2002 Honda Odyssey EX

America's love affair with the minivan may have abated somewhat over the last decade, but you surely couldn't prove that by Honda. While the firm didn't even enter the multi-purpose segment until 1996 with its original Odyssey, today it stands as one of the world's premier purveyors of people movers.

Honda has taken what was an already class-leading package to an even higher plateau, adding more power, more performance, more refinement and greater safety to the mix.

With the arrival of the second-generation Odyssey in 1999, Honda rectified what many buyers rightly deemed as shortcomings in its predecessor, notably a lack of scale and the absence of a V-6 engine. For 2002, the Odyssey has been treated to the most wide-ranging mid-iteration improvement program of any product in the company's history. Honda has taken what was an already class-leading package to an even higher plateau, adding more power, more performance, more refinement and greater safety to the mix. Although one needs a fairly keen eye to pick up the exterior changes that accompanied this upgrading—revised grille, nose badge, tail lamps and wheels—once behind the wheel, the differences quickly become clear.


Honda's handsome hauler still comes in two basic trim levels, LX and EX. The former opens at $24,250 and the latter at $26,750, each plus $460 in freight/prep fees. As with other Honda products, both are presented as complete packages. Even the LX brings a massive array of comfort and convenience standards headed by front/rear air conditioning, power windows/locks/mirrors, cruise control, tilt steering column, AM/FM/cassette stereo, front/rear intermittent wipers/washers, dual 12V powerpoints, dual sliding side doors, 2/2/3 seating with captain's chairs in the first two rows and Honda's patented third-row Magic Seat that folds away into the floor, and no fewer than 11 cupholders. On the safety front, the 2002 Odyssey retains its driver-selectable traction control and ABS-abetted stoppers but swaps the disc/drum setup used previously for a caliper/rotor assembly at each corner. Standard front-side airbags—the first such fitment in a minivan—also join the Odyssey's features roster in addition to the basic dual front bags.

Leather-appointed EXs can also be fitted with a slick DVD-based entertainment system.

Stepping up to EX trim adds even more to the mix in the form of automatic climate control, power activation for the sliding doors, keyless remote entry, security system, 8-way power driver's seat and a CD player. This year, opting for the EX also allows one to specify leather instead of cloth interior trim. Hidebound EXs can also be fitted with a slick DVD-based entertainment system. Both of those upgrades were found on our $29,750 test vehicle. The only other EX factory extra is a navigation package, although it currently cannot be paired with the upgraded audio-video system.


Regardless of trim, all Odysseys rely on the same superb powertrain. Already potent in 2001, Honda's all-aluminum 3.5-liter SOHC V-6 has been further fortified with a host of upgrades for 2002, including new intake and exhaust plumbing, a larger throttle body, bigger valves, higher compression ratio and a new three-rocker design in place of the original two-rocker configuration on the engine's VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Electronic Lift) system. These changes result in an additional 30 horsepower, bringing its total count to a class-leading 240. Torque also rises, from 229 to an even stouter 242 lb.-ft. The switch to three-rocker VTEC hardware improves both initial throttle response and top end on the V-6. Despite its extra clout, the engine runs on regular unleaded gas and remains clean enough to meet 50-state LEV smog specs.