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Episode 430: 2026 Chrysler Pacifica, 2026 Honda Odyssey
Episode 430: 2026 Chrysler Pacifica, 2026 Honda Odyssey
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About this episode
The discussion revolves around the 2026 Chrysler Pacifica and Honda Odyssey, two minivans that showcase the dwindling options in this segment. The hosts dive into the Pacifica's performance, noting its solid powertrain and spacious interior but criticize its dated design and high price point. They also compare it to the Odyssey, which is praised for its driving dynamics and innovative seating but criticized for its safety features. The episode highlights the unique challenges and features of both vehicles while reflecting on the minivan market's evolution.
Topics:
10‑speed automatic transmission
adaptive cruise
all wheel drive
bench seat
CVT
drive modes
driving.ca
Hagerty
heated seats
hybrid
Cars:
Chrysler Pacifica
Chrysler Voyager
Dodge Charger
Dodge Grand Caravan
Honda Odyssey
Honda Pilot
Nissan 350Z
Plymouth Voyager
The show starts off with Sami's review of the 2026 Chrysler Pacifica AWD, which boasts a peachy engine and cool seats that can hide away for more storage as needed, but Sami points out there are more than a few concerns with the American company's minivan, and it may be starting to feel a bit old these days.
Then Benjamin reviews the 2026 Honda Odyssey, which he pilots through a pair of hefty snowstorms. Though it lacks the all-wheel-drive and versatile seats of the Pacifica, he has more than few reasons to recommend this mighty minivan.
Finally, Benjamin regales us with a tale of a near-death experience that he almost forgot about until reminded by Sami and a Facebook memory. Thanks for listening!!
Filter:
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Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Brand
driving.ca
"You can find my writing at Motor Trend at Hagerty and at driving.ca."
driving.ca is a website that writes about cars in Canada, giving reviews and tips for buyers.
driving.ca is a Canadian automotive website that publishes car reviews, news, and buying guides.
Brand
Hagerty
"You can find my writing at Motor Trend at Hagerty and at driving.ca."
Hagerty is a company that helps people insure and buy classic cars, and they also publish articles about car history.
Hagerty is a company that specializes in classic car insurance, collectibles, and automotive media content.
Brand
Motor Trend
"You can find my writing at Motor Trend at Hagerty and at driving.ca."
Motor Trend is a popular car magazine that writes about new cars, tests them, and gives tips on buying.
Motor Trend is a well-known automotive magazine and website that covers car reviews, industry news, and buying advice.
Car
2026 Chrysler Pacifica
"[300.0s] I drove the 2026 Chrysler Pacifica."
The 2026 Chrysler Pacifica is a big van that can seat up to eight people. It has the latest tech and safety gadgets, making it a popular choice for families who need lots of room.
The 2026 Chrysler Pacifica is a full‑size minivan produced by the American automaker Chrysler. It serves as a family vehicle with seating for up to eight passengers and offers modern infotainment, safety features, and flexible cargo space.
Car
Chrysler Grand Caravan
"Now, the reason I say it's if you got to listen to me because Chrysler also offers another van called the Grand Caravan, Chrysler Grand Caravan."
The Grand Caravan is a large van made by Chrysler, designed for families and people who need lots of space for passengers or cargo.
The Chrysler Grand Caravan is a minivan that has been produced in various generations since the 1980s, known for its spacious interior and family-friendly features.
Car
Plymouth Voyager
"And if you go back in time, the Voyager name was actually from Plymouth."
The Plymouth Voyager is a small family van that people used for trips and moving stuff. It was made by the Plymouth brand, which belonged to Chrysler.
The Plymouth Voyager is a minivan that was produced by the Plymouth brand, which was part of Chrysler. It was sold in the 1990s and early 2000s before being discontinued.
Car
Dodge Grand Caravan
"The Grand Caravan was a Dodge. The Grand Caravan was Dodge."
The Dodge Grand Caravan is a big family van that people used for road trips. It replaced the Plymouth Voyager and was made by Dodge.
The Dodge Grand Caravan is a larger minivan that succeeded the Plymouth Voyager. It was produced by Dodge, another brand under Chrysler (now Stellantis).
Brand
Stellantis
"Now, the reason this is happening is because no one's in charge of branding across Stellantis anymore."
Stellantis is a big company that owns car brands like Dodge and Plymouth. It was created when two large car companies joined together.
Stellantis is the multinational automotive company formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group. It owns brands like Dodge, Plymouth, and many others.
Car
Ford Hornet
"[416.0s] and Hornet. [417.9s] So there are three Dodges is what I'm saying."
The Ford Hornet is a small car that was made in the 1960s. It had a front engine and drove the rear wheels, which gave it good handling for its size.
The Ford Hornet was a compact car produced by Ford from 1965 to 1970. It featured a front‑engine, rear‑wheel drive layout and was known for its sporty handling and lightweight construction.
Car
Chrysler Voyager
"Another important thing to discuss is if you're building a Voyager, there's no options."
The Voyager is a type of van made by Chrysler, designed to carry people and stuff in a roomy space.
The Chrysler Voyager is a mid-size minivan that has been in production since 2004, known for its spacious interior and family-friendly features.
Car
Chrysler Carnival
"I think the hybrid version of the, of the Carnival does not come with all will drive."
The Carnival is a large van made by Chrysler that’s great for families because it can seat many people and has lots of room inside.
The Chrysler Carnival is a full‑size minivan that was produced from 2005 to 2017. It’s known for its spacious interior and family‑friendly features.
Car
Ford Voyager
"[653.5s] that we weren't talking about Voyager anymore or [655.5s] grand caravan."
The Ford Voyager is a type of minivan that can carry several people and cargo. It was made by the company Ford for families who need a lot of space in their car.
The Ford Voyager is a mid-size minivan produced by the American automaker Ford. It was sold primarily in North America from 2002 to 2013 and is known for its spacious interior and family-friendly features.
Term
power train
"[713.5s] the power train really worked out."
The power train is the part of a car that takes the engine’s energy and sends it to the wheels so you can move forward or backward.
The power train refers to the components that deliver engine power to the wheels, including the engine, transmission, driveshafts, and differential.
Term
drive modes
"[717.5s] drive modes and stuff like that."
Drive modes let you pick how the car behaves—like a sport mode for quick starts or an eco mode to save fuel.
Drive modes are preset settings that adjust a vehicle’s throttle response, transmission shift points, and sometimes suspension or steering characteristics to suit different driving styles or conditions.
Concept
towing capacity
"[729.5s] It can tow apparently 3,600 pounds."
Towing capacity tells you how much weight a car can pull, like a trailer or boat, without overworking the engine.
Towing capacity is the maximum weight a vehicle can safely haul behind it, determined by its engine power, transmission strength, and chassis design.
Part
power chain
"But the power chain is one of my favorite things about this. It sounds great."
A power chain is like a rubber belt that helps move the engine’s power to the wheels. It’s built to last and keep the car running smoothly.
The power chain is a flexible belt that transmits torque from the engine’s crankshaft to the transmission or other accessories. It is designed to be durable and quiet, making it a favorite component in many modern vehicles.
