The 2011 Honda Odyssey is hot. Not quite as hot as the Ford Flex. I don't think the HO would look good with rims. I may have to start a family just so I have an excuse to buy a minivan.

 

While I know I'd never consider the Flex to be in the same market as the Odyssey, I'll agree that the Odyssey is a pretty hot automobile. The only downside is the lack of AWD option, which the Sienna has and that car is a pretty compelling alternative.

 

Were you when you had this thought?

 

Or thought he was on FB.

We've got a thread in Automotive news.

 

Juts saw one in the flesh, not a fan of the exterior styling. Hot isn't how I'd describe it, more like awkward. I'm sure the lightning bolt seemed like a good idea at some point, they just failed in the execution.

But, its a minivan. I'm sure it will accomplish what it was meant to do perfectly and be a huge sucess for Honda.

 

The wifey and I had a moment to check out (visually) a new one today and neither of us are particularly enamored with the styling direction. 3G Ody FTW still.

 

i think the 2g ody looks the best ... but suv ftw!

 

This

 

Shocking

Surely.

 

One of my wife's co-worker daughter few months ago bought a 3G Oddy and she and her husband don't have any kids. We thought they'd announce something about her expecting but both wanted a mini-van for camping and home/yard projects (fitting trees into his WRX wasn't working).

 

New Sienna > New Odyssey

 

It will be a cold day in hell before I get one.

 

Too bad the Honda can still kick our TSX butt!

 

utility > pride

 

I kinda like the interior of the Odyssey a bit more.

But the Sienna has better styling and an AWD option, so that wins out. Wonder how the new Quest will do.

Other than that, my only complaint about the Sienna, and all these other new vans is that they're farking huge. Really annoying when most are driven by soccer moms that don't know the first rule about parking and like to use your fender as their door prop.

I wish all these vans were Mazda5/1G Odyssey size, leave the big ones to people that actually need them.

 

 

Thats why i have a Expedition. 8 seat capacity, true 4wd and offers off road capability, can tow a lot more. Yep Utility > Pride

 

give me the sienna SE model with 19" wheels and oem lip kit...

 

You define utility that way.
My utility = being able to chauffeur my kids here and there with all of their crap. Offroad is pulling into the driveway.

 

All while getting better than 11 MPG.

 

not feeling the new odyssey at all, esp. the lightning theme. the sienna w/ the body kit is way hotter. but the interior is better in the odyssey.

 

That is a good reason to have an SUV.

I don't like them as "soccer mom" vehicles because those same people go through the Starbucks drive-thru, get a mocha-latte-fraapa-fatty-shit, and bitch about drilling for oil off Alaska, as they get 11 MPG. They also park like a hippo's ass and can barely see over the steering wheel while on their cell phone.

The new Ody that the OP posts about, well, I'm not digging the exterior. The interior looks like a winner, though, and Honda will get their share in this segment.

 

I like the new Oddy, but I have to admit I liked the 2G better. I would totally rock a 2G Oddy with rims, a mild drop, and tint. Yes, really.

 

that > new Ody

 

^ the new Ody just looks too conservative compared to that. and why didnt they put in an MDX engine in it to make it more competitive? or shit even a 7 year old J32A2? i dont understand Honda/Acura design sometimes...


and whoever said the 2G Odys look the best is right. i have a 2010 in the family and we are pleased with it (except for the anemic power output and all the rattles, recalls, etc. typical Honda shit).

 

Too bad the Sienna has a torsion beam rear suspension, the difference can be really felt on rougher roads and potholes (vs. a multilink setup). The rear end on the Toyota bounces too much...or else I would say

Sienna > Ody (for 2011 model year anyways).

Good move on Toyota giving a 4cyl option (although majority of buyers will go for V6)

 

fixed.

 

Extremely lame for Toyota to have a torsion beam rear suspension on a 2011 mini-van, can understand why Inside Line thought the Odyssey had better handling than the Sienna and was more a driver's mini-van.


http://www.insideline.com/honda/odys...ison-test.html

 

Hey, i haul 3+ kids all the time plus all of the crap they bring with, (which each teenage girl packs enough for a overnight trip to last 2 weeks, so does the wife)

Hey, i average 14.6 lol

 

cheaper, but also VERY compact, so gives more interior room (if you try putting on wider tires [maybe 20-30mm wider] more then likely they would rub on the wheelwell itself, very little excess room in there)


and you have three teenage girls too...

 

I'd rock it if I had 2.5 kids.



That van will make soccer moms across America wet.

 

I second (or third?) the votes for the 2G Odyssey.
Even after 8+ years, the one my parents have still looks pretty good out on the roads.

 

Sienna > O

Hell, at this point Sedona > O.

 

Which is why if I need utility I will get a CRV or a Pilot.

 

Actually a independent rear suspension (IRS) is more space efficient than torsion beam axle. With a beam axle there has to be a tunnel across the floor pan to allow vertical travel of the beam axle as the wheels suspension over bumps.

This tunnel cuts down the height of the interior volume. The beam axle can be positioned low to minimize this at the expense of ground clearance. Honda also did it to allow the 3rd row fold flat seating, which also included moving the spare tire to the middle of the vehicle.

This is also a problem for solid axles on SUV's, the IRS SUV's have more cargo space since the differential does not need any vertical travel space.

 

The split screen tv in the Odyssey is pretty cool:



BUT the reclining rear seats in the Sienna are ...



Kids have it good nowadays.

 

some but not that much though, and people seem more worried about the width of the cargo floor then really how tall the cargo area is (and are you thinking of the wheels being at the end of the U-shape of the beam, or someplace else, cause for the most part the beam just twists, and does not move around a whole lot)

about that 3rd row folding into the floor, maybe you should relook at that, cause iirc toyota does it too now...
so you just have that torsen beam axle, just go around the front of said seat with it in the floor cutout


what it rally all comes down to though is compromising, with what people want

 

With the Odyssey's setup it would basically be impossible to implement AWD unless the whole underbody and the packaging was redesigned.

With the Sienna's setup you can implement AWD but there is no room for a spare tire and a fold flat seat, and thus you are stuck with run flats.

 

as a matter of fact you can...

it is the same basic setup as a pilot or mdx, just lower sitting, and yes you do need to move a couple things around for the half shafts and such to make it work though

and as for the sienna, yes indeed it is easier to implement AWD alot easier with it's suspension design (and as far as the spare, you gotta place it like how honda does on the side instead of underneth, the rear driveshaft makes it too narrow for the spare to fit under any more

 

^I was told by a reputable source otherwise

My question before was why the Odyssey didn't offer AWD, and that was the explanation offered to me. My question now, is, once again, why doesn't the Ody offer AWD?