Odyssey great if passengers a priority
People mover shows SUVs the way to go on space and comfort. But not in other areas, reports David Linklater.
This story did not develop like I wanted it to. I was going to methodically point out that if you consider the main reasons people purport to buy large SUVs, like ride height, space and versatility (let’s face it, ‘‘offroading’’ isn’t really one), a peoplemover fulfils every brief a whole lot better. And that the only reason everybody buys SUVs and nobody buys people-movers is some perceived idea of what’s fashionable and cool and what’s not.
Year-to-date in New Zealand, 4495 people bought large SUVs, and 175 bought a people mover of any kind. You can see my point.
This, despite the fact that big SUVs are so terribly compromised. Their seating positions, passengercomfort and cargo space all fail to achieve their optimum because they have to fit around the number-one priority for a vehicle of this type: to look cool and outdoorsy.
So why don’t large-SUV people buy something like the Honda Odyssey L Sensing?
The Odyssey has a similar footprint to a Toyota Highlander (same length), but because it doesn’t care about looking sleek it has a tall cabin and flat sides that maximise passenger space.
This Odyssey L model has seven seats because there are two magnificent-looking recliners in the middle row, but go for the much cheaper $45,900 S version and you actually get eight seats.
The L is so much more costly because it has gained a full suite of safety gear: it’s actually called the ‘‘L Sensing’’ (or LS if you prefer) because it has adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assistance, collision-mitigation braking assist, forward collision warning, road departure mitigation system and lane departure warning.
Oh, and ‘‘smart parking’’ with
Audi has turned a virtual PlayStation 4 racer into the real thing. For the rest of the Formula E season, the German maker’s e-tron Vision Gran Turismo electric-vehicle will be deployed as a race taxi.
‘‘E-mobility is rapidly gaining importance,’’ says Peter Mertens, member of the Audi Board of Management for technical development.
‘‘With the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo race taxi we are turning electric mobility into a tangible experience for our customers and guests as part of the Formula E races – in the middle of the world’s metropolises.’’
Customers and guests of Audi will be able to experience Formula E’s city circuits as passengers in the e-tron Vision Gran Turismo.
Employees at Audi’s preproduction centre developed and produced the car within the space of 11 months based on the digitalonly example from the Gran Turismo PlayStation 4 game.
Audi designers created the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo for a competition that was launched on the occasion of the game’s 15th anniversary. Numerous carmakers developed virtual race cars for the contest.
Many of these concept cars were subsequently built as full- 360-degree camera, blind-spot monitor and cross traffic warning. It doesn’t have the nifty offside camera of some other Honda models though, which shows you a view of the adjacent lane on the infotainment screen when you indicate left.
Add all of that to the LS’s integrated navigation, keyless entry/start, tri-zone climate control, power/heated front seats, leather upholstery and pseudo- snazzy body kit/wheels (see, they do try), and you’re actually getting quite a lot for your extra money.
Families will love this thing. By which I mean kids will love it. The side doors power open with a touch of a button (oddly though, not the tailgate), ingress is easy thanks to the low floor and there’s acres of space for all.
It’s not a perfect packaging effort: those business class-style seats are great in most respects, but the novelty aspect of being able to recline and extend the footrest is just that – a novelty. There’s actually not enough legroom to go full La-Z-Boy.
Still, it’s a great way to travel. And actually a great way to carry stuff. The third-row seating does an incredibly clever tumble-fold to disappear into a well in the boot, leaving you with two rows of seating and over 1300 litres of luggage space. The middle row can’t be removed or hidden, but push those two chairs forward (they’re on rails) and you get nearly 1700 litres. That’s a big enough box to wheel a couple of bikes in, standing up. No problem.
Even with seven people on board, there’s still 330 litres of luggage space – equivalent to a small hatchback.
Up front, the driving position is commanding and there are many clever little touches, like a tray that can be folded away into the centre console or popped up to hold phone-sized stuff.
All sounds too good to be true, right? It kind of is. The travel experience is great, the driving experience... not always. The 2.4-litre engine is capable of decent fuel economy when treated nicely, but it’s a bit thrashy under load – something not helped by the continuously variable transmission, which flares up in an unpleasant way when asked the hard questions.
Not a fan of the switchgear and infotainment system, which all seems a bit murky and confusing. The tech is there, but it’s far from intuitive and many of the graphics look a bit Atari 2600. But that’s true of many Hondas, not just the Odyssey.
Handling is surprisingly nimble. The Odyssey might be tall, but the platform has been engineered for a low centre of gravity – a bit of a Honda speciality. In fact, this high-sided model actually has a lower centre of gravity than the famously lowslung previous-model Odyssey.
If only the ride was as accomplished. It’s supple enough in urban running but crashes into bumps on the open road. It doesn’t upset the equilibrium in the cabin too much, but it doesn’t sound very nice.
The Odyssey LS is very good at what it’s designed to do – which is to transport seven or more people from A-to-B in space, comfort and safety. With the bonus of truly vast loadspace when required.
But that’s all about function. Your average seven-seat SUV is far more engaging to drive and refined on the road, even if the whole concept is unavoidably pretentious. So yes, you’d buy the Odyssey over an SUV with your head, but who does that?
SUV people, I get it. design language, such as the inverted single frame in the vehicle’s colour that will be typical for our new e-tron models.’’
Audi has taken up design elements and the colour of the legendary Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO, which stormed the North American IMSA-GTO racing series in 1989 with drivers like Hans-Joachim Stuck, Walter Ro¨hrl, Hurley Haywood and Scott Goodyear.
The e-tron Vision Gran Turismo has fully electric e-tron quattro all-wheel drive with variable power distribution.
Three electric motors, each with an output of 200kW, propel the concept car. Two electric motors drive the rear axle and the third one the front axle, using individual components from future Audi e-tron models.
System output is 600kW. With a weight of 1450kg the electric race car has 50:50 weight distribution between the front and the rear axle. The Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo accelerates from 0-100kmh in less than 2.5 seconds.
The race taxi will be deployed at all European Formula E races and numerous other events in 2018. At the wheel will be former DTM driver Rahel Frey from Switzerland, or Le Mans winner Dindo Capello from Italy.