Car
Nissan 350Z
"And she came in and like a 350 Z and like was trying to do to escape people."
The Nissan 350Z is a sporty car made by Nissan in the early 2000s. It has two seats, a V6 engine, and is often used for drifting or racing because it’s fun to drive and not too expensive.
The Nissan 350Z is a two-door sports coupe produced from 2003 to 2010, known for its rear‑wheel drive layout and V6 engine. It became popular among enthusiasts for its balance of performance, affordability, and aftermarket support.
Concept
stow and go seating
"[1131.5s] The car I had in particular had stow and go seating for the front and rear rows. [1134.5s] You mean the second and third rows?"
Stow‑and‑go seating means the seats can be folded down or taken out so you can carry bigger things in the back of the car. It’s a handy feature for families or people who need extra space sometimes.
Stow‑and‑go seating refers to a flexible interior layout where seats can be folded flat or removed entirely, allowing the vehicle’s cargo area to expand for larger items. It’s common in minivans and some SUVs to maximize versatility.
Term
Stow-N-Go
"[1493.5s] They Stow‑N-Go. [1494.5s] Yeah, they Stow‑N-Go."
Stow‑N‑Go seats can be folded down into the floor so you have extra room for luggage or other items.
Stow‑N‑Go is a type of seat that folds flat into the floor or backrest, allowing more cargo space when not in use.
Term
adaptive cruise
"And the adaptive cruise"
Adaptive cruise control helps keep a safe gap between your car and the one in front by automatically speeding up or slowing down, so you don’t have to constantly adjust your speed.
Adaptive cruise control is a driver‑assist feature that automatically adjusts a vehicle’s speed to maintain a safe following distance from the car ahead, using radar or camera sensors.
Part
heated seats
"[1830.5s] there's heated seats [1831.5s] in the front [1832.5s] and second row seats."
Heated seats are like seat heaters that make the seat warm so you feel cozy when it’s chilly outside.
Heated seats use electric heating elements to warm the seat surface, providing comfort in cold weather.
Part
ventilated seats
"[1833.5s] I've got ventilated [1834.5s] seats in the front."
Ventilated seats are like built‑in seat fans that help keep you cool by moving air through the seat.
Ventilated seats have small fans or perforations that circulate air, keeping the seat cooler and more breathable.
Term
all-wheel drive
"And the all-wheel drive, right? Yeah, all-wheel drive,"
AWD means the car can send power to all four wheels at once, which helps it grip the road better when it's slippery or when you need extra traction.
All-wheel drive (AWD) is a drivetrain that sends power to all four wheels simultaneously, improving traction and handling in various driving conditions.
Part
rear second-row window shades
"[1921.5s] It also had rear [1923.5s] second-row window shades,"
These are the curtains or panels you see on the back windows of a car. They help keep the sun out and make the back seat more comfortable.
Rear second‑row window shades are interior panels that block light and reduce glare for passengers in the back seat.
Car
Odyssey
"with the Odyssey. It's never been available even though it's based on the same platform as the Pilot."
The Odyssey is a big van made by Honda that’s popular for families because it has lots of room and comfy seats.
The Honda Odyssey is a full‑size minivan known for its spacious interior and family‑friendly features.
Car
Pilot
"even though it's based on the same platform as the Pilot."
The Pilot is a crossover SUV from Honda that’s built on the same parts as the Odyssey but looks more like a truck‑style car.
The Honda Pilot is a midsize crossover SUV that shares its platform with the Odyssey, offering similar mechanicals but a more rugged body style.
Part
10 speed automatic transmission
"[2239.5s] It's a 10 speed automatic transmission. [2240.5s] It does have that three [2241.5s] and I verified that my"
A transmission that changes gears by itself, with ten different gear settings to help the car run smoothly and efficiently.
A gearbox that automatically shifts through ten distinct gear ratios, providing smooth acceleration and efficient power delivery across a wide range of speeds.
Term
CVT
"like kind of like a CVT in that it could rev up the engine"
A CVT is a special kind of automatic transmission that can shift through any gear ratio smoothly, so the car’s engine runs at the best speed for power and fuel efficiency.
A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is a type of automatic gearbox that can change seamlessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios, allowing the engine to stay in its optimal power band.
Concept
magic seat
"But Honda has this thing. I think it's called a magic seat."
A magic seat is a special back seat that can be folded flat or tucked into the trunk, so you can carry more stuff in a car. Honda made one to help people use space better.
A "magic seat" is a type of rear passenger seat that can be folded in multiple ways—often into the floor or into a compact shape—to maximize cargo space. Honda introduced this design to improve versatility in small cars.
Part
bench seat
"[2426.5s] seven passenger seating with that back bench is enough."
A bench seat is a long seat that lets several people sit side‑by‑side without separate individual seats. It’s common in classic cars or big trucks.
A bench seat is a single, continuous seating surface that can accommodate multiple passengers in a row, typically found in older or larger vehicles to maximize interior capacity.
Term
initial burst
"It's like you get that initial burst."
When you press the gas, a car can give a quick pop of speed right away. That quick pop is called the initial burst.
The "initial burst" refers to the quick surge of power a vehicle delivers when accelerating from a stop, often seen in electric cars due to instant torque.
Term
hybrid
"[3268.5s] I've got a Hyundai Tucson hybrid."
A hybrid car runs on both gasoline and electricity, so it uses less gas than a regular car.
A hybrid vehicle uses both an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors to power the car, improving fuel economy and reducing emissions.
Car
Daytona
"I do see the Daytona, but like I've seen maybe three or four."
The Daytona is a fast, sporty car made by Dodge. It has a big engine that gives it lots of speed and a bold look.
The Daytona is a high-performance sports car produced by the American manufacturer Dodge, known for its powerful V8 engine and aggressive styling.
Select text to request an explanation
Hello, and welcome to the Unnamed Automotive Podcast.
My name is Sammy Hajahshad.
Oops.
I messed it up, Ben.
How did you mess it up?
You messed up your own name?
I messed up my own name.
Daddy Hajahshad.
I, I Sean Connery'd my name.
What does that mean?
I went Hajahshad.
Here we go again.
Hello, and welcome to the Unnamed Automotive Podcast.
My name is Sammy Hajahshad, and with me, as always, is my good friend and fellow
automotive journalist, Benjamin Hunting.
Say hi to the people, Ben.
Sammy, we've had so much snow lately that at night we've been having full moons because
I live in a full moon part of the world, and it has been brighter at night than it is around
twilight.
So like you go outside at midnight and it's like it's 3.30, 4.00 pm because of these
early sunsets we're getting.
It's crazy.
It's, it's like a second sun.
You should, you should do some of your review photography during that time.
Oh yeah.
I'm a real moonlight photographer.
Exactly.
That's so cool.
Most car companies are excited to see what their vehicles look like in the moonlight.
I never tried that.
I don't know.
I'm so, I do most of my photography with my phone these days.
I have like a polarizer on the phone, and it works really well, but I'm not sure how
it would handle moonlight.
There's one way to find out.
I guess so.
Which client are you willing to, which publication are you willing to deliver
some subpar photos for?
