What are the most common touchpoints you’ll interact with during daily life with a Honda Odyssey?
Remote Start – On the EX and up, the Odyssey has remote start available right from the key fob. This is super simple and easy to use. Great to cool down the car in summer and warm it up in the winter. There is an app-based system that would allow you start from nearly anywhere, but it requires an additional subscription cost.
Passive Entry – Again, a feature found on the EX and up, you can keep your key fob in your pocket and unlock the doors by simply holding your hand behind the door handle. There is a slight lag sometimes, so be sure to give it a pause before you tug on that door handle. You can unlock from the front doors and the rear door handles. This isn’t always the case in many vehicles, where you might only be able to unlock from the front door handles.
Memory Seats and Mirrors – This feature is found on the EX-L and up Odysseys. Save up to 2 different seating and mirror positions (lumbar support preference is not saved). This can also be linked to the 2 main key fobs, so that the position will recall from when you unlock the doors.
Tilt Down Mirror in Reverse – This feature is tied to the memory mirrors, so it’s an EX-L and up feature. When you back up this car, which is potentially an easy way to swing this long beast into a parking spot, it’s nice to have a mirror tilt down to help you see the parking lines and/or curbs. You can choose which side you’d like to tilt down by using the L-R power mirror switch position. If you don’t like the mirrors tilting down in reverse, just leave the L-R switch in the middle position.
Sunvisor – While they don’t extend, they’re wide enough to provide good coverage when they’re swung to the side window position.
Hot Keys in the Infotainment System – Be sure to leverage the customizable hot keys along the top left corner of the infotainment screen for whatever feature you want quick access to, whether it’s Android Auto/CarPlay or CabinWatch.
Smartphone Connectivity – On that note, the EX and up Odysseys have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support. The USB port is a bit inconvenient as it’s buried down in the center console, and then the sliding lid can’t be shut completely with a wire stringing out to the phone.
Cup Kinda-holders – Beware when driving, the cupholders are just… well, kinda-holders. They’re big plastic holes, but they don’t have any spring-loaded tensioners that can help keep bottles/cups/cans from tipping over. And they’re not lined at the bottom with any kind of rubber mat, which is pretty common, especially for vehicles over $30,000.
Easy Breezy Pitstops – No searching for buttons or levers, the gas door is accessed through a simple push of the lid, which pops it open. Push it back to close it, don’t worry, it locks with the car doors. Behind the lid is a capless fuel filler. No more worrying where to put the lid or wondering if you’ve tightened it completely. This should be the process on every gas car sold today.
Hands Free Kick Your Bumper Tailgate Opening – This is a minivan, you’re likely going to be loading it (and subsequently unloading) with lots of stuff. If your hands are full, it’s great to have a hands free way to open that back door. It does require a well placed kick directly under the middle of the back bumper while you have the key somewhere with you. When you’re unloading, another similar kick will also initiate the power close.
Easy Stow of the 3rd Row Magic Seat – Honda has one of the easiest ways to stow the rear seat. One tug on the strap and you can dump that rear seat down into the deep well. Well, two tugs, one for each side. No power operated third row here, but this is much faster. Lifting the seats back out might be a little harder since they do have some heft to them, but can still mostly be managed with one hand.
What are your must have day to day features??