The 2022 Honda Odyssey
comes with more standard safety tech than its younger 2019 iteration. It has undergone a significant superficial outer facelift over the last three model years, giving prospective buyers a few things to consider when choosing between the 2022 or 2019 Odyssey iterations. Since the Odyssey’s debut in 1994, the North American market has fallen out of love with minivans in favor of the more stylish SUV. But Honda
continues to give families a reason to give minivans a look. The Odyssey’s seating and cargo capacity are unrivaled by any flashy ute, and the available family-friendly amenities make this people-hauler a serious option even in crossover-crazy America. So, which Odyssey is the best bang for your buck? Let's look at everything these two chariots have to offer inside and out. We’ll show you which models offer the best amenities, safety features, and design.
2023 Honda Odyssey vs. 2022 Honda Odyssey: what’s the difference?
The Honda Odyssey is part of the dying minivan breed, along with the Kia Carnival
, the Chrysler Pacifica
, and the Toyota Sienna
. For its part, the Odyssey has the second-best cargo capacity in the class and features Honda’s Magic Slide seats which allow you to reconfigure the middle seat bench by sliding it side to side, forward, and backward to suit your needs—just one of the features that have earned both the 2019 and 2022 Odysseys a 9/10 rating from Car and Driver. So, what’s changed in the Odyssey between 2019 and 2022? A few things. To start, the Odyssey has undergone a superficial makeover with the 2022 model sporting a more aggressive front grille and a touched-up tailgate.
Some previously optional safety features are now standard on the 2022 Odyssey as well, and the 2022 version has a noticeably more luxurious interior.
Let’s take a closer look at how these two vans stack up to one another.
Pricing
Generally speaking the 2022 Honda Odyssey is more expensive than the 2019 version, with MSRP going up between $1,875 to $3,025 depending on the trim. The big exception is the Touring trim which actually when down in price. The 2022 Odyssey Touring retails for $45,045, $835 less than the starting price for an Odyssey Touring in 2019.
Here’s a glimpse at the original starting price of each Odyssey trim from 2019 and 2022.
General specs
This general price increase is not without merit. Every 2022 Honda Odyssey comes furnished with standard safety features that were only optional on some 2019 models.
The 2022 Odyssey features the same 3.5-liter 280-horsepower V-6 engine as the 2019 Odyssey, but where lower trim 2019 Odysseys featured a nine-speed automatic transmission and higher trims featured a 10-speed setup, the 2022 Odyssey is equipped with the 10-speed automatic transmission up and down the lineup.
Towing capacity has increased over the years as well. In 2019 the Odyssey was capable of hauling 3,000 lbs. That capacity has risen to 3,500 lbs on the 2022 minivan.
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| 3.5-liter V-6 engine (280 horsepower) | 3.5-liter V-6 engine (280 horsepower) |
| | Nine-speed automatic or 10-speed automatic |
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Fuel economy
For better or for worse, because the 2022 Honda Odyssey has basically the same powertrain as the 2019 Odyssey, the 2022’s fuel economy is predictably the same. Both iterations achieve a fuel economy rating of 19 city mpg and 28 highway mpg, for a combined rating of 22 miles per gallon, regardless of which drivetrain you’re rocking.
The mileage that you get will depend on where and how you drive, but the Odyssey is competitive with its main competitors, the Chrysler Pacifica and the Kia Carnival. For best-in-class fuel economy, you might want to give the Toyota Sienna a second look. The Sienna boasts an EPA fuel economy rating of 36 miles per gallon on both city and highway roads.
Safety ratings
The Honda Odyssey was very safe in 2019, and it’s only gotten safer. Both versions of the Odyssey were given a five-star safety rating
from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). And, while the 2019 Odyssey captured a Top Safety Pick award from the Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the 2022 Odyssey did it one better by bringing home a Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS in 2022. Both Odyssey models offer tons of driver-assist safety tech, like blind-spot monitoring and parking sensors. However, features that were only optional on lower trim 2019 Odysseys, such as lane-keeping assist, automatic emergency front braking, and adaptive cruise, have been made standard on all models in the 2022 Odyssey family.
The Odyssey’s headlights are the one point of concern as far as safety goes. The IIHS gave the 2022 Odyssey’s headlights an “Adequate” rating. While we’d like to see Honda get that up to a “Good” rating (the highest possible rating), it is better than the headlight rating for the 2019 Odyssey which ranged from “Adequate”, to “Marginal”, to “Poor”, depending on the trim.
So, while the 2022 Honda Odyssey doesn’t have the greatest headlights in the world, they’re better than the 2019 Odyssey’s.
MORE: How to find vehicle safety ratings
Styling and interior changes
While the 2022 Honda Odyssey offers an updated exterior look and higher-end interior trimmings, much of the interior amenities are the same.
Cargo capacity is the exact same between the two minivans—140.7 cubic feet. Both offer seating for seven in the lowest LX
trim and seating for eight people in the remaining trims. And both the 2022 and 2019 Odysseys feature Honda’s ingenious Magic Slide seats, allowing you to maximize cargo and seating capacity simultaneously. The Odyssey offers a quiet cabin, with a noise-reducing windshield available starting with the EX-L
trim on the 2019 and 2022 models. But, the 2022 version takes quiet to a whole new level offering sound-canceling side windows. Both the ‘19 and ‘22 Odysseys offer a rear-seat entertainment system to keep young ones busy on long trips. On the 2019 Odyssey, the EX-L trim can be outfitted with a 10.2-inch screen and Blu-ray player for the back, but this option is only available for the Touring
and Elite
trims on the 2022 Odyssey. Noticeably missing from the 2022 Honda Odyssey Touring model is the standard onboard vacuum cleaner that was featured on the 2019 Touring trim. Honda did away with the feature in 2022, so if you opt for the latter model, you’ll have to live with Cheerios in your seat cushions.
These changes aside, the 2019 and 2022 Honda Odysseys share much in common, including
Front and rear parking sensors (Touring trim and up)
Rear cabin camera system (Touring trim and up)
Onboard intercom system (Touring trim and up)
140.7 cubic feet of cargo space
Honda’s Magic Slide second-row seat
Available sound-canceling front and rear windows
Available back-seat entertainment system
11-speaker sound system (Elite trim)
Wireless charging pad (Elite trim)
Ventilated seats (Elite trim)
Heated steering wheel (Elite trim)
EX-L with Navi and RES
While both the 2019 and the 2022 Honda Odyssey offer the same five trim levels, the 2019 Odyssey EX-L offered the option to add a navigation system and rear entertainment system. On the 2022 Odyssey, these features were only made available on the Touring and Elite trims. The upgrade included a 110-volt outlet and the CabinTalk intercom system.
2022 Honda Odyssey vs. 2019 Honda Odyssey: which should you buy?
If you’re wavering back and forth between the 2022 Honda Odyssey and the 2019 Honda Odyssey, we’d suggest buying a higher-trim 2019 model. Besides the exterior facelift and the standard safety tech, the 2022 Honda Odyssey isn’t that much different from the 2019 version, and the higher trims from the 2019 roster offer discontinued features like the onboard vacuum cleaner.
And they can be had for significantly less. For example, a 2019 Honda Odyssey Touring sells for a fair market used price of between $32,000–$36,500—that’s $7K less than the 2022 Touring which offers the same features more or less, sans the vacuum.
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