Unnamed automotive podcast.
Yeah.
Besides unnamed automotive podcast, what other publications do you write for, Ben?
You can find my writing at Motor Trend at Hagerty and at driving.ca.
Ask me.
Ask me.
Sammy.
Yes.
Where can you find my writing?
You can find Ben's writing at Hagerty and Motor Trend and I think driving.ca.
And if you're into the paper thing, which a lot of you are and I am, driving.ca
is also in the national post and a bunch of regional newspapers that I'm constantly surprised
my work is showing up in because they never tell us it just ends up there.
And then you end up finding it by accident.
You can also find me on their YouTube channel.
I've got like, I think two or three videos out this month.
If you want to see me being awkward on camera, it's super easy to do.
You head on over to the YouTube channel.
It's driving.ca.
Now, do you have an outfit that you wear every time or do you switch it up?
No, I change it.
I switch it up.
In my old publication, we used to have branded t-shirts or branded polos.
Now you have like a branded beret, right?
Yeah.
And I think a hat or something.
And now we don't have those in my current capacity at Hagerty and CA.
I have a very nice auto trader jacket that was given to me for similar purposes, but
then they stopped doing video with freelancers.
So it doesn't get seen anymore.
Oh.
Yeah.
They're just sending them videos just in their, of the, of the, of the jacket.
Just the jacket.
Yeah.
Like in, you know, like in La Fabri de Stoenay, the Emily Poulet, or I guess in English it
was called Amelie.
Do you remember that movie?
Yes.
Where someone steals like a garden gnome and then takes the garden gnome around
the world and takes all sorts of photos.
It's the same thing, but with the auto trader jacket.
You should just do every review you send them or store you send them.
Just throw that jacket in the trunk.
I have a nice auto trader too.
Ooh.
Yeah.
Did you wear that?
Are you repping your, your publications?
I have a yeti tuc, I have a yeti tuc that I wear all the time.
That's, so that's pretty much what I wear in the winter.
Now to be clear, this is not yeti like the, the cup of hair.
I'm not sponsored by, no, not sponsored by yeti.
It's an actual yeti.
It's like an actual animal.
An abominable snowman, if you will.
And I just want to, I just want to say, excuse me, I just want to say I, I'm
not looking to do video.
Why?
So I live in the woods for a reason, Sammy.
I'm good.
So that all of your activities can be undocumented?
Yeah.
Undocumented, say from drone strikes, all of that stuff.
Are you, are you planting more trees for that or what?
I'm weaving a canopy, a productive canopy.
Do you think, do you think today's podcast, the energy will be better and less
awkward than last week's episode?
I think that we're going to talk about two vehicles that are related that we
don't often talk about because there just aren't very many of these vehicles
left in the world.
Like it's a sad, they once roamed the like unfettered and free and they were in
every driveway.
And as we've talked about over the past two decades, they've completely
vanished except for a very small handful of manufacturers that are still
willing to make them.
Yeah.
I mean, you don't need to tease what we're talking about when we're
going to talk about it next, right?
There's nothing else to.
It's not a tease.
It's a introduction.
Ambulance towards, but we're talking about minivans, of course.
And I think you can count the number of minivan offerings on one hand.
Let me just double check here.
One, two, three, four, five.
It's kind of two hands if you if you listen to what I have to say.
Is that okay?
Okay.
Sure.
I'm confused by that.
I drove the 2026 Chrysler Pacifica.
Now, the reason I say it's if you got to listen to me because Chrysler
also offers another van called the Grand Caravan, Chrysler Grand Caravan.
Okay.
Technically, as far as I can tell with my eyeballs and my reading
comprehension, it looks and seems pretty much like a Pacifica just with less
equipment or lower, lower tier trip.
Now, didn't they also used to offer a Voyager recently?
I don't think that's the case anymore.
I know.
That's what I'm saying.
Voyager and I think that the Voyager was replaced by the Grand Caravan.
Gosh.
And if you go back in time, the Voyager name was actually from Plymouth.
Yeah.
And the Caravan was a Dodge.
Yeah.
The Grand Caravan was Dodge.
We had a, we had a, I believe we had a Plymouth Voyager growing up.
Now, the reason this is happening is because no one's in charge of branding
across Stellantis anymore.
And so no one knows what a Dodge is really.
Yeah.
We've seen, there's the Durango, right?
And there's the Charger.
And I think that's it now that the Grand Caravan is also a Chrysler.
So it just feels like these names are being moved back interchangeably
between brands.
You're 100% right.
Nobody knows what's going on.
The funniest thing I've ever seen is like, you know, websites that have like, make
model pages and they're just going, I think some of them have given up on going
back and forth on the Voyager Grand Caravan like name thing.
Yeah.
So funny.
It's, it's whatever it's going to be this month, you know, like, I'm looking at the
Dodge website right now.
I forgot that they also had the Hornet.
What do you mean you forgot?
I didn't.
Well, I thought it was just Charger and Durango, but it's actually Charger, Durango
and Hornet.
So there are three Dodges is what I'm saying.
And there's three Dodges and there's two Chryslers, right?
Is there a 300 still?
No.
No?
No.
It's gone.
It's gone.
I think now that they no longer make things in that plant.
It's gone.
Wow.
That's, that's a RIP, I guess.
I mean, this, we got to talk about, if we're going to talk about
Stellantis and all of their brands and their plant and whatever, that
brand, that Brampton plant situation is not going well for them right now.
I don't really want to talk about that.
Okay.
Then why don't we talk about the Windsor plant where the
Pacifica is from and we're done talking about the plant.
Let's talk about the Pacifica.
I need to just kind of course correct.
You said that there's a grand caravan from Chrysler.
And are you looking at the Canadian website?
I was looking at the Canadian website.
If you go to the American website, Sammy, it's the Voyager.
How confusing is that?
Beautiful.
It's exactly encapsulates what we were just saying.
There is no plan.
It's just, there's vans and there's different badges and they put the
badges in a bag.
They shake the bag up and then they stick the badge on the back of the
van.
Honestly, looking at the pictures of the Voyager on the US website,
it still has like leather seats or leatherette seats.
I don't know what they're going at.
And it's only $3,000 less than the Pacifica.
So how much less equipment can it have?
If you look at the bumper, it looks like it has smaller wheels.
It has like a different grill.
What's going on?
There's no answer.
I don't have a good answer for you.
So then I drove the, not the Grand Caravan, the Pacifica.
And that's all I got for you today.
I also tell you that the Voyager is only a single trim.
Yes.
That's the same in Canada with the Grand Caravan.
So is this a leftover vehicle?
Is this a classic situation?
Is this like a previous generation Pacifica that's been
relabeled?
But there are no, there is, as far as I can tell, there's only
been one generation of the Pacifica minivan.
It came out in 2017.
And that's an important thing to discuss because a lot of what
I'm experiencing now in the Pacifica is very similar to what
I feel.
I think it's the same van that came out back then.
Another important thing to discuss is if you're building
a Voyager, there's no options.
You can get like a block heater and that's pretty much it.
Why are you so invested in the Voyager in this
conversation?
