Minivans aren't selling as well as they used to, partly due to rising demand for three-row crossovers and truck-based utility vehicles. Be that as it may, automaker continue pouring millions over millions into research & development for minivans, which resulted in a hybridized Pacifica, Sienna, and Carnival.
Have a wild guess which manufacturer facelifted its minivan for 2025 without considering a hybrid option. That would be Honda, whose Odyssey has entered 2025 with the very same 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 and 10-speed automatic transmission as the pre-facelift 2024 model.
Although said transmission is perfectly suited for the job, that engine is a tad underwhelming in the sense that it's a single-overhead-cam unit with i-VTEC on the intake valves only. Honda premiered a new version of the J35-series engine in the 2023 model year Pilot, with said version eschewing the SOHC design and VTEC on the intake side for DOHC and VTC setups.
VTC means variable timing control, and it makes a whole lot more sense than VTEC in a minivan because of the smoother, more linear pull to redline. Good for 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet (355 Nm), the antiquated sixer in the 2025 Honda Odyssey is rated at 22 miles per gallon (10.7 liters per 100 kilometers).
That's comparable to segment rivals, with the combustion-only Pacifica netting 22 from its 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and the combustion-only Carnival also 22 from its free-breathing engine. However, it's much worse than the 36 mpg (6.5 l/100 km) of the hybrid-only Sienna with front-wheel drive.
Photo: Honda
In the attached release, Honda waxes lyrical about the Odyssey being "America's retail #1 minivan." Glancing over the H1 2024 delivery figures of the aforementioned manufacturers in the US market will result in a different picture, with said numbers reflecting retail and fleet deliveries. The Pacifica clocked 70,882 sales during the six-month period, followed by the Odyssey with 39,257, Sienna with 32,868, and Carnival with merely 21,083 deliveries under its belt.
What is actually new, though? As you can tell from the provided images, Honda worked its magic on the front grille, bumper, and the rear fascia. Technology updates for the interior also need to be mentioned, especially the 12.8-inch HD screen of the rear entertainment system with an HDMI plug in the console.
Honda somehow made a connection between this minivan and the poor-selling Acura NSX through vertical reflectors for the rear bumper. Two new paint colors have been added to the palette for 2025, those being Smoke Blue Peral and Solar Silver Metallic. On the infotainment side, Odyssey flaunts a larger 9.0-inch unit with a faster processor for more fluid operation.
As far as prices are concerned, $41,920 plus $1,395 destination gets you the EX-L trim level. That means Honda discontinued the EX from the lineup, which starts at $38,240 for model year 2024. Also worthy of note, the 2024 Honda Odyssey EX-L currently retails at $41,310.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News