2005 Honda Odyssey Review

Up until recently, Honda had always operated on a furious redesign cycle. Just moments after an all-new car's release, designers would get right back to work spending sleepless nights working on its replacement, always due in exactly four years. It didn't matter how good the current car seemed to be, because messages like “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” do not resonate in Tokyo.

Take the Odyssey. With the right size, right power, the world's most convenient third-row bench, and running on parts built to the higher standards of passenger cars (instead of trucks), the outgoing model was the first minivan to nail the formula. Because every competitor lacked at least one of those qualities, the Odyssey seemed to be the natural leader. But out of force of habit, Honda couldn't let it live for more than six years, so we have a fresh Odyssey for 2005.

Some cars earn bragging rights through speed, others on fuel economy, others on styling. Minivans, free of danger from having any of the above, earn their bragging rights through one virtue: versatility. Inconvenience is the cardinal sin; a van that's hard to use makes for a hard sell. The very first Odyssey - the pathetic 140-horsepower midget that threatened no one in 1995 - was where Honda first pioneered the third-row Magic Seat that disappears into the floor. It set a new standard in minivan convenience back in an era where everyone else's 100-plus-pounds back seat took two people to remove, assuming it could be removed at all. Folding the Magic Seat is still as easy as ever: after folding the seats forward, pull on a nylon strap and wham, it falls into the now-flat floor. Honda improved upon its invention this year by making the seat a 60/40 split bench, adding to flexibility and probably erasing the occasional complaint about back strain. Also, there's no longer a need to remove the headrests, which now fold flush into the seat.

The curious part was Honda not matching the Nissan Quest or Dodge Caravan in offering a disappearing second-row seat as well. Bad move? Depends on priorities. The vanishing ability often detracts from comfort (thinner seats call for thinner padding), and the second row of most minivans probably sees constant use anyway. The Odyssey's second row can still be removed, but that calls for advanced planning on where to leave them. More troubling is the 50-plus-pounds weight of each chair, which seems like a burden to a typical female adult. But any mother who doesn't mind the occasional hernia will be rewarded with her children's gratitude.

Not that there's any age limit for rear passengers. Any of the Odyssey's seven seats (EX models add a removable eighth seat) is a comfortable place for an adult to spend time. The second row is as roomy as the first, the back row is at least as good as a Civic's, and there's a handy under-floor storage compartment between the first and second rows replete with a "Lazy Susan" organizing tray on most models. Need a cupholder? Take your pick among fifteen.

All Odyssey models above the LX feature power sliding doors, and the Touring adds a power tailgate as well. They do their job, if slowly, but Honda maintains an ergonomic oversight by not allowing the remote fob or the dashboard controls to operate any of them unless all doors have been unlocked first. The doors are also a bit quick to assume that every move is a mistake and reverse direction - a prudent protection against lawsuits for them, but an annoyance for us. Overall, most of us thought the power doors were more trouble than they were worth.

The first interior change a former Odyssey owner would notice is a shifter sticking out of the dashboard instead of the steering column. Minor changes to the controls show signs of Honda conforming to the Japanese norm: an overdrive button instead of a D3 transmission detent, wiper controls on a stalk instead of a knob, and pushing forward on the turn signal for high-beams. All controls worked intuitively except for the slightly fussy tri-zone automatic climate controls. And the Odyssey should have a telescopic steering column, though the driver's seat at least stands upright enough to compensate.An important change is the possibility of ordering a navigation system and rear-seat DVD (now with a 9-inch screen, up from 7). Formerly, you had to choose.