Look Out Toyota, There's a New Honda Minivan in Town
By Bill Visnic September 9, 2010
The minivan segment has been in decline since 1995, and among the ashes of this once heavily-contested sector, three players remain: Chrysler Group LLC (Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country); Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (Odyssey) and Toyota Motor Corp. (Sienna).
Honda's launching the new-generation 2011 Odyssey this month, heaped with thoughtful functionality improvements, only the best family-friendly tech gear and an all-new top trim level. But of the Odyssey's two competitors, only one - Toyota - truly has to worry, because only about one in 10 Odyssey shoppers even considers the Chrysler minivans, according to Edmunds.com data.
Only Toyota Need Worry
Proprietary cross-shopping data from Edmunds.com indicates curious buyer behavior when it comes to consideration of all three makers' minivans. Although a quarter of those shopping the Grand Caravan/Town & Country consider the Odyssey and Sienna, double that number cross-shop between the two Japanese models.
Meanwhile, those shopping for either the Odyssey or Sienna virtually ignore the domestic minivans: less than 10 percent consider Chrysler's offerings. Intenders for the Sienna and Odyssey show "complete disregard of the Town & Country and Grand Caravan," said Edmunds.com pricing and industry analyst Ivan Drury.
So for Chrysler, at least, the fact there's a new and formidable Odyssey coming on Sept. 30 isn't much of a bother - not many considering the Odyssey in the past were looking at Chrysler's wares, anyway. Toyota, however, will want to start burning the midnight oil on the Sienna's mid-cycle refresh, because Honda's calling the new '11 Odyssey "the ultimate family vehicle," and that's only marginally hyperbolizing.
More Of Everything Except Weight And Fuel Consumption
All the expected "ers" are there with the new fourth-generation Odyssey: longer, wider, more powerfuler. Yet, now that all trim levels use variable cylinder management (VCM) for the carryover 3.5-liter V6, plus the addition of a new 6-speed automatic transmission for the Touring trim - not to mention a laudable 103-pound weight reduction - the '11 Odyssey's fuel economy ratings are markedly better than the outgoing model.
Last year, Odysseys without the cylinder-deactivating V6 did 16 miles per gallon in the city and 23 mpg on the highway. Now, the lower-trimmed '11 Odyssey is rated at 18 mpg city/27 mpg highway. For the Touring models that come standard with the 6-speed automatic, the ratings are a heady 19 mpg city/28 mpg highway - the best the outgoing VCM-equipped Odyssey did was 17 mpg city/25 mpg highway.
Toyota's Sienna, even when fitted with a 2.7-liter 4-cylinder base engine that gives away 61 horsepower to the new Odyssey's 248-hp V6, manages 19 mpg in the city, but its 24 mpg highway rating falls well short of either new Odyssey powertrain.
The new Odyssey's loss of 103 pounds didn't come from a few major places, said chief engineer Art St. Cyr; instead it was "death of a thousand cuts," from components and design improvements all over the new minivan. "We looked at every part," he said. And 89 different items were changed or added to improve fuel economy compared with the outgoing Odyssey, St. Cyr added.
All the expected family-coddling features are there, but two new items stand out. For all Odysseys, the outboard portions of the tri-split center seat can slide laterally by as much as 1.5 inches each - Honda calls it "wide mode," allowing the center seat to widen by as much as three inches. Why? Mostly to accommodate three-across child safety seats, which Honda engineers say are becoming bulkier and wider.
And for the new Touring Elite trim, there is a stunning high-fidelity mobile theater system centering around a 16.2-inch "ultrawide" video display and backed up by a 5.1-channel, 12-speaker surround-sound system pumped by 650 watts. The ultrawide display can show a single image or dual sources.
Versus Sienna
The Odyssey-versus-Sienna picture is an interesting one that, based on data from Edmunds.com, in many ways comes off as a dead heat:
- Since 2002, Odyssey has outsold Sienna in every year except 2004.
- Honda has paid for the privilege, though. According to Edmunds.com's proprietary True Cost of Incentives metric, Honda spent very little on Odyssey incentives until 2007, when TCI nearly matched Toyota's for the Sienna. Since then, Honda has spent markedly more on minivan incentives than Toyota.
- In Edmunds.com's Days To Turn metric (the number of days from delivery at the dealership to sale to a customer), the two minivans have swapped leadership with regularity since 2002. Odyssey's average has been as low as 11 days (2002), Toyota's 15 days (2004). Demonstrating the consistency of demand for the two minivans, their average annual DTT figures have been decisively below the industry average for all vehicles.
