2028 Honda Odyssey Could Finally Fix Its Biggest Problem.

The current generation Honda Odyssey is about 10 years old, which is an eternity in the modern auto industry. Yet for some reason, sales have not been bad at all. Honda sold more than 88,000 Odyssey minivans last year. These numbers have been up every year for the past 4 years! Which actually means most buyers simply do not care how old the Odyssey looks. And probably don’t even know how old it is in the first place.They care about comfort, practicality, reliability, and space far more than flashy design trends. And Honda’s reputation.

I test-drove the current Odyssey a couple of times and came away fairly impressed. It’s roomy, very comfortable, quiet on the highway, and still very functional for family duty. The seats are excellent, visibility is great, and Honda still knows how to make a vehicle feel easy to drive despite its size. It remains one of the best road-trip vehicles you can buy.

But it’s also a big lump of a van with terrible gas mileage.

That criticism also applies to most traditional minivans, except for the hybrid-powered Toyota Sienna. Honda’s big V6 is wonderfully smooth and refined. In real-world driving, the Odyssey can feel shockingly thirsty for a modern family vehicle. Which is a problem with all Honda and Acura SUVs using the same 3.5 Liter V6.

The Odyssey also looks pretty old, inside or out. While the cabin remains practical and ergonomic, the dashboard design, infotainment system, and overall presentation feel really old-school next to newer rivals like the Kia Carnival. The Carnival, in particular, has shown that buyers still want minivans. They just prefer them to look and feel more modern, upscale, and SUV-like.

A new Odyssey will eventually be on its way. And will be powered by Honda’s all-new 3.0 Liter V6 Hybrid system. Which will be used on the next Honda Pilot and Acura MDX as well. Honda is already claiming a 30% MPG improvement over the current V6. Which is still not that great considering I averaged about 15MPG around town the last time I drove one. 30% better would still only mean under 20MPG…