2021 Honda Odyssey review: Carry kids and cargo, no crossover required

Crossover-SUVs may be scorching scorching scorching, but really don’t discounted the minivan. What the moment was a nerdy manner of loved ones transportation is now a stylish way to haul youngsters and gear. Case in point, the refreshed 2021 Honda Odyssey.

If you’re seriously in the sector for a minivan, I really don’t consider driving dynamics are your most important concern. In its place, you’re probable far more fascinated in the tremendous comfy front seats, or the 3-across second row with a detachable center portion. Without having that center seat in location, the outboard chairs can slide from aspect to aspect. This makes finding into the third row even a lot easier, and suggests mothers and fathers can individual their bratty youngsters if they begin fighting. The third row has space for 3 youngsters or two average-sized adults.

Irrespective of wherever your youngsters are seated, you can preserve an eye on them with the out there CabinWatch feature, which displays a online video feed of the rear compartment on the front infotainment display. It even has night time vision so you can see your youngsters in the dark, and now performs with the rear seat reminder to not only convey to you if you remaining a kid in the automobile unintentionally, but demonstrate you which 1. What a world. Also, the CabinTalk tech employs a microphone to undertaking the driver’s voice via the rear headphones and speakers.

Admittedly, I didn’t have any purpose to use the kid-checking characteristics. But I did get to exam out the vacuum cleaner. It performs as advertised.

Infotainment tech in my totally loaded Elite tester is managed on an eight-inch touchscreen with conventional Apple CarPlay and Android Car, but the foundation product will get a 5-inch device with no smartphone integration. However, even the bigger Show Audio software program isn’t my favored, because there looks to be 1 more stage for each individual purpose. Not good.

In back, the Odyssey Elite has a ten.two-inch dropdown display with two wi-fi headphone sets. 2nd-row kiddos get 1 HDMI port and two two.5-amp USB-A retailers. The third row has two headphone jacks (sorry, no wi-fi units for these unfavorites), as properly as 1 two.5-amp USB-A port and a 12-volt, 800-watt outlet. Up front, mother and father are flush with charging options, much too, including a couple of USB-A ports, a 12-volt outlet and far more.

As for cargo-hauling — youngsters always occur with cargo, ideal? — the room driving the third row has up to 38.six cubic toes of room. I dig the small, huge-load area that allows the third row seats to fold flat, and the moment they are stowed, cargo area will increase to ninety one cubic toes. However, if I want to unleash the Odyssey’s real hauling possible, I have to acquire the second row seats out, which is no uncomplicated endeavor. Every seat weighs about 70 lbs and just has me yearning for the Stow-N-Go seats found in the Chrysler Pacifica. Certain, the Odyssey has far more room the moment the chairs are removed, but I’ll acquire a somewhat smaller area for uncomplicated-peasy stowing.

When it will come time to really drive, the Odyssey does not disappoint. The three.5-liter V6 and lots of zip for merging on to the freeway. The engine is paired with a ten-pace computerized transmission that routes electrical power to the front wheels. All-wheel drive is not out there, which stinks because the Pacifica and Toyota Sienna now offer you this feature. There is, having said that, a snow manner that recalibrates the traction command parameters to deal with the slick things.

The Odyssey returns an EPA-approximated 19 miles per gallon in the metropolis, 28 mpg on the freeway and 22 mpg mixed. During a week of screening I really defeat the EPA, averaging 24.six mpg mixed. However, family members who are looking for even greater gas financial state should really appear at the hybrid powertrains in the Pacifica and Sienna. The Sienna will get up to 36 mpg mixed even though the plug-in hybrid Chrysler Pacifica has 32 miles of all-electrical range and will get eighty two MPGe.

The Odyssey behaves greater than you would anticipate on curvy roads, but it definitely excels at everyday driving. The ride good quality is outstanding, it never feels harsh or jarring and the cabin is quiet all the even though. New for this calendar year is an electrical brake booster, which increases brake experience and gives a shorter pedal stroke.

All of present-day fashionable driver-guidance characteristics are right here, and most are conventional. Blind-location checking does not grace the entry-amount LX trim, but other driving aids are conventional. It’s great to see that adaptive cruise command now has small-pace pursuing, because in past a long time, it would disengage down below 22 mph, creating it worthless in stop-and-go visitors. Also new for this calendar year are visitors-indicator recognition, which performs like it should really, and pedestrian unexpected emergency braking, which I the good thing is have not seasoned. The lane-retaining aid typically performs properly, but it can be a minor iffy at times. A good reminder to preserve your fingers on the wheel.

When the 2021 Honda Odyssey starts off at $32,910 including $1,120 for location, my major Elite tester will come out to $forty nine,335. The sweet location in the lineup is the EX-L for $39,580. The EX-L is properly-equipped with heated front seats, 4 USB-A ports and 3 12-volt retailers, the eight-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, Android Car and tri-zone computerized local weather command. I eliminate ventilated front seats, CabinWatch and CabinTalk, as properly as the rear-seat enjoyment method, wi-fi charging, a Wi-Fi hotspot and the vacuum cleaner, but I am not confident these characteristics are well worth the $ten,000 upcharge for the Elite.

The refreshed 2021 Honda Odyssey is an outstanding option for these who want to haul youngsters and gear, but really don’t want to get into the 3-row SUV sector. The Pacifica and Sienna do offer you electrified options and all-wheel-drive ability, creating them seriously fierce competition, but the Odyssey at least has a large amount of loved ones-helpful characteristics and a peppy V6 to boot.