The Honda Odyssey continues its legacy as a reliable, family-friendly minivan, combining practicality with comfort in a traditional minivan formula. With a spacious interior, decent tech, and great ride quality, the Odyssey caters to parents or big families seeking comfort and convenience for running errands, daily routines and road trips. Even though it doesn’t have a hybrid powertrain like the Toyota Sienna, an all-wheel-drive option like the Chrysler Pacifica, or as fresh as the KIA Carnival, it is still one of the bestselling minivans for many reasons.
The Odyssey is slightly updated for 2024 with a refreshed front fascia that exudes a more modern and refined appeal. The front grille features a honeycomb pattern with blacked-out accents exclusively for Black Edition trim, but the other trims get the chrome accents. The LED headlights look sharp with angular designs, making it look like one piece with the front grille. While the Odyssey remains unmistakably a minivan, the updates give it a stylish edge to keep it looking modern and up-to-date.
The updates are almost unnoticeable from the side except for the updated wheels, which are also blacked out for the Black Edition package. It still strikes a clean and functional silhouette while still being unmistakably a minivan. It’s tailored to maximize the interior space. The sliding rear doors are the most important feature that makes the minivan, a minivan. Unlike other minivans, Honda could hide the sliding door rail as a part of the rear quarter window panel.
The rear end of the 2025 Honda Odyssey is as sensible as a pair of sturdy walking shoes – and just as reliable. The wide, sculpted tailgate offers clean lines that scream practicality, with a Honda badge that reminds you this is the minivan that means business. The rear bumper is quite low, making loading even the bulkiest of family gear a breeze – because let’s face it, this car isn’t hauling anything glamorous. Small touches like the integrated spoiler and smoked taillights give it a sportier look.
Step inside the 2025 Odyssey, and you are greeted by an interior designed with families in mind. The interior prioritizes practicality and comfort, with clean, straightforward lines and an intuitive layout. There are tons of storage compartments and cubbies with no gimmicky features. The materials are durable and refined enough to feel modern. However, the interior feels a little bit monochromatic, and it still doesn’t change the fact that the interior represents the Honda design language from the late 2010s, showing its age.
On the positive side, you will find a lot of physical controls for all essential features, it is quite rare in 2025 as most manufacturers offer larger screens with fewer buttons in the interior. The centrepiece is a touchscreen with the older Honda infotainment system, which looks small by modern standards. For some reason, Honda decided not to implement the newest infotainment system with a large touchscreen that we see in the new Accord, it is a missed opportunity for the brand.
Despite the aging dashboard design, it is still the most family-friendly option with configurable seating, and it is the only minivan that offers an 8-seater option with the top trim. If you are looking for the maximum seating capacity, Honda doesn’t force you to choose lower trims. The second row is where the magic happens – Honda’s Magic Slide seats allow you to adjust the middle row. You can keep the middle seat, or simply remove it and slide the outer seats side-to-side to create extra space and versatility. You can also move them forward for closer proximity to the front row, or remove them entirely to free up more cargo room. The seat belts are integrated into the seats, making it much easier to remove but much heavier to carry.
Like most minivans, the third row folds flat into the floor with minimal effort, which creates a cavernous cargo area when needed. Aside from different storage compartments and cubbies, the Odyssey is the right choice for large families. When all seats are folded, you get a maximum cargo capacity of about 4090 litres, which is ideal for larger loads. When the third-row seats are folded flat, it goes down to 2398 litres, still quite impressive and usable space for larger items. Even with all seats in place, it offers around 1022 litres of cargo space behind the third row.
The powertrain of the 2025 Honda Odyssey is quite dependable with its 3.5 litre naturally aspirated V6 engine, cranking out a respectable 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. In typical naturally aspirated engine fashion, it delivers more power at higher RPM in a fun way, as it still comes with the brand’s signature VTEC system that shifts the cam profile around 5200 RPM and makes the Odyssey sound much better and much more responsive when you really press the throttle, which you won’t find in the new Honda Pilot.
What makes the Odyssey a traditional minivan is the drivetrain more than anything else. It is only available with a front-wheel drive layout and a limited ground clearance, which may be a deal breaker for people living in inclement weather. The naturally aspirated V6 engine is mated with a 10-speed automatic transmission that offers a refined driving experience. The button shifter is annoying to deal with, but the 10-speed seamlessly adapts to the situation, ensuring the V6 engine is always in its optimal power band. The only issue is that it has too many gears, the gear ratios have to be too short to utilize most gears, and even with short gear ratios, it barely uses the 10th gear at highway speeds.
Driving the 2025 Honda Odyssey is an exercise in surprising competence. You would expect it to drive like a school bus with leather seats, but Honda has worked some magic here. The Odyssey handles with a composure that hides its size, offering steering that’s light enough for tight city maneuvers, but just precise enough to give you confidence at higher speeds. It doesn’t exactly beg to be thrown into corners, but it doesn’t fall on its face when you drive faster than an average Joe.
Around town, the Odyssey is quiet and composed, soaking up bumps and potholes with the ease of a seasoned road tripper. On the highway, it acts more like a family limo. It’s relaxed, stable, and almost serene. It is very easy to drive, the visibility is excellent, and even the turning radius is surprisingly tight for a vehicle this large. There is room for improvement when it comes to driving aids. The adaptive cruise system works well for the most part, but the lane-centering feature is not as good as some entries that offer almost semi-autonomous driving on the highway. Even though Honda updated its tech for 2025, it is still not up there.
In conclusion, the 2025 Honda Odyssey remains a benchmark in the minivan segment, continuing to deliver what modern North American families need most. While its updates may be minimal and not immediately noticeable, Honda has done a commendable job in keeping the Odyssey relevant. It combines thoughtful design, practical features, and a smooth drivetrain to meet everyday demands with ease. Whether it’s the flexible seating, generous cargo space, or surprisingly refined ride quality, the Odyssey proves it’s more than just a people-mover. Even years after its debut, it offers a stress-free driving experience with a blend of practicality, comfort, and just enough driving enjoyment to make you forget you’re behind the wheel of a minivan.
| Engine | 3.5-litre, SOHC, naturally aspirated V6 |
| Transmission & Drivetrain | 10-speed automatic & front-wheel-drive |
| Max power (combined) | 280 hp @ 6000 rpm |
| Max torque (combined) | 262 lb-ft @ 4700 rpm |
| 0-100 km/h | 6.9 sec |
| Curb Weight | 4562 lbs – 2069 kg |
| Fuel Economy (observed) | 19 MPG – 12.5 L/100 km |
| Price (as tested) | $60,120 CAD |
| Website: | www.honda.ca |
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