I also left out the "click" when I turn the steering wheel accelerating from a stop, the noise that the fan started making after our all day drive and any number of other things that annoy me but I can't quite remember at this moment.

 

Sounds like you need a new car, life is too short to be stuck driving something you hate.

We really like ours though. I've noticed the delay through the Bluetooth system, but it really doesn't bother me. I'm comfortable on long trips driving the Odyssey, but of course ergonomics are a personal thing with widely varying preferences. Seems like you "hate" a lot of seemly minor things.

Mazda makes a great vehicle, but the CX-9 has nowhere near the interior capacity that a minivan does. If you can get along without all the space I say go for it, and hope you like that one better!

 

Sounds like you need a new car, life is too short to be stuck driving something you hate.

This!

 

Wow! I really love my 2012 Odyssey EX-L and I bought it used in September 2015 with 68,200 miles on it. Mileage was too high to be Honda Certified, but my dealer sold it as a "Premium Pre-Owned" with the same inspection program that is used for the Honda Certified Pre-Owned. I love the driving position, ergonomics and - despite a bit of surge when VCM kicks in or out - the engine / transmission performance. You can and should go with something else if you hate your Ody so much, but I wonder if anything else would be an improvement for you.

 

Yup, if the Ody isn't for you then its time to move on. As for the cruise, you can just step on the brake to cancel. You know, just in case. The main reason to get a minivan is for efficiency, but those don't seem to be high on your list, so another car will make you happier.

 

Let us know how you like your little vw after it gets "fixed". Lol

Sounds like you don't like minivans. Ok but your vw ain't all that special either ya know...

 

Does VW still make vans?

 

There last one was a rebadged Chrysler.

I can't disagree with anything in the blog post you gave a link for other then the guy complained about not being able to manually open the tailgate which is done by keeping the button on the tailgate depressed till it beeps twice. Then you can manually open it.

IMO all Honda and Toyota have been falling way behind in quality and appeal. I only bought a Honda out of necessity. Go drive a Mazda and you will see where I am coming from. As far as Japanese cars go, Mazda clearly is not just riding on a reputation from twenty years ago. The automotive sheep just assume that a Honda will be perfect and run forever. If you really want to be disappointed, take a trip to Acura. Clearly no difference between Honda and Acura other then price.

Once the Odyssey is not needed or becomes a maintenance pig, it will be my last Honda purchase.

 

Someone else said "sounds like you need a new car". Yep, I really agree with that if you hate the car that much. Funny, I drove that same drive from Michigan to New Hampshire this summer and I really enjoyed the drive in my 2013 Odyssey with three kids and the wife. Of course it has no low-end torque, it's a minivan. Not a pickup truck meant for pulling something or a sport car. If you don't like the audio system, don't buy a more recent VW than your 2012, they really suck the last few years.

Funny, I have owned many VW models and just didn't like some them at all - namely a 2014 Jetta that I couldn't wait to get rid of. Others I liked. Some of the complaints would be solved by a more expensive car or a different manufacturer.

In the end, every car has it's pluses and minus for everyone, that's why there are so many of brands. Usually a test drive is where that all gets figured out - but of course a 20 minute drive is never going to replicate a 880 mile trip, or a daily commute.

VW doesn't make minivans - the last VW van was the Routan, which was just a rebadged Chrysler minivan, built on the same line in Windsor. I had one for a while, decent enough but getting service done was miserable - imagine German engineers interfacing with Chrysler engineer to write technical manuals. It only took three tries to repair the cruise control.

 

How does your wife like the Odyssey since it's her daily driver?

The Odyssey isn't a perfect car, but it does what it's supposed to in my mind--be reliable, safe, and carry a crapload of people and things around!

 

How does your wife like the Odyssey since it's her daily driver?

She likes it, but she's not overly picky about things. She likes the convenience of opening a single door and letting both kids get in (4 yr old climbs over while she puts the under-2 yr old in to her seat).

I guess hate was a strong descriptor but I summed it up at the bottom by saying overall I was really disappointed in the vehicle. That's probably a better theme to get across. Disappointed and underwhelmed.

 

Agree get another vehicle if it bothers you that badly. I bet the wife thinks it's great! Funny how things like that work. I go thorough fits of hate and love on mine! Just put on a set of new Pirelli Scorpion tires and love it again. It's never going to be a sports car or even a great handling vehicle but it does fairly well at hauling people or cruising the highways.

https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us...ht-truck/find-your-tires/product-sheet/scorpion-verde-all-season-plus#/overview

 

You'll likely hate all mini-vans. I'd look toward a Toureg.

