When I reviewed the Honda Odyssey last year, I advised waiting for the 2005. Not because the 2004 was bad it was a very good van but I expected the 2005 redesign to include an upgraded interior and innovative new features. Well, the 2005 has arrived. Was I right? I recently test drove the new top-of-the-line model, the Odyssey Touring, to find out.
Styling Some people out there thought last year s Honda Odyssey was a good looking van. I wasn t among them. It wasn t bad looking, just very plain and utilitarian looking. I suspected that those who thought otherwise were the sort of people that when they like a product tend to think everything about it is great.
When I first saw photos of the 2005 I didn t think it looked that different than the 2004. Just a bit rounded off around the edges, with larger headlights. In person the difference seems much larger. Although still no beauty the midsection remains too square for that, and the shorter front end borders on stubby the revised van looks much more upscale. I prefer it to all but the Chrysler. In comparison the 2004 looks drab and dated.
Inside the impression is much the same. Honda did not give the new interior much in the way of the Pilot s interesting touches as I had hoped no novel textures or finishes but the design and materials look considerably more upscale. Unlike the 2004, the 2005 holds its own in this area. The secondary controls in particular look and feel top notch check out those for the three-zone automatic climate control.
Accommodations The big news here is the amount of room in Honda's new minivan. I found plenty of legroom in all three rows. Thigh support is lacking in the third row, but the others acquit themselves well in this area. In the EX-L an eighth mini-seat removes and stows in an underfloor storage well that housed the spare in the 2004. (Otherwise a Lazy Susan that Honda will no doubt publicize to death resides there.) In the Touring a fixed console fills the space between the second row captains chairs. It has a large storage compartment inside it. Combine this space with that in the underfloor well, and there should be less detritus floating about the floor of this van. (The car I drive three kids around in could use this sort of storage.)
Now for the bad news: I could not get comfortable in the driver seat. A seam running across the seat formed a ridge above my lumbar region. Bringing the adjustable lumbar support into play only made matters worse it s positioned at least a couple inches above where it should be. I found the front passenger seat, which has no adjustable lumbar support, considerably more comfortable. I predict Honda will be making a running change to the driver seat.
Only the third row stows beneath the floor. Unlike in the 2004 it does so in two sections. The amount of effort involved is lower than most much lower than with the Nissan Quest third-row bench that nearly took my finger off. Only the Ford Freestyle a crossover not a minivan has an easier to stow third row. The second-row seats, on the other hand, must be removed to maximize cargo volume. Although I didn t attempt this, I did tilt one up, and it was not light. The front passenger seat does not fold flat, unlike what I expect to see in many future minivans. The front passenger seat in the Freestyle already does this.
So in terms of seating versatility the new Honda Odyssey breaks little new ground. With the possible exception of the stowable eighth seat it only keeps up with the herd. With a stowable second row and more underfloor storage the Chrysler van is well ahead in this area. In its favor, the Honda s second row seats are more substantial than the Chrysler s and more comfortable as a result. And the Honda is roomier.
On the Road The 2004 s powertrain was already a class leader. The 2005 offers a bit more horsepower, but generally feels much the same: strong for a minivan and, even more important, smooth. The EX-L and Touring have an engine that runs on three cylinders when cruising, which earns it higher EPA numbers. I never detected the cylinder deactivation, no surprise since there is very little engine noise to begin with when cruising.
The only minor powertrain issue is a small amount of torque steer small tugs and numbness in the steering wheel when accelerating hard. Given how frequently Honda Odyssey drivers put the pedal to the metal, this isn t much of an issue.
The 1999 Odyssey felt much like a grown-up Civic to me sportier than other minivans, but also noisier. The 2003 revisions produced a more refined but less fun to drive van. The 2005 is similar to the 2003 in this regard. While I like the steering accurate with good weighting and decent feedback we re not talking a driving machine here. As expected in a minivan, the chassis is tuned to be safe rather than sporting. It maintains its composure when thrown into bumpy turns, but understeers moderately the whole way through. What we are talking is a large vehicle that feels a least a size or two smaller than it is. I usually drive a small Mazda, and had no difficulty adapting to driving this much larger vehicle.
