4th Place – 2005 Pontiac Montana SV6
Admittedly, the substantially updated and revised Montana SV6 represents a big improvement over the outgoing Montana, but compared to modern minivans like the Dodge, Honda, and Toyota, the Pontiac is clearly lacking utility, comfort, and drivability. I rated the Montana highly in interior design, and that’s it. On every other major evaluation point, the Pontiac failed to impress. In fact, it’s more a competitor to the Chrysler Pacifica and Ford Freestyle than other minivans, but even in this so-called “sport-tourer” class the Montana SV6 would thud into last place. Once again, as happens too many times, General Motors has created a vehicle likely to appeal only to those few remaining die-hard GM loyalists.

3rd Place – 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
Stow ‘n Go is a brilliant concept, and kudos to DaimlerChrysler for solving the problem of removing heavy seats to maximize cargo capacity. Any minivan buyer who needs to switch back and forth between maximum passenger capacity and maximum cargo volume will want to give the Dodge Grand Caravan, or its corporate twin, the Chrysler Town & Country, serious consideration. The trade-off for this ultimate in minivan utility is a lack of refinement, from the way the interior looks, feels, and operates, to the powertrain, handling, and assembly quality. Plus, and this is the main reason Stow ‘n Go cannot overpower the Grand Caravan’s flaws, there are precious few nooks and crannies in which the detritus of daily life can be stored.

2nd Place – 2005 Toyota Sienna
Subjectively, I’d skip the Sienna in favor of the Odyssey for one reason: design. Inside and out, the Honda is far more stylish to my eye. Otherwise, anyone shopping for a minivan would do well to visit the Toyota dealer, where a refined, high quality, thoughtfully designed, and safe family vehicle awaits your test drive. The Sienna’s ride is softer than the stiff Odyssey, and though the Toyota is not as powerful as the Honda, neither is it as heavy. In my opinion, comfort levels could still use improvement, and Toyota needs to address the grabby brake pedal response, but otherwise this is a tough machine to fault. You won’t go wrong selecting the Sienna over the Odyssey.

1st Place – 2005 Honda Odyssey
Because it’s more stylish to my eye, because it’s more comfortable to my bum, because it’s lots of fun to drive, the Honda Odyssey is the minivan I’d buy. Interior noise is disappointingly high, and the build quality of the cabin was appalling for a Honda, but I could complain about little otherwise. The best parts of the Honda Odyssey – the driving dynamics, the comfort of all three rows of seats, the design of the interior, the layout of the controls – are the things that minivan buyers can appreciate every single day. Yeah, you’ve gotta yank the second-row seats out and toss ‘em in the garage, but if that’s rarely necessary, don’t sweat it.

Photos courtesy of Erik Hanson