Honda Odyssey is the second car in our family and my third vehicle since I have received my driving license. I had many doubts about whether to buy a used car, but I came to the Indy Auto Man used car dealership, and they helped me find exactly what I was looking for. Now I’m ready to share feelings about my beloved friend.
Contents
Advantages
I must say that I am attached to the car with all my heart. So, here is the list of the Honda Odyssey advantages:
- Dimensions both outside and inside. To say that the car is big is to say nothing. If you put it on large-diameter wheels and lift it, you get just a huge CUV.
- Attractive appearance. It’s a matter of taste, but I really like it.
- Excellent dynamics for such a size. When you drive on a highway, you don’t feel that you can’t overtake somebody. Instead, you are surprised how many cars you can give the dust to.
- Comfortable suspension. My children feel well in the rear seats.
- Automatic sliding rear doors. Very useful option when getting in: nobody slams the door or touches the next car in a confined space.
- The driver seat is electrically adjustable in all directions (except for left-right). The seats are also quite comfortable, moderately hard.
- 2-zone climate control (front-back).
- A fairly large trunk with 7 seats. I rarely fold the third row, but if you do it, removing the head restraints and even the middle row seats, you get a cargo compartment with dimensions of about 2000x1400x1450mm.
- Two front and two side airbags for the driver and front passenger.
- Very long lifetime of everything. For example, you should change the timing belt every 100 thousand miles.
And finally, I would like to highlight the pleasure of driving this imposing monster. You do not feel flawed in the city, even if you drive at a speed of 20 mph. On the highway, I calmly set the cruise control at 70 mph and float from point A to point B, getting no less pleasure than on my last Mitsubishi at a speed of 80 mph. On the highway, at any time of the year, the car goes like on rails – a large mass, a wide track, and a base of 3 meters do their job perfectly.
Disadvantages
Nothing is perfect in this world, and Honda Odyssey is not an exception. Here is the list of disadvantages that you should pay attention to if you are going to buy this minivan:
- Noise insulation. Sometimes I get the feeling that there is no noise insulation at all. The work of the suspension on a country road leaves much to be desired. I understand that such a big car should transmit sounds through the body from the vibration of the floor, ceiling, and sliding doors, but the wheel arches could somehow be made more noiseless. On a good road, the car produces, of course, only the sounds of tires. I will try to solve this problem. Although, one of the Odyssey owners said that he had not achieved success regardless of all the work done. But I don’t know where and who did these works for him. I’m going to rely on professionals and visit the service at the Indy Auto Man dealership in Indianapolis, where I bought my car.
- Fuel consumption is rather high: about 11 liters on a highway at a speed of 98 mph, 17 liters in the city. But I don’t bother much with fuel consumption. I roll no more than 500 miles a month. But I have plans to install gas equipment on my Honda.
- Poor multimedia. I have the initial trim. Therefore, later I’m going to install a 1-DIN multimedia complex with a retractable screen.
General Information on the Body
My car has been in accidents, but not in serious ones. The body is all native – there are VIN tags everywhere. I cannot estimate the corrosion resistance, but there are no signs of it so far. Sliding doors open and close both from the remote control and the keys on the dashboard. Until you set the automatic transmission to the parking position, the doors won’t open. This adds safety for children in the back seat. On the other hand, when I gave a lift to a friend of mine, who has never driven it, he broke the handle, trying to open the door by force.
As for the seats, you can rearrange the middle row to adjust the passage to the rear row.
Engine and Transmission
The Honda Odyssey has a selection assembly, VTEC engine, no bells, and whistles. But at the same time, the engine is a powerful V6 with 3.5 liters.
The Odyssey has a 5-speed automatic transmission with 7 modes: 1,2, D3, D, N, R, P. The D3 model is most likely for pulling trailers. Another feature of this automatic transmission is the location of the control solenoids. On my last Mitsubishi, I had to drain fluids, remove the sump, filter, and valve body to get to them. And here, judging by the picture in the manual, everything is easily accessible from the outside!
Chassis
Similar to the front suspension of the Honda Pilot, the chassis of the Odyssey is quite reliable. The supports of the front struts are made without a support bearing – just a bushing soldered into the support housing.
Both rear and front brakes are disc. The car stops very well for its two tons of mass.
I won’t say the turning radius in figures, but it is much less than my old Sienna had.
Service and Spare Parts
I like repairing all my cars myself. This allows me to switch from my main job and have a good time. But when I need to change or install something serious, I call Indy Auto Man Service Center. This way, I can be sure that everything is done at the highest quality level. And the price tag is quite affordable.
I hope my review will help you to see whether the Honda Odyssey is for you.