Test Driving the 2013 Odyssey

Here in the heartland of Utah suburbia, minivans are a hot commodity.  Among minivans, the Odyssey is queen.  With Ken Garff Honda of Orem being Utah's #1 Odyssey Dealer, it seemed only appropriate to test drive the latest model.

I got to drive the top-of-the-line Touring Elite.

The first thing I noticed about the 2013 Odyssey, is that it can hold up to 8 passengers instead of the standard 7.  As Paul Stewart, the Odyssey specialist, began to show me, the Odyssey can be reconfigured in 10 different ways.  Seats can be taken in and out, folded over, or used.  Three child carseats can all be comfortably buckled on a single row in the new Odyssey.

The amenities the Odyssey is equipped with are jaw-dropping.  One of my favorites is the FM Traffic which alerts you to traffic incidents on the systems map.  While still parked in the Honda of Orem dealership parking lot, I could see where accidents had happened on I15 and incidents on State Street.

It handles like a car with quick, nimble turning lets you forget that you're in a van at all.  As Honda put it, "The 2013 Odyssey is--for lack of a better term--so un-vanlike."  I love the standard back-up camera, the power sliding doors and, in the EX-L and up, the power tailgate.

See, even 4-year-olds can work the sunshade.  

My four-year-old son's favorite feature was the built-in sunshade. You just pull the shade out from within the car and hook it onto the extended top hooks and--voila--the sun is immediately out of your eyes.  He also tested to make sure that you can still roll down the window when the sunshade is up and, if your arm is small enough, you can even stick your arm out the open window around the shade.

Like the 2013 Accord, the Odyssey has technology coming out it's ears...or, um, side mirrors. (Seriously, the Touring has Memory-Linked side mirrors with reverse gear tilt-down.  To be honest, I have no idea what that means, but I'm sure it is useful.)

If you have a large family riding in an Odyssey and anyone is bored, that is their own fault.  Honda has installed everything possible to make sure that won't happen.  There's the XM Radio, USB audio interface, 15 gig hard drive that you can down load your own CDs, the ultra wide rear entertainment system on which you can be both watching a DVD and simultaneously playing a video game.  It think it's possible that you could drive across the entire United States and never *have* to play I Spy. (Note: playing I Spy is a perfectly good activity, possibly educational and is endorsed by grandmothers everywhere.) 

Recognize that I'm not the only one raving about the 2013 Accord.  The Car Connection review said, "Among the best of the current bunch [of minivans]--and really, the template for why minivans are still relevant and enjoyable--is the 2013 Honda Odyssey.... With the current version, Honda looked directly to today's parents.  With Bluetooth connectivity, up-to-date infotainment and entertainment features, and lots of tech savvy, plus top-notch safety...this Odyssey is neither frumpy nor behind the times."