Because we're talking about how you're driving the
Pacifica, which feels like a van that is kind of caught in
time, a van that has not significantly been updated
since it came out.
And Chrysler is also offering what appears to be a
decontented version of that same van.
Like unrefreshed version of it.
I think there was a refresh.
You mentioned like a different grille and bumper design.
Basically, I think they've, they've kept the old one.
So what I'm positing is, is the Voyager actually time
travel where it's taking you back to before the
Pacifica existed?
No.
Okay.
Okay.
No more Voyager talk.
No more Voyager talk.
It is worth pointing out that there are three trims of the
Pacifica.
I drove the mid trim limited version with all will drive.
All will drive is, is something that was introduced a few
years ago in the, in the Pacifica.
It's pretty much every minivan out there.
Sorry.
50% of minivans now offer this feature.
No, only one.
I think doesn't.
Right.
That's 50%.
Talk to me.
The Honda Odyssey does not offer it and the Kia does not
offer it.
The Kia Carnival does offer all will drive just not in all
trims.
Okay.
So then just the one.
I think the hybrid version of the, of the Carnival does
not come with all will drive.
Okay.
But again, I don't know if you want to consider the
Voyager a separate minivan.
I don't even want to talk about the Voyager.
It feels like the Voyager is just the trim level of
the Pacifica, right?
Wow.
Wow.
All right.
If that's how you're going to position it, but I was told
that we weren't talking about Voyager anymore or
grand caravan.
So let's get back to.
How much would you spend for more drive wheels?
Like an additional set of axles.
I would spend a lot of money.
If I could get a six wheel drive minivan, I would
own a six wheel drive.
To go from front wheel drive to all wheel drive is
like almost 3000 bucks.
I would not spend any money on it and I will
tell you why later in the podcast.
Okay.
In addition to that, there's, I think I'm going to
double check my numbers here.
Was yours all wheel drive?
Yes.
Okay.
And honestly, the power train is my favorite thing
about this minivan.
Is that a weird thing to say?
The 3.6 liter Pentastar?
Yeah.
What do you like about it?
Is it 280 horsepower?
287 horsepower.
Wow.
I've been served.
It is.
It is so solid, man.
It sounds good.
It has really good responsiveness, especially
in the lower gears.
It has a nine speed automatic transmission, which is
okay.
There's nothing really problematic with, like to me,
the power train really worked out.
And again, we've talked about my feelings on
drive modes and stuff like that.
This car has no drive modes.
There's no way for you to care at all.
Is that even like a tow haul or anything like that?
I don't think so, which it can tow.
It can tow apparently 3,600 pounds.
All right.
Which sounds like a crazy idea, but you can do it.
I don't know.
I don't know why it's that crazy.
Many vans tend to have decent brakes because
they're 7 to 8 passengers, right?
Yeah.
And that's another 1,400 pounds of passenger that you,
that's a lot more than you would have in a sedan.
Yeah.
And a lot more than you would have in a similarly
sized two-row like crossover.
So it needs to have the brakes to be able to do that.
And plus it has like what, 160 cubic feet of interior
volume for cargo?
Why are you stealing on my,
while you're stealing on my fingers?
I'm legitimately pulling this out of the air.
How much it has?
How much?
160, 157 cubic feet.
Yeah.
I think 100, for passenger space, I said 100.
No, cargo space.
Oh, cargo space.
Cargo space is huge.
Give me a minute.
It's got to be like 157 or something.
And nobody cares about leaders.
So I should probably not talk about leaders, right?
No.
Cargo volume, 144 total.
So that's a lot.
Yeah.
You can put a lot of heavy stuff in there.
So you get good brakes.
And this all goes back to say that if you have good
brakes and decent cooling, you can tow.
Yeah.
I love it.
This is why people in Europe are towing like 26 foot camping
trailers with combat hatchbacks.
I mean, yeah.
My partner always points out because she grew up in Ireland
and she's always pointing out like you don't need a truck
to tow that tiny little thing.
But literally Ireland is super small, right?
So you're only in the car for 15 minutes.
That's not true at all.
Oh my God.
Everywhere you go takes forever.
But the power chain is one of my favorite things about this.
Pacifica.
It sounds great.
It responds really well.
I know that sounds like something you don't need to care
about when it comes to minivans.
But trust me, when you've got a kid with his razor sharp
aim that he could just backhand flip these boots at
your face, you want to get going and avoid all of his
throwing skills.
I thought you were going to say when you have a kid
is always like setting you up races for pinks.
Yeah.
That too.
Yeah.
It's always like motioning to 18 wheelers to honk the horn.
And I'm always like, I'm trying to get out of your way, man.
And you don't really know what's going on.
Remember that TV show pinks?
Do I remember it?
Yeah.
Was it a Netflix show?
No.
It was pre Netflix.
It was like probably late 2000s when it started.
And it was a show where they would arrange for street races
that were ostensibly for the pink slip of the car.
And I was hosted by a gentleman, a ball gentlemen.
And I bring that up because I think it was something
that he was like, it was like a characteristic, a trademark
of his style.
And he would try to make things intense in ways that they weren't
like it was the race was usually really low key.
But he was always like, would you say you were outperformed
whenever someone would lose?
And he was trying to make that like, he was trying
to make that a catch phrase.
It was a weirdly intense show.
And it ran for like, I don't know, a decade.
I think the guy's still alive.
I don't think he's doing pinks anymore, though.
Maybe pinks moved online.
A lot of stuff like that happened.
I want to be clear.
I made a mistake with the passenger with the cargo room.
I think there's actually more cargo room.
That was the hybrid.
So let me just get my specs here.
So the hybrid is a plug-in and has a battery pack
that eats up.
Yeah.
And his front wheel drive only.
But that shouldn't have an impact on cargo.
It might.
You never know with these things.
I think I was talking about cargo room.
Yes.
I was talking about pinks.
Yeah, pinks.
So yeah, I do recall this show.
I think it was it did not catch my attention
mainly due to the force nature of the like
the force drama of it.
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah.
And I don't I don't dig that.
What's the name of that really weird like obstacle course
driving show for Netflix?
It was still good.
I don't remember the name of the show, but I did enjoy it.
It was legit.
It was so cool.
That was our our our friend whose name I also can't remember.
Andrew Comey Picard.
Andrew Comey Picard.
Yeah.
Candy Rally driver all around.
Good guy and fun driving instructor.
He was the consultant on putting together that course.
I like that show.
There was another show that was where you were pursued.
Do you remember that show?
No.
Manhunter.
The show you're talking about is.
Do we have a name what they're called?
Hyper or something?
Was it called hyper drive?
Yeah, I think it was hyper drive and they would have this
crazy road course or not a road course.
Like it's an obstacle course with jumps and like areas that
were water like flooded with water and it was pretty intense.
And you'd have to like like drift into these like
pylons of specific ways.
There's a whole bunch of stuff.
It was so sick.
But the other show and I can't remember what it was called.
And I think he might have been involved with it too or someone
else I know was involved with it where they had this.
It was a like a simulated road space where they had warehouses
and like dirt roads and paved roads.
And you would have to get from like an entry point to
an exit point.
