Automotive historians will record the MiniVan as having a fairly short-lived spell of popularity. After the Chrysler Corporation showed Americans in 1983 with the Plymouth Voyager what could be done to transport 7 or 8 people in comfort in a vehicle that, whilst large, was not as daunting as Chevy Suburban, sales of the genre took off rapidly and soon most major manufacturers had an offering for Americans and in many cases a series of differently sized models for Europe and the rest of the world. Never stylish, or the sort of vehicle that you actively wanted, they were just what many people needed especially if they needed to transport more than 5 people on a regular basis. The civilisation of what were originally truck-based SUVs into more car-like crossovers, in the early 2000s marked the beginning of a transition away from the MiniVan, though as people perceived this new type of vehicle as more stylish and a bit more car-like to drive, even if the reality was often not quite like that. Gradually, as MiniVans reached the end of their product cycle, several manufacturers, facing with steadily falling sales opted not to replace them, so by the mid Tens, there were just four such models left on the US market: the Chrysler Pacifica, the Toyota Sienna, Kia Sedona and the Honda Odyssey. There’s always a good supply of MiniVans in the US rental fleets, as there are plenty of people who need something as commodious as this for a few days when on a trip or vacation, so getting to test them out is something I do periodically, even if going one up in such a large vehicle seems a bit odd. One of the quartet, though, remains elusive. The last Honda Odysseys that I have seen in the Hertz fleet were back in around 2007/8 when there were quite a few Honda models available to rental customers but since then Honda have focused more or less exclusively on retail customers, so finding any Honda has been difficult. But in the post-Covid chip-supply world, things are all rather different, as the rental car companies have been forced to be creative in rebuilding their fleet, and with new cars in short supply that has meant sourcing pre-owned generally low mileage vehicles, with the result that cars I’ve not seen on fleet before are suddenly there, often in posher trim versions than the usual rental car spec. I noticed on my first post-covid trip in November 2021 that among these were quite a few Honda Odyssey, so I resolved to try to get one to test out, and finally, a few days into the spring 2022 trip, I managed to source one. The paperwork told me that this was actually a 2019 model year car, and it turned out to be in top of the range Elite spec. I last drove an Odyssey at the end of 2008 at which time I thought it was the best in class, so would I be similarly impressed this time round?

Slightly confusingly, Honda have used the Odyssey name in other markets of the world, where the car to which the name is attached is quite different, but in north America, it has been used to denote a full-sized MiniVan through five different generations. The latest version was unveiled at the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit and production, in Alabama started in late April 2017 with sales starting a few weeks later as a 2018 model year car. Although the fifth generation car looks not unlike its immediate predecessor, it is essentially an all new car. Sharing the same wheelbase as it is predecessor, it is slightly narrower and taller than the fourth generation Odyssey, it is lighter thanks to the use of more aluminium in its construction and it has had a fairly significant uplift in the amount of standard technology, safety and equipment features.  Conceptually the same as before, this is a vehicle which puts practicality at the top of the agenda. Space for people is the first priority, with the Odyssey having seats for either 7 or 8 depending on trim, but Honda knew that it also needs to be good to drive, as the 2015 Chrysler Pacifica proved that Honda could not take superiority in this regard for granted even if the Toyota Sienna (in its last generation) was not that nice from behind the wheel. Certainly the US motoring press liked what they found and when they published their comparisons tests the Honda was declared the winner against its then rivals, but that was before Toyota and Kia introduced their new models. So the Odyssey has a lot to prove.

