Honda Odyssey VT-i

As people movers go, Honda's Odyssey is one of the longest serving and most popular of the type.
With many buyers choosing multi seat SUVs as their family transport, sales of the traditional multi seat people mover have taken a bit of a back seat recently.
The Odyssey is one of very few vehicles that offer seating for eight people in reasonable comfort.
There are acres of sprawling room inside the cabin, as the body has been widened and is now taller than previous iterations.
Considering its purpose in life, it's still good looking vehicle, despite being chunkier than before. Head and leg room even in the third row( which will seat 3 adults) is excellent. Access to the cabin is good.

On this base model the offside sliding door is manual only, but the kerbside one is electrically operated either by the key fob or a switch near the driver's right knee. Both sliding doors on the up-spec L model are power assisted.

In both variants the large windows in the sliding side doors open,adding to the airy spacious feel of the cabin.
The rearmost seats tilt and fold into the cargo floor for a reasonably large carrying area, and even when all seats are in use there is still enough space for a few items of soft luggage.

Second and third row seats get overhead air conditioning vents. The base model has a fiddly satnav setup that requires cables and attachment to your mobile phone to work. A clumsy and untidy arrangement, resolved if you buy the more expensive Odyssey which has all those features built in to the information screen.
The seats themselves are covered in olde world velour fabric, and are reasonably comfortable but lack side support when cornering. Front pews have fold down armrests.. a good idea on long hauls. Honda has replaced the fold out tray between the front two seats with a sliding one that emerges from below the gear lever. For the thirsty, there are ten cup holders scattered about the "walk through" interior.
Honda's dashboard layout is simple, with a large speedo in front of the driver flanked by a linear tachometer and fuel gauge. But Honda, I think the days of fake wood trim are long gone. It does nothing to improve the interior ambience.
The steering column is adjustable for reach and rake and it was easy to get a comfy driving position.

The new Odyssey is powered by a 2.4 litre petrol engine mated to a CV transmission.
Honda engines are known for liking a good rev to get properly going and this one is no different. It's redlined at just under seven thousand rpm. There's a fuel saving stop/start feature. Average fuel consumption is just under 8 litres per 100 kilometres.
With 129 kw and 225 nm of torque, acceleration is leisurely,especially with a full complement of passengers on board. The CVT is an acquired taste, when driven hard it revs almost to its maximum, while the speed catches up. It sounds like a slipping clutch in a standard manual gearbox. It works just fine however and owners will get used to the unique characteristics. The central gearshift  is located at the base of the instrument panel and there are steering wheel paddles as well if you prefer.   

The suspension on the Odyssey when empty, is a little skittish and clunky over suburban ruts, and even when fully loaded does not deliver a very compliant or smooth ride.
The previous model was a joy to throw into corners, but thanks to more bulk and changes to the suspension the new Odyssey is not as happy when enthusiastically driven.
The headlights, as I have found on many other cars, are simply not good enough. In poorly lit urban streets their dull yellow glow barely lights the way for more than a few metres, and high beam is almost as weak.

The latest Odyssey is not as car-like or driver friendly as previous models.
Still, if you have a large tribe you need to transport, the 8 seat Odyssey, priced from 39K could fit the bill.
It's not bad value and has enough features to satisfy.
Peter Sellen