Getting a new car - lifestyle change

[Mr. Anderson]

So I always said that I'd never get a mini-van - but when it comes right down to it, the gas milage on SUVs suck for the most part these days. So my wife and I are going to trade in the SUV for a Honda Odyssey Touring mini van. The nice thing is that on the highway, 3 cylinders shut down and it goes from a v6 to a inline 3 and gets 28 mpg.

Anyone hear have one?

D

 

[technicolor]

You must have a lot of kids?

 

[jsw]

Just bought a 2006 less than a month ago. The same thing - Touring model. I love it. Love it. Er, um, for a minivan, I mean.

There are tons of nice features, like the under-floor storage with a lazy susan, the backup camera that comes with the nav system (and the nav system itself), the little mirror hidden away above the rear-view mirror which, when lowered, lets you see the kids in the back seat, the power doors and rear lift door, the seat warmers (for winter), the satellite radio - and the 360W stereo w/subwoofer, etc. Since the Touring model comes with everything, well, it's quite nice.

The 28 mpg is a bit inflated, though, except for windless days on flat roads. Oh, wait, you live in Indiana... perhaps you'll see 28 mpg after all. Still, the mileage beats that of the 2004 Odyssey we traded in by a fair amount.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I am not a fan of mini vans. Most of the ones I seem to encounter are being driven by people who really believe that the more people you haul the worse you can drive. However, this isn't about that. The Honda mini van is indeed probably one of the nicest vans I have been in. The one that I was in had leather all around, driver and passenger captain chairs and the two seats behind were also captain chairs. Then there was a true 3 seater in the back...not 3 thin stick people only seats...three heffa seats!

There were 4 TVs, the two in the headrests up front, one in the dash and one that came down for the three seater (12" for that guy 8" for the rest). Loved the whole ride. 8 hours in that thing and I never moved around once. I was comfy as hell.

I think if I ever have to buy a mini van, I'd get that one. I've been in the Benz suv/mini van deal and it was cramped, same for BMW. Aside from the Land Rover, which is like 3 of those Hondas I think...I think the Honda is the best deal for the cash you spend.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

We're going to get a 2006 model it looks like (still new on the lot). The nav system is quite slick, I love it. We already have XM in all our cars, so this will be our 4 XM Radio we've bought - although the first integrated into the car directly.

D

 

[kondspi]

We're going to get a 2006 model it looks like (still new on the lot). The nav system is quite slick, I love it. We already have XM in all our cars, so this will be our 4 XM Radio we've bought - although the first integrated into the car directly.

D

Good for you!
I've got a 99 Odyssey and it's still going strong!

 

[jsw]

The nav system is quite slick, I love it.

I'm now looking into options to hack the front display for, say, input from a mini or a video iPod. Not that I'd ever watch while driving, of course. Never.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

I'm now looking into options to hack the front display for, say, input from a mini or a video iPod. Not that I'd ever watch while driving, of course. Never.

Exactly!! If they have the input for the rear camera, there should be a way to but a switch/split the input for the mini. I'm going to be looking into this as well - if you find anything let me know

D

 

[thedude110]

Wait. Did jsw just say there's a lazy susan under the floor? You could so go Tell-Tale Heart in this thing ...

 

[jsw]

Exactly!! If they have the input for the rear camera, there should be a way to but a switch/split the input for the mini. I'm going to be looking into this as well - if you find anything let me know

D

So far, I've found this and this. I might take a pic of the connections and send it to the first site (which seems slightly more professional) to see if their product will work - I suspect that the built-in camera might cause issues, but maybe not. The system, BTW, is under the driver's seat, and the connections are easily accessible by moving it all the way forward, then going in the passenger door on the driver's side and removing one easily removed (and easily replaced) piece of molding (which just snaps on/off).

It looks like you'd need to run audio through the Aux jacks, which unfortunately (for aesthetics reasons - there will be visible cable) are located in the arm console of the rear driver's side passenger seat - all the way in the back. I'm sure there's some way to splice it all in, but I want all of my modifications to be completely reversible.

Of course, I'd love to be able to use the touchscreen with a mini, but, hey, I can live without that.

 

[iGav]

The nice thing is that on the highway, 3 cylinders shut down and it goes from a v6 to a inline 3 and gets 28 mpg.

D... you say that like 28 mpg is good. Or... is it just good in comparison to every other minivan???

Anyway.... I thought you had one of those funky Element wagons???

 

[wimic]

My boyfriend is a Service Technician at a Honda dealership. He's a young guy and doesn't particulary like the idea of having a family vehicle like a mini-van just yet. However, he has mentioned a number of times how cool of a vehicle he thinks the new 2007 Odyssey is. Especially the new touring edition (with full navigation and dvd player). It's supposed to be a heck of a vehicle.

