2010 Honda Odyssey

You’ve likely seen the trend almost as annoying as the “Baby On Board” placard: Laser-cut stickers that show the whole family, from Dad down to the pets, in stick-figure form. Sadly, these are especially popular on Honda Odyssey minivans because the people who own Odysseys have kids and are darn proud of it. We mention this because one of the few nits we can pick about the Odyssey is that Honda didn’t make the rear window resistant to these stickers’ adhesive. Odyssey owners: Resist the stickers. We know you have kids and are proud of it. Just wait. They’ll become teenagers and by then the sticker people will sell little piercing and tattoo stickers that can be added to the little stick teenagers.

Total Package

For most, vehicles are fashion accessories and lifestyle statements. It’s my experience that a female in a red convertible often says, “I’m recently divorced, but still damn sexy. And available.” A pickup truck says, “I’m a hard-working American and damn proud of it.” A sports-utility vehicle says, “I’m adventuresome, free, love the outdoors and hauling soccer teams to Pizza Hut.” A minivan’s owner says, “We are proud that we have been fruitful and have multiplied.”


Of all the vehicles mentioned, the minivan is the most rational choice. And the 2010 Honda Odyssey is the most rational of rational choices. Since the full-sized Odyssey debuted as a 1999 model, it’s been at (or near) the top of everyone’s list of best minivans. Certainly, there are arguments around the YMCA Y Guides campouts as to whether the Toyota Sienna is better or if the Kia Sedona offers more value. (Those who argue for the Dodge Grand Caravan or its Volkswagen Routan fraternal twin probably haven’t driven the others.) However, you won’t go wrong if you choose an Odyssey. True story: My sister-in-law asked what vehicle she should get. A mother of three, she described her automotive needs and couldn’t have more accurately described an Odyssey.

Features and Pricing

For this test, Honda loaned us a loaded Odyssey Touring. Its manufacturer’s suggested retail price is close to a whopping $42,000. For virtually all buyers, the Odyssey LX, which starts at $28,00, or the EX, which retails for a bit more than $30,000, will provide all the features (except one) they need. That one feature is the headliner-mounted DVD screen. The Odyssey EX-L, at about $32,000, is the lowest-priced Odyssey with a DVD player. On long trips, there are times parents would give the kids cash bribes to shut up. Those bribes are often more than the difference in monthly payment between the EX and the EX-L. If you plan road trips with your Odyssey, get the EX-L. We used to strap a small TV/VCR between the front seats. The motorcycle tie-downs wouldn’t have held the TV in place in a big crash, but the kids could go the length of Apollo 13 without a pit stop. When they were little, we measured time in Barney episodes: “We’re only five Barney episodes away,” I’d say.


Another Odyssey advantage is its 450-plus-mile cruising range. Sometimes kids demand frequent potty breaks. Other times they’ll sleep for hours. Fill up with gas at every bathroom break. You never know when they’ll take a long nap and you can take advantage of a straight 450-mile cruise in quiet.

Performance and Economy

One reason for the Odyssey’s impressive mileage range is its engine management system, available in EX-L and higher trim levels. The system cuts power to one, two or three cylinders depending on driving conditions. While otherwise essentially identical to the 244-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 in the LX and EX, this version (which also makes 244 horses) deactivates cylinders when you don’t need all those ponies. By closing intake and exhaust valves on up to three cylinders, the system improves fuel mileage from the conventional engine’s 16 miles per gallon on the government’s city cycle and 23 mpg on the highway regime to 17 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. Two miles a gallon doesn’t sound like a lot until you multiply it by the Odyssey’s 21-gallon fuel tank: That’s more than an hour of extra nap time for the kids. The engine’s transition from six to four to three cylinders and back is so seamless, you won’t even know it’s happening.