- Honda, as less of a full-line automaker, relies more on Odyssey sales than Toyota leans on the Sienna. Last year, Odyssey made up 9.6 percent of all Honda sales (the figure has been as high as 14.2 percent in 2002), while Sienna accounted for just 5.6 percent of Toyota sales last year. The highest proportion of Sienna sales to total Toyota sales was 9.4 percent in 2004.
'Opportunity' In Downsized Segment
Vicki Poponi, American Honda Motor Co.'s assistant vice president of product planning, acknowledges the minivan segment's major declines in volume and market share but says there's "a lot of opportunity" for a return to former volumes, largely because the number of Gen X and Y families surpasses that of the Boomers who originally made minivans such a market phenomenon. The oldest Gen Y people now are 32 year of age, she said, starting into their family-raising prime.
Even for the Odyssey, its best selling years are well behind, thanks to the segment's eroding share of the market and the effects of the recession. Odyssey sales peaked at 177,919 in 2006 and have been sliding since. Even with the injection of the all-new '11 model this month, Honda doesn't expect full-year Odyssey sales to much surpass last year's disappointing 100,133 units - a low the nameplate hasn't seen since 1999. Through August, Honda sold 71,584 Odysseys.
A chief reason for the segment's decline has been the increasing popularity of crossover vehicles, which thanks to their quasi-SUV styling and other cues, are not shackled with as much of a "mommy" image as minivans.
Poponi said Honda's play in marketing the new Odyssey is to forget the "rejector"-type intenders who are crossover or SUV oriented and refuse to consider a minivan because their perceptual needs trump the functional motives for purchase. Instead, the company is focused on intercepting "hesitator" buyers who currently own sedans, wagons or compact crossovers but who are focused on the functional needs from their vehicle but still allow emotion to drive their purchase decision. These buyers, Poponi said, haven't necessarily decided to buy a minivan, but more important, don't insist they won't buy a minivan.
Prices Up, But Loyalists Probably Won't Mind
Although Toyota's Sienna always has given the Odyssey a run, Honda's minivan long has been considered the segment's benchmark when driving dynamics are factored into the equation. So Honda seemingly isn't worried about increasing the price for the new fourth-generation Odyssey.
In general, prices are up about $1,000. At the bottom, the '11 Odyssey LX starts at $27,800, compared to last year's $26,805. In the middle, the 2011 Odyssey EX-L with rear entertainment is $36,050, compared with the 2010 equivalent model at $35,005.
The range-topping new trim, Touring Elite, rings in at $43,250; the most that could be spent on the outgoing Odyssey was $40,755 for the Touring model. Considering the extra content of the new Touring Elite trim, the price is unlikely to seem like a stretch for those who would have considered maxing-out the 2010 Odyssey.
Honda already enjoys a rich mix for Odyssey: currently, 70 percent of all Odyssey sales are for the EX-L trim or higher.
Analysis provided by Ivan Drury, Edmunds.com pricing and industry analyst.
Photos by Honda
1 - The 2011 Honda Odyssey goes on sale Sept. 30.
2 - The 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite trim offers a high-fidelity mobile theater system with an ultrawide display.
LEAVE A COMMENT
Click here to comment on this entry.did Honda pay for this piece? Aside from advertising the strengths of the Odyssesy I dont see the point.
Did I miss something? Last I heard, the Quest is on its way back and the Sedona still has a few years left, though it probably won't be redesigned.
The VW Routan is still alive, and the Mazda5 fits the description of a minivan as well. Including the Nissan Quest and Kia Sedona mentioned by dg0472, that's over half the vehicles in this market segment that were overlooked. That might have been excusable in a fluff piece for a non-automotive journal, Mr Visnic, but not here.
Sooner or later folks will rediscover the better utility and milage an AWD minivan offers over a crossover or SUV.
Honda's redesigned Odyssey looks like a hearse. The design of the rear third of the van needs to be changed unless you’re a funeral director looking for a minivan. I was hoping for something stylish that would trump the tired current design. Looks like I'll be purchasing a Toyota unless they change the exterior. On a side note, the Pilot’s rear third looks disappointing as well. I believe Honda’s design team can do better.
I'm surprised that the minivan segment continues to shrink. These are still the most practical traveling cars ever made. Whether you're lugging children around or going on a long road trip, the comfort, convenience and economy is unmatched by any SUV.
The leasing and finance offers on the 2010 models are outstanding.
http://monthlycarlease.com/2010/09/minivan-ratings/
Clearly, if one have read the article, few of the (potential) buyers of Odyssey/Sienna take a look at Sedona/Routan/Mazda5.
Routan, a Chrysler product sold by one of the worse customer-service dealerships, who'd want it?
Mazda5, too cramped and underpowered, who'd want it?
Sedona, probably on borrowed time. Even Hyundai abandoned its sibling, the Hyundai Entourage.
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