[Tri-C]

In the past whenever I bought a new car there was always one color combination I clearly liked so the choice was easy.

I've put together a deal on a Midnight Blue Pearl Touring R&N and the transaction will be concluded later this week. Now, however, I'm having second (and third and fourth) thoughts about the color combination. I also like black/black and black/ivory. The dealer probably can trade for either if I so desire.

We had a black '04 Pilot so I know just how difficult it is to keep that color looking sharp. I suspect the MBP will be just about as hard to keep clean. That said, these are the only two exterior colors that are acceptable.

I like the idea of a black interior because it will not show shoe scuff marks on the sills or doors - also it might not show seat wear quite as plainly. Of course, it has its downside. Although a "safe choice," I'm sick of gray - my present cars have it. While black/tan always looks rich to me, I don't really like the dash in the ivory interior as the gray trim is just...jarring (and I really don't want to spend $300-400 on a wood trim kit to make it look better).

I'd appreciate any thoughts you have.

 

[Jerry O]

How about something like this: :stupid:

Jerry O.

 

[Jerry O]

Another view.

Jerry O.

 

[Jerry O]

More. The periscope and prop. are nice touches.

Jerry O.

 

[Tri-C]

Thanks for putting my "problem" into its proper perspective, Jerry!

 

[springsteennj]

Hi Tri-C.

I know what you are going through. My wife liked the Midnight Blue but there was none to be had at my time of purchase and I had to close the deal because of the 2.9% financing. That is a real nice color. I really liked the Sagebrush Pearl and one was on the lot, so we bought it. My favorite color hands down is the Redrock Pearl, but I could not stomach Ivory interior with the kids. It would get trashed in no time. Between Black and Midnight Blue, I would go with the Midnight Blue - just personnal preference.

 

[mochisushi]

More. The periscope and prop. are nice touches.

Jerry O.

Did you notice the Captain's Chairs in the third row? Wonder how they got them mounted...

 

[Guest]

Did you notice the Captain's Chairs in the third row? Wonder how they got them mounted...

I've noticed them too, but then thought that could be an optical illusion...

 

[daa28893]

We've always avoided dark interior colors since they soak and hold radiant heat in the summer compared to light interiors, however, I understand that the Odyssey's cooling system is pretty outstanding in terms of cooldown time (haven't experienced the "cooling" yet) so I'm not sure that would be so much an issue. Regardless, we decided on the ivory interior (Sagebrush exterior), which looks sharp and inviting, and as far as the grey/tan dash combination, I never thought much about it, but it hasn't ever come across to me as an odd combination of colors, although I must admit I don't think I've ever worn tan pants and a grey shirt together. We realize it will show up dirt quicker than a dark interior, especially with a 2 1/2 year old and one on the way, but it's the chance we're willing to take...and I think there is something to be said about training kids to do and NOT to do certain things when in the car, and yes I realize that kids do things unintentionally sometimes as do adults. Our biggest challenge has been teaching Donovan not to prop his feet on the hand bar located on the back of the driver's seat. One thing we've done is purchased throw rugs ($1 each at the Dollar store) to protect the floor carpet...works great and looks very nice, although I've had to train my wife how to get in and out of the car without shifting them all over the place (i.e. don't drag your feet).

 

[MysticalGoldOdy]

Color choices are purely a matter of taste, so I certainly can't say you are wrong about the ivory interior. However, since daa28893 has spoken up, I will mention that we have a Desert Rock Metallic Touring Res/Nav with Ivory interior. This was our top choice, and we passed up the opportunity to get other colors until this vehicle was located (and at the right price!). It is important to get something you like because you will be looking at it all the time! But, if the dash clash is your main concern, I would recommend that you try to see an Ivory interior on an '05 Touring in person. The new dash is very snazzy, and I dare say looks good in any interior! Good luck!

 

[richpatty]

I have a Black/Ivory Touring R&N....I love it! The black looks so sharp....especially when clean...yea..I know...black is a killer to keep clean... Anyway, we have had it since October and have begun to think black interior may have been a better idea. The Ivory is pretty light....we have already have had to clean the leather seats (easy enough to do), but we did see them getting dirty. The rug is still clean, although we have put clear matts over them (as we have always done in all or our cars.

I cannot speak to the heat issue (which is the prime reason we did NOT get a black interior -we live in NC - can get hot) as I have never had a car with a black interior... but who knows, maybe it would not have been that bad. I'll never know.

Don't get me wrong the ivory looks great, its just a little lighter than we have ever had before.

Our kids are 10 & 12, so they are not as sloppy as they were years ago, so that may work in our favor.

Hope this helps....

 

[Jerry O]

Did you notice the Captain's Chairs in the third row? Wonder how they got them mounted...

I did not notice that feature. I, too, wonder if it is a depth of field problem. They do, however, seem to be a bit askew, so they may be mounted in some funky way in the third row.

Jerry O.

 

[Tri-C]

Thanks to all who have posted. My kids are older so the lightness of the ivory is not really a great issue as it relates to them. With any color except black there will be issues with the carpet and sills getting dirty. And, yes, I've seen a black Touring with ivory interior and it is a super sharp combination.

