Spiffed Up: Honda Odyssey Elite
Although refreshed and updated inside and out for 2025, Honda’s minivan remains recognizably an Odyssey—and it remains the best-selling minivan in America too. This color is Pacific Pewter Metallic.
There’s a lot going on here. The most recent previous Odyssey we drove, a 2021 model, had nine main function buttons under its screen; the ‘25 has 12. Note the Snow mode switch, to the left of the P-R-N-D/S gear selector, and the Smart Shortcuts button beneath the main tiles. For convenience, some functions are replicated on the steering wheel—which, in the Elite trim, is heated.
Minivans are all about space first, and then practicality and functionality. The newly upgraded Odyssey offers all these plus welcome helpings of comfort and, especially in the Elite trim, even luxury.
Although refreshed and updated inside and out for 2025, Honda’s minivan remains recognizably an Odyssey—and it remains the best-selling minivan in America too. This color is Pacific Pewter Metallic.
There’s a lot going on here. The most recent previous Odyssey we drove, a 2021 model, had nine main function buttons under its screen; the ‘25 has 12. Note the Snow mode switch, to the left of the P-R-N-D/S gear selector, and the Smart Shortcuts button beneath the main tiles. For convenience, some functions are replicated on the steering wheel—which, in the Elite trim, is heated.
Minivans are all about space first, and then practicality and functionality. The newly upgraded Odyssey offers all these plus welcome helpings of comfort and, especially in the Elite trim, even luxury.
Minivans too have been upgraded in features and luxury. Although it is still true that no one casually-on-purpose drops the keyfob to a minivan on the bar at a posh club, hoping to attract attention, like pickup trucks these things are no longer the domestic drudges they once were. There’s no better exemplar of this than the latest, fifth-generation Honda Odyssey. Luxury, convenience, powered doors, abundant space and quiet pace... if Acura offered an even more upscale version, it would be a corporate limousine.
For 2025, the Odyssey got a new grille, re-shaped front and rear ends and fancier wheels along with two new colors. On the inside, the “cabin experience” was improved with technology updates that include a new 7-inch digital instrument display with driver-selectable functions and vehicle information; the central color touchscreen has been enlarged and equipped with a faster processor; and there are more USB-C ports scattered throughout, plus a wireless phone charger.
The Odyssey’s kid-critical rear-seats entertainment system got a larger (12.8-inch) high-resolution screen and is more functional, and there’s now a storage bin in the center console for a streaming device.
If there are any disappointments for 2025, one might be that the Odyssey’s motive power hasn’t been upgraded. Over the front axle is a 3.5-litre gasoline V-6 pushing 280 horsepower and 262 torques through a 10-speed automatic transmission, a package that’s been with us since 2017. Unsurprisingly, the fuel efficiency hasn’t improved either — the Odyssey is still rated for a combined city/highway average of 22 MPG.
But when the original Odyssey arrived, way back in 1994, it was a smaller and much less sophisticated vehicle with a 4-cylinder engine and a 4-speed automatic—and today’s iteration drives beautifully; only a NASCAR mom could wish for more acceleration, braking, response and overall poise. This long, tall structure is notably creak-free and solid, too.
Furthermore, in a large, non-hybrid family vehicle, 22 miles per gallon doesn’t seem half-bad either, at least when 7/11ths of the JV soccer team is on board. (The Odyssey takes eight people and has “Magic Slide” second-row seats.) Evidently, Honda decided that a hotter engine would be simply change for the sake of change, and with worse fuel efficiency and a higher sticker price to boot.
Snow-belt soccer moms may also be disappointed to learn that all-wheel-drive remains unavailable on the Odyssey. Relatively few minivans offer AWD, which requires trade-offs in packaging, space and weight, and the front-wheel-drive Odyssey compensates with its Intelligent Traction Management system. Selecting Snow mode locks out first gear and reduces throttle sensitivity, to lessen wheelspin on slippery surfaces. With proper snow tires (and a modicum of skill), this should power the Odyssey through about anything south of the Iditarod.
Democracy may be teetering on the edge across America, but Honda at least is committed to treating us as though we were all equal. The company’s slogan, “Safety for Everyone,” means that every 2025 Odyssey trim level, regardless of price, comes with the full Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver-assist technologies. A family that can afford a top-dog $53,000 Odyssey Elite will be looked after just as closely — by crush zones, airbags, sensors, computers, servomotors, apps and connectivity — as one in a $43,000 entry-level Odyssey EX-L.
On the Odyssey, these systems includes Collision Mitigation Braking System with Advanced Pedestrian Detection, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keeping Assistance, Road Departure Mitigation with Lane Departure Warning and Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow. But still: Put the phone down and pay attention. Or use the built-in Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
Get past the term “minivan” and no one, from the driver to the rear-most passengers, will find anything to complain about with the new Odyssey. We even like the name, an odyssey being a long trek or wandering, or a pilgrimage to Grandma’s house.
Next week: Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy
