2006 Honda Odyssey EX-L - Minivan Review and Road Test

You Can't Always Get What You Want

Honda was kind enough to loan me a 2006 Odyssey EX-L with DVD player and navigation system ($35,190 as tested) for my family's yearly camping trip to Zaca Lake in California's San Rafael Mountains. We would need every cubic inch the Odyssey's interior could offer, and with our tight family budget we were counting on the EPA mileage estimates of 20 MPG city/28 highway. How did the Odyssey do? Read on.

• Visit the 2006 Honda Odyssey EX-L Photo Gallery

First Glance: Packing up

The first thing I did was remove the "PlusOne" seat, a narrow perch that turns the Odyssey's second row into a three-place bench. With this middle seat removed, the right-hand seat moves to the center to convert the van to a 7-seater with a side aisle. But the middle seats don't fit snugly together, and the resulting narrow side aisle makes rear-seat access tricky. I'd prefer a regular 7-seater, but PlusOne is part and parcel of the EX, EX-L and Touring trim levels. Honda doesn't offer many stand-alone options; the power sliding doors, rear-seat DVD player and easy-to-clean leather interior were all great to have on our trip, but none of them are available on the 7-seat Odyssey LX.

It was a squeeze, but we managed to pack everything in. The split/fold third row seat proved especially useful, but the storage compartment under the second-row floor was too oddly shaped and went unused. Too bad -- the underfloor bins in the Dodge/Chrysler minivans are better designed have proven quite useful on previous trips.

I certainly had no qualms about packing my loved ones into the Odyssey, what with its bevy of safety kit: Antilock brakes, side- and side-curtain airbags, and electronic stability control, all standard.

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In the Driver's Seat: High marks from all seating positions

With my wife and I up front, sis-in-law and her daughter in the middle, and my two kids in back, we popped in a DVD and hit the road. I had no complaints from the driver's seat. Sightlines were good and the seat was comfy. The stereo and A/C controls looked complex at first glance but were actually pretty easy to figure out. Sis-in-law Kristi noted that the buttons that open the power-sliding side doors are hidden on the left side of the steering wheel, and opined that they should be located where a parent in the passenger seat can reach them.

Kristi reported that the second-row seats were plenty comfortable, not as spacious as the seats in the Nissan Quest (link to review) but much better than the narrow perches of the Dodge Grand Caravan. The kids were quite happy in the third row, though they missed some of the Quest's amenities, specifically its four-pane sunroof and second video screen dedicated to the third row. What amazed me about the third row was the room. While most minivan third-row seats are only suited to kids, the Odyssey seated my slightly pudgy 5'6" frame in actual comfort.

On the Road: Lots of power and surprisingly good gas mileage

Zaca Lake is situated 2,300 feet above sea level. The ride from Los Angeles starts on the freeway, transitions to two-lane highway, and ends with a long private road that winds through curves and up and down steep hills.

The Odyssey wasn't particularly fun to drive, but it felt very stable and safe. Even with a full load, I could carve through the turns at reasonable speeds without fear of making my passengers sick.

All Odysseys comes standard with a 244 horsepower 3.5 liter V6, but EX-L and Touring models (I drove the former) have a slightly different version than the LX and EX. The main difference is the Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system, which cuts fuel to 3 cylinders when power needs are light. EPA MPG estimates are higher -- 20 city/28 highway vs. 19 city/25 highway -- and real-world mileage is excellent. Our test van consistently delivered MPG in the low to mid 20s, remarkable considering the weight we were hauling and the hills up which we were hauling it. I filled up before the 375-mile round trip and made it home with nearly a quarter tank to spare! The VCM system is totally transparent -- to tell you the truth, I didn't even realize the van had it until I got home from our trip and read about it.

Journey's End: If only we had more choice in the matter...

I recently took a spin in Hyundai's new and significantly less expensive Entourage (link to review) minivan. I'm a big Hyundai fan; I think their vehicles are well designed and generally underrated. But as good as the Entourage was, there was definitely a difference -- it didn't have the solid carved-from-a-block-of-marble feel of the Odyssey.

The problem with marble is that it ain't cheap. Odysseys start under $26k, but many options require stepping up to the EX (and getting stuck with that silly PlusOne seat). If you want a power tailgate -- which may sound frivolous, but once you have it, you'll never want to live without it -- you're talking $37k-plus for the Odyssey Touring. That said, kudos to Honda for making all the safety equipment standard across the board.

I really liked the Odyssey; it's powerful, safe, pleasant to drive and reasonably economical for its size. It's well suited to day-to-day family life as well as long trips. I personally own 3 Honda cars and am sold on their reliability. But the inflexibility stemming from the Odyssey's lack of stand-alone options is its Achilles' heel. If I'm going to shell out $35k for a minivan, I'd better get exactly what I want.

• Visit the 2006 Honda Odyssey EX-L Photo Gallery