Touring interior very dissappointing - too much plastic

vertrkr · Sep 20, 2004

Sat in a Touring yesterday, my first Honda I've ever been in, and I was sadly dissappointed. While I appreciate Honda's excellent mechanical engineering the interior just made my jaw drop. I could not escape the feeling everything just looked and felt like cheap plastic. While it's all fully functional and hopefully made out of quality plastic that won't break it just exudes the look & feel of flimsy cheapness that should be in a car half the price.

I have a '97 Ford Expedition which is much more plush and refined. The whole dash and side panels are soft to the touch with no sharp edges anywhere. The Touring is quite the opposite being hard and sharp comparatively.

I've also driven my Mom's '04 Sienna Limited quite a bit and find it far superior in interior quality also. I never had the feeling of cheap plastic sitting in the Sienna. The Sienna seats are much more comfortable too and with more leg room.
I don't like the Sienna for other reasons, mainly the NAV/RES unit interface, which is why I wanted the Touring but now I'm not so sure.

I'm a big guy, 6'4", 250lbs, and I just felt like a bull in a china shop in the Odyssey. I'm afraid I'd break bits and pieces off it in no time.

To top it off I got the Sienna XLE limited for my mom at $250 over invoice. I so much wanted the Touring/NAV but after considering how much better the Sienna's interior feels to me and definetely more comfortable in it and for about $5000 less street price it all has me just crying as I really won't be happy with either one for different reasons. Sigh, what to do.

amc731 · Sep 20, 2004

vertrkr said:
.......... it all has me just crying as I really won't be happy with either one for different reasons. Sigh, what to do.

I'm crying right along with you!

We're going out today to look at/drive an EX-L, even though we've ordered the Touring. As of this morning they did not have a Touring at the dealership. Looking at the prices I doubt we'll talk ourselves into the touring, but I'm hoping I'm REALLY happy and REALLY sold on the EX-L RES (and possibly Navi). Ugh.........I wanted and expected to be thrilled.

A big temptation for us is not the Sienna, I just cannot get excited about it. We test drove a Suburban this weekend. We all liked it, but clearly the gas mileage is a huge downer. But, there's something to be said for always getting off this mountain and being able to tow whatever we want.

Who knows...........our decision will be made soon though. October 5th is our deadline (lease expires!). Good luck!

acoolra · Sep 20, 2004

vertrkr said:
Sat in a Touring yesterday, my first Honda I've ever been in, and I was sadly dissappointed. While I appreciate Honda's excellent mechanical engineering the interior just made my jaw drop. I could not escape the feeling everything just looked and felt like cheap plastic. While it's all fully functional and hopefully made out of quality plastic that won't break it just exudes the look & feel of flimsy cheapness that should be in a car half the price.

I have a '97 Ford Expedition which is much more plush and refined. The whole dash and side panels are soft to the touch with no sharp edges anywhere. The Touring is quite the opposite being hard and sharp comparatively.

I hope you're kidding. I rented the Expedition a few times before and can't help but think how badly the interior was built. Can anyone who's been in the touring compare the 2005 Ody interior quality compared to the new Accord. That will give me a better gauge of the quality. If the material and workmanship is similar or better than the Accord then that's more than good enough for me.

Guest · Sep 20, 2004

Re: Re: Touring interior very dissappointing - too much plastic

acoolra said:
I hope you're kidding. I rented the Expedition a few times before and can't help but think how badly the interior was built. Can anyone who's been in the touring compare the 2005 Ody interior quality compared to the new Accord. That will give me a better gauge of the quality. If the material and workmanship is similar or better than the Accord then that's more than good enough for me.

Based upon quite diverse reviews on this forum, I suggest you have to look at it all by yourself to decide whether or not it is good for your taste !

nurbel · Sep 20, 2004

Re: Re: Re: Touring interior very dissappointing - too much plastic

alexmish said:
Based upon quite diverse reviews on this forum, I suggest you have to look at it all by yourself to decide whether or not it is good for your taste !

What he said.

LuceGoose · Sep 20, 2004

Re: Re: Touring interior very dissappointing - too much plastic

acoolra said:
I hope you're kidding.

I wondered the same thing. I've always thought Fords had some of the cheesiest, cheapest looking interiors I've ever seen. I rented a LameStar earlier this year and it had a brand new updated design, but looked so lame. (not to mention how it drove - yeesh).

All in the eyes of the beholder, I guess.

LuceGoose

nurbel · Sep 20, 2004

Ok, you twisted my arm.

The interior in the Accord is a little better as far as craftsmanship. Materials are about the same. The only glaring things I noticed on the Odyssey were the covers on the dash-mounted tweeters didn't fit flush with the dash.

If you go to College Hills website and check out their pics of the interior you can see some rough edges on the plastic panels.

