Honda Odyssey

[Celluloidgal]

My DH & I were thinking about leasing a Honda Odyssey.

Does anybody out there have one? What are the features you love and what could you do without? We are trying to decide on trim levels.

We are a family of six and live in Texas. I'm looking forward to having vents in the back of the van for my kidos. That is a must in my book. (Our current van - 1993 Plymouth Voyager doesn't have any)

Anybody know of a great dealership around the Dallas/Fort Worth area?

 

[Celluloidgal]

Anyone?...anyone?...Bueller?...

 

[clarabelle]

I have an older Odyssey. I like the leather seats and the heated drivers seat in the winter. We have DVD -that we use on car trips. I understand you can get aftermarket ones cheaper or just get personal DVD players.

 

[ColoradoBuffaloMom]

We have a 2001 Honda Odyssey van that I LOVE!!! We jost got back from a road trip to Arizona and the van handled well and was roomy. I know the newer models have more cup holders and are now available with built in DVD players also.

I like that both side doors open, that the back row of seats folds level into the floor, that back seat passengers can adjust the AC and heat levels, and I just love Hondas.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

My parents just bought a 2005. It is really nice. The middle seat windows work just like the front ones. They arent the pop out windows. The climate control is also a great feature. My mom likes it because it turns really nice, unlike her Quest. It is a nice smooth ride too with really comfortable seats.

Another nice feature? Sliding doors on both sides. And they are power doors! No more struggling to open a heavy sliding door.

And another thing. Consumer Reports rates this as the best minivan.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We have one of the more expensive trim lines, but not the Touring (EX-L, I believe) It has leather seats, Navigation system and the DVD player. I would want this exact one. I would want the Touring if I didn't mind only 7 passenger (ours is 8 passenger, even though we have the 8th seat pulled out to allow easier access to the "way back" seats, but I wanted 8 passenger) and I wanted to pay the extra $. You have 4 children so 8 passenger might be important to you, too. Makes carpooling more possible!

We love the Navigation system and from now on our primary vehicle will have this. I didn't want after-market--wanted it built in. Same with the DVD. We've had an after market VC-P player on our old van and we had lots of trouble with it.

We also have heated seats, but living where you live, that wouldn't be a big deal. We have XM radio which we love.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. We've had ours since December.

 

[Celluloidgal]

We already have a portable DVD player (Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!). That has made long road trips very quiet!

Double sliding power doors...now that sounds nice. It is always an arguement getting into our current van. "So-and-so has to get in first." "Ouch, he stepped on me." "Out of my way!"

More cup holders sounds nice too.

We've never had leather seats. Do they hold up well to kid abuse? Do you stick to them in the summer?

 

[bcvgal]

We have one of the more expensive trim lines, but not the Touring (EX-L, I believe) It has leather seats, Navigation system and the DVD player. I would want this exact one. I would want the Touring if I didn't mind only 7 passenger (ours is 8 passenger, even though we have the 8th seat pulled out to allow easier access to the "way back" seats, but I wanted 8 passenger) and I wanted to pay the extra $. You have 4 children so 8 passenger might be important to you, too. Makes carpooling more possible!

We love the Navigation system and from now on our primary vehicle will have this. I didn't want after-market--wanted it built in. Same with the DVD. We've had an after market VC-P player on our old van and we had lots of trouble with it.

We also have heated seats, but living where you live, that wouldn't be a big deal. We have XM radio which we love.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. We've had ours since December.

We have the same model. The one right below the Touring model. Just got it a month ago and LOVE IT!!!! We had a 2004 and they fixed every complaint we had with that model. I don't think the back windows vent though since the middle ones come down-unless I haven't found the buttons yet
I've had several Hondas and they are just the best. Go buy you one today.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We have the same model. The one right below the Touring model. Just got it a month ago and LOVE IT!!!! We had a 2004 and they fixed every complaint we had with that model. I don't think the back windows vent though since the middle ones come down-unless I haven't found the buttons yet
I've had several Hondas and they are just the best. Go buy you one today.

No, the back windows don't vent, unless I haven't found the button, either.

One neat thing I figured out recently is the intermittent windshield wiper settings (variable). I have fun tweaking the setting... I am so easily impressed.