 

One day your kids will appreciate the van that you hate. As a child, my parents had a Dodge Caravan with an electric folding 3rd row bench that turned into a bed and we once fit 12 people in it going from DC to Atlanta. As an adult, I have really come to appreciate the minivan and all of its utility that my previous 2 door and sedan could never fulfill.

 

I have a similar feeling about our 2013 EX-L that my wife primarily drives. I honestly expected better fit and finish for the price and target demographic. My 2009 4-cyl Accord EX-L has better fit and finish/soft touch materials overall.

The VCM/Eco mode sucks...for it's minimal at best fuel savings it's not worth the loss of driving experience/smoothness/refinement.

Our children are 16, 9, and 5...we determined when we bought (settled for) our van that this would be our one and only van purchase. We road trip A LOT. Wife wants either a Subaru Outback or VW Sportwagen next...

In short, having a minivan offers a lot of utility for the MPG/cost but not without giving up other things. We're at 2.5 years of ownership and 45k trouble free miles. It serves it's purpose.

 

Upfront - my daily driver is a 2012 Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6mt.

<snip>

I dislike the engine - it has no low-end torque and the gimmicky ECO mode just manifests itself as a few additional gears in the transmission to make it feel like it's always shifting.

<snip>

Well lets see you are comparing a smaller manual transmission TDI vehicle to a larger auto transmission gas vehicle. First off the TDIs are known for there torque, second the VW is a manual which allows a greater feel, and third the size/weight of the vehicles will effect the feeling as well. If the Odyssey was a turbo then it might have a bit more low end torque but otherwise they are both on par with norms and the Odyssey actually has more overall torque than the VW. According to Edmunds, the VW has 236 ft-lbs. @ 1750 rpm and the Odyssey has 250 ft-lbs. @ 4800 rpm.

As others have said, it looks like you just won't be happy with the Odyssey or any mini-van for that matter. Also, based on the factors above the redesigned CX-9 might be the only one that works for you since it's turbo charged. Any older CX-9 would likely disappoint as well.

You might just want to limit your searches to turbo charged vehicles. I can somewhat relate as my DD is a 2014 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro with a 6 speed manual. However, I still think the wife's Odyssey is a fine vehicle for what it does.

 

Its a minivan, adjust your expectations accordingly. Did you test drive it at all? I test drove a Chrysler and it was terrible. Sketchy steering and always searching for the right gear.

If I had a family of four a minivan wouldn't even be considered.

 

I agree with a lot of your points. But I don't hate the vehicle for it - because at the end of the day, its a moving appliance and for what it does, it does it very well.

Have you looked at the other alternatives? Sienna - meh. Quest? Forget it. Caravan? Not a chance. Sedona? Still don't trust the brand (and lack of removable 2nd row seats, cmon).

Yes, there are a few minuses and I think you hit them all. But there are a lot of pluses too. We've taken three very long road trips and no one ever complained. My biggest gripe was the VCM and its now deactivated so honestly, the thing drives perfectly now.

For the low end issue - I modded my intake which alleviated that and now with VCM deactivated its not an issue.

 

I agree with you on the new Mazda lineup-I traded my 2015 Mazda 6 on a 2015 Odyssey EX-L out of a necessity. Fit, and finish on the Mazda 6 was first-rate, and I absolutely loved it. Odyssey on the other hand has cheap leather/vinyl interior with silver plastic trim, and real thin carpet. Panel gaps are inconsistent, and have noticed orange peel in several areas. Transmission makes harsh metallic sound from time to time, and overall interior feels pretty dated.

These complains aside it is not a bad car. It's just that I expect a certain level of refinement, and Odyssey doesn't offer that. But besides that it is a pretty nice cruiser. Like the OP have my eyes set on the new CX-9. I must admit it looks very promising....

 

I think it's just you. I feel exactly the opposite. I LOVE my Odyssey!

 

Odyssey torque/power



Agreed, my 2000 Odyssey EX has been very satisfactory, moving telescopes, construction material, and people. As for power, the 2000 has barely 200HP, and in spite of that, I never felt the need to put premium gas in (to get it up to 210HP). I guess having driven buses for years, it's easy for me to judge passing distances and time acceleration. For instance, I might reach 20 mph faster than the car in front *before* pulling out to overtake... and still be accelerating (whereas those less experienced will pull out at the same speed, and only then begin accelerating).

So once my 2016 has broken in, I'm sure I'll be entirely happy with the 248 horses.

 

I love my Odyssey for what it is, a vehicle that can seat 8 family members comfortably. Any other vehicle that can hold 3 car seats side by side and 4 adults comfortably gets my money too. I'm also disappointed by the quality of what you get for the money but carmakers have abandoned the minivan market for the SUV. It's too bad as Toyota and Honda can charge what they want and live on their past reputation.