There is only one available engine in the Odyssey, a 3.5-litre V6 which puts out a healthy 280 bhp and 262 lb/ft of torque. The cars all have front-wheel drive. The lower four trim levels come with a nine-speed ZF automatic and the Touring and Elite have a 10-speed Honda-developed automatic. My test car was a top of the range Elite, which meant a 10 speed ‘box, and this Is operated using a number of push-buttons on the dash, like I found in the Accord I sampled a few days before driving this one.  Ten speeds might seem excessive, but the transmission’s quick shifting is unobtrusive and good at selecting the best gear for your needs. Paddle shifters are standard, which is a nice touch, too. The engine is always smooth and willing to rev. It is generally very quiet until you get to the upper rev range or if you need to push the car hard, which did occur for me on some of the longer and steeper gradients of the canyon roads where I took the car. Generally, though, there feels to be enough power here, though clearly if the car were with the full complement of 8 people,  there would be rather more weight to move than when I had the Honda just one-up. In the Elite trim of the test car, the Odyssey is superbly quiet at highway speeds. Credit goes to the active noise cancellation system and the new noise-reducing body and windshield and windows. The 10-speed auto keeps engine rpm low at cruising speed, too, and that also has another benefit, at the pumps. I covered 223 miles in my time with the Odyssey and it needed 8.3 gallons to fill it, which works out at 26.87 mpg US or 32.1 mpg Imperial. The trip computer actually said 27.5 mpg US, suggesting the car was perhaps not quite as full on collection as return. For sure, this is a very impressive figure and rather better than I have seen with other MiniVans in the past. There is stop-start system which generally worked quite well though occasionally, it was a bit rough cutting in. It can be disabled if desired.

MiniVans are bought for their practicality and not for the fun of driving, perhaps one reason why the genre has fallen out of favour in recent years, and I’ve certainly found the need to be careful with cornering and braking with some of these vehicle types in the past, but this Honda proved surprisingly agile. The steering is light, which makes the car easy to manoeuvre, but it does have some feel, so it is actually OK to punt down a twisty road, and it actually handles and grips far better than a vehicle of this size and weight has any right to do. There is some body roll and it does understeer, but nothing like to the extent you might expect or fear. The suspension is clearly well judged as there is no penalty with the ride, either, with this car sitting on 235/55 R19 wheels feeling well-suspended, soft enough to be comfortable but without feeling wallowy. Lower spec Odyssey models come on smaller wheels and are by al accounts a little softer suspended. The brakes are powerful and effective. There is an electronic-handbrake operated by a button the dash to the left of the wheel. All around visibility is good, though if the headrests on the rear seats, especially the third row, are up, then there is not much you can see out of the back window. Although this is a big car, and you will feel this when you are parking it, judging the extremities is surprisingly easy, and there is of course a rear-view camera to help when backing up. There is plenty of light in the airy cabin with the large sunroof adding to that feeling. Among the safety features are a Blind Spot Warning system which is always a useful feature in any car.

The interior of the Odyssey is neatly presented, and uses some good quality materials, with a nice to hold leather wrapped steering wheel and plenty of leather trim on the dash of this top spec Elite model. The instrument cluster comprises a collection of digital instruments with a central digital speedometer reading, flanked by fuel level and water temperature gauges at either end, of the cluster and a revs counter over the top, with a configurable trip display in the middle. All are clearly presented and easy to read. The control layout is pretty conventional, with a pair of stalks for indicators and lights on the left and wipers on the right, steering wheel buttons for audio repeaters and cruise control and then a large central touch screen in the middle of the dash for audio and infotainment functions. There are plenty of buttons surrounding this unit, making it easy to operate. As well as navigation, Satellite XM Radio, Bluetooth, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, there is a standard BluRay player. Beneath this are a row of buttons for the tri-zone automated climate control.

Elite trim means leather upholstery and the front seats are heated and cooled. They are electrically adjusted and the power backwards when the ignition is cut, to give more space getting in and out of the car. So you need to use the 2 position memory and pre-set the position you want, or, as I found out, you will get someone else’s driving position instead when you switch the ignition on. The seats are individual, with a large central tray and armrest between them. There is a real feeling of space, as the seats are far apart, and there is a vast amount of headroom. They also proved very comfortable. The driver’s seat has a lot of adjustment range for vertical and horizontal. The steering wheel has a broad range of manual adjustability. There is a lumbar adjustment but only for the driver.

The rear doors are electrically operated which is perhaps a good thing as they are massive and would be quite heavy to operate manually. When fully opened, there is a large space through which to access the rear seats. In this version of the Odyssey you get three separate seats in the second row. Each feels more like a lounge chair than a car seat. There are acres of space here in every direction. Leg room is very generous, even with the front seats set well back, and there is ample toe room as well, with the floor being completely flat. Headroom is also plentiful and no-one is going to feel like they are rubbing shoulders with the other occupants. The middle seat backrest can be folded down flat onto the cushion to create a flat table-like area which has cupholders in the upper surface. The seats slide forward to facilitate access to the third row.  These are shaped to accommodate three people as well, and there is also ample space here. Adults can sit in reasonable comfort in a way that they often can’t with SUV-type three row vehicles, as the seats are high enough that your knees are not in your chin and yet there is still ample headroom, and getting in as a lot easier, too. Occupants here get their own power outlets, and there are cupholders in the side mouldings. Seat window blinds feature, to keep the sun out, if needed.