Good luck with it!

 

[Abstract]

D... you say that like 28 mpg is good. Or... is it just good in comparison to every other minivan???

Anyway.... I thought you had one of those funky Element wagons???

29 mpg is great for a car of that size. If someone needs to carry groceries and get their kids and their sports equipment to different places, I'd rather they buy a car like this Honda than something that gets worse mileage.

 

[iGav]

29 mpg is great for a car of that size.

It's not really when we have 7 seater MPV's that get 44MPG.

 

[Phat Elvis]

I know you need one, but I can still make fun:

A man in a mini-van is exactly 1/2 of a man.

That said, enjoy your new ride!

 

[Macmaniac]

My family owns a 2000 Honda Odyssey and we have loved it. My parents regret not having got a mini van earlier for big family trips. Honda is a great brand, and so is the Odyssey, you will love it.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Well, we took delivery of it yesterday - I'll post some pics - but the thing is fantastic. I love the voice activated controls. You press a button on the steering wheel and say "Go Home" and the nav system plots a route home from the current location - and you get choices for routes - max highway, most direct, etc. Also, the voice control can be used for the radio/xm radio/dvd/cd changer. Very slick - and it only works after you press the button.

When I get my nintendo wii, I'm going to have to hook it up to the dvd (there's a 115v power outlet and video jack in the third row) and see how well it works.

D

 

[Chundles]

So I always said that I'd never get a mini-van - but when it comes right down to it, the gas milage on SUVs suck for the most part these days. So my wife and I are going to trade in the SUV for a Honda Odyssey Touring mini van. The nice thing is that on the highway, 3 cylinders shut down and it goes from a v6 to a inline 3 and gets 28 mpg.

Anyone hear have one?

D

Tell you what - that looks dead-set porky compared to the version of the Odyssey we get down here:

Yours:

Ours:

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Tell you what - that looks dead-set porky compared to the version of the Odyssey we get down here:

Yours:

Ours:

hmmm, very interesting - do you have any specs on that thing? I looks like an older version for us.

Also the camera lens is adding a bit of distortion I think. What's the honda down under site?

D

 

[Chundles]

hmmm, very interesting - do you have any specs on that thing? I looks like an older version for us.

Also the camera lens is adding a bit of distortion I think. What's the honda down under site?

D

honda.com.au

Our Odyssey isn't new by any stretch of the imagination but it looks awesome in the metal - it's barely taller than a Civic but there's a lot of room inside. The driver's console looks like something out of a science fiction movie when it lights up.

 

[madoka]

Hey, Mr. Andersen,

I guess I'll be seeing you at the odyclub.com forums. Lots of good info there. I just got one myself EX-L RES. Would have gotten the Touring except the PAX tires were a real turn off. Too many horror stories for my tastes.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

honda.com.au

Our Odyssey isn't new by any stretch of the imagination but it looks awesome in the metal - it's barely taller than a Civic but there's a lot of room inside. The driver's console looks like something out of a science fiction movie when it lights up.

I found that - but your Odyssey is smaller than ours - no DVD in the rear and no Nav system on the luxury model. We also have a V6, you have the V4. I had to look up the kW -> horsepower conversion to figure out what power you're getting. The 118 kW translates to almost 160 HP. The V6 Odyssey has 244 HP or 180 kW.

Also the sound system is very different - the Touring model has the 360 W/8 speaker with subwoofer/dual zone for the DVD. The driver and passenger can listen to the radio/cd/xm radio and the second and third row passengers have the blue tooth headsets and can listen to the DVD. So its nice not having to listen to Thomas the Train when you're driving on a long trip

I find it very curious that there is such a difference in what's available between the two continents. Any obvious reason why and I'm not getting it? Do you have any vehicles down there that have dvd systems? I just find it odd that Honda wouldn't make it available everywhere.

D

 

[Abstract]

Because outside of North America, we realize that you don't need 240 hp to carry 4 people and groceries around.


This is coming from a Canuck as well. I've lived in too many places where they don't use really powerful cars. My car is around 74 kW, and I'm lucky, because the Toyota Echo I was considering was only 60 kW, which is like 85 hp. Someone (from France) asked me how big the engine in my car was. I told him, and he was rather impressed. He thought it was a sweet ride.

 

[mattniles007]

It's not really when we have 7 seater MPV's that get 44MPG.

You must be outside the US?

 

[Mord]

You must be outside the US?

Aye, our cars acctually make sense.