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| 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite, an AW Drivers Log: Posted: 11 Mar 2011 07:15 AM PST  Honda 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite
EDITOR WES RAYNAL: When people ask me, “What kind of minivan should I get?” I usually say, “Whichever you can get the best deal on.” To me, they're basically all the same--the Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan, the Toyota Sienna, the Nissan Quest and this. Yes, this drives like--you got it--an Odyssey, falling under guise of “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.” In other words, it's a fine minivan, and Honda kept all that was good and just fine-tuned it, which is exactly as it should be. This new-generation model looks better to my eye--it's sleeker and lower. The interior is nicely laid out, good ergonomics--things are where I thought they should be, for the most part. On the road it drives--actually, I have no idea. There was so much snow, I was just trying not to hit anything or anybody. The van handled it all fine, but this weather is garbage for figuring out how a car drives. I can say the engine is terrifically smooth, as I knew it would be. It's a Honda. Smooth-shifting trans, too. This price is high but it's the top of the line and there is just a ton of equipment on it. Odysseys start at about $28,000, which is an awesome price for this kind of vehicle. An EX starts at $30,000 and has most everything on it I'd want. EXECUTIVE EDITOR--AUTOWEEK.COM BOB GRITZINGER: If you're shopping for a minivan, it's hard to find much fault with the all-new Odyssey. As Wes says, the Japanese automaker took a tried-and-true recipe and didn't tinker too much with the good stuff, while updating the rest. The powertrain is a strong point--it's hard to believe that V6 is only cranking out 248 hp. It feels like it's got more. At the same time, the engine is sewing-machine smooth, while the transmission shifts are barely perceptible unless you're hammering on it. The chassis is up to the job, with a nice ride and good body control. Inside, everything is up to snuff as one would expect from Honda--or from anyone asking you to shell out $44,000 for a vehicle. Seating is comfortable, in all eight spots. I know this because I transported about one-quarter of the high school drumline to a competition, requiring the use of every available seat. Everyone seemed reasonably content--even those in the third row--and access was good via the flip-and-slide second-row seats. We didn't spend enough time in the vehicle to use the mega video screen, but I could see it being a key asset on longer outings. Finally, even with all the seats occupied, we still have room behind the third row to carry some of the drumline equipment and kids' backpacks. If you can get past the whole minivan stigma, if you need a practical people hauler, it doesn't get much better than this. 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite Base Price: $44,030 As-Tested Price: $44,030 Drivetrain: 3.5-liter V6; FWD, six-speed automatic Output: 248 hp @ 5,700 rpm, 250 lb-ft @ 4,800 rpm Curb Weight: 4,560 lb Fuel Economy (EPA/AW): 22/18.6 mpg Options: None |
| Posted: 10 Mar 2011 02:01 PM PST  Mark Vaughn West Coast Editor Mark Vaughn will test out the Nissan Leaf around Southern California, including the Rose Bowl.
Nissan delivered a long-term test Leaf to One AutoWeek Tower (West Coast Bureau) on Monday, and the world will never be the same. We could have said that with the previous long-term EV we tested, the perky and cute Mitsubishi i-MiEV, but the i-MiEV was not something you could walk down to your dealership and buy. You will be able to buy an i-MiEV by the end of this year, but not now. The Nissan Leaf, on the other hand, is the first mass-produced, fully finished, comfortable car that a real person can not only live with every day, but one that a real person can go down to his or her Nissan dealer and buy. Or at least pay for. The wait for actual Leaf delivery is about a year out here in Los Angeles. You could argue that the General Motors EV1 and the Toyota RAV4 of two decades ago were fully finished, comfortable electric cars from major manufacturers and that they changed the world. But the EV1 and the RAV4 EV were produced in very limited numbers and sort of faded away. Suffice to say, with the arrival of the Nissan Leaf on the market, the era of mass-produced electric cars is here and it’s not going away. More are coming, and after that, more still. From now on, consumers will have the choice to buy (or not buy) a real electric car. And the Leaf is a real electric car. It drives like a regular compact car. It seats five, it has room for luggage, groceries or the stereotypical golf bag under its glass-and-metal hatch, and you can drive on the freeway without fear of being clobbered. It is quiet and refined, more so perhaps than some regular gasoline-powered cars of the same size--especially with that electric motor--and its styling is just bland enough to be anonymous. So, yes, you can drive it and use it like any other car out there. But what about the mileage, you ask? What about range? What about range anxiety? What if I’m attacked by giant squids? Nissan lists range at 100 miles using the LA4 cycle. We looked up the U.S. EPA LA4 City cycle, also known as the Urban Dynamometer Driving Cycle. It consists of stop-and-go traffic that you and I might call city driving. You accelerate up to as much as 58 mph and then stop 241 times in those 100 miles. The 100-mile figure is extrapolated from the actual LA4 cycle, which is only 7.45 miles, during which you stop and go 18 times. To be able to go 100 miles on a charge in the city is pretty good for an electric car with this many amenities. We will see how close it comes to 100 miles in regular, real-world use. Other published figures have said it’s more like 73 miles in real-world use. Still, that’s a pretty impressive figure. Credit both the highly efficient 24-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack as well as the Leaf’s sophisticated regenerative braking system. The car’s curb weight is 3,375 pounds, which is pretty low considering the number of batteries inside. Those batteries power an 80-kilowatt AC synchronous motor driving the front wheels. We haven’t tried a 0-to-60-mph time yet, but on the road, the car accelerates more than quickly enough to stay out of the way of traffic. This isn’t a neighborhood electric-vehicle golf cart. The vehicle-speed-sensitive, power-assisted steering works really well in parking lots, wheeling the Leaf through an extremely tight 17.1-foot curb-to-curb turning circle. On the road, it does its job unobtrusively and with aplomb. That’s just a brief first impression. We’ve only had it a few days, and we will update you over the next three months on life with an EV. But so far, you could say we’re electrified. |
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