2015 Honda Odyssey Elite (Complete w/Central Vac.)

The 2015 Honda Odyssey Elite comes equipped with everything except a kitchen sink. As cliche as that may be, the list of standard equipment on the Odyssey Elite is so long that I just included the link rather that try to talk about all of them. For the sake of time, we'll just stick to one's that we were able to experience in the short week that we had to enjoy.

The most common feature hightlighted in the Odyssey since it's introduction is central vacuum system. In fact, when my daughter and I took a trip to Target (I found myself looking for errands to run with this "mini -RV"), a gentlemen stopped me in the parking lot to complimented me on the looks of the Odyssey and inquired about the fuel economy. I wasn't able to answer that question yet, as I had only taken delivery just the day before. After about 5 minutes of small talk, he couldn't resist inquiring about the much acclaimed vacuum system and my six year old daughter was happy to oblige. After grabbing the remote from my hand and demonstrating how the tailgate opened "magically", she extended the accordian hose and connected the attachement to show how her parents can clean up after her now. She then insisted that I show him how we could make the rear seats disappear into the floor when he asked about the cargo space. The space was important because of his long summer trips from Atlanta to Wisconsin every year. Not sure if he bought one, but I'm thinking about getting the six year old a sales job at the local Honda dealership (or her own blog).

Fold Flat Rear Seats

Once we completed our excursion to gather school supplies, the outfit that the six year old "had to have" and chocolate to fuel my journey, we made our way to the office supply store. (Funny how easy it is to widdle down that "to-do list" when those dual power sliding doors and pass-thru in the rear seat speed up egress/ingress for the little one). What's not so easy though, is trying to eat that melted chocolate bar that was left to melt while we purused the aisles of the office supply store. Had this been the typical sedan, it would be nothing more than a chocolate mess, but the engineers at Honda had obviously handled a few errands on their own and prepared the Odyssey for days like this with a "cool box", conveniently located in the front for driver and passenger access. After less than 10 minutes, the catastrophe was averted and the chocolate sauce was a once again a chocolate bar.

Cool Box

Admittedly, my biggest concern was what does driving a mini-van say about the driver? Is it cool to drive a mini-van? That depends. Is it cool to be a parent? Speaking for the millions of parents in the world, we are no longer cool. No matter what you think, if we poll our teenagers, we are not cool by todays standards whether driving a minivan or not.

Now that that's settled, if you're considering a family hauler and todays cross-overs and SUV's leave you wanting more interior space and easier access for small children, the Honda Odyssey is a must drive.

For more information about about the Honda Odyssey Elite tested and other Odyssey models click here.

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Plenty of Storage

Hands Free Controls

Passive Safety Controls

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