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Comments
Yeah, the Accord has 6-Disc plus Voice NAV, so I bet the Ody will too.
I might end up with the Ody for the awesome 7" Voice Activated NAV plus 6-Disc changer.
The Sienna is touch-screen only, 6.5" screen, and single CD.
Damn it, Toyota!
You are making me like Honda more than I "should" :-)
Acura NAV, stereo, CD changer. It will be nice. Hopefully it will get the NAV grille too--well, at least some of it.
But just lately Honda has impressed me more with the Accord and if the Odyssey is also as impressive, that will be two Honda vehicles that I like more than Toyota.
The one thing Honda vehicles need to pick up on is the gated shifter. It's in all the Acuras, but none in the Hondas.
Toyota has the gated shifter in the Solora and Sienna. Word has it that the new Avalon will also get the gated shifter. I bet since the Solora has it, the '05 Camry might also have the gated shifter. Even Mazda has the gated shifter in their $19K vehicles.
But the two things Honda has going for it are the NAV and the electro-luminescent instrument panel.
Uh, no, the LX470 and GX470 have the Voice-Activated NAV system too. I've test driven them.
The Voice Nav is awesome. Basically, you can change everything with voice command, although sometime it can't pick up the right sound. In one instance, it repeatedly announced back "radio 90.5" when the command was "radio 91.5". But that happens 1 out of 20 command or less. Seeing that made me decide to postpone my ody purchase and wait for the nav.
I test drove the Infiniti QX56 and the stupid NAV won't let you input anything unless you have it in park. Really stupid. Hell, it's not even touch-screen. Really, really stupid of Nissan. I could go on all day, but that's okay. The Mazda NAV is probably the same.
But the Honda/Acura NAVs are so much, much better.
The NAV on the GX470 and LX470 can be programmed while you are driving too, and I'm sure it is the same way with all Lexus/Toyota.
The '05 RL will have bluetooth Voice NAV. I wonder if the Ody will too. That would be too cool.
Just talking about the NAV makes me want to buy the new Ody too, even though that weird rear end STILL has not grown on me YET:-)
It might take 6 months. Maybe if I see it everyday for 6 months, I might get used to it:-)
I'm used to the looks of the Accord's rear end now. That took about 6 months. I'm still not used to that ugly Nissan Quest or Ugly QX56/Armada. It's been what---7 years now and I'm still not used to that damn Altima.
Oh, well, I might buy the Odyssey just for the super cool 7" Voice NAV (instead of 6.5" non-Voice), 6-Disc CD changer (instead of single CD), electro-luminescent gauges (instead of regular), and good looking grille (instead of so-so).
I like the gated shifter, laser cruise control, manual sunshades for 2nd & 3rd row, woodtrim, and nice rear end of the Sienna.
All I know is that the decision will be a lot harder than before.
But if I have to stop to program the NAV on the Sienna, than forget that.
Thanks.
A gated shifter eliminates the need for a locking button since it's in a zig zag and accidents shouldn't happen. And moving it around would result in going up,down,left & right.
I'll try to demonstrate this:
Regular:
P
R
N
D
3
2
L
Gated:
P
R
N
D
3
2 L
Gated shifters were originally on the "fancy" car brands such as Mercedes Benz but now minivans are starting to have shifters located on the dash instead of the regular ones found in older models (forgot what they were called). It looks classy and people just like it better in that location. As for whether the shifter is gated or not, the Sienna, I think, is the only one thus far to have a gated in-dash shifer. The Nissan Quest & 2005 Odyssey have in-dash but it's in "regular" style.
Edit: I remember now, the shifters for older & some current vans are called Column Shifters.
All Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Mercedes, and BMW have the fancy "luxury" gated shifter. Apparently, Honda won't let this "luxury" feature be in the new Ody or Accord, but it will let the fancy "luxury" Voice-Activated NAV in the new Ody and Accord. That's one thing I hate about these car companies.
I think Toyota needs to get rid of all "Toyota" models and just make all models as a Lexus. I think Honda needs to get rid of all "Honda" models and just make Acura models.
I think Toyota definitely needs to get rid of that $60K Landcruiser and just make the LX470.
But that's just me.
Anyway, gated shifters, just like most features, are "luxury" features and are not necessary. Some of us just think it's cool to have gated shifter, and some don't.
Oh! Nissan Quest has gated shifter. And I thought the new Odyssey will have gated shifter, isn't it?
-johnb
Lok888, The Quest doesn't have a gated shifter but an in-dash regular shifter.
If you ask me, looking from the spy pics, I keep getting this feeling that Honda copied somewhere. All the buttons clustered onto a slanting dash and the shifter itself reminds me of the Quest. Hmm...
I too thought it was a style statement until I read the Owners Manual. Actually, on page 178 or 187 of the Sienna owners manual refers to "engine braking", the need and use of the technique. They refer to the need of downshifting while towing. You can use the gated shifter without the possibility of hitting the wrong gear (one too far down) and overreving the engine.
