Friday, October 29, 2010

Honda’s newest Weapon in the Battle of the Minivans

The predictable wisdom is that the minivan is on life support, a victim of drive-by shootings by marauding gangs of part-truck, part-car crossover wagons. However some automakers now won’t pull the plug.

While General Motors and Ford deserted the sliding-door minivan in latest years, Toyota has doubled down with a new version of its Sienna that went on sale in February.

The new model is somewhat longer, lower and wider. It not only seems more jaunty, with a body-side character line extending ahead from the boldly shaped rear side window, its slicker aerodynamics aid fuel economy.

Every 2011 Odysseys come with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine rated at 248 horsepower. This is an enhanced version of the previous engine, with 4 more horsepower and 5 pound-feet of torque. The V-6 can still run on only 3 or 4 of its 6 cylinders when full power isn’t required.

The innovative Odyssey comes in seven trim levels with prices ranging from $28,580 to $44,030.

The Odyssey’s chief engineer, Art St. Cyr, said the 6-speed wasn’t presented across the board because Honda wanted to hold down the price of the LX while imparting a “more premium” driving think to Touring models with a smoother, faster transmission.


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