2018 Honda Odyssey Elite Review

Hypes: Lively Drivetrain, Well Crafted Interior
Gripes: The minuscule Tachometer reads like a Fever Thermometer

If any race sanctioning body comes up with a series for vans, the Honda Odyssey Elite will win hands down. Just look at the list of performance goodies the all new 6th generation Odyssey brings to the table: 280hp V6 engine? Check. 10-speed automatic transmission? Check. Paddle shifts? Check. 19 inch alloy wheels? Check. High Performance Bridgestone Turanza EL440 235/55 R19 radial tires? Check. Granted, potential customers will not be buying the 8-passenger Odyssey for its speed potential. But thanks to the foregoing list of standard performance attributes, the Odyssey is no slouch in the go department.

Although the Japanese nameplate reads Honda, this is really an American built product. Four generations of Odyssey vans have been constructed in Lincoln, Alabama. The V6 engine, which produces 32hp more for 2018 than it did in 2017, is also built in Lincoln, while that all-new 10-speed gearbox comes from nearby Georgia. Four levels of Odyssey will be available for 2018. The price pyramid starts with the EX model at $34,760, the EX-L at $38,260, and the Touring at $45,410. At the apex stands the model we test drove for a week, the Elite, with a base sticker of $46,670. All Odyssey models for 2018 get the uprated 3.5 liter V6. Our Elite carried an out-the-door price of $47,610, which included $940 for destination and handling, but not a single optional package.

In truth, the Elite requires no further lily gilding since it includes a monumental number of standard features. Both side doors are powered, and respond to buttons located on the cabin’s B-pillars for open/close actuation. Or you can use the keyfob remote to duplicate these commands. The rather complicated keyfob pad also actuates the rear lift-gate. Or you can open and close the tail door with a button under the left side of the dash. After easily folding flat the rear most bench seats, I was able to slide a mountain bike into the storage area created by flattening those back seats. The lift-over threshold is low, which facilitates loading and unloading chores. This is one of the few vehicles which will carry a bike inside the cabin without the need to fold the second row of seats. Space utilization here is excellent, with up to 61 cubic feet of space available if needed.

The Elite is the only Odyssey with standard ventilated front seats and a wireless cell phone charging pad. However, we could not make the charger work with our LG phone. Chrysler has taken direct aim at the Odyssey in recent ads showing a Honda van owner struggling to remove the heavy second row seats while the Chrysler van owner simply folds them flat with the flip of a lever. “Don’t Be That Guy” intones the ad, referring to the Honda owner. The second row seats in the Odyssey Elite boast a “Magic Slide” feature that requires removal of the center cushion. Be advised that the center seat cushion, with its flop-down beverage armrest, weighs well north of 30 pounds. I didn’t actually remove it, or undertake second seat removal, however, because I didn’t want to “be that guy.”

Acura had equipped most of its passenger car fleet with an annoying gear selector mechanism that is floor mounted and requires you to eyeball it when operating it. In those Acuras which use the system, it is a major annoyance. However, Honda has moved this button farm to the center of the dash in the Odyssey, where it is much easier to see, and thus operate. In this application, the system works well enough to justify elimination of a floor-mounted lever. Relocation to the dash of gear shift duties frees up precious center console floor space for pair of lidded storage bins.

Those of us with sporting proclivities will simply have to face the fact that there will never be a race series for minivans. In fact, Honda introduced the model with a whimsical nod to Disney and a pink wrap of the 2018 Odyssey as a “Minnie” van. In that familiar family context, the Odyssey Elite is a home run. You can thank a bevy of family friendly innovations, including an 8.5 inch rear entertainment screen with wireless headphones, “Cabin Talk” which allows parents to address offspring via a PA system, and the unique Cabin Control App which allows the driver’s cell phone to access and adjust many Odyssey functions remotely. Though you might be able to put the athletic Elite on pole position, don’t forget you’ve got the whole pit crew with you back there on every lap.

2018 Honda Odyssey Elite