2011 Honda Odyssey Review and Prices

By Chuck Giametta

Table of Contents
2011 Honda Odyssey Review and Pricing
2010 Honda Odyssey
2009 Honda Odyssey Review and Pricing
2009 Honda Odyssey Quote

2011 HONDA ODYSSEY BUYING ADVICE

• The 2011 Honda Odyssey is the best car for you if you know a state-of-the-art minivan is the smart way to transport an active family and their stuff.

• The 2011 Honda Odyssey is due a full redesign with new styling inside and out. The 2011 Odyssey will be virtually the same size as the 2005-2010 generation, though Honda may carve out a bit more interior space and could get creative with seating configurations for its fourth-generation minivan.

• Should you wait for the 2011 Honda Odyssey or buy a 2010 Honda Odyssey? If you’re happy with your current minivan, wait for the 2011 Odyssey. If you’re ready to replace it or enter the minivan market, consider the 2010 Odyssey. Its styling would soon be eclipsed by the redesigned 2011 model, but it’s still a good-looker, loaded with useful features, and has terrific road manners. Plus, Honda has tabled for the near future one potential reason to wait for the 2011 Odyssey: a fuel-efficient and clean-running turbocharged diesel V-6.

2011 HONDA ODYSSEY CHANGES

• Styling: The sharp lines of the 2010 Odyssey prove design flair can be applied to what is essentially a big box on wheels. Look for Honda to fine-tune that look for the 2011 Odyssey. Sources suggest a more swept-back shape, but one that sustains the outgoing model’s visual presence and planted-to-the-road form. Odyssey’s new lowered and tapered nose with its drooping grille and thin headlamps was previewed on the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid hatchback. Other styling updates for the 2011 Odyssey likely include a lower beltline than the 2005-2010 generation, nicely blistered fenders, and a roof that visually “floats” over the body.

• Mechanical: Sans a diesel-engine option, Odyssey will continue with a gas V-6, likely the same 250-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 now used in the Honda Pilot crossover SUV, which shares some of the company’s minivan chassis engineering. This is a fine V-6 and capable of saving gas by automatically switching to three or four cylinders in low-demand situations via Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) technology. A six-speed automatic would likely replace a five-speed as Odyssey’s sole transmission. Expect the 2011 Odyssey to continue with front-wheel drive; Honda points buyers looking for all-wheel drive and three-row seating to the Pilot.

• Features: Odyssey helped pioneer the space-efficient setup in which a minivan’s third-row seat folds fully into the rear floor. But Honda has resisted any similar system for Odyssey’s second-row seats. In-floor second-row stowage is a high point of the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan, and is one opportunity open to the 2011 Odyssey. So is an arrangement in which second-row seats swivel to form a table-and-chairs arrangement with the third-row. DVD entertainment, voice-activated navigation, Bluetooth communications, and power convenience features will return. USB connectivity for iPods and other digital media is overdue and almost certainly will be available on the 2011 Odyssey. On-board Wi-Fi would be a nice addition, as well. Perhaps Honda’s most significant chance to improve the Odyssey would be a simplified dashboard layout. A complicated arrangement of controls is one of the few knocks against the current-generation Odyssey.

2011 HONDA ODYSSEY PRICES

• Odyssey owners tend to be among the most affluent minivan buyers, and they like their rides loaded with leather and plenty of electronic gear. So the 2011 Honda Odyssey lineup probably will mirror the 2010 model ladder and have a price span of roughly $28,000-$42,000. (These estimated prices and include Honda’s mandatory destination fee, which was $710 for 2009.)

• Entry level is the base LX model with manual seat controls and manual sliding side doors. Next would be the EX, priced around $31,000 with power seats and power sliding side doors. EX-Ls should start around $34,000 with leather upholstery and climb to around $38,000 with DVD entertainment and navigation. Touring models would again top the line with a few exclusive convenience items and a $42,000 sticker.

