Road test review: Honda Odyssey Premium
Thursday, 1 April 2021
HONDA ODYSSEY PREMIUM
Base price: $59,990
Powertrain and economy: 2.4-litre petrol four-cylinder, 129kW/225Nm, continuously variable transmission, FWD, combined economy 8.0L/100km, CO2 184g/km (source: RightCar).
Vital statistics: 4855mm long, 1820mm wide, 1710mm high, 2900mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 322/1725 litres, 17-inch alloy wheels.
We like: Superbly comfortable, well-equipped for the money, unapologetically practical.
- We don't like: Coarse engine, CVT flares badly, prodigious thirst.
If you want to move seven people in actual comfort, then forget SUVs - a people mover is the only way to go. And Honda's newly revised Odyssey is here to do just that.
Do people still actually buy people movers?
Certainly not in large numbers – the SUV boom has taken its toll there too. But as mentioned above, if you actually need to move seven people around in actual comfort on a regular basis, a seven-seat SUV really ain’t gonna cut it.
**READ MORE:
* Honda New Zealand announces shake-up to sales approach
* There's no way an SUV is cooler than a people mover
* Honda Odyssey makes sense… if you put passengers first
**
Anyone who has legs and has sat in the back of row of a seven-seat SUV (that isn’t something utterly massive and expensive like a Mercedes-Benz GLS) will confirm.
And since there are still people out there that do that, then there is a clear need for vehicles like the Honda Odyssey.
And I will admit right up front here that I have a strange fondness for people movers. I mean, anything this unapologetically functional and yet impressively comfortable hooks me easily. I am a sucker for unapologetic things.
Yeah, but doesn’t buying a people mover basically admit you just don’t care about cars?
Quite likely – after all, there aren’t many people mover enthusiast groups on social media (although I’m sure there are some…) – but that is where the whole ‘unapologetic’ thing comes in: the Odyssey doesn’t care about that. It will just provide a good number of people a superbly comfortable and spacious ride, because that is its purpose in life.
And it does that rather well indeed.
The Odyssey has had an extensive facelift for 2021, with an all-new look and significant upgrades inside and out.
The Premium version we drive here packs seven seats across three rows. If you need to transport eight, then the standard model is the car for you, with its eight fabric-covered pews.
The Premium swaps out the three in the second row for a pair of comfortable and supportive captain’s chairs that can slide not only back and forwards, but also side to side, for maximum flexibility, while you also get triple zone climate control to stop someone in the back row whining they are too hot.
Of course, comfy leather seats alone aren’t enough to justify the ‘Premium’ moniker, so the top-spec Odyssey also gets power adjustable front seats (8-way for the driver, 4 for the passenger) that are also heated, rear privacy glass, a sunroof, LED headlights, DRLs, taillights and fog lights, an electric tailgate, “gesture control” sliding side doors, 17-inch alloy wheels, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, keyless enry with push button start and Honda’s Sensing Technology package that includes adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and lane departure warning, forward collision warning and cross traffic warning.
And out on the road it does indeed feel premium, with a lovely ride/handling balance that never at anytime feels harsh or intrusive, yet always feels convincingly planted on the road and agile for its massive size.
Not that you’ll be going for that best time on the school run, mind you, and that’s just as well because there is a weak spot in the Odyssey, and it is hiding under the bonnet.
Oh. Does that mean the engine isn’t quite a premium experience?
That’s exactly what it means. Honda’s 2.4-litre four-cylinder i-VTEC petrol engine has been around for a while now and, despite getting an “Earth Dreams” update in 2013, is based on an engine that debuted way back in 2002. And it feels it.
While the Odyssey only weighs 1858kg (impressive given its size) the 129kW/225Nm petrol four struggles to pull it along convincingly on the open road without sounding thrashy and strained. It’s certainly not helped by the fact that it is saddled with a continuously variable transmission that just makes the groaning and thrashing worse.
Around town, it is much, much better, being impressively smooth (a CVT’s one strong point) and quiet, but start using the throttle, and it quickly becomes apparent it is all more than the 2.4 can really be bothered with.
Another area this becomes apparent is the Odyssey’s fuel consumption – while Honda claims a combined average of 8.0L/100km, this is likely the “dream” part of “Earth Dreams”, with the Odyssey never even getting close to that number (even after an extended motorway run out to the Hampton Downs race track and back to Auckland), settling on a far less impressive 13.2L/100km during our time with it.
So that’s a no from you then?
Well, not necessarily. While the Odyssey struggles to convince when you pin the throttle, as a round-town family school bus or long-distance highway cruiser, it is still rather a pleasant thing.
It is superbly comfortable and well-appointed and packs a decent level of kit for its rather reasonable asking price of $59,990 (that’s $8750 per seat, by the way. The facelift brings a handsome new look to the front (although the rear is a bit oddly proportioned) and the overall package is impressive value for money if you regularly haul more than four or five people.
It is a shame the engine is a bit coarse and that the CVT is unrefined, but the real villain here is that the two combined can’t even produce a more frugal, Earth-friendly consumption figure, despite the Dream.
Any other cars I should consider?
Very few. Most are essentially vans with nice seats and more chrome, like the Toyota Granvia (a Hiace in disguise), that are unashamedly aimed at businesses wanting to run them as shuttles and the like. That said, the Granvia does start at an impressive $63,990 and is an extremely nice thing. But is still a van and is very, very big.
The only real people mover direct competition the Odyssey currently has in the new market is the extremely handsome Kia Carnival, the entry model of which starts at the same price as the top-spec Odyssey Premium and tops out at a hefty $74,990 for its Premium model.