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Honda Odyssey Luxury 2009 review: snapshot

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EXPERT RATING
8.6
Neil Dowling
Contributing Journalist
28 Aug 2009
4 min read

Delusion may be frowned upon by people in the ‘real’ world but it has tempting advantages.

I, for example, could delude myself that even after having four children, there is an ever-so-slight yearning to have more kids to fill any void in my life and the empty seats in my people mover.

And not just any people mover. Australians can kid themselves that they're happy with a hatchback but show them a Honda Odyssey and they go completely gaga over its practicalities.

This is a people mover like few others. Though it shares DNA with commercial metal boxes such as the Nissan Nomad and Toyota Lite-Ace, is so many streets ahead it's difficult to speak of them in the same breath.

Interior and fit-out

Honda threw away the traditional commercial van design guide by lowering its version's floor. That brought down the roofline and though its lengthy proportions tend to link it with a hearse, it has a very versatile and spacious cabin.

The Odyssey seats seven people — real people, not babies — and has excellent centre and third-row seat flexibility. Seats flip, individually fold flat, can be removed and even slide. The third row folds into the floor so creates a flat luggage area. It's easy to get in and out of the third seat row. Once in, you note that visibility is pretty good and there's air vents overhead.

Then there's the styling. There are overtones of a fun fair space capsule — a theme Honda infuses in its other car and motorcycle models — and though it can grate, it is never dull. In fact the flowing lines of the dashboard and the varying hues and textures — even the orange plastic wood trim — work to shrink what would otherwise be a big slab of black plastic.

Heaps of personal storage spaces include centre armrests for the front and centre seats, big door pockets, cupholders and storage for the third-seat occupants and a handy bin in the driver-side dash. The front-seat centre console also folds down for access to the centre seat.

The Odyssey can load up with 600kg — on top of its dry 1700kg weight — so it needs a capable engine to get this all in motion.

Drivetrain and performance

Honda has upped the power from the predecessor's 118kW to more welcome 132kW. But the figures don't tell the whole story. The engine a 2.4-litre four-cylinder that is basically unchanged from the previous model.

Where the old engine sweated out 118kW at 5500rpm, the new one copies the power delivery but Honda has engineered the ability to rev further and keep pumping out the mumbo.

So while it still puts out 118kW at 5500rpm, it will run to 6500rpm and record 132kW. Unless they're deluding themselves, no people-mover owner wants to scream through the suburbs at 6500rpm in a desperate bid to attain mechanical Nirvana. Given that there's little change in the torque curve — it's still 218Nm at 4500rpm — the drive experience is unchanged.

The same deal applies to the five-speed automatic transmission which, while virtually every component has been redesigned, it still feels like the smooth-shifting gearbox of old.

Driving

On paper, the combination of a smallish engine, auto transmission and lots of load space can equate a torturous country drive where caravans overtake you on inclines. In fact, the Odyssey is remarkably nimble and doesn't seem too fazed by hills.

It's also very comfortable with its long wheelbase able to soak up ruts and the soft seats numbing any harshness. But it's big and the steering is vague so clearly it's no Porsche through the bends.

But it is versatile, it is stylish and there's no delusion about the fact that if you have the need or want, it would be easy to fill its seats with your offspring.

Read the full 2009 Honda Odyssey review

Honda Odyssey 2009: Luxury

Engine Type Inline 4, 2.4L
Fuel Type Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency 9.4L/100km (combined)
Seating 7
Price From $5,830 - $8,250
Safety Rating

Pricing Guides

$9,169
Based on 8 cars listed for sale in the last 6 months.
LOWEST PRICE
$4,999
HIGHEST PRICE
$11,490
Neil Dowling
Contributing Journalist
GoAutoMedia Cars have been the corner stone to Neil’s passion, beginning at pre-school age, through school but then pushed sideways while he studied accounting. It was rekindled when he started contributing to magazines including Bushdriver and then when he started a motoring section in Perth’s The Western Mail. He was then appointed as a finance writer for the evening Daily News, supplemented by writing its motoring column. He moved to The Sunday Times as finance editor and after a nine-year term, finally drove back into motoring when in 1998 he was asked to rebrand and restyle the newspaper’s motoring section, expanding it over 12 years from a two-page section to a 36-page lift-out. In 2010 he was selected to join News Ltd’s national motoring group Carsguide and covered national and international events, launches, news conferences and Car of the Year awards until November 2014 when he moved into freelancing, working for GoAuto, The West Australian, Western 4WDriver magazine, Bauer Media and as an online content writer for one of Australia’s biggest car groups. He has involved himself in all aspects including motorsport where he has competed in everything from motocross to motorkhanas and rallies including Targa West and the ARC Forest Rally. He loves all facets of the car industry, from design, manufacture, testing, marketing and even business structures and believes cars are one of the few high-volume consumables to combine a very high degree of engineering enlivened with an even higher degree of emotion from its consumers.
About Author
Disclaimer: The pricing information shown in the editorial content (Review Prices) is to be used as a guide only and is based on information provided to Carsguide Autotrader Media Solutions Pty Ltd (Carsguide) both by third party sources and the car manufacturer at the time of publication. The Review Prices were correct at the time of publication. Carsguide does not warrant or represent that the information is accurate, reliable, complete, current or suitable for any particular purpose. You should not use or rely upon this information without conducting an independent assessment and valuation of the vehicle.
Pricing Guide
$4,999
Lowest price, based on third party pricing data.
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