From D to 4 you tap it once to the Left, from 4 to 3 you tap it once down, from 3 to 2 you tap it once to the Right then once down. It's actually a very slick design, because with the armrest down, I can reach it with just using the tip of my fingers (like having a center console in a sedan) shifting without taking my eyes off the road. Since I found this, I now use it entering the freeway, downshifting into 4th and 3rd while entering corners and upshifting exiting corners, it works well!
I know it sounds crazy, "shifting manually" but you need to read the documentation as to what they say the "do not" shift points are (MPH per gear). The way I read it, the tranny is designed to handle it. Their is no way you could get away with that (safely) on a vehicle with a shifter that only traveled in the vertical direction.
But I would much rather have a good quality "straight-line" shifter than a low-quality gated shifter like the Armada/QX56.
I think the shifter, dash, and rear end of the new Ody reminds me of the Nissan Quest. I like the gated shifter of the Sienna Limited much better--leather w/woodtrim and chrome surrounded shifter plate.
I would be happy if the Sienna got the Lexus or Acura RL front grille and the NAV of the Lexus or Acura.
I also think that the current Odyssey's grill is quite sporty compared to the Sienna's rather luxurious look. I like both because of that.
check out some freelance spy pics that someone posted on www.odyclub.com...
http://home.comcast.net/~madscientist4/h.html
http://specialtyshops.has.it
seems like the 05ody will be a little taller, front wheel being pushed forward, nose is much taller, roof is about an inch taller. Hence, if the over length doesn't change, the interior will be many inches longer than the 04. So compare yourselfe...:-)
- Looks good and feel good to the touch
- Nice to have but not a necessity
- And has to be an enhancement, not just different.
Based on that, the gated shifter meets the first 2 but not the last one. The voice-controlled Navi meets all 3. So to me, the voice Navi is a luxury item but the gated shifter is not.
If someone from this forum get a chance to see it in person, can you please get a clear shot of the instrument panel and give us a close shot of the wheel so we can see the ratings on the tires?? Thx :-)
A gated shifter can be extremely useful, the one on the Sienna makes it easy to select a gear by feel/position rather than having to look carefully at a graphic.
The new Ody shifter doesn't do this and only has P R N D 2 1, isn't this a 5 speed transmission? It does look like there is an overdrive button on the side of the shifter.
I don't think a gated shifter is or was intended as a luxury item, it was intended to give the driver a better way to control a complex system. Its not luxury, its a functional improvement.
Notice the audio system has a AUX input and XM for those who want it. I wonder if the stereo moves to the top of the stack when there is no Nav system and a storage area is in the lower position on lower line models.
Also like the cruise control buttons on one spoke of the wheel and audio on the other. I also like the lights for the gear selection along the left side of the control quadrant.
I suspect the shifter placement will be fine, there is a long distance between the P and R position with the others grouped closely below. (Odd how it only has R, N, D, 2, 1 isn't it a 5 speed?).
The fuel filler door release is on the door opening post and not on the floor, a better place than the Sienna's you can't reach it without opening the door spot. Good deadpedal now.
Good dead pedal.
I see a passenger airbag light, I wonder if the botton just below it is to control the airbag?
Two rows of window controls with a shut off button in front of it. I don't see a control for the flip out 3rd row windows, maybe they don't flip out? The lock/unlock rocker is along side with the mirror control all the way to the front. Can't tell exactly what kind of bins the door panel has in it, it will be hard to top the Sienna, but it does look nicer than the Sienna's forms.
The climate control panel is very nice, a bit busy though. I like the temp control rockers and they now have 3 zones just like upper line Sienna's. The heated seat controls are in the most ridiculous spot imaginable, down by ones ankles? :bugeyes:
As for the exterior, we now know that the D pillar looks like, clean and simple. It is really hard to say whether the 3rd row windows tip out, I am beginning to think they do not. The small "window" area behind the roll down window for the second row appears to be opaqued glass, an odd blind spot which may or may not be significant. There is now no question that the rear bumper is genuine on the other samples. The way the lines come together at the taillight will be a bit busy I think, as they have the line of the bumper cover coming up from the wheel opening, the plastic cover for the track with the upper line dropping down and the horizontal line on the cover running into the point of the light. I do like the graphic on the tailgate around the license plate and grab handle.
The seats look very similar to the current Ody with sharper edges but still that gathered leather look. Too bad no shots of the actual rear seats themselves, in my mind the most important feature of the new Ody.
None of us have seen the whole story yet, so we won't know for sure until around the end of the month.
Besides, there have been plenty of cars that I loved in pictures and hated in person (and vice versa), plus color and trim level matters, so really need to see one in the metal.
But, IMO, it looks just fine (never had any issues with the old one anyway). It was the interior that needed work, and I sure can't tell if the seats are comfy from a picture.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
We'll just have to guess. I'm guessing it's pretty much the production model. Maybe some changes will be added but probably minor.