There has never been a better time to buy a new car in Australia. The high value of the Oz dollar, stagnant overseas markets leading to an over supply of cars and the resulting fierce competition between marques in our local market means bargains are there for the taking.
Take the Honda Odyssey for example. Major price cuts have just been announced and at the same time the people mover has received extra equipment. Selling for just $37,100 (previously $39,100 and at one time $43,990) and with an estimated $2500 worth of gear now standard, Odyssey offers a lot in the seven-seat family car market.
Standard across the range, the Odyssey now comes with a satellite navigation system that incorporates a reversing camera. The sat nav includes live traffic updates, an exceptionally handy feature as it lets you re-plan on the run.
There’s USB connectivity with iPod integration, Bluetooth connectivity and audio streaming. There is also a DVD player
‘Low’ and ‘sleek’ aren’t normally words used to describe a people mover, but the Honda Odyssey deserves the description. Lower than some conventional station wagons, the Odyssey is far more stylish than the usual boxy people movers.
A pleasing feature of the Odyssey is that the A-pillars are relatively slim and give a decent view to the front-side, particularly at crossroads in the suburbs and on winding country roads.
The Honda people mover’s interior is almost futuristic in its design, with a sweeping-wave dash and instruments that sit in no fewer than four layers. This is certainly not a van that’s been converted by the addition of more seats and windows.
With three tall adults behind one another and all have good legroom. However, the one in the rearmost seat may be tight for headroom and is often used only by kids. Access to the rearmost seats is never easy in a vehicle of this type, but Honda does it better than most, with back doors that go a fair way backwards.
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There’s a sort of walk-through facility from the front pair of seats to the centre row, but the fold-down centre console makes it a difficult manoeuvre as there's not a lot of space for your legs.
Honda claims the centre console compartment can take a handbag of any size, which seems like an ambitious statement to me having viewed some of my partner’s handbags… Still it is a voluminous compartment and that isn’t common these days.
Boot space is quite good, but the amount of luggage space suffers if all seats are in use. The boot opening is reasonably large, but there's more encroachment at the sides than we like.
Ride comfort is almost car-like as a result of the low centre of gravity and Honda's long-time expertise in seating and noise reduction. Road and tyre noise on coarse-chip is pleasingly low. This people mover can be used on rough and ready backroads during weekends or holiday trips without overly tiring the occupants.
Power comes from a four-cylinder 2.4-litre engine producing power up to 132 kW; torque is 218 Nm and there’s good grunt at relatively low revs.
Engine performance isn’t what you would call exciting. If you're going to be carrying a lot of people, and driving in hilly areas you may find the Odyssey struggles at times. |
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