Bigger, Lighter, Cheaper: The all-new 2011 Honda Odyssey

You can be forgiven for thinking that I’m ogling the latest drool-inducing home theatres at Future Shop. In fact, I’m sitting in the plush leather third row of Honda’s entirely redesigned 2011 Odyssey minivan watching Matt Damon dodge bullets in The Bourne Supremacy. While I have no doubt that High School Musical or Bob The Builder would play equally well on the impressive screen, Honda has made sure that parents no longer need to mediate such weighty disputes by enabling the screen to display two different feeds simultaneously, each using half the screen, channelling the separate audio streams to two sets of wireless headsets. If you’re so inclined, you could even plug in your Xbox into the provided HDMI port.

The technological orgy doesn’t stop there. My loaded Touring model tester also came equipped with Honda’s outstanding integrated GPS navigation system, voice control functionality and a 60GB internal hard drive onto which you can rip CD’s or your entire iTunes collection. Intelligent integration means that even your cover-flow album art will be imported and displayed on the information screen. Want to replace the Honda logo you see on start-up with a shot of your kids at the beach? The glove box conceals a USB input which Honda claims will allow you to import custom wallpaper and photos though I found the system finicky and could not get this functionality to operate properly during my test. With so many wonderful toys to keep both driver and passengers occupied, the 2011 Odyssey is what Batman would drive if it was his week to do superhero carpool.

It’s not often that a vehicle can be as impressive from the third row as it can from behind the wheel but the redesigned Odyssey pampers passengers and driver in equally impressive fashion. The first thing you’ll notice about the 2011 redesign is the distinctive side-view styling. Maintaining a familiar front grill, Honda’s designers made considerable adjustments to the rear and sides, creating a more dynamic and fluid feel that implies motion even when the car is sitting still. Despite growing modestly wider and longer, Honda’s engineers put the vehicle on a diet resulting in an impressive 47kg being shed from the 2010 model. A full 15kg of this weight loss comes from reductions in the second and third row seats. The results are particularly dramatic in the third row where the 60/40 rear split seats can now be easily folded flat into the floor using just one hand. 

Couple the Odyssey’s freshly trimmed bulk with a modest increase in horsepower and mid-range torque and you end up with a perfectly respectable 0-100kph time of 8.8 seconds and confident highway passing power at speeds between 80-120kph. The new Odyssey has also had its height trimmed creating ease of entry even for the sometimes weary bones of your geriatric passengers while contributing to a reduced centre of gravity. Add to that a stiffer steel chassis construction and the Odyssey exhibits surprisingly little body roll even when thrown into some sweeping turns along Muskoka’s winding tree-lined back roads where my extended test drive took place. 

Backing up these impressive modifications is the addition of Honda’s vaunted Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system to every Odyssey trim level (previously available only on the top-of-the-line Touring model). VCM constantly monitors throttle switching off 2-3 cylinders seamlessly whenever the car is coasting or utilizing only light acceleration. Coupled with the lighter body construction the result is best-in-class fuel economy that is completely unexpected from such a large car. Despite stomping on the gas from time to time during my test day (all in the name of science of course) the trip computer registered fuel consumption of roughly 9.5L/100km with a mix of high speed highway driving and start/stop country roads. 

With each successive model year, the Odyssey has grown to the point where it now occupies a hefty percentage of your average mall parking spot. Helping you back into those tight spots is an available rear-view camera that goes well beyond the capabilities of other similar systems. In addition to displaying a crystal clear image, the screen overlays parking-assist lines showing exactly where your car is headed relative to the cars on either side of it. To really squeeze into tight spots, the camera can toggle to an ultra wide-angle shot as well as an amazing overhead birds-eye view which allows you to actually see your car from above as it eases between its neighbours. In a further attempt to minimize the impact of its size, the Touring model comes equipped with a blind spot information system. Sensors feed into lights mounted near the side-view mirrors inside the car which will illuminate or blink to discourage you from sideswiping smaller vehicles that may have strayed too close although the audible warning chime did not appear to be configured on my tester. 

Moving back to the interior, Honda doesn’t expect you to enjoy movies on its impressive screen without liquid refreshment. The Odyssey bristles with cup holders at every turn that have been carefully redesigned to accept anything from the slim aluminum of a Red Bull can to the fat-bottoms of a monster slurpee. Baby bottle or sippy cup, this car’s got you covered. If your fussy brood is tired of sipping room temperature juice during their mobile movie marathons, just pop up to six standard pop cans or four water bottles into the integrated “cool box” to keep your beverages decently chilled. The wider body has been put to good use expanding the second row seating area so that three adults can actually sit there shoulder to shoulder…while I wouldn’t recommend a cross-country road-trip in this configuration, it’s a substantial improvement over the “2+1” seating arrangement that occupied the Odyssey’s second row in previous models. 

As one might expect of a vehicle primarily designed to ferry around our most precious commodity, the Odyssey is loaded with child-friendly safety features. Airbags nearly outnumber cup holders and LATCH car-seat attachments are available in no less than five seat positions (two of the three second row seats and all three of the third row seats). If you’ve ever panicked in a near-crash situation and slammed on both the brake and accelerator simultaneously, you will appreciate the Odyssey’s new Brake Priority Logic which detects your potentially tragic error and automatically ignores the accelerator input to ensure fast even braking. 

A few minor quibbles exist despite the excellent redesign. The front and rear defog buttons are positioned closer to the front seat passenger than the driver and the absence of a keyless entry system with push-button ignition feels like a glaring omission in a car of the Odyssey’s calibre. These marginal
complaints aside, Honda has made the new Odyssey a true segment leader and is pricing it very aggressively starting at $29,990 for the base LX trim – that’s the lowest price on a Honda minivan in Canada since 1998. The fully loaded Touring model maxes out at $46,990 – a full $2700 less than the MSRP of last year’s Touring. The 2011 Honda Odyssey hit showrooms across Canada on October 22.