|
By EWAN
KENNEDY
13 April 2009
Honda
has never followed convention. Nowhere is this more obvious than
in its Odyssey range of people movers. Whilst other makers come up
with tall boxy vehicles, with, perhaps a sloping front, Honda has
always gone for a low, sleek look. Coming up with a vehicle car
lovers don’t mind being seen in.
OK, let's be honest and say the enthusiast would rather be seen in
a Civic Type-R or, better still, a Honda NSX, but the reality of
family life brings them back to the need for a people mover.
Which is where the Odyssey comes into the picture. Just look at
the lines: lower than some station wagons, with slim head- and
tail-lights that could have been designed for an Italian coupe, a
huge grille that again shouts out ‘sports’, a long bonnet, and
a lowset roof that tapers down at the back.
If you're looking for even more sportiness in your Odyssey, this
latest model is the first to be offered in Australia with the
Modulo range of dress up accessories.
A pleasing feature of the new body is A-pillars that are slimmer
than on the previous model. This gives a better view to the
front-side, particularly on twisting roads. Other makers, please
take note.
Then there's the new Odyssey’s interior. Positively futuristic
with a sweeping-wave dash and instruments that sit in no fewer
than four layers.
Talking about the interior, it's time to get down to the nitty
gritty of the Odyssey. Large, spacious cabins are the whole reason
for the existence of any people mover. Sit three tall adults
behind one another and all have good legroom. However, the one in
the rearmost seat may be tight for headroom, make sure you try it
for yourself.
The secret to the interior space in this low-slung vehicle is the
low floor. Access to the rearmost seats is never easy in a vehicle
of this type, but Honda does it better than most, with back doors
that go as far backwards as possible, virtually touching the
wheelarches, to create decent space.
Note that all Odyssey’s occupants now have full lap-sash safety
belts, the superseded model had a lap-only unit in the centre
second-row seat. All models now receive six airbags, previously
the lower spec cars only had four. The additional two airbags are
full side-curtain units.
Boot space is quite good, but the amount of luggage space suffers
if all seats are in use. The boot opening is larger than in the
previous model, but there's still more encroachment at the sides
than we like.
Power comes from an enhanced variant of the four-cylinder
2.4-litre engine from the previous model. Power is up 12 per cent
to 132 kW, while torque remains at a maximum of 218 Nm, although
it has been pulled slightly down the rev range and has a fatter
curve.
Our initial road testing was done during a drive program organised
by Honda Australia in the outer Melbourne areas, through to
Daylesford. We found engine performance to be adequate rather than
exciting, which is acceptable for a family wagon, but a bit more
oomph would have been appreciated in this sporty looking vehicle.
If you're going to be carrying a lot of people, and driving in
hilly areas you may find the Odyssey struggles at times.
The V6 engine once offered in older generation Odyssey’s is no
longer part of the program as few buyers were interested.
Transmission is by a five-speed automatic. It used the quite old
principle of shift operation and, oddly, can't be locked into
fourth gear. On the other hand it changes down readily so fourth
is generally there automatically when the engine demands it.
Ride comfort is a real feature of this latest Odyssey, it's almost
car-like as a result of the low centre of gravity and Honda's
long-time expertise. Road and tyre noise on coarse-chip was
pleasingly low, meaning this family people mover can be used on
rough and ready backroads during weekend of holiday trips without
overly tiring the occupants.
The entry level Honda Odyssey is priced at $43,990, the higher-specced
Odyssey Luxury sells for $49,990.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
|
|