2011 HONDA ODYSSEY FUEL ECONOMY

• Honda has reserved VCM for the top-tier Odysseys, but expect the fuel-conserving technology to migrate to all models for 2011. That would mean ratings of around 18/27 mpg (city/highway). (The 2010 Odysseys with VCM were rated 17/25 mpg, those without were at 16/23.) Projections had put diesel V-6 mileage at something like 22/30, which would have allowed a diesel-powered Odyssey to go 600 miles or so between fill-ups. The 2011 Odyssey, like the 2010 version, will use regular-grade gas.

2011 HONDA ODYSSEY RELEASE DATE

• Look for the 2011 Honda Odyssey in showrooms by autumn 2010.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE HONDA ODYSSEY

• The body of the fourth-generation Odyssey won’t get notably longer, wider, or taller, but Honda is likely to stretch the wheelbase a bit from the third-generation’s 118.1-inch span. Wheelbase is the distance between the front and rear axles and a main determinant of the space a vehicle can devote to the passenger compartment. The third-generation Odyssey’s wheelbase was shorter than any key rival’s -- the Dodge Grand Caravan’s, for example, is 121.2 inches. Lengthening Odyssey’s wheelbase would give the redesigned model more leg room for the third-row seat, and possibly enlarge cargo space, too.

• A gas-electric hybrid version of the Odyssey seems a remote possibility. Honda’s an industry leader in gas-engine fuel economy and is serious about stepping from Toyota’s shadow on the hybrid front. Toyota fields hybrid versions of small cars, midsize cars, SUVs, and through its premium Lexus division, even luxury cars. By contrast, Honda’s hybrid focus seems fixed on subcompact cars, such as the Honda Insight, and compact cars, such as the Honda Civic Hybrid.

• Do not, however, count out the diesel as part of Honda’s green initiative. Compared to diesels of the recent past, today’s oil-burners have low emissions and run nearly as smoothly and quietly as gas engines. A diesel’s advantage is impressive torque – the motive power that translates directly into acceleration – and high mileage. The 3.5-liter turbodiesel V-6 rumored to be headed for the 2010 Odyssey (and Honda’s Pilot SUV and Ridgeline pickup) was projected at 30 percent more fuel-efficient than a comparable gasoline engine. The plan looked good with gasoline at $4 per gallon and the economy in good shape. In a recession? Not so much, considering the higher cost of a diesel engine over a comparable gas engine, the marketing resources required to get Americans onboard the diesel bandwagon, and the unpredictability of diesel fuel prices. When the economy bounces back, at least Honda should be diesel-ready.

2011 HONDA ODYSSEY COMPETITION

• Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan: Combined, these corporate cousins outsell the Odyssey, but the Odyssey is America’s best-selling single minivan nameplate. Town & Country and Grand Caravan remain appealing, though, with a wide spread of price points, features such as hide-away second-row buckets and table-and-chairs seating, and on-board satellite TV. They’re not quite as rewarding to drive as the Odyssey, however. The Chrysler and Dodge minivans won’t be redesigned until after model-year 2013.

• Toyota Sienna: Odyssey’s main competition for upmarket import shoppers and a rival for high customer-satisfaction scores, too. Sienna is poised to keep pace with Odyssey with its own model-year 2011 redesign. Expect new styling, more cargo space, and increased room for third-row passengers. All-wheel drive could return as an option, as well. Starting in model-year 2012 or 2013, Sienna could begin offering an alternative to its gasoline V-6 in the form of a hybrid gas-electric model.

• Ford Flex: Don’t picture yourself driving a minivan? Come to believe high-riding SUVs are antisocial? Try this blend of station wagon, minivan, and SUV. The unusual-looking Flex crossover doesn’t have sliding side doors, but it seats seven on three rows, offers front- or all-wheel-drive, and has a relatively low center of gravity that benefits handling. Ford’s 355-horsepower EcoBoost V-6 option gives it real getup and go, too. Base price range is around $29,000-$35,000.