There are little things that are different from my old van (Pontiac Montana)-- some things I like better in the Honda, some things I like less. In general, I like it a lot better, but I critique the different features all the time (we still have the other van, too, so I am always comparing them).

I love the sunroof in the Odyssey and we use that a lot. Right now we're using the a/c most of the time, but when the weather is mild, we use the sunroof. And when we're stopped, we vent the van via the sunroof vent if it's not rainy.

We also invested in aftermarket Honda brand rubber floor mats in place of the carpet mats, which are great! They can be hosed off (take them out of the van first... ) and our carpet is not getting destroyed in spite of driving baseball carpool. I bought them online and saved a lot of money over buying them from a dealer.

 

[Celluloidgal]

We also invested in aftermarket Honda brand rubber floor mats in place of the carpet mats, which are great! They can be hosed off (take them out of the van first... ) and our carpet is not getting destroyed in spite of driving baseball carpool. I bought them online and saved a lot of money over buying them from a dealer.

That is smart idea (Must remember...take mats OUT of van first, take mats OUT of the van first.)

 

[Tigger&Belle]

That is smart idea (Must remember...take mats OUT of van first, take mats OUT of the van first.)

I haven't even hosed ours off yet--I think I'll just stick to wiping them off.

I ordered them as soon as we got the van and then I held my breath until they arrived.

 

[crz4mm2]

What is the gas mileage?

 

[Celluloidgal]

Thanks everyone for replying. Can't wait to car shop. (We will probably wait until the end of December, see if we can't catch a good deal)

 

[Tigger&Belle]

What is the gas mileage?

Gas mileage is not great--I think 18-20MPG at the most. That's around town, with a mix of stop and go and some freeway. We haven't taken a trip in it to know what it will get then. The gas tank is not very big, which is one complaint. But it's heavy, with the safely features, which does affect the gas mileage.

 

[redshoes]

We have a 2004 Honda Odyssey that we leased. They changed the whole look of the van in 2005. I love the power sliding doors, it is wonderful to hit the remote and have the doors slide open when your hands are full of groceries and kids. The DVD player has come in handing when we have traveled a far distance. The one suggestion that I would make to you would to buy the bug guard for the front hood. My van seems to be a magnet for rocks and we have to replace the windshield because of it. Enjoy your new van .

 

[sharbear]

I have a 2006 EX-L with the DVD system but not the Navigation. I love it. It's so roomy in the back and we love the DVD. I have 4 drivers in the family and we fight about who sits in the front. Everybody wants to chill in the back and watch movies.

I liked the Sienna also but in the end we picked the Odyssey. I just thought that it had better pick up and I liked the way it drove. I also bought it because of the better gas milage but that has not come true, my one complaint with the Odyssey, the gas milage is not what is advertised.

Here's a forum for Odysseys' http://www.odyclub.com/forums/ Do your reseach before you buy, it will make a big difference.

 

[HOGFAN]

our neighbor has one. they have had transmission problems since day one.
they were told it was a design flaw. might want to ask dealer if this has been fixed.

 

[Celluloidgal]

Tigger&Belle - Seems like the mileage is about the same as our current van. And our current van has a lot less "safety" features

Hogfan - Did they have an older model?

Sharbear - thanks for the link

Redshoes - Has leasing worked out for you?

 

[golfgal]

With a family of 6 you might want to look at the Toyota Sienna. They have an optional 8 passenger seating available that would give you an extra seat. The back can be folded down when not in use for a drink tray/arm rest. I don't know about you but we always seem to have an extra person or 3 with us and that 8th seat would come in handy!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

With a family of 6 you might want to look at the Toyota Sienna. They have an optional 8 passenger seating available that would give you an extra seat. The back can be folded down when not in use for a drink tray/arm rest. I don't know about you but we always seem to have an extra person or 3 with us and that 8th seat would come in handy!

As I mentioned, except in the very top trim line, the Ody also comes as an 8 passenger, which is what we have.

If I'm remembering right, one reason we didn't consider the Sienna is because to get the 8 passenger we had to get a lower trim line. We wanted the DVD and Navigation (I forgot--is the Navigation available on the Sienna, not that the Navigation is something that the OP necessarily wants).