Editor's note: This review was done in August 2013 about the 2014 Honda Odyssey. Little of substance has changed with this year's model.
Transcript
This cars.com video shows a 2014 model that got very few changes for 2015. You can compare the two model years on cars.com. Thanks for watching and enjoy the video. (rock music) (car tires screech) (light rock music) Hi, I'm Dave Thomas with cars.c
om, and this is a best-selling minivan in the country, the Honda Odyssey. And this is a 2014 version that just came out. And Honda's actually made some changes. Makes you wonder if it's not broken, why fix it? So what's changed what we call the best family car last year? Well there's some revised styling up front and in back, but there's not an automotive designer on earth that's going to fool anyone into thinking they're not driving a minivan. A six speed transmission is now standard on all models, which improves mileage by one MPG in the city, highway, and combined. (car tires whir) There's also a new dash layout and for EX trims and above, you get this new touchscreen console here, which controls all your audio. Base models get some love too, with improved fabric on the seats, a power passenger seat, and stuff like Pandora and Bluetooth, standard. But the one feature everyone is talking about, is the Honda VAC. Yep, this minivan has a vacuum installed in the rear cargo area. Honda actually teamed up with Shop-Vac for it, and it works pretty well. The hose reaches all the way to the front. Let's see it in action. It's pretty simple to use. You simply hit a power button here, wait for the suction to build up a little, (vacuum cleaner sucking) and it can pretty much pick up anything you throw at it. Pretty impressive. But what else is impressive is the price. It only comes on this top of line Touring Elite, with a price around $45,000. That's a lot of money to get a vacuum, but maybe if you keep your car nice and clean, it'll help with the resale value. So what hasn't changed for 2014? Well, it's still the best minivan on the market. Back in 2011, we tested it against the rest of the field and it won easily. And the competition hasn't been updated much either. The V6 has plenty of power, whether you're drag racing that Toyota Sienna next to you at the stoplight, or passing on the highway. Obviously cornering is not this minivan's, or any minivan's forte, but it honestly has a great turning circle. So it makes parking lots, a lot less treacherous. But if you're considering a minivan, the seating is probably the most important thing to you. The Odyssey has seats in the second row that slide forward and back, which is pretty cool. But the best part is these outboard seats actually expand outward even a couple more inches. So your kids and those child seats are a little further apart from each other. The third row also has two tether anchors. So with this expanding third row, you can fit three child safety seats across here, and two more in the third row for a total of five. Then when you have all those kids safely tucked away in their seats, you gotta keep them quiet. So check out this widescreen TV. This 16.2 inch wide screen can show one movie across the whole screen, or splits in two to show a DVD on one side and something from your auxiliary input on the other. But it's only available on this Touring Elite model. If you've got an EX-L or regular Touring, you can get a smaller version, but aren't your kids worth it? When you do move up to this bad boy, the stereo wattage goes from 265 to 650 watts. Speakers go from seven to twelve, and this has 5.1 surround sound. That means My Little Pony will blow your kids away, Sounds like we're ready! (Cartoon ponies celebrate) (light rock music) And after you've got them all out of the car, you can listen to something a little more pleasing and soothing, like heavy metal. (heavy metal music) (light rock music) This Touring Elite model may seem crazy expensive, but all minivans are more expensive than your typical family car these days even in base form. Now you could save a little bit of money with a Toyota Sienna or a Nissan Quest, but Chrysler's Town and Country is pretty much the same price as the Odyssey and most trim levels. They're all good minivans, but none of them top the Odyssey, especially this top version of it. (car tires whir) (car engine roaring)
