First Drive: 2005 Honda Odyssey

For example, Honda is dedicating significant resources to making its products as safe as possible, and the 2005 Odyssey is the first vehicle to reflect the company’s commitment to protecting not only vehicle occupants but those in other cars as well as pedestrians. The new Odyssey was redesigned with this goal in mind, and the result is a comprehensive standard safety package on all models as well as a new Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure.

ACE refers to the design of the 2005 Honda Odyssey’s forward frame elements, new upper and lower structural members engineered to spread crash energy over a larger area for absorption and disperse the energy away from the cabin. New gussets located in the lower corners of the engine bay at the firewall intend to reduce passenger compartment intrusion during a crash. Honda expects this new design to better protect the 2005 Odyssey’s occupants while making the new minivan more compatible with smaller vehicles in an accident. Furthermore, the new Odyssey’s hood and front fenders are designed to crumple if impacted by a pedestrian’s head in an effort to protect those outside of the van.

Inside the 2005 Honda Odyssey, a full complement of airbags and safety technologies come standard to protect passengers. Dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags are combined with standard side-impact airbags for the front seats and side curtain airbags with a rollover sensor for all three rows. To help keep a rollover accident from occurring, every 2005 Honda Odyssey is equipped with a standard Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) system, which includes both traction control and stability control. Also standard is a four-wheel-disc ABS with brake assist technology to bring the new Odyssey to a stop as quickly as possible.