Nissan Rogue Vs. Honda CR-V: Compare Cars
For small families, the vehicle of choice is no longer the minivan or the SUV; it's the compact... Read More
- #2LEADERBOARD RANK
- 2655ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
- 108COMMENTS POSTED
Around The Web
Stable as a laden Honda Accord in its mannerisms, the minivan cruised down the highway at 70-plus with aplomb.
It has the flattest cornering attitude of any minivan we've ever driven.
The six-speed’s wider spread helps wring a bit more out of the engine
With either transmission, the Odyssey feels slower and less refined than a six-cylinder Sienna, which enjoys a 20-hp advantage.
Handling is--dare we say?--downright fun.
PERFORMANCE | 7 out of 10
Expert Quotes:
Stable as a laden Honda Accord in its mannerisms, the minivan cruised down the highway at 70-plus with aplomb.
Autoblog
It has the flattest cornering attitude of any minivan we've ever driven.
Inside Line
The six-speed’s wider spread helps wring a bit more out of the engine
Car and Driver
With either transmission, the Odyssey feels slower and less refined than a six-cylinder Sienna, which enjoys a 20-hp advantage.
Automobile Magazine
Handling is--dare we say?--downright fun.
AutoWeek
What's under the hood of the 2013 Honda Odyssey probably doesn't matter much to most minivan shoppers; but even if you're in that category you can rest assured that it has what it takes to accelerate strongly, pass quickly, change lanes confidently, and even take on steep mountain roads with a full load. In short, the Odyssey performs more like a car--even a somewhat sporty one--than an SUV.
Honda's 3.5-liter i-VTEC V-6 makes 247 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque in all Odyssey models, but while most of the lineup gets a five-speed automatic transmission, top-of-the-line Touring and Touring Elite models get a six-speed automatic.
Acceleration feels fast for this kind of vehicle, but objectively it isn't all that quick--about 8.8 seconds to 60 mph. That's a bit faster than the Toyota Sienna V-6.
While either of the transmissions deliver decisive, quick, smooth shifts when you're accelerating rapidly, we've noticed in both cases that shifts can be balky when things aren't as urgent--when you're getting gently back on the gas out of a corner, or accelerating lightly, for instance. And with an 'L' mode and an O/D-off button on the gearshift selector, there's no straightforward way to simply control shifts when you're on a mountain road.The Odyssey handles much more like a V-6 Accord, even though its looks align more closely with a Pilot. Thanks to some expert chassis engineering, this minivan corners with poise and control but not much harshness as a tradeoff; that's because of well-tuned, isolated front and rear subframes that help avoid the queasy secondary motions that plague many big, family-friendly vehicles.
Although the Odyssey isn't tuned for performance driving, its variable-displacement power-steering system has great weighting and even a little road feedback, and it's far better than the electric power steering systems that Honda has installed in its smaller CR-V or Civic.Conclusion
The 2013 Odyssey is a lot more fun to drive than it looks—and really, it's the best-handling and best-steering of the (large) minivans.
