Back in the day, before the dawn of the SUV era, the station wagon evolved into the minivan as the ultimate family vehicle. And there are still plenty of people living in the van ages, with good reason. Not only do they pack more features than ever, but many have even become quite premium in nature. Which brings us to this latest Honda Odyssey.

The Honda Odyssey has been on a people-pleasing crusade to make family life as easy as possible for Americans since 1995, and today exists as a true feature-packed oasis of space and flexibility in the desert of look-a-like SUVs. For 2025, this fifth-generation Odyssey, which has been on the streets since 2018, gets a host of updates to keep it at the top of the segment.

Upgraded style is part of the plan. Up front, there’s a new grille with a chunkier crossbar, along with a slightly different shape to make room for larger headlight lenses. The rear fascia gets its own reshaping; reflectors on the ends move from horizontal to vertical, and there is now a diffuser-style cutout in the bumper. All trims get new wheels ranging from 18 to 19 inches. Everything done to accentuate the Odyssey’s width and to portray a more premium vibe.

Tech upgrades include a new 7-inch instrument cluster that brings back the look of actual gauges instead of just having a digital speed display. A high-mounted 9-inch touchscreen is now standard for infotainment and works with faster processing speeds. The optional Rear Entertainment System gets a big upgrade with a larger 12.8-inch his-res screen, along with improved functionality and connectivity.

Technically, there’s more standard content here than before, but in reality, it’s because they’ve removed the base EX from the lineup, this comes after removing the base LX 2 years ago. So, clearly Odyssey buyers are looking for lots of content, and that’s what they’ll find in Elite which remains the top option. It comes with two-tone ventilated leather seats, heated steering wheel, premium audio, and hands-free liftgate.

Unlike many family vehicles, Honda doesn’t make you choose between three-place bench or two captain’s chairs, it gives you both with a bench that has a removable center section. There’s a great 32.8 cu.-ft. of space behind the third row, and 86.6 cu.-ft. after easily stowing them in the floor. Max capacity with the second-row seats removed is 140.7 cu.-ft.

Same VTEC single overhead cam version of Honda’s 3.5-liter V6 engine under the hood, with the same 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque that’s it’s been rocking out since 2018. It gave us plenty to work with at our Mason Dixon test track, feeling fine off the line with a 7.2-second 0-60 trip. Power delivery stayed consistent down the track; no real peaks or valleys, just a steady flow only briefly interrupted by quick gear changes in the 10-speed automatic transmission. Overall, just a smooth and steady quarter-mile experience that lasted 15.6 seconds, ending at 92 mph.

Throughout the many comings and goings of vehicles in the minivan segment over the years, the Odyssey has remained one of the most entertaining to drive, providing lots of feedback, and responding quickly to steering inputs. But, the suspension is obviously tuned more for long distance comfort, so body roll and understeer will both eventually show up if you push too hard. No problems when pushing the brake pedal hard, as the Odyssey consistently came to well-controlled stops of 115 feet from 60 mph, with moderate nosedive.

For more important family vacation getaway maneuvers, the Odyssey remains a solid highway cruiser, with a quietness to it that rivals many luxury sedans, or just makes all that familia noise from the backseats seem all that much louder. Government Fuel Economy Ratings are 19 City, 28 Highway, and 22 Combined; we averaged a good 25 mpg of Regular. That’s an average Energy Impact Score; with use of 13.5 barrels of oil annually, with CO2 emissions of 6.5 tons.

With a base EX no longer in the mix, pricing now starts with EX-L at $43,670; top Elite goes for $52,630.
The Odyssey continues to dominate its segment. One third of all minivan sales are credited to a Honda dealership. We’re doubtful that will change anytime soon, as the 2025 Honda Odyssey not only packs in more and more of the features that families are looking for, but looks better than ever. It also remains one of the most engaging minivans to drive. Now, that’s a combination that’s hard to beat.

This fourth-generation Acura MDX has been delivering great performance, luxury, and even value to premium three-row utility buyers ever since it arrived for 2022. Now an updated MDX is arriving for 2025, so it’s time for us to see what has changed and what has not.

While many brands get their best sales figures from small utilities these days, for Acura, it’s still their three-row MDX that does the most business for the brand. And if you’ve ever been in one, or, better yet, ever driven one, you’ll understand why that makes total sense, and why it recently won our MotorWeek Drivers’ Choice Award for Best Midsize Utility. Honda reliability combined with Acura’s techno-savvy luxury, and an added smidge of NSX-like performance, is the recipe here, and better ingredients do indeed make a better SUV. For 2025, Acura has added some extra garnish, as well as stirred in a few functional enhancements.

We’ll get right to our favorite improvement, which is getting rid of the touchpad interface and making the 12.3-inch infotainment screen a touchscreen. Welcome to the modern era, Acura. That frees up the center console for more storage and better placement of the wireless phone charger, joining the up to eight USB ports that are scattered around the cabin. Advance package adds head-up display along with a 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio, though Type S comes with a 31-speaker system if you really want to pump up the jams.

Front seats have both a wealth of adjustment and extreme comfort, while Acura has managed to pack in a lot of space for all three rows, despite not being an overly large vehicle. That means plenty of room for cargo, too: 16.3 cu-ft behind the third row, 39.1 behind the second, and 71.4 with all seatbacks folded.

With Acura increasingly touting the performance aspects of their brand, they’ve fittingly made the sportier front fascia that was unique to the Type S even sportier, and added it to the A-Spec as well. And in addition to across-the-board styling tweaks, such as the usual fascia redoes, new grille, updated lighting, and fresh wheel choices, Type S adds Brembo brakes behind 21-inch wheels, and a rear diffuser with a quartet of big exhaust tips.

Thankfully, one thing that hasn’t changed is how engaging the Type S is to drive. There’s a nimbleness to it that many vehicles half its size don’t have, without any harsh ride penalty. It felt tremendously planted through the cones, very well-balanced with no understeer, oversteer, nor any stability nannies stepping in. Add to that, minimal body roll and good steering feel. All made possible by the Type S’s Adaptive Air Suspension and Super-Handling All-Wheel-Drive. It performs its typical torque vectoring voodoo behind the scenes through multiple drive mode settings including Sport and Sport+, each with unique themes on the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.

The Type S works with a 3.0-liter turbo V6 cranking out the same 355 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque as last year. That translates to 0-60 runs of 5.5 seconds, after pouncing off the line with authority; no slip, all grip. All MDXs get a 10-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, but the Type S adds rev-matching for downshifts. Wide open throttle upshifts were both quick and silky smooth the whole way down the track. The quarter-mile, 14.0 seconds flat at 100 mph. Base MDXs work with a naturally aspirated 290-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 which is not quite as exhilarating, but nonetheless plenty quick. Stable stops from 60. We call a 106-foot average short and sweet.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings for the Type S are 17 City, 21 Highway, and 19 Combined; but, we managed a great 22.3 mpg average on Premium in our test loop. The Type S is priced at a lofty $76,600, but there are many more affordable options downstream, starting at just $52,550.

It’s 2025 and the Acura MDX continues to get better and better. It’s easy to see why it’s the best-selling luxury three-row utility of all time. No matter which angle you’re coming from, comfort, tech, indulgence, or performance, the MDX is the complete package, and a true benchmark SUV.