 

Get the VCM muzzler from verbatim. It's like driving a more powerful van using all 6 cylinders alot less lag.

 

No low end torque is a function of design for fuel economy. When you want more torque, you push the right pedal hard enough to force a downshift. Voila! Torque and rpms. They do make it rather easy.

I'll surely agree that it's not a driver oriented vehicle. Our 03 has better feeling driving dynamics (though a LOT more NVH). But you just can't beat it for overall family utility.

 

Seems like hate is too strong and regretful. I bought the '12 Odyssey Touring out of necessity, but I also knew it's compromises. The one thing that bothers me is road noise when cruising 80+MPH. Below 80 MPH the road noise is acceptable.

 

+1 on this!!

It is what it is & it does what a minivan is suppose to do - provide adequate and semi-comfortable transportation for a family >4 . Now I usually don't go over 75 but I still don't like the road noise. Would I prefer driving my family in the S class, sure but not as adequate with 2 child seats and my oldest sitting in between the 2 siblings. Even my wife has complained about the road noise in the Ody since the S class is her daily driver!!!!

 

You are comparing apples and oranges. If you hate your Odyssey go drive a Chrysler Town and Country lol.

It is an appliance made to easily move many people and / or stuff, IMO it does a great job of it.

 

+1 .

 

OurOdyssey, if I may ask what did you do to the intake or install that fixed the low end torque issue? Thanks.

 

Posts like this drive me crazy. What was the point? Apples and banana comparison - yes that far off. Two things. Drive your odyssey into your fabulous VW and see which one you like at the end of the day. Bottom line is VW while sporty and fun and decent gas mileage with their fraudulent gas and emissions tech ... are pieces of crap. Look at any publication and they have some of the worst reliability out there. Talk to most owners and many will report major oil consumption at 100k or so. Honda has cut some corners here and there but they have seen the downstream effect of that. Their newer products should restore everyones faith. Ive seen some odyssey and pilot wrecks.. they may be blah to some but in many cases are strong safe vehicles.... if your children and family are the most important things to you as mine are then you will appreciate it for what it is. I am at 144k miles on my 2006 odyssey and i wont complain at all. It has not been my most reliable honda at all but just having a starter, oxygen sensor, half axle (just this week might i add), door roller... i really cannot complain. Putting cheap motor mounts on it was my fault but i am rectifying that certainly.

 

Upfront - my daily driver is a 2012 Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6mt.

I'm about 10 months in to owning our 2015 Odyssey EX-L (my wife's primary vehicle). Just wrapped up a 2000 mile trip from NH to MI and back. And I must say, I think this van sucks. I struggle to find something that I actually like about it, besides easily carrying 4 passengers and a ton of cargo.

I dislike the engine - it has no low-end torque and the gimmicky ECO mode just manifests itself as a few additional gears in the transmission to make it feel like it's always shifting.

I dislike the fit and finish - this really bothers me coming from my VW. It's just sloppy. I hate that there are like 4 different colors (Metallic Gray with the light-gray leather interior). The finish of the carpets is terrible. When I drive in the wet why is there water that comes in from the bottom of the doors and gets the lower step panel plastic (can't come up with a better term) wet?

I hate the seating position and steering wheel. All last night (880 miles) I had a hard time driving with the cruise control on and maintaining a comfortable arm position on the arm rest but maintaining a finger close to the cruise control cancel button (just in case).

I hate the audio system - there's a couple second delay when I'm playing music from my iPhone when I change tracks (both via USB and Bluetooth). Doesn't happen with the VW.

I hate that the trip computer has terrible options (no digital speed readout in the between the tachometer and speedometer) besides Trip A, Trip B and oil life.

I'm really disappointed in this vehicle. I don't see how I can live with this thing for the life of the vehicle, unless I just give in and decide to treat it like garbage (not maintenance wise, just not caring about it as a long-term major purchase).

There was a recent review (The Only Honda Odyssey Review You?ll Ever Need to Read.*) that I think accurately sums up how I feel about this vehicle. I thought it was the best going into it, and from a people-moving perspective it still may be. But I think the vehicle overall just sucks.

Am I the only one that feels this way? I'm not a big fan of SUVs but that redesigned Mazda CX-9 sounds awfully tempting.

How does your wife feel about the Odyssey? It is her daily driver after all, right?

Either way, apples and oranges, you can't compare the VW to the Honda. There is NOTHING sporty about the minivan, even the Odyssey which is the sportiest one out there right now. You can't expect the Odyssey to perform anything like the sport wagon. Yes, there are interior design and quality elements which you can deride—and most of us do—but the alternative is to buy a $60K+ German made minivan (is there one?) or large SUV. Man would I love one of those, but quite simply can't afford that.