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2005 Honda Odyssey Unveiled

Yesterday Honda pulled the tarp off the 2005 Honda Odyssey. Much to the relief of the domestic auto industry, it is more evolutionary than revolutionary. The Odyssey is more important than it's raw numbers would otherwise dictate because its platform forms the basis of the Pilot and MDX suvs and the new SUT, sport utility truck.

The new Odyssey will not have second and third row fold flat seats, just the same third row magic seat as before. There is no hybrid option for now, although there is a storage area underneath and between the front and second row seats that is used for a "lazy susan" accessible to either row. This space would be a good place to put a battery pack in a hybrid due to the weight distribution.

The upgraded 3.5 liter engine has been bumped up to 255 horsepower (on regular unleaded). In the upper trim levels a cylinder deactivation scheme lets the car run on 3 cylinders under light loads, allowing highway fuel economy to be bumped from 25 mpg to 28.

In general though there's nothing that Daimler Chrysler couldn't match with an engine upgrade.

The article linked below focuses on the new Alabama plant where all US Odysseys will be built. With the engine and vehicle assembly being done on the same campus, the Odyssey will probably have the highest domestic content of any minivan.

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