OMG!!!! The kids are back to school!!!!

The Ride: 2011 Honda Odyssey

The Price: $27,800 - $43,250

Yippeee, the kids are gone so I'm hopping back onto the blogging bus and to celebrate, let's kick off the school year with a new minivan review! Wait! Wait! Don't click away, it's cool I promise!

I recently attended the reveal of the redesigned 2011 Honda Odyssey and I fell in love with all the creature comforts the interior offered up. I wasn't as ecstatic about the modified exterior with "lightning bolt" accent along the side, it reminded me of the Lincoln MKT and therefore didn't seem as unique -to me- as Odyssey designers intended.

Once again, engineers promised fun-to-drive performance and once again, it felt like a minivan to me. Nice ride by all means, but nothing to work up a sweat over.

That said, let's hit on those fabulous interior features that would have me buying one of these babies in a second despite lackluster drive-feel. In no particular order, here we go!

1. Front row removable center console, large enough to actually house a medium sized purse!

2. Front row cool box capable of chilling 6 twelve ounce cans or 4 bottles of water!

3. Second row flip-up trash bag ring - finally a place to hang a trash bag!

4. Second row wide-mode seats allow outboard seats to slide left to right (not front to back) a max of 3 inches to more easily accommodate huuuuge child safety seats and/or larger passengers!



5. Available rear entertainment system with 16.2 inch screen! Yes, you can do split-screen here for viewing two movies at once - yay, everyone is happy!

6. Improved fuel economy with 18/27 city/hwy for the LX, EX and EXL models but 19/28 city/hwy for the Touring Elite.

7. LATCH connectors in 5 seating locations! That's right, 5 car seats can be LATCH'd up in Odyssey!

Yes, those were exclamation points at the end of each line and yes, I put them there on purpose. These features "Wowed" me and to think, you could get all of these on top of the typical minivan goodies we already love like sun-shades to keep the kids from squinting, flexible seating that is easy to maneuver, and safety equipment we trust.

While my search continues for the speedy and agile family hauler, the Honda Odyssey certainly got me excited and you better believe I'll be chatting it up to all the Mom's before and after school.

Oh, and for my amusement only, I would love for Honda to challenge Toyota to a minivan rap-off. Come on Honda, let's give the "Swagger-Wagon" a run for its money...