We have finally sold the old merz and got a new 2nd hand car over the last weekend. I cant express how relieved i was because i was getting so stressed up driving the merz to and from work especially over the last two weeks. It is scary when you suddenly lose power on the highway, travelling in peak hour traffic, trying to get uphill of the West Gate Bridge. I am just fortunate folks driving here are really patient (of cos, i keep to the left as well) so i dont get honked or flashed at despite dropping from 80km/h till just 40km/h over a distance of less than 1km. If the uphill were any longer, i really think the car would have stalled then and there. So everytime i have to go over that bridge, i make sure i had a good look for the emergency number displayed at the beginning of the bridge because there is no road shoulder to stop at and it is the bl*dy highway.
Anyway... all in all, it would just cost too much to fix the merz (i need to replace the whole throttle body) which, though has been a really good car, is showing its age (circa 1999, C180 classic) and been breaking down every few months or so (expensive parts). Since we are thinking we needed a bigger vehicle, naturally we thought of getting a new car, 2nd-hand one of course. Initially, i had my heart set on either a Toyota Torago or a Kia Carnival (or Grand Carnival). Unfortunately, the Toyota is way over my budget for the type of mileage i was looking at and there were just too many bad reviews for the Kia, the much more economical option. Thankfully i have a responsible hubby that likes to do his homework and he threw up several more options for consideration. Top of that list of options was the Honda Odyessy which i had initially resisted because i wanted something with sliding doors. So after test-driving the Kia, the Honda, the Chrysler (Grand Voyager) and Mitsubishi (Grandis), we pretty much settled for the Honda.
We also decided to go to a 2nd hand dealership rather than going to a private seller because after a few weekends of car searching and bad experiences with some private sellers (one was rude when we wanted more time to consider and the other car turned out to be a written off flood vehicle which was re-registered when we checked at VicRoads), we were ready to spend a bit more money to save ourselves the hassle and greater piece of mind (hopefully). Hence we check in with a dealer instead. Most importantly, the stress of driving the anytime-can-break-down merz was getting to me (i think a major contributing factor to why i fell sick) and i wanted to resolve the car issue once and for all.
So... our new car the 2006 Honda Odyessy Luxury 7seater 2.4L auto...
My thoughts:
Appearance
Pros: Nice purple/grey colour. Well-maintained, comes with roof racks and tow bar.
Cons: Looks like a sedan with an extended bottom.
Compared to other people mover, it doesnt have the most fantastic look. The jeepy look like the Ford Territory etc would look alot sexier, even the Torago (newer models) looks slicker in my opinion. But that said, the Odyessy looks alot of better when you are inside than out. When i am sitting in the driver's seat, i honestly felt like i am in a much bigger car than when i look at it from the outside. That's really saying something because it was unlike the Grandis, which looked big from the outside but feels small on the inside. So even though it looked like a sedan (and not that much taller), i felt a head (or half a head) taller than other sedans on the road with alot of headroom (but maybe that's because i am kinda short so i really bump myself up on the electric-adjustible seat).
All in all though, i am traded off my 'Uncle' car and settled, very comfortably, into the 'Aunty' car. Would of cos love to have a sexy convertible et al, but whenever i am IN the Honda, i am pretty happy.
Handling
Pros: Smooth transmission, sensitive steering, hug the corners well with wide turning circle on the wheel
Cons: A little weak on the torque and 'noisy' engine
On a 2.4L 4 cylinder engine, the Honda actually does very well and is a very good drive. Of course personally, i really love a bit of "kick" (something which Kia does very well with a 6 cylinder) but i am not competing for the F1 so Honda provides sensibility (and fuel economy) for a mommy whose main occupation is chauffeuring the Kiddo and commuting to/from work. The 'noise' was only apparent because i was looking out for it, but really quite negligible especially with the windows up and music blasting. I was also quite surprise at the smooth transmission which on the Grandis, there was a very distinct surge each time the gear change, the Honda was almost silky, even on a slope.
Interior
Pros: Slick dashboard/accessibility, roomy leather seats, plenty of legroom in all 3 rows, great visibility, flexible seats arrangement, storage options
Cons: Plasticky 'woodgrain' pattern, positioning of the gear stick, what-were-they-thinking-off positioning of the anchor points for the carseat, storage options
Like i mentioned before, being inside the Honda really makes me feel like i am inside a bigger car than what you see. I love the visibility all around even though others' have complained about the blindspot being obstructed by the pillar. It didnt bother me as much because firstly, my seat is pretty much moved forward (did i mentioned that i am short?) and the previous owner had install a nifty little blindspot mirror on the sideview mirror. For the passengers, good views for sure, even the sunroof was quite entertaining for the Kiddo ("Mama i can see stars"). The leather seats is a big plus for the 'luxe' factor but i like it because its easy to clean compared to the fabric/carpet type seats. For shorter folks like me, leg room usually isnt much of an issue (but one which even i feel acutely in the old merz) but i think even someone like my Dad would have no complains about when sitting in the 2nd or 3rd row. And with the 3rd row down (i like that it folds down at a touch of a button cos i hate fiddling with levers!) rear storage space is basically a craven. Since it is pretty long, i reckon trips to Ikea transporting furniture wouldnt be a problem anymore.
However, storage can be problematic when the 3rd row seats are up. I reckon we will need to have a pod or a trailer for road trips if there are more than 4 adults plus 1 or 2 kids. I think it would be a bit of a struggle to fit in a full size suitcase (or one of those less-than-slender strollers) at the limited rear storage if all rows are up. There are plenty of nooks scattered around the car but nothing really useful since most are shallow or small. The woodgrain pattern that comes with the Luxury option is supposed to make the interior look classy but i find it rather tacky. It helps that ours is dark grey so its is not as obvious as the mahogany one. The gear takes getting used to but i think its only me because i am used to driving like i am in a manual car (i.e. i like to rest my hand on the gear stick).
And my number 1 pet peeve about the Honda is the anchor points. I mean, what were they thinking? From the 2nd row, i would have to stretch the harness belt all the way to the back onto the points located at the roof (3nd row's points are on the floor at the rear). It really messes up my view on the rear view mirror (esp if you put the carseat in the middle of 2nd row). But imagine sitting on the 3rd row with the carseat's harness stretching pass you. I havent seen it yet but i would think that it must be slightly hazardous. I much prefer the anchor points on the Grand Voyager with its own inbuilt points behind each seat but i heard that they made some changes to the Honda starting from the 2009 model. Ah well... you cant have them all, i guess.
Well, so far so good, for the first 3 days of ownership. Just settled the car insurance today (phew...) and for once, no more stress driving cross the West Gate Bridge on the M1 tomorrow morning! Yay!
