The 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite is not just a functional people hauler, but a comfortable, spacious haul-anything vehicle with plenty of tech to keep the kids entertained and the family safe.
| STATS | Starting Retail Price | As Tested Price | HP / Lb-Ft |
| 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite | $44,450 | $44,450 | 248/250 |
| EPA Rating MPG | As Tested MPG | ||
| Rating: BUY IT! | 19 / 28 Combined 22 | 22.8 Combined |
Exterior styling on the 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite is pretty much minivan, but they do add a little pizazz to the package with a sculpted hood, bolder front grille, and lower front fascia with fog lamps. The back gets LED taillight bars.
The inside is just loaded with comfort and convenience features, especially in this top-of-the-line Touring Elite model. In a minivan, all those features become very important because a huge part of having this car is being able to keep the kids it carries entertained and to make the driver’s life easier.
Let’s start with seating. The heated front seats are comfortable and supportive, although legroom on the passenger side is short for those who are tall. Second row passengers get equally comfortable seats and the ability to move the seats laterally by 1.5″ to give everyone just a little more space from each other.
The center seat also has its own nifty trick in that it can move forward 5.5″ to bring that occupant closer to the driver. If you don’t need that seat for a passenger, it flips down to reveal a cupholder with enough room for three drinks.
Third-row seating is plenty comfortable for three, with even adults fitting back there easily. Access is good with the second-row moving forward enough for adults to squeeze by without being contortionists and for kids to walk in without leaving muddy footprints all over the back of that second row. They also get a cupholder on each side.
There are an astounding number of cupholders in this vehicle. Everyone has a place for their drink, more than one place even. If you want a drink later and you want it to keep cold, they’ve got that covered, too. There’s a cool box in the center stack that can hold 6 12-ounce cans or 4 20-ounce bottles and keep them chilled while you drive.
The stand-out convenience feature in the 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite has to be the built-in vacuum. It’s tucked away in a little compartment at the very back of the vehicle but it has a long hose with two attachments for sucking up stray Cheerios and the dirt from all those little shoes.
Keeping kids entertained is also important when you’re piloting a minivan and the 2014 Honda Odyssey has a wide 16.2″ screen that has split-screen capability to satisfy everyone. It will also accommodate media players and gaming systems through HDMI and has wireless headsets.
There’s plenty of tech up front, too, with Bluetooth, the HondaLink infotainment system, 2GB of audio storage, USB audio connectivity, voice navigation, and an audio touchscreen that can also be operated with steering-mounted controls. And as for safety, the 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite is at the top of the heap.
The NHTSA has given it a five star overall rating with its only four star rating coming in rollover resistance. It has also received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Pick+ award.
Safety features include stability control, anti-lock brakes, driver and passenger front side airbags, side curtain airbags, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and five LATCH locations for securing car seats. There’s also a multi-view rear camera for help avoiding anyone who might run behind the vehicle.
Under the hood there’s a 248 horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine with 250 lb-ft of torque paired to a six-speed automatic transmission. It is surprisingly peppy and capable both merging into high speed traffic and off the line. The 2014 Honda Odyssey handles smoothly and confidently with a comfortable ride and well-weighted power steering.
The cabin is quiet without excessive road noise, but the wind noise was slightly intrusive. Especially with the sunroof revealed to let in some light, the sound of the wind rushing over the rood was noticeable.
The 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite is the gold standard of minivans. As such, it comes in at a pricey $44,450 but it provides plenty of value for the money. There are less expensive options like the Toyota Sienna or the Dodge Grand Caravan, but the price savings means fewer features and not quite the same level of comfort.
On the TFLcar scale of:
- Buy it!
- Lease it!
- Rent it!
- … or Forget it!
I give the 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite a Buy It!
Check out this review of the 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite…
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.
