Should you wait for the 2011 Honda Odyssey or buy a 2010 Honda Odyssey? If you’ve got an immediate need for an eight-passenger family vehicle, consider a 2010 Odyssey. It’s still a good looker, loaded with useful features, and has terrific road manners. You’ll also be able to take advantage of close-out bargains as dealers clear inventories. Wait for the 2011 Odyssey if you want to see how Honda’s best minivan minds intend to fend off challenges from the redesigned 2011 Toyota Sienna and revamped 2011 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan.
Anyway, Honda's readying the next-gen Odyssey for release sometime later this year. We've already gotten a near-production preview in the form of the "concept" version introduced in Chicago and presently sitting on the floor at the New York Auto Show. Now, thanks to reader Bernardo Roque, we've got a few new spy shots of the next-gen van out testing in Las Vegas. One photo gives a peek at the interior via the open driver's door and tailgate, but it's still too far away to see anything in useful detail. What is obvious is that this thing is otherwise fundamentally identical to the so-called Odyssey Concept.
The 2011 Honda Odyssey EX-L model should start around $34,000 and add to the EX leather upholstery, power sunroof, and power liftgate, among other features. History suggests the DVD entertainment and navigation system will become available at this level, creating a 2011 Odyssey EX-L priced around $38,000.
Topping the line will be the 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring at an estimated $42,000 and the 2011 Odyssey Touring Elite at an estimated $44,000. They’ll feature a few exclusive items -- the Touring adding 17-inch alloy wheels versus the EX-L’s 16s, for example. The 2011 Touring Elite will ride on Odyssey’s biggest wheels yet, 18-inch alloys, and feature exclusive xenon headlamps.
