The minivan market has continued to march forward, losing some of its decorated heroes to the crossovers. But some of the old, grizzled stalwarts haven’t given up, and they continue to be the perfect solution for what many families need – whether they want to admit it or not. The Honda Odyssey is one of the big players in the premium van segment – its biggest (and only significant) competitor being the Toyota Sienna.
What about the Town & Country, you say? It is sold as a premium unit, though everyone knows it’s a Grand Caravan with lipstick, so let’s not bring it into this conversation. I firmly believe that 90 percent of shoppers looking at the Sienna or Odyssey would only cross-shop those two Japanese brands’ minivans against each other.
The 2014 Odyssey sees a refresh on the outside, and the Touring trim I reviewed absolutely bristles with gadgets, technology and luxury. As a matter of fact, there are no factory options available on it – only some dealer-installed accessories for the interior and exterior. So when I say it’s loaded, I’m not kidding.
Of note, the 2014 Odyssey is the first minivan to earn the highest possible rating of Top Safety Pick+ from the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Honda’s familiar 3.5L V6 lurks under the hood, making 248 hp at 5,700 rpm and 250 lb-ft of torque at 4,800. The Odyssey line gets a six-speed automatic as standard equipment in all models now. Fuel economy isn’t this (or any) minivan’s strong suit – the Odyssey is rated at 10.9 L/100 km (22 mpg) in the city and 7.1 L/100 km (33 mpg) on the highway. I averaged a surprisingly good 11.5 L/100 km (21 mpg) during my week with it, which leaned heavily toward commuting and city driving and included two quick freeway sprints.
The Odyssey isn’t a lightweight at 2,090 kg (4608 lb) but that’s no surprise considering its size and all that is packed into it.
The new Odyssey “lightning-bolt” design, as Honda calls it, still looks good after a couple of years. It’s sleek (for a minivan) and modern and has a more low-slung style than the previous generation. Honda says it’s athletic, which is hilarious for a minivan. The front end got a nice refresh and now has a bolder twin-bar grille that accents a newly sculpted hood. The headlights are great HID units and I thought the integrated fog lights with their chrome trim look great. The rear end sports LED tail light bars and the roofline spoiler completes the look.
  2014 Honda Odyssey. |
Once you get inside, you’ll find nicely textured materials but nothing that’s soft to the touch. There are nice touches here and there, attempting to dress up what is a pretty busy interior.
You get plenty of headroom once you’re in the heated, power-adjustable leather seats. They are very comfortable and the driver’s side has two memory settings. The Odyssey’s big steering wheel has buttons for phone, hands-free, cruise control, media and the driver information screen. Behind it is a typical gauge bin including a driver information screen that shows fuel range, average and instant fuel economy, driving time and the trip meters.
The top of the center stack holds a 6.2-inch screen that shows you the information you need, mostly the results of anything you’ve just done on the larger 8.2-inch screen below. The bigger one is controlled by touch, or a joystick button with a rotary dial. The two screens work in concert to manage the navigation, phone, front and rear audio zones and vehicle settings. It takes a while to get used to but it works pretty well after an adjustment period. I don’t think the user interface is as straightforward as I’d like it to be, and I think technophobes will strongly dislike it.
 2014 Honda Odyssey. |
Between the two screens is a three-zone automatic climate control system. The gear selector is located on the left side of the center stack, and there’s a handy centre console with cupholders and storage tray between the front seats. At the back of the centre console is a flip-up frame – drop a plastic grocery bag into it and it creates a garbage can for the second row. Brilliant.
You’ll find a full complement of driver assistance technology here: Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Blind Spot Monitoring systems. There’s also a rear-view camera which has three different angles (wide, normal and top-down) and front and rear parking sensors with audible and visual warnings.
The Odyssey has keyless entry and a push-start ignition – a sweet red button which looks like it was lifted right out of one of their R-spec cars. I know, I know.
Look up and you’ll find a smallish power tilt/slide sunroof. I enjoyed the convenience of the power folding mirrors several times as I tried to sneak into small parking spots.
The Odyssey’s powered sliding doors are actuated by pulling the exterior or interior handles or by pressing an open/close button on the front edge of the door frame. They can also be opened remotely – from the dash or the key fob. The second row is comprised of three seats with seatbelts and headrests. They are very comfortable and can recline and slide fore and aft. Even for a minivan, I was taken aback at the amazing amount of headroom and legroom. Another surprise was the middle seat – it is unusually comfortable, even for adults.
   2014 Honda Odyssey. |
Each of the three seats has a set of LATCH anchors for children’s seats. The middle seat is removable, creating more space and a walk-through aisle to the back. You can also fold it flat to create a sort of middle console with three cupholders and a storage tray. The huge side windows have window shades.
  2014 Honda Odyssey. |
You can access the back row by quickly folding and sliding forward either side of the second row with one handle pull, or if you’ve removed the middle seat in the second row, you can stroll to the back using the middle aisle. The third row also has three seats with seatbelts and headrests and once again, I was surprised to find such generous headroom and leg room. These seats recline as well, and I found enough leg room for my 5’10″ frame.
In terms of convenience, the middle seatback folds down to become an armrest and you have cupholders and little storage trays on either side. There are also side window shades, which is a nice touch. The aforementioned inputs for the video system are in the third row, and there are also two headphone plugs on the left side – each with its own volume control. My kids really appreciated the 110V household plug back there for charging their devices.
   2014 Honda Odyssey. |
Let’s get this out of the way – there are 15 cupholders throughout the vehicle. Let that rattle around in your brain for a moment. 15.
You get a decent glove compartment, good front door bins, a change tray under the left side of the dash and a large bin under the center console tray. At the bottom of the center stack is a “cool bin”, which lets you keep snacks and drinks cool.
The real capacity is in the back, of course. If you’re using all three rows of seats, you get a nice deep trunk well behind the back row. There’s a 12V plug and a fantastic rubber tub in the well, which means it’s no problem to throw wet or muddy things in the back. There’s plenty of space (to the tune of 846 L) here. The third row Magic Seat splits 60/40 and with the yank of a single strap, the seats fold themselves neatly into that tub, creating an enormous 2,636 L cargo room and a wonderfully flat load floor right up to the second row.
Need more? You can remove the second row seats and you’re looking at a 4,205 L space, with enough floor area to easily swallow 4’x8’ sheets of plywood. Don’t tell friends about this, because this thing is probably handier than a truck to help people who are moving. The powered trunk lid can be opened from dash and key fob and can be closed with a button on the liftgate itself.
We own a previous-generation Odyssey. We chose it over the Toyota Sienna because of how it drives. It’s clear that the Odyssey is a huge vehicle. It’s tall, it’s wide, it’s long and it’s heavy. But you might be very surprised at how well it drives.
   2014 Honda Odyssey. |
The transmission was almost always invisible, handling its task with quiet competence. There were a couple of times when I stepped on it and the six-speed felt a bit confused as to what it should be doing.
I found the brakes to be effective and visibility out of the vehicle is quite good with one exception that I’ll mention in a second. It’s a very quiet ride, with road, wind and engine noise never intruding into the cabin – at virtually any speed.
If you need to pull something, the Odyssey’s towing capacity is 1,588 kg (3500 lb).
OK, now let’s talk HondaVac. This new feature, unfortunately only available on the Touring trim, was the talk of the town when it came out. It’s a built-in vacuum developed by ShopVac. It has a hose that easily reaches the front seats and you get a couple of different nozzles, a replaceable filter and a canister bag – all of which is hidden in a compartment in the rear cargo area. It’s relatively quiet and very effective but it’s only meant for dry messes, which is kind of a drag.
   2014 Honda Odyssey. |
It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that my Audi S4 wagon wasn’t the right answer for a family with three small kids. But once I turned that corner, there was no looking back. Our minivan has been one of the smartest investments we’ve made.
The Honda Odyssey continues to make improvements, offering a great driving dynamic for a behemoth this size, solid cabin technology, a full suite of luxury touches and of course, all the utility and convenience you can dream of. The caveat is that if you want everything I had this week, you’ll need to pony up for the Touring trim. Of course, the same van that’s underneath can be had for a starting price of just under $30,000. The Odyssey has a great track record and holds its resale value incredibly well.
If you can wing the lofty price tag, the Odyssey Touring might be the ultimate example of smart, family-friendly transportation.
 2014 Honda Odyssey. Click image to enlarge |
Overall
4
Comfort
Performance
Fuel Economy
Interior
Exterior Styling
Base price (Touring trim): $49,881
Options: $195.83 Block Heater
Freight: $1,695
A/C tax: $100
Price as tested: $51,871.83
Competitors:
Chrysler Town & Country
Dodge Grand Caravan
Nissan Quest
Toyota Sienna
Crash Test Results:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
Source;
http://www.autos.ca/car-test-drives/test-drive-2014-honda-odyssey/?all=1
No comments:
Post a Comment