Honda's Odyssey is as good-looking as minivans get! OK. Who am I kidding? We all know that minivans aren't all that attractive. A good one is inoffensive at best. The most minivan owners can hope for is, "Nice colour!" Which is exactly what I got when I pulled up to my friend's place in my 2012 Odyssey tester wearing its new Dark Cherry Pearl paint scheme. Sure the chrome dazzles, 18-inch alloys shine and unique "lightning bolt" rear window design wows, but it's the paint that got noticed first. Dark Cherry Pearl can only be had on EX-L and Touring trim levels, and other than the addition of White Diamond Pearl and discontinuation of Taffeta White, is the only change made to the 2012 Odyssey. The van was completely revised last year, so nothing was needed, right?
Well, if I had bought a base LX van, which incidentally comes well equipped for just $31,580 including destination with features like dual-zone air conditioning, an 8-way powered driver's seat, heated mirrors, 229-watt CD- and aux-equipped audio, etc., etc., and found out that it not only didn't include Bluetooth phone connectivity but that this must-have safety feature in my province couldn't be had on the accessories list, I'd be pretty miffed. I'd make due with my BlueAnt portable hands-free device, which works really well by the way, but c'mon Honda, it's time to get with the times and make Bluetooth standard.
The Odyssey certainly doesn't shortchange on other safety features, like airbags, with all the usual ones across the lineup. ABS is also standard, as well as traction and stability control. And the van tracks so well on the road, whether tooling around town at a crawl or straddling the curves on a mountainous two-lane highway, that active safety concerns are of no concern.
I like how Honda has put baby safety first too. The wide-mode adjustable second-row seat, that let's you put a child safety seat in the safest middle position while keeping both second-row side seats free for third-row access, is brilliant! As brilliant as second-row seats that tumble and hide beneath the floor to create a completely flat loading surface in less than a minute? Well, that depends on how you use your van. I don't have small kids anymore so don't really need to worry about stowing a baby onboard until I start going by the name Grandpa, but I'll grow old sooner than I want if I have to unlatch and then haul those blasted second-row seats out of the Odyssey one more time! Believe me, they're heavy, awkward, and a pain to fiddle with. And where do you put them when they're not in use? Fitting them back in the van is even harder, especially if one of the latches accidentally locks onto the wrong hook. Once again I delve into creative expletives!
But the drive? It's superb! The Odyssey has long been considered the sports car of minivans, and that hasn't changed with the 2012 model. It's not what's under the hood. Its 3.5-litre V6 is more than adequate with 248-horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque, and in Touring trim boasts a 6-speed automatic instead of the standard 5-speed unit (the latter which really shouldn't even be offered anymore considering all competitors offer 6 forward speeds standard), so shift intervals are shorter not to mention smooth and responsive, but it's how the Honda rolls that makes it stand out from the crowd.
With MacPherson struts, coil springs and a stabilizer bar up front and a multi-link setup with double wishbones in back the Odyssey delivers shockingly stable at-the-limit handling, not that I recommend taking a minivan to its limits. Just the same, real safety from an accident isn't in the airbags, but rather in avoiding getting hit in the first place. A nimble chassis is a good step in the right direction, allowing an avoidance maneuver that your significant other won't mind (we guys are so good at avoidance).
Another Odyssey bonus is exclusive variable cylinder management, which shuts off three of its six cylinders to optimize fuel economy under lighter engine loads, resulting in 11.7 L/100km city and 7.2 highway for the 5-speed van or 10.9 and 7.1 for the much heavier 6-speed Limited model. Both ratings are better than the Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Caravan twins, or for that matter the Chryco-based Volkswagen Routan, but Kia Sedona, Nissan Quest and Toyota Sienna get a better city rating than the 5-speed equipped Odyssey. Hmmm… maybe it's time to drop that old 5-cog gearbox and claim top fuel economy prize among V6-powered vans, Honda?
My Odyssey Touring should win a prize for luxury too. On top of the base LX van's features, plus those that come with the EX and EX-L, which in brief include tri-zone automatic climate control, heated seats, a removable front centre console, upgraded 6-CD and USB-equipped audio, Bluetooth, powered sliding side doors, and second-row sunshades for the EX, plus leather seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, 4-way powered passenger seat, powered moonroof, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, parking sensors, 115-volt power outlet, the "cool box" beverage holder, XM satellite radio, rear-seat DVD entertainment, and a powered tailgate for the EX-L, standard with the Touring is a high-definition multimedia interface with navigation, upgraded audio with 15-gig hard drive audio storage, a 16.2-inch ultra-wide split-screen display for the DVD system, blind spot monitoring, sound-absorbing acoustic windshield glass, third-row sunshades, xenon headlamps, fogs, 18-inch alloys, and the 6-speed automatic mentioned earlier. The price? $48,580 including destination. A lot for a minivan? Maybe. But it's a lot of minivan.
And I'm not just talking storage space, although you can load 4,205 litres (148.5 cubic feet) of gear behind the front seats if you remove them (so I've learned). That's a lot of space. If you can live with only 2,636 litres (93.1 cubic feet) most of the time, and can place your longer items across the tops of the second-row seatbacks when they're folded forward (or tumbled forward for slightly longer items that need to lay flat on the floor), then the Odyssey will be a good fit. I'm guessing that's enough for most, if not the deep well behind the third row that combines with the air space above for 1,087 litres (38.4 cubic feet) of luggage volume, or a little more than twice the size of an average midsize car's trunk. The third row of seats occupies that deep well when folded flat, and doing so is easy thanks to an innovative one-step process that lowers either side of the 60/40-split bench just by pulling on a strap. How I wished the middle row disappeared as easily.
Yes, as big and accommodating as minivans are, there's no one-size-fits-all solution to carrying people and their cargo. My issues aren't your issues, and vice versa. We use our vehicles differently. Each van has its merits, and the Honda's van is endowed with more than its share. If the 2012 Honda Odyssey fulfills your people and cargo hauling needs, I'm certain you'll love all of its other attributes.
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