Minivan sales rose during the first half of 2025, bucking a long-term trend away from the family-friendly vehicle type. The increase was not substantial, and minivans remain a niche purchase in a market saturated with three-row SUVs. Still, with only four traditional models remaining, plus the new Volkswagen ID. Buzz electric van, the change was noteworthy.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
The Honda Odyssey is a stalwart in the segment. Once innovative, it now lags rivals in technology, electrification, and surprise-and-delight features that can endear a minivan to a family. It's not available with all-wheel drive, either. Following a light refresh in 2025, the 2026 Honda Odyssey continues unchanged.
Honda offers the 2026 Odyssey in EX-L, Sport, Touring, and Elite trim levels. Each one has a 3.5-liter V6 engine, front-wheel drive, and an EPA-estimated 22 mpg combined. Prices range from $44,290 to $53,190, including the destination charge. That is less than you will spend on a Chrysler Pacifica, but more than a Kia Carnival. Toyota offers both more affordable and more expensive versions of the Sienna.
For this 2026 Odyssey review, Honda provided a test vehicle equipped with Elite trim and no additional options. The test vehicle's manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) was $53,190, including the $1,495 destination charge to ship the van from the Lincoln, Alabama, assembly plant to a local dealership. The price does not reflect any current rebates, incentives, or price adjustments since Honda manufactured the test vehicle.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Minivans are not about style. Nevertheless, the Odyssey expresses a bit of it in its hockey-stick door stamping, kinked rear beltline, and dramatic rear roof-pillar treatment. Inside, traditional physical switchgear rules, minimizing the small 7-inch digital instrumentation display and 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
As is to be expected of this type of vehicle, there is plenty of storage space in the forward portion of the eight-passenger cabin. Every 2026 Odyssey features heated front seats with 12-way power adjustment for the driver's seat and 8-way for the front passenger. The Elite trim adds a heated steering wheel and a front seat ventilation system. Leather upholstery is standard on all 2026 Odyssey trims.
Honda offers innovation in the second row, where the Odyssey's Magic Slide seats make this minivan appealing. In their standard configuration, they accommodate three people. Fold the center backrest down, and the outboard passengers enjoy a tray and cupholders. Remove the center seat, and you have a pass-through to the third row. You can also slide the center section forward to place a baby closer to Mom and Dad, slide the outboard seats together to move children away from the sliding side doors, or slide one of the outboard seats toward the middle to create a larger passage to the third row.
Granted, this level of configurability means you cannot get heated or ventilated second-row seats in the Odyssey. But with a standard triple-zone automatic climate control system, that might not matter. Furthermore, to maximize cargo space, you must remove the second-row seats from the van, and they are heavy and cumbersome.
The third-row seat is typical of the segment and collapses into a storage well unless you are carrying a bunch of stuff in it. Doing so expands cargo capacity from 32.8 cubic feet to 86.6 cubic feet, which is nearly as much as a Honda Pilot with both of the SUV's rear rows folded down. Remove the Odyssey's second-row seats, and the minivan can hold 140.7 cubic feet of cargo, which puts the Honda mid-pack among minivans.
My family and I used the Odyssey for a long weekend trip to San Diego. The seats in all three rows were comfortable during long-distance highway travel, but I wished for more legroom for the driver. With the driver's seat in my preferred high driving position, leg space was cramped. Also, it is worth noting that the window shades in the second row do not cover the whole glass, so parents of babies will need to resolve that issue.
I do not want to gloss over just how comfortable the Odyssey's second- and third-row seats are. Most midsize three-row crossover SUVs cannot touch it in this regard. So if you need a vehicle for a larger family or to serve as a kid shuttle or carpooler, it demands your consideration.
