2023 Honda Odyssey / Stubborn for a Reason 

Having struggled in my search for the next vehicle with wishes, wants, and limitations beyond my control (garage size and height, vehicle availability), I have finally made full circle in my search and ended up right where I started - at the minivan, and Honda in particular. It just seems like the best compromise when you cannot have everything you want but still need to get the job done.

Great work. This is at least 30th video I watched just on the Odyssey. Having owned a 24 now for 6 weeks, plus 10 days test driving Carnivals and Odysseys, this is the most accurate, thorough and succinct summary of the Odyssey. Tech & some other features suck, but it DRIVES and it doesn't have the Carnival's horrible understeer.

finally, a Honda Odyssey review!

Noted the Odyssey has a spare tire- Sienna does not. That was a big issue in my Toyota on a road trip last year

A work colleague bought an Odyssey for his family hauling duties... it also quicky became the Friday team hauller for our lunch trips. Agree with the comfort level in all the passenger seats.

i had to replace 24 years of Astro Vans. I decided on the Honda Odyssey Sport. The removable seats and reliable reputation sold me. I have no family to haul but I do need the room for my activities. I'll put on a trailer hitch but I still miss my old van. Didn't want to go van full size it seemed like overkill for me. Have to get used to the minivan and make it work.

I knows its a little outdated but the fact that we can still get a V6 w/ VTEC and a proper 10 speed with paddleshifters plus good handling sold me so easily. I am already making a sacrifice going to minivan at least i want it to be fun to drive

I'm a big fan of minivans and kind of lament that they went out of style so much the past few decades. If you have 3+ kids or regularly haul around a lot of people they make more sense than any SUV. I know a single woman (teacher) who has an Odyssey and we all asked her why she bought it. She said she knew she'd always be invited for road trips, concerts and such if she had a vehicle that could haul her whole gang of friends. 😄 Plus you don't need a truck to haul many things. Just throw a tarp down after taking out the rear seats. Damn thing's like a Swiss army knife.

Enjoy the balanced review. You never seem to overly lean towards any particular brand. Hopefully you can review the redesigned Pilot too!

Wonderful review. Well thought out. Detailed. Unbiased. Fair. Insightful. Thank you!!

I think the 3rd generation (2005-2010) is the best from an exterior design perspective. The last two generations (and this 2021 refresh) are slightly overstyled, especially the roof at the back end.

Just purchased a 2023 Elite trim for a family hauler. Very comfortable, a ton of safety features, and actually fun to drive. Just wish it had wireless Apple CarPlay and a 360 camera. Other than that, so far so good.

The tech may not be great any more but the packaging is exceptional.

"Stubborn for a Reason" is a way I'd sometimes describe myself so that plus the car we've owned for almost a year now had me hitting this video up to hear your POV on the car. I think you hit the nail on the head with your closing thoughts, it's not the newest car in it's segment, but it feels competent and while it lacks some amenities you might expect from what you think about when hearing "$50K USD car", they're ommited usually for a reason and made up for in another. Yes you don't have the most luxurious materials sometimes (with that plastic in the center console and in the 3rd row armrests) but they're easy to clean when your kid's friend, who you're driving over, spills something or when fries go MIA after you got a bite to eat midday in your roadtrip. I am constantly annoyed they don't offer wireless carplay (c'mon Honda) and would love more flexibility from the screen in the driver gauges, I look at a friend with an Audi with a virtual cockpit and I drool. Additionally after owning a car that was notorious for it's torque steer (Mazdaspeed 3) I find it hilarious and depressing that this car (with more power than said hot hatch!) requires a more delicate touch on the throttle if you're looking to move away from a stop stop quickly but are in anything other than a straight direction with a clean, grippy road, that it lacks even a e-lsd is annoying to me, the mechanical LSD being something that helps said Mazda put power down from a stop quite nicely (even if the steering gets a mind of it's own later on). But, that's me nitpicking. It's a wonderful car and after owning a minivan I would only own intentionally a smaller (electric) car for running around town and be very happy with this gas powered minivan for carrying lots of people and or going long distances, you get used to the space and convenience. For us the Odyssey has been the just right car, even if it wasn't our first choice (that being the Sienna that proved impossible for us to get since they just didn't have any with the few they had they where not interested in selling it to us cash buying people) and we hope we get a lot of years out of service of ours.

Sienna was great when I rented it for my Vegas to LA road trip. But when there were strong winds it felt like I was going to be blown over. It also had uncomfortable seating compared to Odyssey, Carnival and Pacifica, had the loudest cabinet from road noise and it REALLY lacked power so really had to temper my expectations on going around slow cars. But Sienna had unbelievable fuel economy.

Luckily the all new Pilot has all physical climate controls that do not rely on the touchscreen at all. Hopefully that carries over to the 6th gen Odyssey. One thing that I'd like to see carry over from previous gens Odyssey would be removable 2nd row. Sienna doesn't do that anymore and that automatically makes the Sienna worst in segment. Another thing I'd like to see in the 6th gen is that similar to how removing the middle seat creates an aisle in the 2nd row, Honda should bring back the removable 1st row center console that would make an aisle in the 1st row if removed, which was the case in the 4th gen Odyssey.

I almost bought a 2023 Honda Elite, however it just looks so outdated, especially with the clunky infotainment. I also couldn't stomach the $3,000+ in dealer mark-ups. 57K OTD is just nuts for a minivan with no power folding third row, no vacuum, no heated rear seats, a lack of USB ports, no heads-up, etc. etc.

10:47 I'm almost 40 and I wake up that Vtec daily 🏎🏁

I am literally been looking into minivans. I am definitely lean more to the Odyssey vs. Sienna.

Its really annoying to see people lamenting that the Odyssey isn't a sienna. If you want a hybrid awd just go buy the sienna. I for one want a second row I can remove otherwise what's the point. I also like my V6. They both have a niche in a segment that has already been decimated. I hope Honda ignores all the bad advice.

Great video Want to start stealth camping in a mini I just don’t understand why Honda has AWD in many models. But the Odyssey is not an option. Why?

I think the failing transmissions is because from 2018-2019, the lower trims of Odyssey had ZF9 transmissions, which were horrendous. Previous generations had 6AT, 5AT, and 4AT, which were also unreliable. However, starting from 2020, the Odyssey is standard with a 10AT, which is a pretty reliable transmission.

It´s very weird that the new 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander has no sunshade in the 3 row

I have 2020 odyssey exl, it has 3 problems for now, 1 no audio for infotainment system when hot day, 2 left side slid door didn’t close something, 3 engine light for emission problem(fixed already for fee by dealer)

It needs awd. It would sell way more if it hard awd like the Sienna.

It's 0-60 is faster than my manual Forester. 😅😅😅

fun fact : LARPers prefer the odyssey because LIGHTNING BOLT!

For the sake of busting algorithms. Is it just me or do the words sport minivan sound like an oxymoron. Although it looked fairly sporty. This would have been nice 20 years ago.

Don't buy the 2023 odyssey touring we have problems with in 700 miles in one month the warning lights and all kinds of signs is coming the dealership doesn't care

the exterior and the interior looks for me like a design disaster, thanks for the review 😀

Living in SE Arizona, the most useless feature this vehicle has is heated seats.

I think the dog joke was a little too much, you should fire your joke consultant

the absolute WORSTE rear design EVER!!! the whole damn rear end seems cut on and now dropping off from read door back. just horrible

Yeah, sorry, go hybrid or buy-bye.

This dude definitely voted for Biden