And there were these people who are pursuing you usually
in like suburban's and they would smash your car up.
Because the whole point was you would get smashed until you
could no longer continue.
Oh my God.
That's like a great way to get a messenger.
It was really wild.
And they had some cool drivers on the show.
Some people I recognize from motorsports and people I
didn't.
There's someone a drifter that I follow now called Sonya
Slides.
That's her account online for her socials.
And she came in and like a 350 Z and like was trying
to do to escape people.
So you have people who are like somewhere rally somewhere
drifters somewhere just like somewhere just like street
drivers who thought they could not have their car destroyed.
It was an odd show.
Michelle Rodriguez was on the show.
Okay.
I think she was one of the hosts.
And she would like.
I don't know.
Look up Michelle Rodriguez pursuit show.
But it was it was like a much lower budget version of
the other show where the stakes were so much higher
because of the damage.
The car chase show is what I get away driver.
There you go.
Get away driver.
Anyway, where did this come from?
It was on.
It was a streaming show.
On what?
No.
Maybe it was just on the dark web.
I think it is.
Maybe I'm the only one who watched the show.
So you're saying it has more passenger more cargo room
than you thought.
140.
Yes.
That's actually less than you had told.
Oh yeah.
You said 147.
But one of the you know I'm going to why don't we
just like keep on talking about what I like about
the minivan.
The minivan in particular.
I like the power trying to mention that already.
I love how much space this thing has.
The car I had in particular had stow and go seating
for the front and rear rows.
You mean the second and third rows?
Yes.
Sorry.
Okay.
You can drive from the back.
The telescopic steering.
Have you ever tried to dry standing up?
No, I don't think so.
I had a one time I was replacing the seats of my
truck and I had to move it.
You always have the most ridiculous stories.
I could never tell if they're true or not.
As a young man I did not think things through.
Yeah, clearly.
And it's really tough to operate a clutch while you're
standing.
Oh God.
It's really hard.
So what truck are we talking like a pickup?
An F-150.
I had a bench seat in it and then I went to a
scrapyard and I got some bucket seats out of I think
a cougar and put those in.
And then I had a two-seater and you know why I
did that?
So I could stop giving people rides because I was
the only person in the area I was living in
in college that had a vehicle and people would
be like, can I get a ride?
And then my friend Tony was always with me.
And so Tony and I were in the car.
Front bench feet?
Yeah.
If Tony and I were in the truck, no one could
be in the truck with this because like we
didn't have a seat.
Sorry, you can't get it.
It was amazing.
I love the idea that that happened over a
weekend.
Like one weekend you were giving a ride to
your buddy at the party.
Next weekend, sorry guy.
I don't have a truck.
I don't know what chair.
Where you think you're going to sit in my car.
Sorry, bro.
Seats are full.
I'll find another way home.
I love that.
Can you imagine your buddy being like that?
No, we took the seat out.
Maybe buddy should buy another car.
That's what I'm saying.
I want to know.
I really hope when we get to the listener
questions, would you remove a seat to get
or how would you react if your friend
no longer had a seat or who you thought
was your friend?
No longer had a seat in your car.
There's still a seat.
You're just not in it.
Anyway, so and go seating.
Wicked.
So much space.
Really easy to use.
I love how generally it's actually really
easy to use.
My main issue actually is that the seat
backs of the second row are a little
high.
Sorry, I bumped into everything I got here.
The seat backs are a little high on the
second row.
And as a result, folding them down can
sometimes interfere with the back of the
front seats.
There's a button that you can press on
the inner B pillar that will move the
front seats up a little bit.
Yeah.
And then the seats can fold in.
However, you cannot use that button if
the doors are closed, which I think
was really funny.
You could have just designed a seat that
fit better, right?
Yeah, totally.
Did they design the seats first?
Like, well, we can't do it.
We don't have any do overs here.
So there's this whole like mechanism
that can very clear that like again has
like logic to it that it can only be
used when the door is open.
So you can't be moving people while
they're in those seats or something
like that.
And can probably is like a point of
failure, a future point of failure,
some kind.
In addition to that, my car also had
optional storage buckets in
all of the Stow-N-Go areas, which
made the Stow-N-Go function completely
useless when those buckets were in
there, obviously.
So what I'm saying is that means that
you can use the Stow-N-Go space as
a cargo cubby if you didn't want to
put your chair in it, which is kind
of cool.
It's nice that they have like branded
appropriate, you know, accessories
that can go in there.
But it also means that when you
want, when you like it removes one
of the like spontaneous factor of
the Stow-N-Go, which I really
appreciate.
To me, Stow-N-Go is about the
ability to say, yeah, we got space
for X, Y and Z, either people or
passengers or this guy or that
guy or this thing or that thing.
And we all know that your
lifestyle is such that you
could never predict when there's
going to be a party in your van.
I 100% agree with that.
Well, I think as a family, as a,
when a family is involved, you
can start the day off with all
your seats being used.
You can need the space in the
middle of the day.
And then you can need fewer
seats.
A child has been left behind
somewhere and you can need fewer
seats or the other way around.
You might need to bring a kid
from school to their family
houses.
But if you need to put a
pet in the basket.
Yeah, I guess that's something
Stow-N-Go basket.
It's actually pet seating.
You didn't even think of that.
I didn't, of course.
You just put a blanket in there
and it's totally cool.
I think that would be kind of
neat for sure.
But again, then it removes the
spontaneity of the thing
because otherwise, before the
invention, I guess, of Stow-N-Go
seats, you would just take out
chairs and leave them wherever
you got.
But now you're going to take
out buckets and put them
somewhere inconvenient like the
back, like the trunk or
something.
I remember I had friends growing
up who had a van and their
parents had removed the center
row.
The kids would sit in the back
and the parents would sit in the
front and they had this big open
area between them.
Yeah, a limo, basically.
I thought that was the coolest
thing.
I had never considered that in
my entire life.
It was like a mind-blowing
revelation that you could
configure the interior like
that.
It's super cool.
And in addition to that,
it should encourage
automakers to create a more
comfortable third row seat, like
actually a spacious third
row.
Do you not like the third row?
No, the third row.
I'm going to be clear.
All seats are pretty functional
and comfortable in terms of
space in the Pacifica.
My main issue is due to the
Stow-N-Go nature of these,
they're thinner, they're
flimsier, they're kind of
like, they feel like they
kind of like aren't special
seats.
And I only say that because
somebody-
But they are special.
They Stow-N-Go.
Yeah, they Stow-N-Go.
You've been in the second row
of the Kia Carnival with those
VIP lounge seats, which are
super heavy and non-removable
and ruin your cargo
versatility.
The trade-off is that those are
super comfortable second row
seats.
So what do you want?
Practicality?
Yeah, exactly.
You have to decide whether
you want comfortable high-end
seats or not that, right?
And I don't think these are
high-end seats.
That's basically what I'm
saying.
Those are the positives of this
minivan.
I'm going to now, from here on
out until I'm done talking about
the Pacifica, almost purely
negative trade factors or
elements that I found with the
car, okay?
It is, the interior
design is super dated.
There's nothing going on in
the interior that is worth
mentioning.
