
06-12-2011, 01:27 PM
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2,186 posts, read 7,802,309 times
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Rating: 4 out of 5
In November 2007 my wife and I went to the local Honda dealership to look at minivans. With a family of four, and a new baby on the way, it was time to take the plunge and buy a minivan. As much as my wife hated giving up our sporty 2005 Subaru Outback, there was no way we were going to fit three children in its back seat. So when we first saw the Honda Odyssey we were entranced. The Honda Odyssey was beautiful. With sleek Honda lines, the Odyssey looked sportier and less clunky than the Dodges and Chrysler minivans that have been the staple minivan for familes across America. The Odyssey also had great acceleration. Packing more than 200 horsepower with a VTEC engine, the Odyssey can really get up and go. There's no anemic four -cylinder under the hood of the Odyssey - quite the contrary. There's a V6 VTEC (variable valve timing) engine under the hood that enables you to beat even BMW's off the line.
The most impressive thing about the Odyssey, however, is the space. We have three children who are six, three, and two. We can fit all three in the car and three adults comfortably on a cross state trip - and Virginia is a pretty big state! There is plenty of storage behind the rear seats for a stroller or luggage, and there is a small stow-away bin just behind the driver's seat row where you can store food or an emergency travel kit. And if you want the feeling of more room, and easier access to the back seat row, you can remove one of the seats from the second row and be able to move around comfortably, placing the children in their seats easier. That works so long as you plan on traveling with five comfortably, or six with a tight fit.
In short the Odyssey is a great vehicle for a large or growing family, of you need lots of space to haul people or cargo around suburbia and beyond. When we bought our Odyssey LX in 2007, MSRP was around $22,000. We picked the van up for about $20,000 out the door. What's most amazing is that almost three years later the car has only depreciated about twenty five to thirty percent, which is just amazing and really sets the Odyssey ahead of the fast-falling prices of used domestic minivans. In all, if we needed to again, I would definitely buy another Odyssey. And after our experience with this Honda, I know that I'll be buying the marque for my next vehicle.
Review by professional reviewer, Oct. 2, 2010
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