Honda Odyssey

The lighter, more rigid Odyssey is front-drive only; no all-wheel-drive is available. A hands-free, foot-activated power tailgate is available. A new 8-inch infotainment touch screen replaces the previous Odyssey's complicated dual-screen system. All but the base LX trim come with standard blind spot monitoring, cross-traffic alert, forward collision warning, and automatic emergency braking. For the 2020 model year, a 10-speed automatic is now standard across the board. Updates for 2021 include standard Honda Sensing across all trims. This package includes forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, and lane keeping assistance. Blind spot warning and rear cross traffic are standard on all except the base trim. Plus, the minivan received a fresh exterior look, and a standard rear seat reminder system that alerts drivers to check the rear seat before leaving the vehicle to prevent forgetting a child inside. Honda claims that the second-row seats now fold nearly flat, making them easier to remove, and EX-L and higher trims get a power lumbar support for the front passenger seat.

The cabin is relatively quiet, though some road noise persists. Eight occupants fit easily in the roomy, versatile interior. The refined 248-hp V6 and five-speed automatic powertrain return 19 mpg overall. Top-trim versions got a six-speed automatic that became standard for 2014; this version returns 21 mpg. That 2014 freshening also included a reinforced front structure for better crashworthiness, the addition of available forward-collision warning, and an overly complicated touchscreen infotainment system on higher trims. Blind spot monitoring was only available on the top Elite trim; other versions got Honda's LaneWatch right blind spot camera system, which is more distracting and less useful. A built-in vacuum cleaner comes on select trims.