2018 Honda Odyssey Review

It's the "R" word: responsibility. Once upon a time, your life was fun and carefree. You only had to worry about yourself. You could stay out late, take impromptu trips to the lake with friends or hang out at sun-drenched cafes on Sunday mornings sipping flat whites and gossiping about the friends you just went to the lake with. But that was then. Now you have kids. You look at these miracles of life you're responsible for (and the insane pile of stuff that you need to schlep along with them) and you think, "I'm gonna need a bigger and safer car." Enter the 2018 Honda Odyssey.

Honda's been selling the Odyssey since 1995, and the fully redesigned 2018 represents the van's fifth generation. There have been a lot of evolutionary improvements along the way, but the basic functionality remains. The Odyssey has three rows of seating, sliding rear doors and more room for cargo than just about anything short of a full-size van. For 2018, the Odyssey's upgrades include improved performance and some truly useful upgrades such as the enhanced sliding of the second-row seats and the cabin-monitoring camera system. You can read more about these features in our 2018 Honda Odyssey First Drive.

Overall, we're fond of this Odyssey and think it's a wise choice, particularly if you're a new parent or if you're looking to own something with that same driving spirit found in other Honda automobiles. It makes that whole responsibility thing a little easier to swallow, too.

The 2018 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-liter V6 (280 horsepower, 262 pound-feet 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 front seats, a 60/40-split folding third-row seat, a 5-inch central display screen, Bluetooth, a USB charging port, and a seven-speaker sound system with a USB interface.

Next up is the EX, and it's here that 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, driver-seat power lumbar adjustment, heated front seats, enhanced sliding functionality for the second-row outboard seats, a removable center 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 and mitigation, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and lane departure warning and intervention.

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 (broadcasts the driver's/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 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.