 

[tonyE]

WHITE.. yes, our new 05 van is Japan's favorite color: Moby Dick WHITE.

It was one of the ROSE Bowl vans... and we got lucky to buy it.... four thousand miles and two thousand under invoice... yep.. invoice... not MSRP.

Saved a lot of GREEN...

And let's face it... GREEN is everybody's color.

So, don't get BLUE in the face yelling at my WHITE Moby Dick...

Because even though the IVORY interior will look BROWN soon enough with the kids getting in and out, the GREEN we saved will pay for a lot of carpet cleaning.

And that's in BLACK and WHITE how we ended up with our ambulance on wheels.

Maybe we ought to paint little RED crosses on the front doors and put a YELLOW flashing light on the roof.

Now, all you guys with fancy BRAVADO REDROCK, SILVER MOTHER OF PEARL, ASTONISHING MIDNIGHT BLUE, CORINTHIAN LEATHER GOLD and all types of fancy color names... ain't you GREEN with envy at my WHITE Moby Dick? ;-)

I may not care that much about that WHITE on the outside.... but I sure care a lot about the GREEN left in my wallet after the monthly payment.

GREENBACK GREEN.... that's my favorite color. ;-)))))

 

[MysticalGoldOdy]

Great story! IMHO there is no such thing as a bad color for an Odyssey. They are all wonderful-looking minivans. And there is no such thing as too low a price either! Great deal, tonyE!

 

[6spdtl]

Obviously color is a personal prefference, and the more flexible you are the quicker you'll be driving your car. Personally since we are spending 40K on a car we wanted to pick exactly the color we wanted so as Alex we went sagebrush with the ivory interior. One thing I wasnt completely satisfied with was the "metal" trim on the dash (it looks great with gray or black) so I visited HandA and ordered the "wood" dash trim. I recieved it yesterday and I'm happy to say the look is very convincing and not shiny. My build date was yesterday so hopefully these will be the last 2 weeks of my wait! Can't wait to the new wood trim on. BTW for those that were curious the trim is OEM Honda.

 

[tonyE]

True.... in our case we have an 02 on which we owe far less than it's worth and we have a buyer who's already been approved.. and then this deal came across our sights... so I didn't really care about the color so long as it was an EX (not EX-L, not Touring, not LX)...

Which means we were very flexible and so we got our van fast, cheap and now we get our money off the old one too.

OTOH, if you specifically wanted a set of features and colors you'll pay more and wait much longer. As it is, the Odyssey is in real short supply still.

BTW- how easy is it to install the wood trim? I figure it would look very nice in our light ivory interior. We had it in both of our CLs and TLs and really brought made the interior look "richer". I'm not too fond of the "grey/black with titanium" look myself.

Obviously color is a personal prefference, and the more flexible you are the quicker you'll be driving your car. Personally since we are spending 40K on a car we wanted to pick exactly the color we wanted so as Alex we went sagebrush with the ivory interior. One thing I wasnt completely satisfied with was the "metal" trim on the dash (it looks great with gray or black) so I visited HandA and ordered the "wood" dash trim. I recieved it yesterday and I'm happy to say the look is very convincing and not shiny. My build date was yesterday so hopefully these will be the last 2 weeks of my wait! Can't wait to the new wood trim on. BTW for those that were curious the trim is OEM Honda.

 

[redrockflorida]

redrock

We were also very nervous at first about the LX Ivory interior. It seems very light. We originally saw it inside one of the gold vans. But when we saw the Ivory with the Redrock Pearl, we loved it. It really reminds me of a BMW inside with the Ivory interior and black dashboard. We've been very happy with it.

 

[6spdtl]

True.... in our case we have an 02 on which we owe far less than it's worth and we have a buyer who's already been approved.. and then this deal came across our sights... so I didn't really care about the color so long as it was an EX (not EX-L, not Touring, not LX)...

Which means we were very flexible and so we got our van fast, cheap and now we get our money off the old one too.

OTOH, if you specifically wanted a set of features and colors you'll pay more and wait much longer. As it is, the Odyssey is in real short supply still.

BTW- how easy is it to install the wood trim? I figure it would look very nice in our light ivory interior. We had it in both of our CLs and TLs and really brought made the interior look "richer". I'm not too fond of the "grey/black with titanium" look myself.

The installation appears very straight forward. All the trim pieces are clip on so a small pry bar is all thats needed for removal. The only section that has any screws is the center dash part and those are only for things attached to the back of the trim not the panel itself. Visit the handa-accesories site, the instructions are there. The other trim pices for the door and such are all sticky tape type. I was worried about the edge finish, but again I was a pleasantly surprised to see that all the edges on those parts are nicely tapered to avoid the unsightly and cheap looking "wood" with black underneath look that you might get with some after market "wood" kits.

 

[Tri-C]

Yes, 6spdtl, it does look nice installed in the invory interior. A dealer here had it in a showroom model last fall and it made the whole presentation look MUCH better.

Settled the color question tonight by purchasing a Midnight Blue Pearl Touring R&N.

Again, I thank all for their comments.