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  This is a people mover like few others. Photo Gallery

Neil Dowling road tests and reviews the Honda Odyssey Luxury and decides it?s a better way to haul the troops.

Delusion may be frowned upon by people in the ‘real’ world but it has tempting advantages.

I, for example, could delude myself that even after having four children, there is an ever-so-slight yearning to have more kids to fill any void in my life and the empty seats in my people mover.

And not just any people mover. Australians can kid themselves that they're happy with a hatchback but show them a Honda Odyssey and they go completely gaga over its practicalities.

This is a people mover like few others. Though it shares DNA with commercial metal boxes such as the Nissan Nomad and Toyota Lite-Ace, is so many streets ahead it's difficult to speak of them in the same breath.

Interior and fit-out

Honda threw away the traditional commercial van design guide by lowering its version's floor. That brought down the roofline and though its lengthy proportions tend to link it with a hearse, it has a very versatile and spacious cabin.

The Odyssey seats seven people — real people, not babies — and has excellent centre and third-row seat flexibility. Seats flip, individually fold flat, can be removed and even slide. The third row folds into the floor so creates a flat luggage area. It's easy to get in and out of the third seat row. Once in, you note that visibility is pretty good and there's air vents overhead.

Then there's the styling. There are overtones of a fun fair space capsule — a theme Honda infuses in its other car and motorcycle models — and though it can grate, it is never dull. In fact the flowing lines of the dashboard and the varying hues and textures — even the orange plastic wood trim — work to shrink what would otherwise be a big slab of black plastic.

Heaps of personal storage spaces include centre armrests for the front and centre seats, big door pockets, cupholders and storage for the third-seat occupants and a handy bin in the driver-side dash. The front-seat centre console also folds down for access to the centre seat.

The Odyssey can load up with 600kg — on top of its dry 1700kg weight — so it needs a capable engine to get this all in motion.

Drivetrain and performance

Honda has upped the power from the predecessor's 118kW to more welcome 132kW. But the figures don't tell the whole story. The engine a 2.4-litre four-cylinder that is basically unchanged from the previous model.

Where the old engine sweated out 118kW at 5500rpm, the new one copies the power delivery but Honda has engineered the ability to rev further and keep pumping out the mumbo.

So while it still puts out 118kW at 5500rpm, it will run to 6500rpm and record 132kW. Unless they're deluding themselves, no people-mover owner wants to scream through the suburbs at 6500rpm in a desperate bid to attain mechanical Nirvana. Given that there's little change in the torque curve — it's still 218Nm at 4500rpm — the drive experience is unchanged.

The same deal applies to the five-speed automatic transmission which, while virtually every component has been redesigned, it still feels like the smooth-shifting gearbox of old.

Driving

On paper, the combination of a smallish engine, auto transmission and lots of load space can equate a torturous country drive where caravans overtake you on inclines. In fact, the Odyssey is remarkably nimble and doesn't seem too fazed by hills.

It's also very comfortable with its long wheelbase able to soak up ruts and the soft seats numbing any harshness. But it's big and the steering is vague so clearly it's no Porsche through the bends.

But it is versatile, it is stylish and there's no delusion about the fact that if you have the need or want, it would be easy to fill its seats with your offspring.

Verdict: 86/100

Honda Odyssey Luxury
Price: $49,990
Engine: 2.4-litre, 4-cyl
Power: 132kW @ 6500rpm
Torque: 218Nm @ 4500rpm
Economy (official): 8.9 litres/100km
Economy (tested): 9.6 litres/100km
Emisssions: 212g/km (Corolla: 175g/km)
Transmission: 5-speed automatic; front-drive

Rivals
Chrysler Grand Voyager 3.8 ($57,990) — 79/100
Hyundai iMax ($36,990) — 84/100
Kia Grand Carnival ($44,890) — 81/100
Mitsubishi Grandis ($44,950) — 84/100
Toyota Tarago GLi ($53,250) — 86/100
VW Caravelle ($50,490) — 83/100