innovation, and that's why it calls its Odyssey "the Honda of minivans."

The Odyssey is a different kind of player in the minivan game. Different

can be risky in a mainstream market like minivans. In fact, it can be disastrous.

You could ask General Motors.

Chrysler, of course, defines the segment. Other manufacturers are faced

with either following Chrysler's lead or getting out of the way.

Typically, Honda chose to do neither, and built the Odyssey.

Chrysler, and more recently, GM made headlines when they came out with

four-door minivans. But the Odyssey was actually the first minivan to feature

four doors, rolling into showrooms just before the latest generation of

Chrysler vans.

And, of course, Honda took a different approach: the Odyssey's rear

doors open like those on a sedan. This requires a wider parking space,

but dispenses with the sometimes troublesome door track of sliding doors.

On balance, we think the arguments for conventional doors such as this

are good ones.

Unlike Toyota's zoomy-looking Previa, Honda elected to be conservative

in its design. Like Chrysler, Honda decreed user-friendliness to the dimensions,

inside and out. Unlike Chrysler, Honda had a hot-selling sedan--the Accord--whose

sales it didn't wish to disrupt, which led Honda of America to keep its

Odyssey sales projections low compared to mainstream U.S. minivans.

A more significant factor in the Odyssey's U.S. sales picture is its

huge popularity in the Japanese domestic market, where it's a best-seller.

Honda can barely keep pace with demand at home, let alone fight for a bigger

share of the U.S. minivan market.

So modest sales volumes are deceptive here, and unless you need max

capacity we think the Odyssey warrants a closer examination. It's full

of clever design touches that lend versatility out of proportion to its

size, and in last year's J.D. Power customer satisfaction study it posted

the highest score the company has ever recorded for a minivan.