Why you should buy a 2010 Honda Odyssey now!

The Honda Odyssey has never been as quiet or smooth riding as the Toyota Sienna, but it has been a perennial staff and enthusiast favorite, once you've resigned to drive a minivan. In our tests, we found the responsive and precise handling made the van actually fun to drive. In fact, in some ways the outgoing Odyssey feels more like a sports sedan than Honda's own upscale Acura TSX. With the 2011 Odyssey redesign, they seem to have fixed that problem.

This week I drove the redesigned 2011 Honda Odyssey, and I already miss the outgoing model. Full disclosure: We have not fully tested the new model. (But we do have a first drive - 2011 Honda Odyssey minivan.) The 2011 model may have better fuel economy, is marginally quieter, probably safer, and it may even score higher in our tests than the outgoing model. But if you're like me and place a premium on a vehicle's driving experience, you should grab the "old" van while you can! The steering in the new van is significantly lighter and rather vague, taking away much of the sporty feel found in the old version. And an Odyssey without its sporty edge reduces much of the reason to buy it over the very competent Toyota Sienna.

So here's the same advice that I would tell my friends and family: If you like to drive and need a minivan, run out now and get a 2010 model before they are gone--and save money to boot (indeed, one of us already did). Honda dealers are currently offering large discounts which you will not be able to find on new 2011 models. Plus, as our reliability data shows, vehicles tend to be the least reliable in their first year of the redesign and most reliable at the end of a production run.

Also read: Should you buy an all-new car or proven carry-over car?

—Jake Fisher