5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Very happy with the Odyssey
Date of Review: Sep 4, 2005
The Bottom Line: Test drive and decide for yourself. Ranks pretty decently with CR.
I thought I'd already written a review for my Odyssey, but it seems to have disappeared... Odd, but I have nothing better to do right now than write a new one, so I will! :)
I love this van, and I NEVER thought I would love a van! My college roommate and I used to joke about the proliferation of minivans, saying that it was like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", where a pod grew next to your car, and the day it hatched, your car would be mysteriously replaced with a minivan. That's not quite how it happened... I grew up and have one baby with another on the way. Time to move up from my compact car to something a little roomier!
We bought the Touring model, with NAV and DVD, and I love having both! When traveling, both are invaluable. No need to download directions from Mapquest before leaving, and no need to look up and down from a piece of paper to make sure I'm going where I need to go. Even when I get off my route for whatever reason (potty break, McD's, etc.), the NAV system tells me how to get back on the road and back on track. And when traveling with a small child, nothing is better than being able to pop in a DVD to keep her entertained on an otherwise boring trip. As someone who never looks at her owner's manual, I didn't realize for the longest time that you can operate the DVD from the driver's seat. But now that I know that, I just love the DVD all the more!
Gas mileage is decent, although not great. I generally get around 19-20 mpg in the suburbs and about 25 mpg on the highway. But that's to be expected, since I'm not driving a teeny, little compact car like I was used to driving. I think you could fit 2.5 of my old cars into this van, lol!
One thing I do love about the Odyssey, it is very simple to maintain. Press the little 'i' button, and it tells you your MPG, how many more miles you can probably drive before you need more gas, and how much life you've got left in your oil. Plus, I just found out that Honda offers a free owner's website that automatically emails service reminders so that you never forget to change the oil or rotate the tires. Since I'm one of those people who is always forgetting, this is a definite plus for me. This website also helps with maintaining service records, which might be quite useful to have.
This van is very comfy for me, although I think a lot of that really is a personal thing. IMO, some people can't get comfortable *anywhere* and others are comfortable most everywhere. My advice is to test drive it and see how comfy you are in it.
Other things I love: automatic doors, a rearview mirror that only needs adjusting if you change drivers, LATCH for carseats, the rearview camera when driving in reverse, sensors that tell you when you're driving too close to something, and I can't think of any more. :)
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