The tailgate is also huge, but thankfully, it too is electrically assisted, and it opens well clear of your head. The boot itself is not very big if the third row of seats is in use, being short from front to back, though it is deep. If you lower some or all of the third row of seats then there is pretty generous cargo capacity. These seats are split 60;40 and whilst they are not power operated, the release straps make them easy to drop down or pull. The seats fold down into the boot floor, leaving it flush with the base of the tailgate. The second row of seats do not fold flat, but they can, with a bit of a struggle, be removed, though if you do this, the floor area from front to back will not be flat. One special gadget in the upper spec versions of the Odyssey is a built-in vacuum cleaner which sits in one of the rear side panels. Inside the passenger compartment there is lots of space for odds and ends.  The glovebox is huge and there is a massive central tray including wireless charging, as well as an armrest cubby and a large area where you would usually find a gearlever, low down on the floor. There are numerous cupholders throughout the cabin.

The 2019 Odyssey comes in six trim levels: LX, EX, EX-L, EX-L with Navi and RES, Touring and Elite. In typical Honda fashion, there aren’t any packages or stand-alone options offered so finding the Odyssey you want largely comes down to picking a trim that matches your desired features and budget. All Odysseys come with a 3.5-litre V6 (280 bhp, 262 lb/ft of torque) and front-wheel drive. The first four trim levels come with a nine-speed automatic and the Touring and Elite have a 10-speed automatic. There’s seating for seven passengers in the LX and eight passengers in everything else. The Odyssey LX starts you off with features such as 18-inch alloy wheels, a rearview camera, automatic climate control, power-adjustable front seats, a 60/40-split folding third-row seat, a 5-inch central display screen, Bluetooth, two USB ports, and a seven-speaker sound system. Next up is the EX, and it’s here you get features that really start to make your life easier. These include power-sliding rear doors, keyless ignition and entry, remote engine start, three-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, enhanced sliding functionality for the second-row outboard seats (Magic Slide), a removable centre seat and second-row window sunshades. The EX also has more modern tech with its 8-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, and satellite and HD radio. But, wait, there’s more! Honda also fits this trim level with extra driver safety aids that include adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning and lane keeping assist. Honda starts to crank up the luxury with the EX-L. You get a sunroof, a noise-reducing windshield, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a power liftgate, leather upholstery, driver-seat memory settings, and two charging USB ports for the second row. The EX-L with Navigation and Rear Entertainment System is similar but adds, as its name implies, a navigation system and a rear-seat entertainment system. The latter includes a 10.2-inch overhead display, a Blu-ray player and an HDMI input. This version of the EX-L also has a 110-volt power outlet and a cabin intercom system, which broadcasts the driver’s or front passenger’s voice to the rear seating areas. Moving up to the Odyssey Touring gets you the above, plus front and rear parking sensors, LED headlights, automatic engine stop-start, a hands-free liftgate, an integrated vacuum cleaner, a rear-cabin camera monitoring system (CabinWatch), and an onboard 4G LTE connection with a Wi-Fi hotspot and HondaLink services. Finally, the Elite tops off the Odyssey range with 19-inch wheels, power-folding mirrors, noise-reducing glass for the front and rear windows, ventilated front seats, an 11-speaker premium audio system and a wireless phone charger.

I was impressed by this Odyssey. When I last drove one, two generations back, I remember finding it then to be easily the best vehicle of its type. Much has changed since then, as the few remaning competitors have all been through a couple of evolutions and are much better products than they were. I’ve not yet sampled the latest Sienna or Kia Carnival (or even the outgoing Kia Sedona), so it is hard to be definitive on which is now the class leader, but on the basis of this test, I would say that those two will have to be quite exceptional to better the Honda, and good though the Chrysler is, the Honda certainly beats in to my mind. Whether these Odyssey will remain as a permanent feature in the Hertz rental fleet or not, I don’t know, but if they are available, and you really need as commodious a vehicle as this, then certainly picking the Honda would not be a bad move at all.