How routinely they will be used is another story. Luckily for Honda, they’re all well-thought-out and practical for families. The Odyssey, especially the Touring Elite, has more gadgets, cubbies and gizmos than nearly any car I’ve tested. You can compare the three here.Įven as children grow into their teens, a minivan would still be the more comfortable option for families. The Odyssey’s passenger volume comes in at 170 cubic feet on EX trims and higher (it’s 173 on the LX), which dwarfs Honda’s smallish three-row Pilot, at 154 cubic feet, and the Chevy Traverse, with 151 cubic feet. Power doors on minivans like the Odyssey take that out of the equation - and would be a major factor when it came to deciding between a minivan and a three-row crossover. At 5 and 4 years old, they can climb up and down on their own, but we typically don’t allow them to open or close regular car doors on their own for safety reasons. My wife and two small children used it as our family car for five days of errand-running and weekend outings, and it was loved by all.Ī low step-in height and the power sliding doors - which come on EX trims and above - shaved precious seconds off the time it takes to get my children in and out of their safety seats. On EX trims and above, the second-row center seat can also slide forward, so an infant seat or car seat holding a smaller child can be moved closer to the driver and front seat passenger if the child will need attention.Ĭomfort in all three rows was good for the minivan class, if not exceptional. With two pairs of tether anchors in the third row, you can install a total of five child-safety seats of any variety in the Odyssey. The Odyssey passed our Car Seat Check with nearly straight-A grades, including our test of three car seats fitting across the second row. This is a huge bonus for parents with children in child-safety seats, which are often bulky. The two outboard seats can slide outward with a pretty simple, two-step motion, adding 1.5 additional inches of width. The row is composed of three separate seats that function as a single bench. However, a majority of the 2014 Odysseys in ’s inventory are EX-L trims and higher, which will have the same upscale leather seats as my test car as well as a new dual-screen layout in the center console.Īll trims, however, have probably the Odyssey’s biggest selling point for families: an adjustable second row that can expand widthwise. Testing a top-of-the-line model shades some perceptions of interior quality, as most buyers opt for lower-priced editions. On the open road, the Odyssey is quiet and comfortable, but still exhibits some of the issues you’ll have with such a low-riding vehicle, namely potholes and severe bumps hitting home harder than they would in a smaller, three-row crossover with more suspension travel. Navigating parking lots is a breeze thanks to pinpoint steering and a great sense of space granted by the driver’s view over the hood. Handling is also quite remarkable for a large vehicle. That’s the most fuel-efficient minivan on the market. That helps boost fuel economy a bit to 19/28/22 mpg city/highway/combined for all 2014 models. Previously only the top trim level received the six-speed and the rest had a five-speed. New for this year is a standard six-speed automatic transmission for every trim level. Power is plentiful, with 248 horsepower from the 3.5-liter V-6. The remarkable thing about the Odyssey isn’t its looks, it’s a relatively enjoyable driving experience for any large people-mover, not just for a minivan. Some people simply don’t want to drive a minivan because of what it might stand for, while others let the practicality of the platform influence their decision. The minivan shape, not necessarily its style, is certainly a stigma in suburbia and elsewhere, and that can be a make-or-break factor in a purchase decision. It makes for an interesting profile … and minivans don’t typically have an interesting angle to be found anywhere. Honda made some small tweaks to the Odyssey’s front and rear styling, making the nose smoother, if a little too rounded.īut what hasn’t changed is the unique lightning bolt design that carries along the three rows’ worth of large side windows. That’s the model we tested for this review, and it came in at a somewhat eye-popping $44,855. There are updates throughout the Odyssey range, but the new top-of-the-line Touring Elite is where you see the most-talked-about feature: a built-in vacuum system. After an excellent redesign for 2011, Honda’s best-selling Odyssey won a Minivan Comparison test and, more recently, our 2013 Family Car of the Year award.įor 2014, there are a few changes that improve slightly on the Odyssey’s already winning formula, but Honda was smart to not fix what wasn’t broken.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |