Review and photos by Tom Sedens
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. |
Honda redesigned the Touring’s 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels – they’re shod with meaty 235/60-sized boots.
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. |
Honda makes a big deal about the premium audio system with its 650
watts, 12 speakers including subwoofer and how it feeds off AM, FM,
satellite, CD, USB, auxiliary and Bluetooth streaming sources, but truth
be told, I was not that impressed with the sound.
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.
There is an automatic climate control system overhead on the right
side which feeds excellent ceiling-ducted air-conditioning vents for all
rear seating areas.
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. |
Overhead is Honda’s Ultrawide Rear Entertainment System. It has an
enormous 16.2-inch dual screen with separate input sources, which means
one passenger can play video games while others watch a movie. There’s a
great control panel that detaches to become a remote control. They
throw in a couple of wireless headsets too. There’s a DVD player, and
inputs for HDMI and RCA-based sources. That’s all fine and dandy and
looks all whiz-bang, but frankly it’s still a horribly limited and
stationary system. Of course it’s standard equipment in this trim, so
it’s a non-issue, but an iPad mini for each kid would be a much smarter
and more flexible option that they can take out of the van when you
arrive at your destination.
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.
There’s no shortage of LATCH anchors in the Odyssey – there are two
more sets of them in the third row. Our kids were very happy in every
single seat in this van and obviously space was never an issue.
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.
The V6 has enough power to move it smartly off the line, and to get
in the passing lane on the highway if you need to. The ride is stellar –
always smooth and comfortable, and as it sits lower and is slightly
wider than the older Odyssey did, it feels more planted than before. Yes
it’s top-heavy but I would say it handles more like a car than it
should. It will tackle corners and highway-speed curves with ease.
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.
I did take issue with a few things. The third row’s outboard
headrests obscure your rear view even at their lowest useful setting,
which I found very annoying. I also didn’t like that the second row
middle seat can’t be stored under the floor. Our previous generation
Odyssey uses a floor well for this – it’s nice because it keeps the
removed seat clean and out of the way. This Odyssey uses that space for
the spare tire.
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 |
WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) soared. She loves our current Odyssey
and said the 2014 Touring improved on almost everything. She wasn’t fond
of the two-screen system and would prefer something simpler and more
straightforward to operate, and she felt the whole dash comes across as
busy. Otherwise, she loved it.
Obviously the minivan is designed to shuttle people and cargo in
comfort, whether it’s in the city or on the highway. Is it the right
ride for you? Well, some people just know it is, and happily submit to
the minivan years. If you’re chronically smashing your head into the
door frame as you put your kids into their seats, or running out of
space or you’ve occasionally found yourself wiping a solitary tear of
frustration as you’re asked to transport another family’s offspring from
Point A to Point B… you might want to give it some consideration. And
when you do, the Honda Odyssey is definitely one to put on your shopping
list.
Pricing: 2014 Honda Odyssey
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
