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Honda Odyssey debuts as the minivan that thinks it's a sedan.
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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How do you make a minivan as friendly to rear seat riders as a conventional family sedan?
Honda has the idea: Add two car-like rear doors.
Odyssey, Honda's new minivan that rides on a platform borrowed from best-selling Accord, does just that. Check behind the two front hinged doors and you'll find two more, the same type you'd expect to see attached to a sedan.
Honda's design also lowers the floor of Odyssey so you can easily step inside -- much like you would slip into a family sedan -- rather than having to hoist your body aboard as the typical minivan requires.
Making a van more like a car has always been the big idea behind a minivan, of course, but until now no one dared to exorcize the minivan's right-side sliding door, a bulky thing borrowed from boxcars, then add another back door.
Honda designed Odyssey differently, however, because research indicates there's a market out there that wants a walk-through minivan so those who ride in the rear can more easily take their seats.
Open the door, step aboard and buckle up: It's that easy when you slip into an Odyssey second-tier seat.
And you can reach those secondary seats from either side of Odyssey, without bending and scooting or crawling.
Reaching the third tier's 2-person bench does take more work, but not so to fold it flat into the floor because this thing performs effortless flip tricks.
Stand at the rear of the vehicle, reach through the back gate and remove both head restraints, which store in a handy side pocket, then turn a rotary knob on the back of the seatback and fold it forward. Next, twist a second knob on the cushion's spine to unlock the bench. It will flip with only a slight touch, disappearing into a floor well.
No other minivan makes rear seat removal this easy.
Several variations in Odyssey's second-row seating create interesting options for hauling people and cargo.
Two captain-style chairs with reclining seatbacks either tilt forward on front anchors to make quick room for cargo or may be removed by merely flipping a latch -- they weigh only 38 pounds, half as much as most buckets.
A second-tier bench which will seat three people splits in half. Seatbacks recline for comfort, or sections independently fold forward against the back of the front seat to carve out cargo space. Fold seatbacks flat and this middle bench links with rear bench to create a cozy bed.
Up front, Honda provides two individual captain-style bucket seats in a cockpit outfitted with dual airbags and all of the comfort and convenience items you would expect to find in a fine luxury sedan.
Actually, every aspect of Odyssey's interior orients toward comfort -- from power windows and door locks along with other power-assisted controls such as cruise control to assets like front and rear air conditioning, upper and lower glove boxes, dual vanity mirrors, remote fuel door release, quartz digital clock and rear window defroster with timer.
Also, the floor of Honda's minivan slopes upward from front to rear, much like a theater's floor. Second and third rows of seats rise higher than the first so riders may see beyond those in front.
Visibility from inside Odyssey appears superb, but particularly from the driver's view. Tall windows and thin roof pillars create a virtually uninterrupted field.
Odyssey's design, centered on that sedan-height chassis and user-friendly interior features, reflects the fact that Honda took its time in deciding to enter the minivan market. As a result, it was able to capitalize on favored traits of competitors and develop creative new concepts driven from Honda's extensive research of the minivan market.
For mechanical hardware, Honda selected some of the best performance perks of Accord, then adapted each element to fit the minivan's format.
Regarding suspension, for instance, Honda's lively double wishbone layout stands at each corner, which makes Odyssey the first minivan equipped with a fully independent 4-wheel suspension setup. Front components came directly from Accord, but a more compact design was required in the rear due to Odyssey's flat floor design.
Speed-sensing power rack and pinion steering and a brake assembly which employs a disc at each wheel plus Honda's 4-wheel anti-lock brake system also come with both of Odyssey's models.
For power, Honda borrowed but modified Accord's 4-in-line engine with aluminum alloy block and cylinder heads and cast iron liners. With single overhead cam, electronic ignition and multi-point programmed fuel injection, this application squeezes ten more horsepower than Accord musters for a total of 140.
Odyssey's powerplant mates with Honda's smooth and quiet electronically-controlled 4-speed automatic transaxle, which has an intelligent shift point controller that chooses third and fourth gear settings after measuring variables like throttle position, road speed and rates of acceleration and deceleration when traversing long inclines and descents.
In tests of pre-production Odyssey minivans, I crisscrossed the rugged mountains of Arizona's Tonto National Forest near Globe. On long alpine grades, Odyssey's transmission was able to measure and determine that steepness of the slope was limiting speed, even with accelerator pegged on the floor. Thus, it held in fourth gear rather than jump back and forth between third and fourth in an annoying hunt for the ideal.
On downhill charges Honda's system detected no throttle but some brake action to check the speed, so it automatically downshifted into third to control the Honda.
Overall, I found Odyssey easy to drive because it seems to move, steer and park more like a sedan than a minivan.
Honda's decision to stock only a 4-cylinder engine had concerned me, although I found adequate acceleration for city driving in tests on Phoenix streets, plus more than enough power for cruising on varous Arizona freeways.
Still, those who need to haul a boat or camping trailer should select a muscular sport-utility vehicle, since that's not the mission of Honda's minivan.
Odyssey looks best when maneuvering like an agile sedan. Also, that luxury cabin with innovative seat systems and hinged rear doors makes it unique among all minivans.
Two Odyssey trim levels -- LX and EX -- list for base retail figures which start at $22,985.
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 1995 HONDA ODYSSEY Specs |
| Description: |
Compact minivan |
| Model Options: |
Compact minivan |
| Wheelbase: |
111.4 inches |
| Overall Length: |
187.2 inches
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| Engine Size: |
SOHC 2.2-L I-4 16-v
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| Transmission: |
Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Front |
| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS |
| Airbags: |
2 |
| Gas Mileage: |
20/24 mpg |
| Price: |
$ 22,985 to $ 24,995 |
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