*This post is kindly sponsored by Nuffnang and Honda Odyssey, and if you read all the way to the end you’ll find out how you can win $500 and a brand new Odyssey of your own for the day!*

When Nuffnang rang and asked me to review the new Honda Odyssey,  I have to admit the first thing I thought was, “Really? Me in a people mover? Are you mad?”  It was one of those things I had vowed never to do, remembering just how ‘uncool’ I thought they were growing up, I never wanted to cross that line into ‘serious family car’ territory.  Still, I’m all for expanding my horizons so the logical me had to accept the challenge.

In some ways I fit the target market for the Honda Odyssey. That is I have kids. But I only have two kids, I don’t do soccer runs and to be totally honest, anything that has a suburban undertone has me on my guard. So the Odyssey had a lot of work to do.

On the day I picked it up, the thing that most concerned me is that I wouldn’t be able to drive it. That I would feel like I needed a heavy vehicle license to move it, but when I stepped behind the wheel that first thought that crossed my mind was, “ This is like a fighter jet cockpit”, which is odd because I have never been in one of those but clearly have a very 3-D imagination.

The layout of the interior took a bit of getting used to, like having a foot release parking brake instead of a hand brake, and having most of the accessory control position much higher up the dash. But the seat, oh my god, the seats! They could easily sell those as separate lounge chairs to enthusiasts, because they were just that comfortable. Buttery soft leather that hugged into your curves, with fold down armrests and seat heaters. I’ve never driven with seat heaters before and wondered what all the fuss was about, but let me tell you when it is 3 measly degrees outside, they come into their own.  The other bonus is that having lower back pain, the heat took it right away.  So toasty and therapeutic.

Driving must always be done with the correct accessories.

Buttons for everything meant no broken nails

That first morning trip home did show me one of the things I really wish I could change about this particular model, (which is really a matter of personal taste), but I didn’t much like the style or position of the stereo.  It is a large square type of unit, mounted high in the centre of the dash. It reminded me of those T.V monitors that would pop out of the dash in the early James Bond movies. The only problem with this one is that it doesn’t go down, so I spent the entire trip wanting to push it back down into the dash.  The flat display screen meant that I kept getting reflective glare (albeit minor in intensity) but it was enough that I couldn’t read the display and thus couldn’t see the time.  If it did retract – that would be incredibly cool. As it is, it is a 6 stack CD, radio etc.. and also had an adaptor to enable me to play my iPod, so that was a great bonus.

Can’t you just see “M’ popping up on the screen to give James instructions?

Sun roof – win!

Driver & passenger mirrors with lights!

Pretty decent sized compartment for sunglasses held two pair and then some.

..So I thought I’d see what else fit in the space and OMG and entire caddy full of red lipstick! Never be caught out again!

Over the next few days I put the Honda Odyssey through it’s paces, tackling all the sorts of activities I do on a weekly basis to see if it would handle them with style and grace.

One day one, Miss Five and I went on a shopping trip where I discovered one of my favourite features of the car. The cabin room! Driving the Odyssey feels somewhat similar to being in a limousine, both for the driver and for the passengers.  For me, I had fantastic leg room, head room (no squished up beehive hair!) and ample space between the steering column and the chair where I so often kneecap myself getting into my regular car. But for Miss Five it was bliss. She was so far away that I had to ask her several times to speak up so I could even hear what she was saying (no joke) and I cannot tell you how much more pleasant this made the trip.

How much shopping can you fit in a  Honda Odyssey? This is 8 bags of groceries,1 box of nappies, 2 pieces of furniture ( a chair and footstool) 2 Bolts of fabric, 1 handbag and still space for 4 people!

When you take all that shopping out, here’s what you are left with.  The boot space that then converts…

.. at the touch of an electric button, into another row of rear seat leaving still this much boot space! I love all the compartments in this car – this one in the bag is perfect handbag size.

