According to Merriam-Webster, an odyssey is any long, complicated journey, often a quest for a goal, and may be a spiritual or psychological journey as well as an actual voyage. The year 2020 in itself has felt like a bit of an odyssey, filled with unexpected twists and turns. I guess it’s fitting that Honda dropped off an Odyssey minivan to finish the year out in style.
Unfortunately, my time with the Odyssey was shorter than I like to have for most of my vehicle reviews because of some travels that crept up. But I still got to spend a few days admiring the merits of the Odyssey — and realizing just how lucky today’s kids are. In the late 1980s, my brother and I used to ride in the bed of a pickup truck on a homemade bench seat – for reals. I think it had a seatbelt, but I can’t remember.
Contrast that with the plush accommodations found in any late-model minivan and it makes modern travel feel like an executive white-glove transport service. The Odyssey has rear air, entertainment, bucket seats, and a versatile demeanor that can suit a family of just about any size.
The Odyssey rides now on its fifth-generation platform, having been around since the mid 1990s. The van had humble beginnings, powered by a 2.2-liter 4-cylinder mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. Today, it has a 280-hp VTEC V6 which effectively puts it beyond even the power output of my 1992 NSX.
Couple that performance with packaging and content that rival most modern luxury cars, and you can see why the van gets 40% of retail minivan market share today. It’s also been the top-selling retail minivan for 10 years. While the one I tested had a sticker of nearly $50k, lower models start in the $30s. The window sticker is below. If I didn’t know better, the van feels way more “Acura” than “Honda.” And that’s a great thing.
While I didn’t get a chance to put more than a couple hundred miles on this van, I fell in love with it more than I thought I would. The easy step-in, comfy buckets, and heated steering wheel / seats were just part of the welcoming demeanor. I put together a 13-min video on my YouTube of some of my observations.
Back to my holiday weekend fun now. At 1:30 today, I’m picking up the buyer of my 1999 Integra GS-R and he’s driving it home. The car is headed back to California where it spent its entire life except the year I’ve owned it. I hope you all had a very happy and safe Christmas!
drivetofive 