2007 Honda Odyssey Consumer Reviews

I would recommend this vehicle but with a couple of reservations. First, some background info: We are a family of 4 tall people, so we need plenty of leg room in the front AND rear seats. I am the shortest at 5'9". My husband is 6'4", and our teen boys are 6'5" and 6'7". We wanted a vehicle that would give us the room and comfort we need for road trips. We like that one of the bucket seats can be removed (or both if desired) from the second row, one kid can sit on the rear-most bench seat and put his feet up on a cooler or just stretch out, while the other kid in the second row has plenty of leg and elbow room for himself. Cargo space for luggage or bat bags, golf bags, etc. is plentiful. Anyway - in brief - the good: *Good leg room in front and rear. Though the front passenger still needs to move her seat forward a bit to accommodate the long-legged guys in the back if both are in the middle row. *Ability to configure seating. Rear bench seat can fold down (also the bench can be split 1/3 & 2/3) for larger and level cargo space. The center row buckets can be removed, set next to each other or separated by a small (also removable) center seat. *Gotta love the heated leather front seats here in NE Ohio. *Half way decent gas mileage for large vehicle. We get approximately 25 hwy and 20 city. *6cyl engine has plenty of power even when we've got the thing fully loaded for a trip. *Sunroof! *Multi-disc CD player *Sliding door windows that go down. They also have integrated shades. Cool. *The remote sliding door opener/closer. Before I got this van I thought that feature was ridiculous and unnecessary. But it's pretty awesome when your arms are full. The bad - and boy, is it bad: *Who designed the front console?! Apparently our model has the "upgraded styling". Since we've had this van, I've peeked in the windows of the models without the leather interior and they have a different set up. What you might consider more simplistic with knobs. Oh, I wish I had that. Why do designers think that more buttons = fancy = a good thing? The heating and air adjustments are almost impossible to see or understand unless you are at a complete stop and can give it your full attention. It is NOT intuitive at all. We've had the van over a year now and it's STILL an aggravation. The person riding shot-gun should be in charge if at all possible so that the driver can concentrate on the road. Temperature adjustments are numerical/digital and made by wiggling a toggle up or down. Then to adjust airflow there is a button way over to the right for more airflow and a DIFFERENT button under that for less airflow. Then, PAST the airflow buttons, almost out of reach of the driver (and we have long arms, remember) is the "mode" adjuster. (Do you want the air to come out the center vents? Defrost and feet?, etc) This mode button must be pressed repeatedly to rotate through all cycles, (and in order), and to know what mode it's in, you have to be able to see a tiny, TINY PICTURE. This is SO NOT EASY TO USE! I thought maybe it was just me starting to show my middle-aged-ness... but even my 17 year old thinks it's a pain. Also, the toggles for the heated seats are not well designed either. They are down low, and it is difficult to know for sure if you have them properly turned off. A little light comes on, but you really have to take a moment to look at them directly. So, before you put it in drive, you should go through your pilot checklist. Temp adjust?, check. Airflow? check. Mode? check. The best bet is just put it in "AUTO" mode and hope you'll be comfortable until you make it to your next stop. Also bad: *The radio has poor reception. *No direct mp3 plug in. Would love to use my Ipod without the adapter since that causes static too. Just bring your CDs. *Cup holders for front passengers don't seem to fit anything. Are pop cans or water bottles different sizes in other parts of the world? *Windshield wiper fluid freezes easily. The neutral: *It's got that jumbo, boxy van look and feel. *Where do we store that little seat from the center row when we're not using it? *The hidden storage area in the floor right behind the front seats isn't really useful, so not much of a selling point.