On day two we all went out as a family with both children on board. Miss Five wanted to sit in the third row of seats and we had Miss Two in the middle. It was hysterical watching Miss Five sit up the back with her legs crossed waving like the Queen from the rear window. Miss Two’s seat was anchored right behind mine which is where I discovered another major bonus that the new Odyssey has – the leg room in the back! I usually spend my passenger time being jammed in the back for hours at a time as in my current car it is a compromise between my leg room and hers. But with the Odyssey we both had loads of room and not once did I experience the whip lash that comes with a swift kick in the back.

Leg room AND handbag room – how very civilised.

“I wonder what the little people are doing?”

Okay, so this is all sounding very domestic and family so far, what about the glam factor? Well Saturday night I had a ball to go to and a friend to pick up on the way. Initially before getting the car I wasn’t so keen about heading to an event like this in a “people mover”, but the Odyssey is something different again.  Because they have designed it with a much lower profile than before, it is the same height as a car and has a low, sporty ground clearance with side skirts. The benefit of this is that not once have I had to CLIMB into the car!  When you consider the type of dresses and heels I wear this is a MAJOR bonus. No in-elegant moves, no split seams and the amount of leg and cabin room meant that I could even fit my big 1950’s skirts complete with petticoats.  So getting to the ball with friend in tow was a success both in gown logistics and super slick looking car. It was after the ball that my trouble started.

I have to tell you this story, even though I feel like a complete idiot, as a warning to all.  When we headed back to the car at 12.30am in the freezing cold I went to unlock the car with the remote sensor. Nothing happened. Hmmm. Okay, used the key in the lock, put into ignition and nothing happened. “Right,” I think to myself, “Must be some fancy engine immobiliser type thing.” So I called over another chap in the car park to advise me on what to do.  In about three seconds he looked at me like I was silly and said, “You left your lights on!” Umm.. “You can do that?” I said. By now he thinks my blonde roots are showing, but to me it never crossed my mind to even check as all the cars I’ve driven in the last ten years automatically turned theirs off when you turned the car off. ( I also parked under a super bright lamp post to be safe after hours)  So whilst my girl friend and I sat in the car on a 3 degree evening awaiting the RACV, I was cursing the Honda for being so swanky and sophisticated that it never crossed my mind it may not do something like turn its own lights off.  But in the light of day I discovered that the fault and the problem was mine.  There on the light control wand were two options “AUTO” and an image of a lamp on.  The problem is that these are only about a 3mm click apart and in the dark I had no idea that one could so easily be mistaken for the other. So the Honda Odyssey does turn it’s own lights off, but I’d like to suggest that in the next generation, that the option to lock them on be in a separate location to avoid mishaps such as mine.

My stealthy nemisis

Even after that minor disaster, I’ve still come out of the whole experience a big fan of the Honda Odyssey.  The fact that it is what I’d call a stealth people mover, (that is it doesn’t look like one) means that I could actually see myself driving one of these on a permanent basis.  Seeing that they come in a rich, dark, metallic plum colour as well means that it can be both infinitely practical as well as luxurious and really very sexy.  I’m already imagining cruising around with dark tinted windows and a car full of glam-mafia girlfriends hunting out vintage treasures.

So thank you Honda for making the practical sexy, and giving me even more space to fill with little treasures. Both kinds!

Now it could be your turn!

Nuffnang and Honda are giving you the chance to win $500 and the chance to drive the new Honda Odyssey for a day!

All you need to do is tell us ” How would you fit your perfect family day into the Honda Odyssey”?

(Please note that there is only 1 prize which will be awarded to 1 reader across the 8 blogs which are running this campaign.)

How to enter: Answer the question ” How I would fit my perfect family day into the Honda Odyssey” in the most creative and fun (yet feasible) way, as a comment on this blog post.

Open to: Australian residents only

Closing date: May 30th 2010

Judging: The judging process will be conducted by Honda and Nuffnang, so you will need to check into the Nuffnang blog to read all about the winners. Of course if it the winner is one of you my lovely readers, you can bet I’ll be announcing it here too!

Terms and Conditions: A full list of terms and conditions is available on the Nuffnang blog along with a list of all the other great bloggers who have written about their experiences with the Honda Odyssey.

So get writing! You only have a couple of days to get your entries in.  And while you’re at it, if you have an questions for me about what I thought about the new Honda Odyssey – ask away!