First, I don't usually review cars. I figure there are professional drivers for that. Plus, people are generally in love with their car or a car, so writing one of these reviews can be pointless. However, when discussing the purchase of a minivan, my husband and I did read epinions. I was disappointed to see only 6 reviews on the Honda Odyssey, one minivan we were considering. It seemed like so few.

I was driving a 1999 Toyota Camry LE prior to purchasing this minivan. I *loved* my Toyota Camry. It had some nice features, although it was not the top of the line Camry. I have two children, now 4 and 2, so the sedan worked well for my lifestyle. As a matter of fact, we purchased it two weeks after my 4 year old was born. The gas mileage was good at about 25/30. I had few problems with it.

However, tax returns came and we knew we'd be facing a very long trip this summer, approximately 4500 driving miles. We had discussed renting minivans on long car trips in the past, but the expense rarely seemed worth it. I never wanted a minivan, but knew that if we ever added another child to our family, I would be driving one. Hence, we started looking at minivans.

My husband did most of the research. We decided to either get a 2002 Honda Odyssey, 2003 Honda Odyssey, or 2004 Toyota Sienna. We definitely wanted the rear DVD entertainment system. We take regular long car trips, and my children enjoy a few hours of movies interspersed with other activities. Movie times give Mom and Dad a break from kiddie music and screaming, complaining children.

We decided against the 2002 because financing would give higher rates and we didn't feel the reduced pricing was worth it. We also wanted a maximized warranty. We went first to see the Honda. Toyotas were not available for another month when we were looking. Basically, we went into the dealership saying if they gave a deal we couldn't refuse, we'd buy one off the lot that day. Our bargaining chip seemed very small at Toyota with the redesigned Sienna.

We took a look at what they had on the lot. On that day in March, all that was available with the RES was a beige one and black one. I am against the tan/beige colors, i.e. concrete-camouflage colors. So, we drove the black one, which had 6 miles on it when we first took it on our test drives.

It was the highest level Odyssey available. It is the black with leather that is only available on RES models. We did not get the global positioning option since that was not available to get if you were getting the RES. We bring our laptop with us on big trips with a GPS, so the GP was not a loss for us.

Needless to say, we were given a deal we couldn't pass up when considering the package of the Odyssey, our trade in, and some extras they threw in for us.

Now we have been driving our Odyssey for 4 1/2 months. It has gone on some large trips, although we leave this weekend for our 4500 mile one.

My first issue is that gas mileage hovers around 17 for both city and highway. This is a big change from what I was used to getting. I have achieved 20 once on perfect highway conditions, which means no wind, something that is pretty rare.

I love that it has all the child safety systems so I can tether my son's carseat and LATCH my daughter's booster. Their seats do not have both, otherwise I could tether and LATCH both seats to the car. My kids love to open the doors by themselves from the outside (only) and close them from the inside and my daughter says the car is magic.

We only watch movies on car drives that leave our local area. This makes movie watching a treat, and they love it! They do like the wireless headphones. The headphones got lots of use right off, but are now used sporadically as the kids choose. We've only replaced batteries once. I'd say they got well over 40 hours of use, which was what I believe the manual said the batteries would last for. With my small children's heads, they have to hold the headphones on. Considering it will most often be children in the rear using the RES, I think Honda should have used slightly smaller headphones. The system itself is pretty easy to use. However, to know when to push the play button, one needs to look at the screen, which is positioned so no one in the front seat can see it. This is a safety issue, but makes getting a movie started difficult. With slightly older children, they can push buttons on the rear control themselves or use the remote control. My kids are still too young to operate the system with remote control.

Most of the dash instruments are easy to access and use. I do not like that the cruise control button is hidden by the turn signal bar, so that I cannot tell if cruise is on easily. The controls for the rear heat and a/c are a little far from the driver. Since I drive alone with the children most often, this is also a drawback. I am short, so my stature may be the largest impediment there.

Other than those few complaints, I have nothing but positive to say for this minivan. I don't look at it in a parking lot and ugh to myself, as I have when observing other minivans. It is very comfortable to ride in and to drive. I feel safe in it. I have flipped the third easy to fold seat up and down often as I needed extra cargo space. We've had 3 extra adults along with us ride fairly comfortably.

Overall, I would recommend Honda Odyssey. It is a nice vehicle to drive. It is a good one to get when you are transitioning from a sedan to a minivan. I am not going to list all the stats for this minivan since you can get those at Honda's website and at other epinion reviews. If you are considering this minivan, visit the Ody Club online. (An internet search for Ody Club will pull up the addy very quickly.)
Amount Paid (US$): 31,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: RES