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Vans & Minivans Honda Odyssey Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans 
7485 messages, Last post on Mar 23, 2008 at 7:43 AM
You are in the Honda Odyssey Forum. Your Host is Karens
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Replying to: shipo (Nov 27, 2006 11:47 am) It will be federally mandated by 2009, IIRC.
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Replying to: shipo (Nov 27, 2006 11:36 am) Stability control CAN improve normal driving. Look at most slalom tests and cars with stability will outperform those without. But either way, it's really for those situations you don't plan for. Maybe my experience as a racer makes me a better driver than most, but I can admit that you can't beat electronics at ALWAYS being on their game. Even the best drivers can be caught off-guard.
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To me snow isn't nearly the issue that ice is. I readily admit that I've driven you don't want to know how many years without stability control, but then I drove without air bags and even some old pre-seat belt cars with hard dashes. I am now of the school that I'll take every safety item they can come up with if the vehicle is competitively priced. So bring on the stability control! Bring on 6 air bags! I can't directly compare current models unless I go out and test just for that purpose. When the Ody had a glass problem at a particularly inopportune moment I rented a T&C for the weekend. (Never have glass break on a Friday night!) Drove it two hours from the flats of South Jersey to teh twisty hills in the north and back. It was fine, but I liked the Ody better. Close call in many areas. |
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Replying to: shipo (Nov 27, 2006 11:36 am) I owned a 2001 Caravan for 4+ years the 2005 Ody I have handles way better. Way less body roll and better road feel  . In the Caravan the engine/tranny are noisier. But the honda has a bit more tire noise on curtain types of roads. The stability control will almost never come on only in very extreme cases so it has little to do with day to day driving. I do like the fact it's there if a problem occurs. Studies have seen a large reduction in crashes/deaths. The results are based on small groups but it looks very promising. 
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Replying to: sebring95 (Nov 27, 2006 12:02 pm) No, I don't think I have it backwards at all. True, I didn't know that the new Ody was wider and lower and that will certainly improve things from the "driving a waterbed" feel of our neighbors' 2002 Ody, and that may even make it meet or exceed the handling of the Touring Suspension equipped Gen3 and Gen 4 vans (which are the same basic physical structure and suspension). Assuming that is in fact the case, well, good for Honda, they've finally bested a design that is now in its 12th (and final) year of production. That you Mom has a Touring model T&C in no way means that her van has the "Touring Suspension", it may, or it may not, it was an extra cost option. The way you can tell is to take a peek at the rear suspension, if it has a sway bar, then it is the Touring Suspension, if not, it ain't. Stability control CAN improve normal driving. Look at most slalom tests and cars with stability will outperform those without. Are you serious? Slalom tests are anything but real world. But either way, it's really for those situations you don't plan for. Maybe my experience as a racer makes me a better driver than most, but I can admit that you can't beat electronics at ALWAYS being on their game. Even the best drivers can be caught off-guard. I find that comment a little suspect as well. Every time I've been to a BMW event at one of our local tracks, EVERYBODY turns off their skid control systems so that they can improve the handling of their cars. That said, when driving in slippery conditions with either of my "i" model BMWs I made damn sure the DSC was engaged (no surprise there). The counterpoint to those two cars is the minivan, a benign sled like handling FWD vehicle, complete with inherent understeer. Go into a corner too fast on one of these things, Odyssey, Caravan, Sienna, it makes no difference, stability control is only going to be able to do so much. Best Regards, Shipo
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I took a peek at the specs for the 2002 Ody versus the 2007 and found the following: 1) no stats on ride height and ground clearance.  2) the front track of the new car is .6" wider 3) the rear track of the new car is .7" wider 4) the tire size has been bumped up from a 225 section width tire to 235 mm I'm thinking that much (if not all) of the wider track of the new van can be attributed to the wider tires, and that any improvements in road feel and handling can also be attributed to the new/wider tire size. Question for those of you in the know: Is the new 2006 and later Odyssey a complete ground up redesign or just a heavy face lift like DC did to their minivan lineup back in 2002? Best Regards, Shipo |
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Replying to: shipo (Nov 27, 2006 3:05 pm) You don't think that they made ANY changes to the suspension or steering from the 1999 Odyssey to the redesign in 2005? After driving two different 2000 models extensively, and driving my great aunt's 2005 quite often (did a 1400 mile trip last year in it, actually), I can tell you that the old Odyssey feels more numb than the new one. The new one is sharper and crisper; nearly identical to my Accord. |
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Replying to: shipo (Nov 27, 2006 11:02 am) If you find any for the current generation, please list them.
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Replying to: shipo (Nov 27, 2006 11:09 am) The fact is that no electronic nanny is a good replacement for a competent suspension. " No disagreement on these points. I happen to prefer vehicles with good emergency handling characteristics and also stability control. Given the inherent physics of top-heavy vehicles like SUVs and even minivans to some extent, I still have to wonder why this feature was omitted on the DC vans. Perhaps most of the soccer mom demographic are really professional drivers and don't like intrusive features that affect their driving ability at traction limits? |
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Replying to: shipo (Nov 27, 2006 3:05 pm) I have no idea how extensive the redesign was. Having traded a 2001 Odyssey for a 2006 Odyssey, I can say that in my opinion the handling is not significantly improved. That's not all bad, since I thought the 2001 had very good handling for its class and size, as did some of the magazines I recall reading at the time (Consumer Reports, Motor Trend, Edmunds). The magazines I read before purchasing my 2006 said the same thing, though I didn't drive a DC van due to the lack of stability control, limited availability of side curtain airbags, lack of an 8th seat option, somewhat lower crash test scores and more difficult child seat installs due to seatbelts, seats and limited lower anchor and tether locations. While handling wasn't a top factor for me, I certainly would have ruled out any minivan I deemed to have unsafe handling characteristics (none did). Perhaps I'm not the expert at making such comparisons, but I didn't find night and day differences among any of the 4000+ pound minivans I drove, certainly none to remind me of a true sports car or even a somewhat competent sporty sedan. Of course, I have no idea which suspensions or chassis upgrades were included on the DC vans in the older reviews so that may account for my varying observations. Perhaps the special suspension you mention is a hard-to-find feature? In the newer reviews, it is usually the Grand Caravan SXT or T&C Limited that is tested in magazine comparisons (March 2005 Consumer Reports, May 2005 Motor Trend, August 2006 Motor Trend, Edmunds 2006).
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