Perhaps the only disappointing aspect of driving the Odyssey was on smooth highways where there is still some on-center steering slack. You can turn the steering wheel a few degrees in either direction before the vehicle starts to move. It was no worse than in a Chrysler Town & Country, however, and many people will not notice as it's a common trait of many large cars and most SUVs.

During a test drive along country roads near the Honda factory in Alabama, we found the Odyssey offered a perfectly pleasant ride. It was neither too firm nor too soft. All in all, it's an ideal vehicle for a long-distance drive. The brakes worked fine and other than the sloppy on-center feel the steering was great for driving through corners more briskly than one would expect in a minivan. What's more, the turning radius is the tightest of any minivan, making it an easy to make U-turns and maneuver in parking lots.

Straight-line acceleration is good with a 0 to 60 mph time about one second quicker than other minivans, according to Honda. Despite having 255 horsepower going through the front wheels the van is almost totally devoid of any torque steer.

Every Odyssey includes Vehicle Stability Assist that works in conjunction with the drive-by-wire accelerator and ABS to modulate the brakes while managing the throttle and ignition. If the vehicle starts to lose grip on a tight turn on a slippery surface, the system automatically slows the engine and gently applies brakes to stop the vehicle from skidding out of control. In a test on a soaking skid pad we found the system works well. Fortunately it only works in emergency situations so it's not distracting during normal spirited driving. It can also be turned off.

Overall, the Odyssey belies its size and handles like a premium sedan. It's not as good as a decent European sports sedan but it's certainly better than an SUV. The vast majority of owners will find the Odyssey's handling and ride is pleasant for long drives as well as around town.

Road noise was a fairly common complaint thrown at the older Odyssey. Honda admits as much but claims that the new vehicle is much quieter with increased amounts of sound-deadening material and floating sub frames that keep suspension and tire noise more isolated. We had no complaints about noise while driving the different models.

The Touring model and the EX with leather benefit from high-tech noise-abatement features. When the i-VTEC engine with VCM is only running on three cylinders there is a natural imbalance, which can produce drumming sounds and vibrations. To counteract this, the engine is mounted on special active control engine mounts that electronically adjust themselves to counteract engine vibrations. Further booming sounds are reduced by an active noise control system that automatically sends an out-of-phase sound through the loudspeaker system to cancel out engine noises; it also works when the engine is idling.

The Odyssey's 3.5-liter V6 engine is smooth, powerful, clean and fuel efficient. The quot;intelligentquot; iVTEC V6 that comes on the EX with Leather and the Touring model gets better fuel economy than the standard VTEC that comes on the LX and EX: an EPA-rated 20/28 mpg City/Highway vs. 19/25 mpg. The iVTEC engine does this by deactivating three of the six cylinders whenever you're cruising. We were never able to discern when the engine was running on three cylinders as the