Honda Odyssey in the garage

With an upgraded engine and big improvements to safety and comfort, it is geared up to do just that, but will it be enough to poach potential SUV buyers?  We drove both the base model Odyssey and the Odyssey Luxury to see for ourselves.

Engine

Both versions are powered by a double overhead cam i-VTEC, in line four cylinder engine that puts out 132kW at 6500rpm and 218Nm at 4500rpm.  A five speed manual and five speed automatic transmission with grade logic control and shift hold gets power to the wheels.

Combined fuel consumption and C02 emissions figures are the same again for both vehicles at 6.3l/100kms(manual) and 6.6l/100km(auto), and 148g/km(manual) and  156g/km(auto) respectively.

Exterior

From the outside there’s no mistaking it, the Odyssey is a people-mover and a very obvious example. It’s basically a rectangular box with a gentle taper from the nose to past the B pillar.

The Luxury gets 17 inch alloys, fog lights and electric sunroof, aero side sill garnish and aero FR and RR bumpers.  Chrome door handles, dual exhausts, keyless entry and body coloured door mirrors and bumpers are standard for both cars.

Interior

The seven-seater has fully reclining front seats, a 60/40 split fold second row and a retractable third row that creates 259 litres of space when up and a cat-swinging 708 litres when down. Other storage includes six cup holders, four bottle holders, door pockets and a foldable centre table.

Aside from leather seats, six stacker stereo, the leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob and the aluminium side step in the Luxury, all other interior features are available in both vehicles at no extra cost.  Features include air conditioning, cruise control, a multi-function display and steering wheel, and power windows.

Safety

On top of a driver, passenger and curtain airbag package, the safety feature list for the Odyssey range includes anti-lock brakes, central locking, brake-assist, electronic brakeforce distribution, motion adaptive EPS, progressive crumple zones, vehicle stability assist and traction control.

Pricing

Pricing for the Honda Odyssey starts at $43,990 for the standard edition, and $49,990 for the luxury.

Driving

It wasn’t with the enthusiasm we’d bring to, say, hmmm, most other car pick ups really, when we turned up at Honda to take the Odyssey. People movers aren’t well known for their arousability, but to be fair, they’re not supposed to be. It’s just hard to be attracted by the pedestrian shape.

The first look inside didn’t help matters much. Our first impressions were that it was a little too spaceshipy, with strangely placed curves and a multi-layered dash that used too much black plastic. Yellow wood inlays in the Luxury version only highlighted the unsightly design.

Negatives aside, the seats were comfortable and supportive and the shape of the car provided ample head, shoulder and leg room from whatever position. Surprisingly, the thick carpet actually did its job too, providing a prestige look and feel.

Lacking a little feedback through the wheel, the drive was generally pleasant. Weight distribution was good for a car that size and shape; there was little body roll and the car turned in and pushed out of corners effortlessly. Modest potholes and ruts were smoothed over with the decent independent double wishbone suspension.

The let-down was the unenthsuiastic engine. But it’s not trying to be a performer and again, it doesn’t have to be. It’s also too long, but it’s a seven seat people carrier, so what else can you do?

Verdict 7.2 – the minimal improvements in the Luxury aren’t worth the extra seven large.