Shop Time w/T.W. Friends. Torque wrench on spark plugs, we need answers so cast your vote now

Odyssey vs Tacoma pt3
General specs and dimensions
3" different in width and track
9" different in length
2" different in wheelbase
Horsepower and torque is basically the same, as is the torque curves.
Lol 7" in ground clearance!
Unibody vs BOF
3500 vs 6200 lb tow rating
Rear suspension
1350 lb payload for the Odyssey,
1100 lb payload for the Tacoma
GVW is about the same
Tacoma seats 5 uncomfortably, 2 comfortably...
Odyssey seats 8 comfortably
Odyssey has 10 speed transmission
Tacoma has 6 speed and MT as option.
26mpg for the Odyssey
20mpg for the Tacoma


In my mind, the Odyssey is the practical winner hands down.
But wait, the Tacoma sells more than their competitors added together?
Yeah it does, but why?

Stay tuned!

 

On board Vacuum
Honda Odyssey 1
Taco 0

If you have kiddos I'm sure it's helpful. I like my Milwaukee 0880-20 vacuum. But having one on board could be better.

 

My wife got her Pacifica a year before I got my Tacoma. She loves that thing…

 

I drove a rented Pacifica to Arkansas and back last month, it was a very sweet ride. I fell in love with the adaptive cruise control. I told my dad they should sell their 2017 Sienna and upgrade to something newer with that kind of tech in it.

 

Odyssey vs Tacoma pt3
Let's be realistic - The Odyssey beats the Tacoma in every way possible except towing and Off road, which we know not a lot of people truly go offroading in the Tacoma. And, not a lot of people pull a trailer over 3500 lbs in a Tacoma. What gives?
Odyssey wins hands down in ride quality. You sit in a Lazy Boy with 82 way adjustments. The seats were made for size and comfort.
The ride is excellent.
The outside noise is non existent.
The shifting is so smooth you have no clue when it changes gears and you can't hear the engine unless you are screaming rpms.
It handles good around corners.
The brake feel is excellent, about 10x better than my Tacoma.
Even though it is only three inches wider, it feels like a living room in there.
Wonderful features and everything is designed for convenience and ease of use.
But, no go off road. No trailer over 3500 lbs.
Oh, and the cost for each vehicle was only about 3 grand difference.
So, if all of the above is true, why don't everyone drive minivans?
See my hypothesis in part 4!

 

Odyssey vs Tacoma pt4
Alright, we've established that just about everything is better in a Odyssey.
Yet the Tacoma outsells it by 5X margin every year. Now comes my opinions...
1. There is no passion about owning a minivan. It is a practical workhorse, to be replaced when needed. Nobody wants one for the beauty, the looks, the sense of adventure. This is one pig that lipstick won't help. Plus, it has a bad name associated with soccer moms and moms in general. Zero masculinity.

2. Compared to the Odyssey, the Tacoma is noisy, inefficient, cramped, low payload and simple compared to the Odyssey. However, The Tacoma has passion, rugged good looks and a sense of adventure every time you get in it. A Tacoma evokes a much more visceral feeling when you drive it. Like you are part of it. Remember, my opinion! People buy the Tacoma to be part of a lifestyle, not a responsible parent decision like buying an Odyssey.

So, if the technology exists, and it does, to make the Tacoma as good in every category as the Odyssey, why don't they?
I think that Toyota knows exactly what it has with the Tacoma. It combined a bunch of just adequate features, left out a bunch of premium features, gave it a great look, like you can conquer the world, and built a truck that is actually an emotional thing. Odyssey? Not so much.
I asked my wife at supper tonight which vehicle she likes best, the Tacoma or the Odyssey. She said the Odyssey hands down.
I then asked her, if we were a hundred miles away in the middle of South Carolina and a tornado and high wind warning and possible flooding and we had to get home, which vehicle would she rather be riding. She said "your truck silly."
And that, gentlemen, is the reason everyone loves the Tacoma.
Thanks for reading!

 

My wife concurs with this. FWIW she drives a '21 Odyssey and loves the practicality. There are times that she's mentioned wanting a Land Cruiser or a Sequoia though due to the lack of "soul" that her van has.

 

Mr. Engineer why are there TWO, part 3s?.?

