2011 Honda Odyssey: A Real Market Advantage
Written by David Schmidt
The big question Honda’s asking is whether the minivan segment can be redefined.While the minivan was immensely popular in the 1990s, the soccer mom image quickly scared many parents into sports utility vehicles. The question is whether minivans have gained the same status in the marketplace as those dreaded station wagons or hatchbacks. Those are names that have so much negative emotional content attached to them that it overwhelms common sense. Sports-utes are station wagons; Porsches are hatchbacks. But ask your average Joe or Josephine and they want nothing to do with either term. Those are for— people not like me, they think.
Honda thinks the GenX and GenY may be more open-minded. In 2010, things have changed. Art St Cyr, chief engineer for the Odyssey, said, “For the first time, the first-generation Baby Boomer isn’t the primary customer for this car.” Now that group is made up of GenX and GenY buyers. “These were the latch-key kids,” said St Cyr, “and they’re more family oriented. There are more stay-at-home moms among them and there are larger families in this group.” According to him, many people who shop minivans often have a dilemma: should they buy a minivan or a three-row ute?
The reactions to this question divide them into three groups: first are the Adopters, those who know minivans and know they want one. The second group is the Rejecters, those who say “no way” to minivans. Honda will waste no time trying to convince them. But the third group —the Hesitators —is the most important. They might possibly buy one, but they need to be educated, motivated or convinced. Since this is where new customers come from, this is where Honda’s efforts will go. This is what the marketers call the “capture” group. Honda believes most Odyssey owners in the past have made a decision to buy a rational, yet upscale minivan, and that’s fine. But they wanted to motivate buyers with emotional content, and that’s done with design.
Honda designers talk about wanting to win the “100-meter Decision.” This asks whether someone will recognize what brand the minivan is at 100 meters – across a parking lot, so to speak. For that reason, they made the Odyssey’s lines more recognizable. The vehicle is longer and lower. There’s a neat jink in the bodyline from front to rear. You may not know what it is at 100 meters, but you’ll know it’s something new. See it a couple of times and its differences from the previous generation – and other minivans – becomes more apparent.
The minivan market has fallen from a high of some 1.5 million to about 600,000 this model year. But that’s not as bad as it sounds, because several manufacturers have fallen out of the market. Based on current production, the industry couldn’t sell 1.5 million if they had to. The pie is smaller, but so is the number of brands splitting it. Add to that the real advantage Honda has in the minivan market. It is absolutely the benchmark. It’s the aspirational minivan for many families, it has been for the three previous generations, and Honda’s doing all it can to ensure this fourth generation design does as well.
The Odyssey came on the scene in 1995 powered by a 4-cylinder engine and was based on the Accord platform. It had four swinging doors, almost enough to keep it from being considered a minivan. The second generation came along in 1999 and was based on the global light truck platform. This is the version of the Odyssey that made it a minivan benchmark. It was powered by a V6 engine and had sliding doors. The third generation came along in 2005 and was the best selling version.
Honda likes to point out that this Odyssey is an American vehicle, designed, developed and built here. Ohio and California take credit for the Odyssey’s creation and it’ll be built in Honda’s Alabama plant. I like the looks of the Odyssey; it’s recognizable. But that isn’t enough. Just ask Nissan, whose Quest is certainly identifiable, but not successful. So Honda had to make the Odyssey more than a pretty face, which is why it comes to the market with all today’s necessary considerations.
First, it’s got lots of safety built in. There are six airbags and a curtain for all three rows. Seatbelts come with pretensioners to get passengers in the right place before the airbags fire. There are five latch locations for child seats, an enviable number in a vehicle expected to carry plenty of kids. Odyssey has a higher percentage of high-strength steel than any other Honda product, at 59 percent high-strength steel content by weight. The extensive use of high-strength steel contributes to lower vehicle curb weight and a stronger body, increasing its ability to protect occupants in a crash. Compared to the previous generation, the 2011 Odyssey improves front lateral stiffness by 6 percent and rear vertical stiffness by 22 percent – the idea being to isolate the cabin from as much noise harshness and vibration as possible. The brake disks are an inch larger all around. The greatest safety improvement is to make it easier to avoid a crash. Bigger brakes mean better stopping. As before, the system incorporates ABS, brake assist and electronic brake distribution.
Efficiency might be considered the second of the elements of what’s necessary today. The Odyssey is a big vehicle—it carries six people. It’s 202.9 inches long on a 118.1-inch wheelbase. The overall length is up almost an inch longer and 2.1-inch wider at 79.2 inches. But it’s almost half an inch shorter at 68.4 inches, which means a passenger volume of 172.6 cubic feet, up 1.2 cubic feet from last year. While it’s bigger, the Odyssey is also lighter – 50 lb. less for the Odyssey LX and 103 lbs. for the Touring, compared to the 2010 models.
The Odyssey can carry six adults, or eight if you include some kids in the mix. Honda says adults can sit comfortably in all three rows. The middle row of seats is actually quite comfortable, even for a grandpa. Most importantly, the almost three inches of extra width inside make everything more spacious. There are 11 cupholders and plenty of small storage spaces, many focused on small electrical devices, an essential part of family life now. You can even mount a trash bag in the rear area, a great idea.
Pushing all this down the road is a 3.5-liter, 24-valve, single overhead cam, variable-valve V6. It features a dual-stage intake manifold for low- and mid-rpm performance. The engine generates 248 hp. and 250 lb-ft of torque. The engine’s Variable Cylinder Management works on the principle that a vehicle only requires a fraction of its power output at cruising speeds and allows the engine to effectively run on three, four or six cylinders, based on the power requirement.
A five-speed automatic transmission is standard on all but the top Odyssey model. This configuration gets a an EPA fuel economy rating of 18 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway, which is up two mpg city and up four mpg highway compared to 2010 Odyssey LX and EX.
The top Odyssey Touring model gets a standard six-speed automatic transmission, resulting in an EPA fuel-economy rating of 19 mpg city and 28 mpg highway. That’s up two mpg city and three mpg highway compared to 2010 Odyssey Touring. It’ll never get tremendous mileage, but if it’s carrying six people, maybe a car or two got left at home, so it can be an efficiency multiplier.
Finally, the Odyssey provides the comfort and capabilities that are expected in any family vehicle. Inside the attractive cabin, features and controls are well placed. In the center console on the higher models, there’s a new eight-inch monitor or you can opt for a navigation system. All models except the base get a 26 GB flash memory storage device as a part of the audio system.
As you would expect on a family car, the top-of-the-line audio system is great, with 650 watts pushing the air around 12 speakers. With the rear-seat entertainment system – an essential in my mind for a minivan -- you can also opt for the ultra-wide rear screen, which will show two separate video feeds or make one really wide feed. Honda includes a 110-volt outlet in the back as well as an HDMI high-def input to the entertainment system.
There’s leather, automatic climate control, cruise, air, most everything you’d expect in an up-market vehicle. Interestingly, the top Odyssey models sell the best. The base LX model is there for those who want an Odyssey, but need to keep the price down.
The Odyssey will begin the rearrangement of minivan sensibilities when they go on sale at the end of September. There’s a $27,800 starting price for the base LX and the most expensive model Odyssey Touring Elite begins at $43,250.
