CHICAGO, May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com, an online
resource for new and used car buyers, announced today that the
Honda Odyssey is the winner of its first-ever Ultimate Minivan
Shootout. The site took six redesigned 2011 minivans under
$45,000 and put them through a series
of rigorous head-to-head challenges to determine which one was the
best of the pack. The 2011 Honda Odyssey took the title for its
styling, comfort and overall ride.
"Minivans haven't always been so cool; in fact, some car
shoppers have shied away from them," said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com's editor-in-chief. "The
reality is that today's minivans are sleek, practical and drive
very well, which fulfills the needs of many families. Looking
at the Honda Odyssey, its overall package of innovative features,
design and a great ride propelled it ahead of its competitors. The
$42,000 price tag might seem steep,
but the features that the consumer gets for that money are
unbeatable."
Cars.com, USA Today, Motorweek and an Atlanta-area family of five tested the
vehicles over a period of three days. The first day consisted
of 175 miles of highway driving to determine the true gas mileage
for each van. On the second day, the experts took turns driving
each of the six minivans evaluating ride, comfort, handling, style
and functionality. On the final day, the local family evaluated the
minivans from a car shopper's perspective to determine which
features and design aspects were most important to them.
"We wanted to put these minivans through real-life tests with
input not just from the experts but from a family with children,"
said Olsen. "This shootout takes into consideration the important
insight of what the family thought was a good minivan and which one
truly met their needs, because their opinions are important and
reflect what all minivan shoppers would want."
Vans tested in the Cars.com Ultimate Minivan Shootout included
the 2011 Chrysler Town & Country priced at $40,835, the 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan priced at
$34,055, the 2011 Honda Odyssey
priced at $42,250, the 2011 Nissan
Quest priced at $38,040, the 2011
Toyota Sienna priced at $41,144, and
the 2011 Volkswagen Routan priced at $34,750.
ABOUT CARS.COM
Cars.com was recently named the "Best Overall Customer
Experience" by Keynote Systems, the world's leading Internet usage
research company. Cars.com is an online destination for car
shoppers that offers information from consumers and experts to help
buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much
to pay for a car. With price listings, side-by-side comparison
tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a
large selection of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts
millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with
the information they need to make confident buying
decisions.
Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is
a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned by leading
media companies, including Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc.
(NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and
The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).
SOURCE Cars.com