I would also like to point out how well the Odyssey Elite's classy, patterned floor mats hide dirt, which is essential in a minivan used frequently to carry children and pets. Additionally, the Odyssey's cargo area trays and bins help organize smaller items.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
You should not expect much from the 2026 Odyssey's infotainment technology. It is simple and unsophisticated. Here is what you get:
As you move up the trim-level ladder, these features are available:
My Odyssey Elite test vehicle had all these features, plus an 11-speaker premium sound system. During our road trip, we relied heavily on Apple CarPlay wireless connectivity to find destinations because the voice-recognition system is painfully incapable. It cannot understand conversational commands, and even when it does, the results are not always accurate. For example, when I requested directions to a hospital, the top choice was a chiropractor's office.
With that said, I sure liked the volume knob and tuning buttons to the left of the touchscreen. Whenever Honda upgrades the Odyssey's tech, it should retain those.
We did not use the rear entertainment system, either. The first problem was that we did not have the correct HDMI cable needed to connect to a smartphone. The second problem was that my teenagers preferred using their individual phones for entertainment rather than choosing shared programming, which ultimately represents a compromise.
Based on my family's behavior and preferences, in-vehicle entertainment systems are a dead end, whether provided for a front passenger via a dashboard screen or for rear passengers via single or dual displays.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
The Odyssey's 3.5-liter V6 engine produces 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, sent to the front wheels through a 10-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters.
It is an impressive powertrain, smooth when revved, offering swift acceleration, and supplying decent fuel economy. On our road trip, it returned 22.2 mpg, slightly better than the official EPA combined rating of 22 mpg. Separately, on my Southern California evaluation loop, it averaged 21.4 mpg.
In terms of driving dynamics, I think the Odyssey is the best minivan to drive. It displays the typical Honda traits of a connected but compliant ride, communicative steering, responsive brakes, and balanced handling. It gets a little loud inside on the highway, so it could use some extra sound-deadening material. But it feels and behaves in an utterly natural and predictable way, no matter what type of road you are traveling.
Unfortunately, on testing day, the local weather was damp and foggy, so I did not hustle the Odyssey as quickly as I might in dry, clear conditions. Nevertheless, past experience has shown that an Odyssey is remarkably rewarding on a twisty mountain road, though it is crucial to monitor the brakes for fade and vibration.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Honda Sensing is the name of the automaker's collection of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). In the 2026 Odyssey, it includes:
Generally, these Honda Sensing features operate smoothly in a sophisticated manner. I am not a fan of how the lane departure warning system wobbles the steering wheel to alert the driver. Additionally, the adaptive cruise control is slow to accelerate after a vehicle ahead moves out of the way and can brake too sharply when another vehicle cuts into the gap ahead. Otherwise, during the extensive use of the tech during our road trip, it worked well.
One thing the Odyssey does not offer is a surround view camera system. I really missed having one when parallel parking and when maneuvering in a tight parking garage.
In crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Odyssey earns a top five-star overall rating and five-star ratings in all assessments except rollover resistance, where it earns four stars. As of this writing, safety ratings for the 2026 Odyssey are unavailable from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
According to the JD Power 2025 Initial Quality Study (IQS), the Honda Odyssey ranks highest in the Minivan segment. The Chrysler Pacifica and the Kia Carnival are the next highest-ranked models.
According to the JD Power 2025 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz ranks highest in the Minivan segment. The Toyota Sienna and the Kia Carnival are the next highest-ranked models.
According to verified owners, the Odyssey earns an award as the highest ranked model in its segment in the 2025 IQS and the 2025 ALG Residual Value Awards.
Honda has not redesigned its minivan in nearly a decade, and it shows. While the 2026 Odyssey still offers good reasons to consider it, and though I like it better than the Chrysler Pacifica, Kia Carnival, and Toyota Sienna for its blend of rewarding driving dynamics and overall comfort and quality, you might have different priorities. Be sure to compare the Odyssey with its rivals, and know they all carry plenty of people and cargo wherever you need to go.
Christian Wardlaw is a veteran automotive journalist with 30 years of experience in the field and has held automotive editorial leadership positions at Edmunds, JD Power, and The New York Daily News. Today, Chris owns a content agency called Speedy Daddy Media, and in addition to JDPower.com, his work appears on Capital One Auto Navigator, CarGurus, and Edmunds.
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