Driven: 2025 Honda Odyssey Gives Families What They Want

Minivans are few and far between these days, so Honda brings its Odyssey minivan into 2025 with a bunch of additional features and updated styling. It turns thirty this year and although the minivan no longer holds the same popularity of years past and the family SUV has taken its place, the 2025 Honda Odyssey wants to prove that it’s still a great choice for family life. We spent some time behind the wheel to see how well it manages.

What’s New for 2025

There’s a new look for this year’s Odyssey with a revised grille and new front and rear fascias which gives this minivan a more premium look – it’s still unmistakably a van, though, which may or may not appeal to you. It also gets vertical rear bumper reflectors taken from the Acura NSX sports car, if that adds to the appeal at all; it does make the Odyssey look good, but don’t expect it to drive like a sports car. There are also new wheel designs and new colors, including Solar Silver Metallic and Smoke Blue Pearl.

Inside, there’s now a standard customizable seven-inch digital instrument cluster with a nine-inch infotainment touchscreen. To keep the kids happy, the rear entertainment system now has a 12.8-inch high-resolution screen.

Exterior: Minivan Style With Personality

It’s hard to make a minivan look good. Nothing a designer does is going to make a minivan look sexy or sporty, but that doesn’t mean it has to look bland. This year’s refresh adds a needed dose of style to the Odyssey with the new front and rear fascias making its wide stance look less cumbersome and more bold. The Acura NSX vertical rear bumper reflectors are a nice touch, as are the larger black fog light surrounds up front. Most of the Odyssey’s personality comes from its striking wheel designs, especially the new machine-finished 19-inch alloy wheels on the Elite.

Interior: Living The Family Life

The Odyssey has a roomy interior with seating for up to eight people. This includes the Magic Slide second row. This unique setup isn’t the typical bench seat. The middle seat can be removed, turning the outboard seats into captain’s chairs. Additionally, those seats can slide side-to-side. This lets you move them close together or further apart if the kids are prone to bickering. They also slide front-to-back to either improve legroom or expand cargo capacity behind the seats.

It’s a comfortable minivan, especially up front. The seats are plush and supportive with modest bolstering that accommodates a variety of body sizes. It’s a nice place to spend some time, whether it’s running the kids around town or heading out for that family road trip. Even the third row is good, though it’s not where any adult will want to spend too much time. It comes in with slightly less room compared to the Toyota Sienna in the third row, but offers more room in comparison to the Chrysler Pacifica. Let the older kids hang out back there, and they’ll be thrilled with the sense of privacy.

Technology: An Upgrade No Matter Where You Sit

Up front, there’s now a standard seven-inch digital instrument cluster, and it’s configurable so you can choose exactly what information you want to see at a glance. This sits beside a standard nine-inch infotainment touchscreen. This isn’t an especially large screen, with the Toyota Sienna offering an available 12.3-inch touchscreen, but it is large enough to easily operate.

A seven-speaker audio system is standard along with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Wif-Fi hotspot connectivity, charging ports for the first and second row, and a wireless phone charger. Available upgrades include charging ports for the third row, an 11-speaker audio system, and a rear entertainment system with a 12.8-inch high-resolution touchscreen. This includes headphone jacks and HDMI plugs relocated to the inside of the console with a bin designed to hold devices.

There’s also something called CabinTalk, which is standard on the full Odyssey lineup. At the press of a button, the driver’s voice is projected through the rear speakers. It’s exactly what parents need to make sure the kids hear them when it’s time to get them to settle down. They can’t say they didn’t hear mom when her voice is coming through the speaker.

Cargo: Enough Space To Hold It All

While people think of SUVs as being the thing to have for carrying cargo, don’t discount the versatility of the family minivan. There’s lots of room inside the Odyssey, with 32.8 cubic feet behind the third row, 86.6 cubic feet behind the second row, and 140.7 cubic feet behind the first row. This makes it one of the roomier options in the segment. It can also tow 3,500 pounds, which only the Pacifica beats with 3,600 pounds for its gas trims only.

Power: Enough To Get The Job Done

The powertrain in the Odyssey remains unchanged with a 3.5-liter V6 that delivers 280 horsepower and 263 lb-ft of torque. This is paired to a 10-speed automatic transmission with front-wheel drive only, which makes it less appealing for those who live in wintry climates. Both the Chrysler Pacifica and the Toyota Sienna do have all-wheel available.

Something else you can’t get with the Odyssey is a hybrid. That doesn’t make a huge difference when it comes to how this minivan drives, but it’s going to matter a lot more when it comes time to head out on that family road trip. Without a hybrid option, fuel economy for the Odyssey trails the competition. The Toyota Sienna has only a hybrid engine, while the Pacifica is also offered as the Pacifica Hybrid with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain.

Drive Impressions: A Family Friendly Ride

A minivan is first and foremost a people mover. It’s going to spend its days hauling the kids to school and then all over town once school lets out. The Odyssey has an interior that offers plenty of room for the kids and their stuff, whether sporting equipment or school bags. It also has room for friends, so it’s easy to carpool or head out together for a day trip.

It’s equally comfortable for adults – well, except for the third row which is best left to the kids unless the ride is a short one. The second-row seats are more comfortable than average for the segment, but the best seats are in the first row. The driver and front passenger get treated to downright plush seating that makes road trips a less daunting proposition.

Driving the Odyssey is, well, like driving a minivan. This isn’t an especially engaging or sporty choice, but that’s not why you buy a minivan in the first place. You buy it for its ability to get you through the day with kids in tow and room for the groceries and maybe the family dog. On that front it shines.

There’s plenty of power to get up to highway speeds with a minimum of noise intruding into the cabin, even in bad weather. It’s a smooth highway cruiser, once again excelling at keeping the family comfy. Passing slower traffic is not a problem and the transmission has well-timed shifts to keep power delivery consistent. Steering is somewhat relaxed, but it’s never sloppy. This is a well-mannered minivan that’s not going to make you work hard. You already do that, running the kids everywhere. The Odyssey lets you relax when you’re behind the wheel and take a breath in the middle of a hectic day.

Pricing And Verdict: Value And Comfort

The Honda Odyssey is available in four trims with pricing from $41,920 to $50,880, not including $1,395 destination. It’s well-equipped in every trim with an attractive interior and quality materials that are also durable enough to handle whatever your kids can throw its way. This is a competitively priced minivan, which makes it a good choice.

It also has an outstanding reputation for reliability. This is always important, but never more so than when you potentially have a bunch of kids along for the ride. There’s room for everyone, ample technology, appealing styling, and a smooth, quiet ride that families on the go will appreciate.