The infotainment system is
apparently 10 inches, does
not act like a 10 inch screen,
feels kind of cramped.
What does not act like a
10 inch screen to me?
It just-
It's a physical dimension.
The items on it are
super cramped.
Okay.
There are tiny shortcut buttons
in the top status bar of the
screen, infotainment screen that
you can use to change your
heated seats or change your
temperature, and right now
we're going through winter, so
heated seats are always on
basically until they're too
hot, and then you turn them
off.
I found out that when
you are in the climate
control screen, the
shortcuts no longer work,
even though they're there.
The shortcuts for stuff that's
on the climate control screen?
Yeah.
The shortcuts that are on the
top status bar for your
heated seats, heated steering
wheel, and temperature.
Okay.
If you're on the-
So I know you're in it.
I think you're in a
slantist car right now.
You connect powered car.
I want you to check that for
me when you get it, because
you have a much more modern
one.
I'm not sorry.
I'm going to forget
everything about this
podcast in a minute.
The minute I hit the record
button to stop.
Okay.
It handles totally fine.
It's got kind of mushy
brakes that they get the
job done.
I didn't bump into anything
or whatever, but you have-
You need to have longer-
You need to use a little
bit more force than you
were expecting.
And the adaptive cruise
control lane keeping assist
and-
What's the other one?
Blind spot monitoring all
feel kind of like dated.
The blind spot monitoring in
particular is super
sensitive and like freaks
out while you're in the
middle of like a turn.
You know when you're
signaling to make like
an advanced turn or
whatever?
Yeah.
And it starts-
It starts beeping at you
super hardcore.
This is-
This is a problem that's been
solved by other cars.
Lane keeping barely works.
I didn't like that very much
at all.
And then there was one more
thing.
They boasted that the new
model has front parking
sensors and a 360-degree
camera.
I don't know if that's
just new to the Pacifica for
a specific trim, the one
that I was testing, or if
it's just new for this
year.
But triggering the
front parking sensors does
not turn on the camera-
camera view.
It just like beeps at you
and you have no idea-
These are two separate systems,
though.
Yeah.
But other cars do that.
Yeah.
But I mean, that's not the
Stellantis way.
Yeah.
So you have to go through
this poor infotainment system,
find the surround view
camera button or the
shortcut, and then it'll
work.
I mean, I just think that
there's-
And it's also weird.
One more weird complaint
from Sammy.
No automatic
brake hold.
I don't ever use that
feature.
I know you don't use
that feature.
I use it in town.
It's cute.
It works.
What do you do with it?
What is it for?
It's for long-
I have long stops
at the red light, man.
What?
Yeah.
You take your foot off the
brake?
Yeah.
Automatic brake hold.
If I'm in a car-
Yeah.
And the car is not
moving?
Yeah.
My foot is on the brake.
Nailed it.
100% of the time,
regardless of what car
I'm in, if I'm in a car
and the car is not
running, my foot is on
the brake.
If I'm in my body,
it's like putting on a seat belt
to me.
I put the seat belt on,
my foot goes on the brake,
and that's what happens.
So I can't-
I just can't imagine
like not doing that.
It's a new habit for me
ever since I got my-
my outback,
which has automatic engine
stop start.
And I found that
the engine stop start
will stay on-
will disable the engine
longer or more consistently
when I have engine brake
hold on.
So I would always have
that.
I love how you explain
that.
Like I'm going to go,
oh yeah, that makes sense.
I would do that too.
No, no, no.
Not in a million years
do I understand
what you're doing.
Okay, fine.
Whatever, man.
You want to hear
all my complaints.
These are all of them.
People want to hear.
You haven't said anything
about the price.
I thought that was going
to come up as a complaint,
but-
Yeah.
I mean,
the Pacifica starts
at around $44,000.
Is that-
What currency is that?
That's US currency.
And the one I tested
will be closer to
$55,000
with all of the
equipment I had.
In Canada,
the car can get up to
$80,000,
which I think is a lot of money.
And I know-
The regular
non-plugin
can get up to $80,000?
Oh yeah.
That's insane.
It's absolutely insane.
That was-
And the one I was driving
was still $76,000
and had features left behind.
And I think
that's a lot of money, man.
I just don't know
how people can justify
so much money on-
What equipment are you
getting at that price?
You get everything
you think you need, okay?
The only thing you don't have
would be
a rear seat infotainment system.
That's what I didn't have,
but I had the
S appearance package,
which makes everything
kind of like
blacked out trims
and S badges everywhere.
As I mentioned,
there's heated seats
in the front
and second row seats.
I've got ventilated
seats in the front.
I've got a heated
steering wheel,
three-zone climate control,
navigation-
And the-
And the all-wheel drive, right?
Yeah, all-wheel drive,
wireless phone charger,
wireless phone projection.
Is there any other van
on the market in Canada
that gets close to that price?
Yeah, in Canada
the Sienna gets close.
The Sienna has always been expensive.
Yeah, the Sienna's always been expensive.
And it comes with standard
hybrid at that price.
I definitely call it
standard hybrid.
Sorry, I don't know
if I'm supposed to say standard.
No, no, but like,
instead of saying
it's your only choice.
Yeah, I think it's now
only available as a hybrid, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I'm not a fan
of that drivetrain.
It's not great.
It's not bad.
It's just like,
I feel it's not nearly as smooth
as any of the other vans
that are available.
It is super efficient, though.
And again, I should talk
about the efficiency
in this thing.
It's rated in Canada
for 12 liters per 100 kilometers,
which is, I think,
20-
28, probably?
Let me double-check.
25.
Oh, 20.
Sorry.
20.
Oh, that's awful.
Yeah, that's like it at all.
20 miles per gallon.
And it did not reach
when I was driving it,
it did not reach 20 miles per gallon.
It's also winter.
It's winter.
You have your heavy foot
and you have your auto-stop thing
that's probably
probably like break-hold.
It's probably auto-stop.
You don't have auto-stop on it.
You're probably driving
with the break-hold on.
And that's why it's
using so much gas.
It also had rear
second-row window shades,
which are appreciated.
That's one massive panoramic sunroof.
So a couple of small things
that I think are pretty nice.
I feel like second-row sunshades
and a panoramic sunroof
send a mixed message.
Like that pairing.
Yeah, of course.
Yeah, I agree.
It is funny to think about it that way.
But I will say that the car
feels really dated for that price.
It makes it really difficult
for me to recommend,
but as far as I understand,
it's a very shallow pool of options.
What are you going to get
that has this much space
and these features?
I'll tell you what you're going to get.
At a better price.
I'll tell you what you're going to get
at a better price.
And that's the Honda Odyssey,
which is what I drove last week,
which is also a minivan,
which is in its most expensive trim,
like $15,000 less
than the van you drove.
In Canada or the US?
In Canada.
The most you can pay
for a Black Edition Odyssey,
which is the top of the line,
is $64,700.
No way!
There are no options.
Yeah.
That's it.
That's everything.
The one I drove is one step down,
although the features are the same,
it just doesn't have the Black Edition
like styling stuff,
which you don't need.
And when I say Black Edition,
the van they show on their website
is red.
