 2011 Honda Odyssey. Click image to enlarge |
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2011 Honda Odyssey
La Jolla, California – I have a confession to make: I like minivans.
By nature, I am a very practical person. And for a family of five, a minivan with its cavernous interior, seating for seven or eight, or five with a lot of stuff just made a lot of sense.
Apparently my opinion about minivans is not a popular view. Since the early part of the last decade, minivan sales have taken a steep decline. According to Global Insight, the economic forecasting firm, minivan sales in Canada dropped by some 100,000 units between 2003 and 2009.
Minivan owners and those who might be inclined to buy a minivan opted instead for seven passenger sport utility vehicles and the stylish and increasingly popular crossover utility vehicles. One could hypothesize that the growth of this latter category has been at the expense of minivans.
 2011 Honda Odyssey. Click image to enlarge |
And at the expense of practicality too: it doesn’t matter how practical a vehicle is, it won’t succeed if buyers are embarrassed to be seen in it.
To find out what put people off, Honda rounded up a large group of people and held some focus groups. Not surprisingly, they learned that from 100 metres or so, people couldn’t tell the difference between a Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna or Dodge Grand Caravan. They all had the same one box design with a belt line that ran in a straight line from the top of the front fenders to the rear of the vehicle beneath the windows.
Honda also learned that attitudes toward a minivan purchase could be grouped into three distinct categories: Rejecters – people who put style over practicality and would never consider buying a minivan; Adopters – people like me who placed practical needs over style, and; Hesitators – people who might be persuaded to buy an Odyssey if it didn’t look so darn practical and anonymous.
   2011 Honda Odyssey. Click image to enlarge |
Needless to say, the outcome of all this research is the 2011 Honda Odyssey, a complete redesign of the Honda minivan and one that Honda hopes will differentiate it from those other uninspiring competitors.
To bring a more modern look to this fourth generation Odyssey, Honda has lowered the roof, widened the body and track and distinguished its profile with a “lightning-bolt” belt line that is both stylish and functional (it adds outside visibility for third row passengers). To reduce the boxy look that comes from a one box design, Honda’s designers stretched out the front A-pillars and added more rake to the rear C-pillars giving the vehicle a roof line that tapers to the rear. These changes also have a practical application – enhancing aerodynamics which helps to reduce wind noise and fuel consumption. Larger wheels and tires surrounded by noticeable fender flares reduce the body-to-wheel proportion which in turn reduces the perception of vertical height. No longer does a minivan need to look like it is perched precariously on its wheels.
Despite the lower roof, the interior of the Odyssey is as cavernous and roomy as ever with three rows of seats that depending on trim level can seat up to eight passengers. Six adults can sit comfortably in the three rows, as we found out when carrying six well-fed journalists from restaurant to hotel. Leg room in the second and third rows is adult sized and access to the third row does not require any unusual contortions or the flexibility of a six-year-old as is common with three row SUVs.
  2011 Honda Odyssey. Click image to enlarge |
Pulling one handle near the base of the second row seat flips the seat back forward and moves the seat ahead about eight inches. Combined with a wider opening for the rear sliding door, accessing the third row seat is just a matter of stepping in. Third row room has also been enhanced by moving the spare tire from the side wall to a space under the floor between the front seats.
Of course, the third row seats flip and fold flat into the floor – a feature pioneered by Honda – greatly enhancing cargo carrying capacity. The big difference is that stowing the rear seats (a 60/40 split seat, one large, one small) is no longer a two step process. There is just one pull strap which lowers the seat back and locks it into place while unlatching the seat from the floor, allowing you to pull the seat into the floor with one hand. Honda decided against offering a power rear seat option because the new manual process is just as easy, and quicker, than power operated seats.
