. Handling - Odyssey. NVH - Sienna. Looks - Tossup. Gas mileage - Odyssey, but only in the absolute top model (1/2 bank cylinder shutdown) / Tossup. Winter - Sienna AWD by a mile (you're in Kansas, so I dunno if you need AWD).

Car and Driver 2004 Minivan comparison test.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=8103

Interestingly, the OLD Odyssey beat the new Sienna, but only because C/D always gives the edge to handling and performance over comfort. If you're buying a minivan or SUV, you are not looking for a "handler," but a smooth, comfortable, safe people-hauler. Friends of mine have an old Sienna and it drives like a Lexus.

My two cents of input from the depths of 2-kid parenthood.

Edit: Just read your post again more thoroughly, as well as the first reply. Big ditto. If the Sienna is a no-go, I would definitely go wiht the Odyssey.