It’s been well established that mini-vans stand for affordable practicality. It’s the natural choice for either a large family or those who need to move large items once in a while. The trade-off for this practicality is raw performance. The common notion in the market is that if you want the capacity of a mini-van and you still want some driving enjoyment, go get yourself an SUV instead. Honda wants to change that with the Odyssey. On its Canadian website, Honda touts the Odyssey as “the sports car of minivans.” I wanted to see if it lives up to this bold claim.
Powered by a 3.5 liter V6 engine, the Odyssey does have decent power, especially if you have no problems with flooring the gas pedal. The engine smoothly delivers plenty of go-forward power without making the vehicle feel unrealistically light. Many mini-vans feel like they are made of paper—in both perceived weight and sturdiness—when you step on the gas; but the Odyssey does give you the feeling that the engine is working with a believable amount of load and the vehicle feels solid. The steering doesn’t feel disconnected. However, it’s still on the light side and it is not totally linear. On the upside, the steering is effortless.
The engine is mated with a competent 5-speed automatic transmission, and the suspension is hallmark Honda-style. For a mini-van, the Odyssey corners fairly well, keeping the body lean under control. Its turning radius is sufficiently small that turning into a parking spot does not present much of a problem. Obviously even this marvelous minivan is not without limits. Traveling down the winding Don Valley Parkway in Toronto, the response from the tires becomes vague, and I had to exercise more caution in tight curve sections when the speed was over 110 km/h. The braking performance was reassuring when going into a tight curve.
On the practicality front, which is the raison-d'etre for the minivan’s existence, the Odyssey does not disappoint and there is plenty of interior cabin space to haul people or cargo around. With three rows of seating, the Odyssey EX can easily accommodate a driver and seven additional passengers. To haul large items, the second and the third row seats can be removed. The cloth seats in the EX model are very comfortable, and this would be a great vehicle for long distance travel. The centre console layout is straightforward. The straight-gate gear selector is part of the centre console, right beside the climate and audio controls. The EX model has powered sliding doors on both sides, making entry a breeze.