We've talked about this.
That's the one I drove.
I drove that Black Edition,
a red Black Edition.
So I'm not going to go
super hardcore into this
because we talked about this van
back in April.
But I had not driven an Odyssey
in a long time.
I drove a Touring,
which starts at $62,900.
In the United States,
a Touring is...
Our Touring is actually their elite,
which is confusing,
which is their top trim.
It starts at $51,000.
That is not
an insignificant amount of money,
but it's nowhere near
the specific talk
that we've been having.
Yeah.
Well, my specific is $6,000 more,
at least $6,000 more
in the US.
You said it was close to $80,000.
In Canada.
Yeah.
In the US,
how much was it?
I'm looking at it.
I'm building it now
in the US
and I'm looking at a 50.
I've got to add all these features
that my car had.
Okay.
Let's start with a question
that you asked me
at the earlier part
of the podcast
where how much would I spend
to add all-wheel drive
to the van?
Because that is a difference
between the vehicle
you drove
and the vehicle I drove.
You cannot get all-wheel drive
with the Odyssey.
It's never been available
even though it's based
on the same platform
as the Pilot.
And I'm going to tell you
that during the week
that I had this vehicle,
I was hit by not one,
but two blizzards
that just completely covered
my area with snow.
The plows did not do a very good
job of dealing with it.
And it was extremely cold.
So all those things together
and not once
during the entire time
I drove the van
that I feel I needed
all-wheel drive.
Not once that I get stuck.
Not once was the vehicle
ever in a dangerous situation
because it was
front-wheel drive only.
It was on a good
set of winter tires
with no issues.
I was super impressed
by how well the vehicle
drove in the snow.
That's good to hear.
It really made me reconsider
like I believe the Sienna
is the other all-wheel drive
one we're talking about.
No, and the Carnival.
And the Carnival too.
It kind of feels like a gimmick.
Yeah, totally.
It kind of feels like
something that they've thrown
at Vans because
SUVs have this feature
and maybe we can get
some people pry them away
from the SUV side
of the showroom
and get them into a minivan
if we tell them
it has all-wheel drive.
A huge triumph of marketing
that I don't think we need.
I mean, all-wheel drive Vans
have been around for a super
long time.
It's at least the 80s,
but I don't think it's
necessary.
The second thing
I want to talk about
with this man.
I take it back.
There is no Kia Carnival
with all-wheel drive.
OK, wow.
So just muddy those waters.
But didn't I say
there was only one van
that had it?
Yeah, that's great.
You were like, no.
I thought there was
another one.
OK.
I thought that was coming.
I thought that was out.
Maybe I'm the one who said
there was 50%.
It doesn't matter.
Let's just agree to be friends.
That's so weird.
In any case,
the other thing that I
really liked about speaking
of driving,
I put a lot of miles on this
van.
I did some trips to Montreal
and back.
I did some trips out into
the country, even further
into the country,
I guess you could say.
And the thing that impressed
me the most about the Odyssey
is it's a large vehicle
that does not drive
like a large vehicle.
It drives pretty much
like a big sedan
instead of an SUV.
And I think part of that
is even though it has,
I mean,
it doesn't have a super
small greenhouse,
but more importantly,
the ride height is very normal.
Like it's a car like ride
height.
So you don't have crazy amounts
of ground clearance,
which really helps the
suspension in dealing with
something that's essentially
has the aerodynamics of a brick
and is just a battleship
out there.
It was very pleasant to drive.
I didn't want to give it back
at the end of a week.
And when it's the last time
I said that about any vehicle,
let alone a minivan.
Yeah.
I, you know what?
I don't have any specs
up about this vehicle.
I'm assuming it's the,
I know it's a three and a half
liter V six is the same thing
as the pilot.
And that's like 280 horsepower.
I think it has a nine speed
automatic transmission.
If I'm not mistaken,
although maybe that's not true.
I'm going to double check that now.
But the only real complaint
I had about the drive train.
Sorry.
It's a 10 speed automatic
transmission.
It does have that three
and I verified that my
horsepower numbers
and displacement were right.
The one issue I had while driving
it was when I would climb a hill
and not even like a difficult hill,
like just any kind of slope
at maybe part throttle.
It would downshift noticeably.
Yeah.
It would, I would feel it
through the pedal in a way
that I know other vehicle
I've driven recently has done.
And it was the only real flaw
I found in the transmission
because other times when I'm
just driving it normally,
the kick down feels normal.
It feels smooth.
It was just this one situation
that I kept noticing over and over.
Did you also have that issue?
I remember saying that it felt
like kind of like a CVT
in that it could rev up the engine
under like any, any kind of stress,
right?
Yeah.
It was a little strange,
but the power is good.
The handling is good.
As I mentioned,
like it drives much smaller
than it is the interior
tons of room.
It doesn't have stone go,
but there's a big cavity
in the back of the van
where the cargo area is.
And if you have all three rows up,
it's like essentially
I'm assuming the same as what you had in the Pacifica
where it's like a trunk quote unquote.
And then when you
fold the seats down,
they fold into that trunk
and that gives you a flat load floor
until you get to the second row.
The second row doesn't fold
doesn't fold into the floor.
They fold flat.
But Honda has this thing.
I think it's called a magic seat.
I think they're reusing that terminology
that we used to have
in the fit.
Yeah.
So yeah,
it's called magic slide.
And what it is,
is you have a bench seat
in the middle,
but it's not really a bench.
It's two captain's chairs
with like an insert in the middle.
The insert can be removed
if you want it gone completely.
It can be used as a seat
or it can be used as a console.
But if you take that insert out,
you can slide the two seats
beside each other.
So like you could move the outboard seat
into the middle
and that makes it easier
to get into the back of the vehicle.
Love that.
It also puts your child
directly in your line of sight
if you wanted to put them
in the middle of the vehicle.
And it does so
without forcing them
to sit in a middle seat quote unquote.
Yeah.
It's still the same bucket.
Well apparently statistically
the more to the middle
of the vehicle
a child is seated,
the safer they are.
Yeah, anyone is seated.
The middle seat of a rear,
the rear middle seat
is the safest seat
in any vehicle for sure.
She's comfortable,
but most,
it's safest for sure.
Yeah, it's least comfortable too
because they're never there alone.
You never choose that seat
like on your own.
It's always forced upon you
because you have people on either side.
The seat can also be removed
using the same kind of slide feature.
They're not,
what I would call light seats,
but they do fold down
into a compact enough thing
where you can wrangle them out.
I was impressed.
It's a way to make the van configurable
that's a little bit different
than the competition,
but it's not gimmicky.
Okay.
I can see a lot of people
just taking that center seat out
and never using it
because most people, I think,
I think six passenger,
or sorry, eight passengers,
seven passenger seating
with that back bench is enough.
But you can be an eight passenger
without having to,
there are some companies
that make you order
like a bench in the middle
or captain's chairs
and this is kind of both.
Okay, great.
And again,
the rear room and the third row,
I liked it.
It was good.
It was fine.
No problems.
It felt reasonably modern.
I...
Issues with the...
I like that, though.
