Honda Odyssey 2018 pricing and spec confirmed

Honda Australia has updated its two-variant Odyssey range for 2018 with refreshed looks and improved comfort levels, as well as more safety equipment for its flagship people mover, but also increased pricing to reflect the changes.

The entry-level VTi grade increases $380 to now kick-off the Odyssey range at $37,990 before on-roads, but gains chrome fog light surrounds and the ‘aero’ front fascia previously reserved only for the top-spec VTi-L.

Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels have also been improved across both variants according to Honda.

Meanwhile, flagship VTi-L Odysseys have jumped $1110 in price to $47,590 but net the ‘Honda Sensing’ safety technologies suite that adds adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, collision mitigation braking, lane departure warning, road departure mitigation and lane keep assist to the seven-seater.

The Odyssey is powered by a 129kW/225Nm 2.4-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine.

Honda’s top-of-line people mover also sports a new exterior look thanks to an updated front bumper, LED fog lights, tweaked rear fascia and two-tone 17-inch alloy wheels.

The upper and lower grilles, as well as the door handles, are also finished in dark chrome.

Inside the new VTi-L, larger and plusher second row headrests are fitted to the captain’s chairs, while driver’s are treated to new trims on the instrument panels and doors.

Both versions are still powered by a carryover 2.4-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine, producing 129kW of power at 6200rpm and 225Nm of torque at 4000rpm, feeding power to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission.

Although fuel economy figures for the new Odyssey are yet to be revealed, Honda’s updated people mover is expected to rate closely to the outgoing version’s 7.6 litres per 100km and 7.8L/100km for the VTi and VTi-L respectively.

Honda has also lifted the maximum braked towing capacity of the VTi-L to 1000kg.

Two new colours are available on the 2018 Odyssey with ‘Cobalt Blue Pearlescent’ and ‘White Pearlescent’ taking the place of ‘Modern Steel Metallic’ and ‘White Orchid Pearlescent’.

Honda Australia director Stephen Collins said the inclusion of added safety features in the top-spec Odyssey foreshadows the technology’s proliferation across the Japanese car-maker’s model range.

“The addition of ‘Honda Sensing’ on the new Odyssey VTi-L represents another step in our plan to introduce the full suit of intelligent driver-assist features and active safety technologies right across the Honda vehicle range over the next few years,” he said.

“So while it will take some time before the ‘Honda Sensing’ system is standard across all models and all grades, we are committed to supporting the safe and comfortable driving of our customers with Honda’s driver-assist technologies.”

For the first 11 months of 2017, Honda has sold 2012 examples of its Odyssey, down 17 per cent year-on-year, but enough for second place in the sub-$60,000 people mover segment behind the Kia Carnival (5406).

Has Honda done enough to keep its Odyssey people mover fresh and relevant in today’s market? Tell us what you think in the comments below.