I was her… the fighter of the minivan life… even with three kids and a ton of gear, I had drank the Kool-Aid on the stigma, the un-fun, stuffy personality of the traditional big family hauler. I was adamant that I did not want a mini-van… I was wrong… I had not yet met the right one … let me introduce you to the 2021 Honda Odyssey Elite. I had the pleasure of learning more about the virtual A Girls Guide to Cars Conference this summer. This post is a sponsored extension of the training that I received there.

Streamlined, modern, efficient, made for life and easily passes the kid test, The 2021 Honda Odyssey Elite was a surprisingly beautiful offer. When I heard that it was coming for review, I knew that I needed to take it on the road to put it to the test. I decided to take the kids for a staycation about an hour away from Mesquite to Las Colinas.

ON THE ROAD AND THE DRIVE

The 2021 Honda Odyssey Elite is a minivan with pep and energy. The top of the trim line in the Honda Odyssey family, this vehicle came with a full tank of over 340 miles. With a 3.5L V6 engine, it has the get-up and go to survive your weekly commute, kid cab travel service to soccer, hockey, drama, Tae Kwon Do and back again while still being ready to take you and your beloved to your weekly date night without refueling. Of course with a minivan, you expect space and hope for comfort and convenience…. I am happy to report that the Odyssey delivers on the promise of both with ease.

When I got inside, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this is a beautifully done vehicle. The leather wrapped seats are well made with neat stitching and easy to access seat adjusters. All together, it simply contours to curves of your body for a comfortable drive experience in seconds. The steering wheel has a nice hand-feel and the leather wrapping is thoughtful rather than intrusive.

The upgraded interior with leather and smooth lines reminiscent of a cockpit detailing, intuitively placed technology access and charging points, including a wireless charger along with life enhancing details like an interior intercom, rear passenger cameras that allow you see what is happening in the backseat without turning your head, perimeter sensors, ambient lighting and an easy-to-reach infotainment console and rear passenger entertainment system make for a pretty package that is greater than the sum of its parts.

FLEXIBLE SPACE

Easily seating 7 with sliding and folding seats, this vehicle is a family everyday driver’s dream. I adored that the Odyssey let’s you create the space you need for the moment that you are in. Magic seats and discreet cargo holds make it easy to configure the arrangement that you need for your personal experience or whatever you happen to be hauling. We slid the seats together for easy access to the third row and apart to eliminate the “He’s touching me.” syndrome that happens when you turn your head to the front.

GAME CHANGERS AND THINGS TO LOVE

When considering this one, don’t discount the handy beauty of the creature comfort and convenience features that elevate the user, driver and passenger experience crossing the line from nice to useful and making it an easily integrating it into your everyday life.

Pretty silver paint in Forest Mist that catches the sunlight, 19” alloy wheels, push button start, dual power sliding doors that open with the touch of a button from the interior panel or from a navigation panel to the left hand side of the driver’s cockpit became intuitive parts of my drive experience. Rain-sensing wipes were so helpful as the Texas weather made it’s presence known and a power moonroof let the sunlight in and allowed us to watch the storm clouds roll on by from the sanctuary of the vehicle.

My family adored the rear entertainment system that is controllable with a remote or via the menu on the navigation screen. My boys loved being able to listen to their own movie with headphones {in this case Thor} while I listened to NPR on the front from my phone. When I got tired of the news and simply wanted to drive, I turned on the built in Sirius XM radio. It came through with a crisp, clear sound that encompassed the interior of the vehicle and made the Odyssey our own personal multi-media room every time we got into the vehicle. With 11 strategically placed speakers, car picnics, in-vehicle movie time and my favorite playlist sounded better and and better each time; I know it was due to the premium sound system and the hard work of the sound engineers.

I also found that I loved the interior rear camera and intercom communication system named CabinWatch and CabinTalk. It let me see what my N was doing with the touch a button. I could see if he had fallen asleep or if he had taken his tube off or any number of things that happen in the course of real life. It also let me talk around the sound system and make sure that I have their attention.

WHERE TO FIND IT

There were so many things to love about the Odyssey Elite, and it was such a game changer as far as my perception of “minivan life”. It is a brilliant combination of form meeting function in a fun package that sacrifices nothing to the game. It allows you to have the best of both worlds — a vehicle with flexible space, the beauty of a smart, savvy tech and the creature comforts that come in top tier vehicles.

As seen this option is just over $49k and comes with a variety of elevated features standard like Cabin Watch system, the vehicle stability system and the Honda Sensing Safety System that will make this an accessible dream for many families. To schedule your test drive, visit here.