Honda goes on a 2018 Odyssey

MANILA, Philippines — The Honda Odyssey’s smooth ride and spacious and luxurious interior make it a favorite when it comes to road trips. And now, Honda has freshened up the exterior styling and added convenience features to the 2018 edition of its much-loved minivan.

The new Odyssey EX-V Navi flagship variant comes with a new front grille in dark chrome, and a sportier front bumper with LED foglights. The door handles, also in dark chrome, and the smoked LED tail lamps complement the updated styling of the EX-V Navi. The new Odyssey EX on the other hand, now adopts the sporty “aero” exterior styling. This includes new front and rear bumpers, halogen foglights, as well as a platinum grille. Completing the new look of the Odyssey are dynamic-looking 16- and 17-inch wheels for both the EX and EX-V Navi, respectively.

Inside, both variants of the Odyssey retain the flexible and luxurious interior. The EX-V Navi, with its customizable seven-seat (2-2-3) configuration and full-leather interior now also receives new black wood and silver trim panels and a new large armrest with center console for added storage for the front row. The familiar second-row captain’s seats with Ottoman leg rests and cupholders still come as standard.

An eight-seater (2-3-3) layout with soft fabric seats is also available with the EX variant, which integrates a 60:40-split bench seat that can accommodate three passengers comfortably on the second row. On the third row, both variants of the Odyssey are equipped with Honda’s Magic Seats that can accommodate passengers as well as additional cargo with its three-way split-reclining structure, allowing the portions of the seats to be individually folded, reclined, or stowed under the floor to provide more cargo room and flexibility.

Both the EX-V Navi and EX now come standard with Smart Entry with Push Start System which was previously available on the EX-V Navi only. Also, a seven-inch touchscreen display audio system with Bluetooth for hands-free telephone functionality and audio streaming come standard for both variants with the EX-V Navi having the additional navigation and nine-inch rear entertainment system with DVD and HDMI playback capability.

The Odyssey is also equipped with a variety of class leading safety features for both variants. Features such as six airbags (dual front airbags, front driver and passenger side airbags and side curtain airbags), ABS with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Hill Start Assist (HSA), speed-sensing auto door locks and multi-view reverse camera all come standard for both variants. For the EX-V, additional safety and convenience features were added such as a multi-view camera system, Blind Spot Information (BSI), Cross Traffic Monitor (CTM) as well as an improved Smart Parking Assist System with parking sensors, making maneuvering within tight spaces much easier.

The 2018 Odyssey still comes with the powerful yet fuel-efficient Earth Dreams Technology 2.4-liter DOHC i-VTEC engine and Earth Dreams Technology Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) with paddle shifters. This powertrain delivers 175ps and 23.0 kg-m of torque. Other notable features of the new Odyssey namely, Honda’s Eco Assist System, which consists of the ECON mode and Eco-Coaching Ambient Light and the Idle-Stop System, helps encourage fuel-efficient driving.

The new Odyssey retails for P2,039,000 for the EX and P2,449,000 for the flagship EX-V Navi. The new Odyssey comes in four colors: Platinum White Pearl (additional P20,000), Premium Twinkle Black Pearl (plus P20,000),

Super Platinum Metallic, and Crystal Black Pearl.