 

I never said I was smart, just an engineer.

 

Driving is the only thing that I actually do for enjoyment.
My wallet can't happily absorb the cost but - what the hell...

 

Odyssey vs Tacoma pt final thoughts.
It seems that much of America is in love with the suggestion that their vehicles are rugged enough to take off road. RAV4, CR-V, Subaru, Kia and others like the Pilot offer some "rugged" packages and people are eating them up. Modifiers like Trail Rated, Off Road, Rugged, etc are tempting buzz words. I truly don't think any more people than the few that do now are suddenly going to start going hard off road. They just want the look and the appearance. And therby is the Odysseys Achille' s Heel... How do you put an off road package on something with 4" of ground clearance without ruining everything it has going for it?
Everyone wants to catch the Tacoma and Jeep's lightning in a bottle. But at the end, it is just an imitation.
Truth is, it is hard, and expensive to go hard off road. It is physically demanding, really hot or really cold, chances are high you will break something and the price of admission is too great for the majority of the people. It is time consuming too. I did a lot of it when I was younger and got tired of chasing the weak link. It's much easier to pretend to be an off roader than to really be an off roader.

 

Beat me too it

 

Tacoma VS van

I feel qualified to reply here as I have both a Tacoma and a Dodge Grand Caravan.

Tacoma: @hiPSI the demographic data doesn't lie - I bought it because it looked cool , the Toyota reputation for reliability was a plus too.
This is the only vehicle I ever "shopped for" and also the only one I ever made payments on.

Van: It was just another in a long string of cheap old vehicles of opportunity, it was better than what I had at the time. It never made any sense to me to make payments on something that sat in the parking lot at work all day - so I never have.

The surprising thing is I wasn't prepared to like it so much.

It will do 85% or more of the work the truck will do and some of that quite a bit better - moving 4 x 8 sheets of plywood or 10' lumber and pipe for example.

It attracts no attention, is quiet, comfortable, reasonable on fuel, cheap to fix, cheap to insure & Mrs Green will drive it if needed. The dry, lockable, privacy glass protected cargo area is 4' x 8' x 39". In short it is the most practical, versatile vehicle I have ever owned.
To combat the lack of soul I put in a good stereo.

 

Let's spend $20K on mods!
Lol my Odyssey has zero down travel on the suspension, which is why I guess it rides so well. I was following my wife home one evening and I swear she was on three wheels half the time.

 

Lots of women drive like that.

 

My pappaw had a Ford Econoline conversion van I guess you'd call it when I was growing up. Bucket seats front and middle and a bench in the back that folded flat or reclined. I remember asking him why he had the van. He was having prostate issues by then and he said I never have to chase down a urinal, he kept milk jugs in there to piss in. And he said I can go in the back and nap anywhere anytime. He might've been smarter than I gave him credit for.

 

Mowing day here on the hill... (4 hours worth)

Like usual, I was mowin' along, singin' a song (Mark Nesler) and suddenly POW! and a small cloud of smoke...

The engine made that rev up sound like you just pushed in the clutch -- or the deck belt just broke in this case.
The belt actually shot out in front of the mower about 5 feet so that was something new.

I looked up my records from my good friends at Messick's (who did not send me a Christmas card BTW ), it was $44 in 2021 - $66 now, Damn Sam.

Fortunately I have a new spare + the belt I took off in 2021, worn to about 1/3 thickness -- figuring it still owed me some work I threw it on and ran for 90 minutes with no trouble.

------------------

This is the month for belts I guess (usually it is tires) , last week the hydro belt I ordered for the ZT ($33) was too short . I double checked the numbers which were correct.

Digging in I found 2 length specifications for the same part number, the current part number lists a belt 1/2" shorter than an old spec for the same number - which is the one I need. I ended up finding a belt at TSC that was 3/10" longer - worked OK for 7 lawns in a day.

Mowers & I have a relationship you might say...

 

Power went off at 1AM, still off.
Slept like if at all...

Hope y'all have a better day than mine is starting out.

 

Glad it worked out for ya!

I mean, they aren't even close to what they came from factory as far as quality goes. But, it's easier than messing with cleaning and rebuilding just to have it still run like poo