by Julia Droz Serafine
THREE GIRLS … A UNICORN AND FLAMINGO
I’m here to say, this vehicle will change the way you do air quotes around the word “minivan” when chatting with your friends. I was able to experience “mad mom” in a minivan syndrome like never before driving around Moon Valley this weekend.
I loved it and my kiddos were huge fans as well. Not only did they have the luxury of having much needed personal space, but the drop down DVD/Blue-Ray screen was beyond anything I could ever imagine (yes, we are the only family in America that does not have a screen in our current vehicle, #parentfail). I’m also super obsessed with Cabin talk which cancels out the headphones when I need to yell…I mean, talk to my girls. I can ask them what they want from Wendy’s without having to scream over another showing of Zombies or, if you are the same type of mom as I am, I talk, just because I can. And they have to hear me. It’s amazing. Another great feature that I believe every car should come equipped with is the wireless phone charger. Yes, I know, it takes seconds to plug in your phone, but it literally takes one second to place your phone on the charger. You are saving a whole 10 seconds in Mom time. It’s worth it.
The interior space and easy access to it is a major factor to most families when it comes to vehicles. Since none of my children pay attention to what they are doing at any given moment, as with every minivan, second row power sliding doors are extremely helpful making everyone’s life easier and dent-free, especially for the car owner’s parked on either side of us at Safeway. And the Odyssey has so much space, we were able to take our pool inflatables along for the ride. After a pull of the strap to fold down the third row, the three kiddos, unicorn and the flamingo all had a seat!
Between dance rehearsals, dentist appointments and playdates, driving the 2018 Odyssey Elite didn’t even feel like I was driving a minivan. Its sleek lines and smooth maneuvering felt more like a type of crossover, rather than an 8-passenger minivan. All Odysseys get a power boost for 2018. No shifter required, just the push of a button took this well-tuned 10-speed automatic, loaded Odyssey Elite around our Moon Valley neighborhood smoothly and safely.
The 2018 Honda Odyssey Elite also includes an amazing “sensing” package. This includes, but not limited to forward collision warning, collision mitigation braking system, and one of my faves, lane keeping assist system which, let’s face it…with three girls, I will take all the help I can get.
My favorite feature by far though, are the Magic Slide Seats. This seating system features outboard 2nd row seats that move up and back, side to side. When the girls feel like being best friends, they can sit hip to hip without a middle hump in the way. When silly disagreements arise…I can separate those seats within seconds…I told you those mommy seconds are valuable. Did I mention the Odyssey comes with a vacuum? This feature is pure genius and allows easy cleanup of goldfish, pretzels and whatever other surprises I find. Not that my kids would ever eat in the car!
The 2018 Honda Odyssey Elite is a sweet deal. You’re pretty much driving the most domestic engineer-friendly and kid-friendly vehicle you can get. The Odyssey takes minivans to a whole other level. We’re not called Soccer Moms any longer we’re family social directors. So let’s get rid of the minivan stigma and go test one today. For more fun auto opinions go to www.hercertified.com
Starting at: $30,000
As tested: $46,770.00
Vehicle Provided by: Bell Honda – 7th Ave. and Bell Rd – Moon Valley