The driving position helps. The windshield is not raked overly much, so the pillars and header don t intrude into sightlines and the instrument panel is of a reasonable depth. The cowl is not as low as in the Chrysler, but it s low enough (unlike in the much more cumbersome Ford Freestar minivan).
Speaking of sightlines, to avoid large blindspots in the C-pillars there are thin windows within these. Nifty, if unexpected. I suspect these also enable the glass in the sliding doors to be of the proper size and shape to roll down yep, as in the Toyota and Mazda it does that.
Ride quality is good but not quite class leading. At least with the innovative run-flat Pax radials on the Touring tar strips and minor road imperfections can be heard and felt. The ride is still very comfortable, other vehicles just do even better. Among minivans, the Toyota likely maintains an edge here.
Noise levels are likewise good but not great. A 2005 Grand Cherokee I drove the same day rode more smoothly and more quietly, while a Ford Freestyle crossover fell to the other side of the Honda. At highway speeds I most noticed wind noise, though road noise was also above luxury car levels. Another likely Toyota edge. (I hope to drive the Toyota and perhaps the Dodge again in the near future to be more definitive on these comparisons.)
All in all, a very competent if unexciting performer.
Quality Millions of people swear by the quality of their Hondas. So I was surprised to find the Odyssey I drove rough around the edges. It had only 15 miles on it when I started, yet someone had already broken a handle used to disengage a third-row seat. As a result, I could only stow the right section. I ve already mentioned the seat comfort issue. The glove compartment door was also poorly aligned, as was the leading edge of the hood with that of the right fender. Finally, the right front door took more than the usual amount of effort to fully close. Maybe the door seals needed to be broken in? Maybe, but the driver s side door closed just fine. So if you re intent on a top quality vehicle, you might want to wait a month or three.
Honda Odyssey Pricing and Price Comparisons For quick, up-to-date pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created:
www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the
TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in
one swift pass.
Using this site, I find that the new Odyssey in EX or EX-L trim lists for about $700 more than a comparable Chrysler once the latter s $1,500 rebate and differences in equipment levels are taken into account. Harder to fathom is the $3,500 advantage over the Ford Freestar even after the same adjustments. Is it any wonder Ford cannot sell this van? Not only is it worse than the others, but it s priced the highest. As for the Honda, it's reasonably priced, even at MSRP. I suppose the Chrysler might run a grand less after dealer discounts are taken into account, but no doubt many people will willingly spend this. After all, take its slower depreciation into account and at even at full sticker the Honda is easily less expensive than the Chrysler at invoice.
Of course, I drove the Touring, not the EX-L. (I wanted to drive an EX-L, but only the Touring was available.) The Touring comes in $2,400 to $2,900 over the Chrysler (the higher number if you spring for the nav and DVD). If it were my money the EX-L would be the way to go.
Last Words The 2005 Odyssey did not blow me away, but it didn t have to. I expected an more upscale look in and out and a few new features, and this is what Honda delivered. A thoroughly competent van. Get that second row into the floor and modify the driver seat, and it would be perfect. Even as is it s again the class leader, with performance and features compensating for inferior versatility. Just make sure the driver seat works for you, and expect a few minor fit and finish issues.
Why not the Toyota? Well, I don t care for how the Toyota looks and didn t think it performed or handled as well. But I drove a base model, and some time ago at that. So another test drive might be in order. Check back in a couple of weeks.
Update: I have now driven the Toyota and Dodge. My review of the Toyota compares the three. See the link below.
A Note on Honda Odyssey Reliability I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.
Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy an Odyssey rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Honda Odyssey reliability comparisons.
Before I can report results, I need reliability data on all cars--not just the Odyssey--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive
free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.
For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.
A link to this website and alphabetized links to
my other vehicle reviews can be found on my
profile page.
Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Chrysler Town and Country Ford Freestar Ford Freestyle Honda Odyssey (2004)
Mazda MPV Nissan Quest Subaru B9 Tribeca Toyota Sienna 
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