There seems a lot of negative things said about owning a mini-van. But there comes a point in our lives that we start to lean towards one, and I think, I’m getting to that part of my life. For years, I’ve been a huge SUV fan, but I will admit there is a something about the sliding doors, the extra space and some of the features that are making me seriously look at a mini-van for our next vehicle.
Why the change in heart? I’ll admit, it was after spending a week with the 2019 Honda Odyssey. The model doesn’t have much different than the 2018 model but it has everything you want in a car to protect your family and to keep you comfortable while on the road. Yes, it has the basics like heated seats, cruise control, GPS and space but it has so many features you’re going to love.
Flexible Seating Options
The Honda Odyssey seats eight comfortably. Even the third row seating has leg room for adults and provides passengers with control of their climate zone, ways to plug their technology in and comfortable seating. The center row can be bench seating, or captain chairs that easily remove if you need a center aisle for loading and unloading.
Keeping in mind the use of the space, Honda has put the center row on rails so you can easily move a seat back and forth for people to load into the back row without having to remove car seats. To move the seats back and forth is as simple as pushing a button and sliding the seats back and forth. This also means you can cluster the seats to one side or to center to share a screen while you are driving. This flexibility allows you to move the seats without extra work, and makes the cabin space more flexible for hauling items as well.
Full Control from the Front Seat
Drivers don’t just have control of the safety features in the Odyssey. You have full control of the screens in the backseat, Cabin View where you can not only zoom in check on the safety of all of the passengers including the ones in car seats way in the back. You can see if they’re actually doing their homework or just playing on their phones without turning around. You can even use a feature called CabinTalk where your voice is projected into the third row so the back seat passengers can hear what you are saying, so you don’t have to yell over the road noise outside. As an added bonus – this actually will break through the headphones while they’re watching a show in the car (think similar to an airplane attendant) – no one can claim they didn’t hear you!
Hidden Features Throughout
Honda built the Odyssey with everyone in mind. They have an app that passengers can download and send up their playlist or song suggestions to the front. The Odyssey even has it’s own WIFI network, so if you need to get some work done while someone else is driving, be sure to log on and take advantage of the time on the road.
For kids, the Odyssey has the “How Much Farther” animation that can play on the screen so they can visually see how much distance is left on your trip. No more asking “are we there yet?” from the back seat (we hope!) but it is fun to watch the animation move across the screen. Technology is making the ride that much better for the driver and all of the passengers at the same time. It’s easy to integrate their technology into the vehicle.
Designed for Your Busy Life and for Your Family
Knowing that the Odyssey is basically a family vehicle, Honda designed the newer models with that in mind. From materials that are easier to clean, a built in vacuum in the back of the van (Honda was actually the first to introduce this option), to wireless charging. But while adding this to their designs, they didn’t want to sacrifice details, so they adapted them. The ribbed materials are actually flat to make it less likely to become a crumb trap but not give up the look they wanted. There is a large place to put a purse or work bag, and even a bag hook on the front passenger side. There are hidden storage spots in all of the doors and beautiful attention to detail you may not even notice how much you need them.
With design in mind, Honda has stuck with their push button start, but have moved it into the dash some to optimize all of the options in one area. This still takes a day or two to get used to using as driving, but the motions are still similar to using a traditional shift gear so you won’t take too long learning how to use it. Loaded with heated and cooled seats, heated steering wheels and different drive modes, the Odyssey is perfect for comfort for any driver.
Don’t think Honda has forgotten about the safety side of things, the Odyssey comes with Honda Sensing. Honda Sensing® is a suite of safety and driver-assistive technologies designed to work together by alerting you to things you might miss while driving.
- Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS)*
- Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)*
- Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™)*
- Road Departure Mitigation System (RDM)
Honda Sensing is standard on the EX, EX-L, Touring and Elite Models.
The 2019 Honda Odyssey starts at $30,090 and can gets 28 mpg highway and 19 mpg city. For more information on the 2019 Honda Odyssey check out the full specs and pricing on the Honda website.