A useful storage area is hidden under the middle of the floor, accessible from both the front and middle-row seats. Originally designed to house the spare tire, Honda engineers moved the spare tire to a location in the rear. Instead of removing the round space under the floor where the spare used to reside, they've turned it into a hidden storage compartment with a rotating compartmentalized bin, like a Lazy Susan. A small panel in the floor between the two front seats lets front passengers access the bin while and another panel is provided in front of the second-row seats. Front and middle-row passengers can turn the Lazy Susan and access whatever is stored inside.
There's room for eight people with the optional PlusOne seat that fits between the two captain's chairs in the second row. If it's not needed as a seat it can be turned into a table or stowed in the floor in place of the Lazy Susan bin. If the PlusOne seat is not being used, the right-hand seat can be slid across to allow easier access to the third-row seats. This flexibility makes the Odyssey a versatile people hauler, and with the seats folded (a fairly easy task) there's more cargo space than in most SUVs.
The optional navigation system is one of the easiest to operate using its on-screen menus and includes Zagat restaurant data. The large eight-inch monitor is positioned high on the dashboard for easy viewing. The system also responds to voice commands, and we found it responds effectively. It's capable of responding to 637 different voice commands and is smart enough to understand different accents and find locations without any need for input other than by voice. Apart from navigation, the system can be used to operate the radio and climate controls. The rearview camera makes parallel parking easier and also functions as a safety feature: By displaying what's behind the car on the navigation screen, it can show the driver unseen hazards such as a small child possibly preventing a tragic accident. We find rearview cameras very useful in crowded shopping center parking lots where people are walking behind the car after we've shifted into Reverse.
The available DVD entertainment system features a large nine-inch widescreen display that folds out of the ceiling for viewing by second-row passengers. The wireless headsets turn on and off automatically as the ear pads are rotated. Next Page