My observations only, take it or leave it. I don't care.

mochisushi · Sep 20, 2004

Re: Re: Touring interior very dissappointing - too much plastic

amc731 said:
We test drove a Suburban this weekend. We all liked it, but clearly the gas mileage is a huge downer. But, there's something to be said for always getting off this mountain and being able to tow whatever we want.

Hi AMC,
I am more than willing to share, in detail, our Sub experiences. PM me if you want. I will be happy to provide my personal e-mail (just don't post it on the internet!!!:stupid: ), or we can simply converse by PM. Either way. I just don't want to bore everybody with Sub info when they really want Ody info.

01Mesaex · Sep 20, 2004

Re: Re: Touring interior very dissappointing - too much plastic

acoolra said:
I hope you're kidding. I rented the Expedition a few times before and can't help but think how badly the interior was built. Can anyone who's been in the touring compare the 2005 Ody interior quality compared to the new Accord. That will give me a better gauge of the quality. If the material and workmanship is similar or better than the Accord then that's more than good enough for me.

I have an '04 Accord LX, and it's interior materials should be in cars twice the price! Everythings sturdy, ergonomical and good looking. While the interior of the new Ody dash isn't a looker, i'll be happy if dash are alike or better. In the 2nd Gen Ody materials are hard but good quality, they should've modeled the Limited for the Touring. The seat design in the Touring is fantastic.

egads · Sep 20, 2004

i have thought about this today and a couple of things come to mind. One is that this is a little tykes car. It's made for hauling kids! Cushy padded surfaces get poked and torn. Another is that Honda is commited to making vehicles that are recyclable. Usually not a priority to the luxury car buyer. Some of us tree huggers would like to have a planet to pass on to our kids.

planomateo · Sep 20, 2004

Re: Re: Touring interior very dissappointing - too much plastic

acoolra said:
I hope you're kidding. I rented the Expedition a few times before and can't help but think how badly the interior was built. Can anyone who's been in the touring compare the 2005 Ody interior quality compared to the new Accord. That will give me a better gauge of the quality. If the material and workmanship is similar or better than the Accord then that's more than good enough for me.

No doubt. I know so many people that have Crapeditions....i think the interior is just horrible inside...even the 2004 Eddie Bauer editions.

planomateo · Sep 20, 2004

Re: Re: Re: Touring interior very dissappointing - too much plastic

01Mesaex said:
The seat design in the Touring is fantastic.

what seat design are you referring to? Just curious...

BenjiBoy168 · Sep 20, 2004

Re: Re: Re: Touring interior very dissappointing - too much plastic

01Mesaex said:
The seat design in the Touring is fantastic.

My 11 year old brother disagrees strongly, at least on the design of the 2nd row. And being the second row, 11 year olds will be in there pretty commonly anyways. So I think that should be weighted pretty heavily, because the seat felt fine to me

Guest · Sep 20, 2004

Just sat in EX-L-RES, Sage Brush w/Ivory leather inside. Since I've read many complains about the quality, I paid very close attention to the details...

I did not see any "cheap" looking parts. Granted, this is not a Lexus or Acura, but it is the same good quality as the rest of the Hondas have. I would say it is the same or slightly better than my 01 ODY EX.

I guess the color makes difference. A few days back I saw gray leather interior, and it did look on a cheap side to me. Also, gray plastic parts tend to show different discolorations and imperfections more "vividly". The Ivory interior has very good color matching with almost-black dashboard and metallic-looking panels. It does, in fact, looks quite good.

The pictures that I've seen on the web (CollegeHill and another post around here) dont do the justice to the cockpit's controls and instrument panel. It looks much better in person (especially when cleaned up and ready for delivery). I did not see the plastic clear cover over the instrument panel (but it is seen very clearly on the photos because of optics, lighting and probably flash' reflection).

Overall, I am very happy with what I saw, and since this is the same color ext/int as I will be getting my Touring in, I am a happy camper (for now at least, until we learn the price of Touring NAV/RES).

Sorry, no photos. Did not have my camera with me, and the camera of my cell phone would not do the right justice

dwwall · Sep 21, 2004

I've read several comments people saying "as long as the interior is as good as the Accord". I for one would hope that a vehicle priced at $38,500 would have a much better interior than one costing $20K. Unfortunately, it does not. After waiting anxiously for months for the '05 Odyssey Touring with NAV/RES, I have decided not to buy, not at MSRP anyway. Now I'm trying to decide if the MDX works for me. If not, I'll have to take a hard look at the Sienna. At $38,500, I expect this to be an Acura in material and workmanship. It is not. The leather and plastic is definately up to Honda standards however if that works for you.

Touring interior very dissappointing - too much plastic

vertrkr

amc731

acoolra

Guest

nurbel

LuceGoose

nurbel

mochisushi

01Mesaex

egads

planomateo

planomateo

BenjiBoy168

Guest

dwwall

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