To me,
I like the cabin of the Odyssey
because it reminds me
of the other Honda vehicles that they...
It's not that far off
from the pilot
or the ridge line
or something like that.
And I think that's a good thing.
You know what I mean?
Maybe it feels actually
like the last generation pilot
and it should be updated
to the new one, but...
I didn't...
There was nothing about it
when I was in it
and I was like,
ah, this feels dated.
Like, I didn't have that same vibe
that you had from the Pacifica.
So I think that's a point
in its favor.
The issues that I had with the vehicle,
there's two.
One is...
One is kind of a broader umbrella issue.
The specific one was
the wheel design on the vehicle.
I believe it's 19-inch wheels.
They were slotted to the point
where they gathered snow inside of them
and at the rear of the vehicle,
there was so much snow
that it was shaking
above 50 miles per hour.
They had to stop on the side of the road
and use a snowbrush
and like individually clean out the spokes
in order to get rid of that.
That's annoying.
Please do something about that.
There are conservatively
millions of vehicles
that don't have that issue.
So...
But that's...
You know, it's a very specific complaint
to when you're dealing with deep snow
like I was because of the blizzards.
The more pressing problem
I had with the Odyssey
is the safety equipment,
the adaptive safety equipment,
the advanced driver's aids,
are really not up to snuff.
The first issue...
Okay, that's interesting
because I was saying something similar
in the Pacifica.
So the lane departure system,
unlike other vehicles,
the Odyssey only makes a half-hearted attempt
to keep you in the lane
if you stray over the lines.
And if you look,
if you read the manual,
it says it will apply like mild torque
to the steering wheel
and that's fine in like,
let's say 30% of situations
where maybe you're drifting
at kind of a low speed,
you're near the edge,
and then it'll just tap the wheel
and you'll kind of move back
towards the center of the lane.
But in 70% of the time,
it's just gonna go right over that line.
Like on curvy roads,
it does nothing.
On the highway,
it often also does nothing.
It'll beep at you and warn you
and then you're on your own, brother.
Like it's like good luck.
In my opinion,
don't have that system.
Have a warning or have a correction,
but don't have a half system
that kind of corrects you
while it's also warning you.
It gives up.
Yeah, it totally gives up.
I was never comfortable understanding
the parameters of when it was gonna work
and when it wasn't.
And like that's,
you can't have inconsistent
enforcement of a parameter
in a safety system
because eventually people will not trust it.
So I ended up just not trusting it,
not using it.
The warning too,
sometimes when you're going
75 miles an hour
and you get to that curve in the road,
it's like super brief
and you're on your own.
And that's not great.
Big up.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The other issue was the adaptive cruise.
Let me,
I'm looking at my notes here
because I had some problems with,
I had some problems
with the adaptive cruise as well
where I was getting early alarms.
Like I was on a divided highway.
I was in the passing lane
of a two lane road,
four lanes I guess.
And I got a false break alarm
from the adaptive cruise
out of nowhere.
And I was nowhere near traffic ahead of me.
It told me like emergency break, emergency break.
And I was only going like 45 miles per hour.
And that's scary.
Like every time that happens
when I get those kinds of alarms in a vehicle
it makes me think I've missed something
that I haven't seen something.
Yeah.
And then I panic
and think what haven't I seen
and I look around
and get my situational awareness up
when in reality I haven't missed anything
and I'm just being teased by a system
that does not work properly.
So that was, that was a little bit frustrating.
I wonder why both of our cars just didn't,
maybe it's the weather but I don't know.
No, I thought it was the weather
but like this happened regardless
of whether there was snow on the road or not.
Another problem kind of wrapping up
the issues I had that were safety related.
The headlights were not great on the vehicle.
Interesting.
Where I drive it's very dark
and there's lots of wildlife.
So headlights are something
I think about more and more.
The Odyssey, the headlights were
I would guess average at best
but I was on a night where there was a lot of snow
and consequently a lot of slush on the road.
They got covered very quickly
and it dimmed them fast.
And that dramatically reduced the amount
of drive ahead space that I had
where I felt like I wasn't over driving my headlights.
So I had to slow down until I could pull over
and do something about that.
And I pulled over,
I remember I pulled over into this gas station
and I'm looking for some type of like, you know, squeegee
just to wash them off
and there's no squeegee.
And I go inside and there's someone behind the counter
and I'm like, hey, I can't find a squeegee
and she's like, no.
That was the answer.
Yeah.
And I'm like, so there's no squeegee
and she's like, no.
And I'm like, what happened to it?
And she's like, I guess it got stolen.
Yeah.
And I'm like, all right,
this doesn't help me at all.
And I had to drive another 20 minutes
to the next gas station in my rural area
and clean things up.
But overall, I really like this man.
I agree with you of the two.
Unless, you know, the Stone Go thing is a must-have for you
and or all will drive our must-haves for you.
I think the Pacifica is overshadowed by the Odyssey.
That being said, I do like the Pacifica plug-in a lot,
which is a vehicle we talked about last in 2021.
I think, no, it couldn't have been that long ago.
What makes you love the Pacifica hybrid so much?
Because when I drove it, I used it to move out here.
Oh, yeah.
And I think you've just got great.
You've got great vibes.
No, I think 30% of my driving was done on the battery.
And that's over like a 260 kilometers.
So like 170 mile round trip.
Yeah, it's huge.
OK.
And usually for a plug-in, it's not that great, right?
It's like you get that initial burst.
And then the car is not so good at doing the things
that hybrids normally do, which is, you know,
switching over to electric power, coasting and all that stuff.
You're lugging around the battery.
And because the weight of the battery is such that it actually
reduces your fuel economy when the battery is empty,
it balances out a lot of what the hybrid system can do.
It reduces the efficiency.
And you end up in a situation where plug-in hybrids are
really great if you are within a window
or you will be using that battery for most of your driving.
So with this vehicle, I think it's 60 kilometers.
It's something like that's the max for the PHEV version
of the Pacifica.
So out of 260 kilometers, that's like, ooh, body,
just over a quarter would in theory be covered
on a round trip or something like that.
Maybe I'm getting the numbers wrong.
Anyway, that was enough.
That was, I boosted that to 30%.
And I ended up using like getting something crazy,
like 40 miles per gallon or 35 miles per gallon
with a fully loaded van full of junk that I was moving
to my house out in the country.
Like very heavy.
I was super impressed.
Your justification is, yeah, I get it.
Perfect.
All right.
So that's all I have to say about that.
Sammy, there's a story that you wanted me to tell.
Yeah.
Why?
What brought me up and what brought that up again?
Because I got a Facebook memory the other day
that showed an event that I attended 13 years ago
for a Jaguar.
Oh, right.
And I was like, hey, such this thing happened to me
at this event.
And you're like, what?
I've never heard you talk about this thing.
And I was, you were like, you have to talk about that
in the podcast.
So do you want me to talk about it?
Please do.
So 13 years ago, I believe it was the launch
of the all-wheel drive Jaguar XF,
which I think was a big deal for Jaguar.
I'm not sure if they'd had an all-wheel drive
vehicle in the past.
Anyway, it was done at this place called Mechagliss,
which is a, it's like a track facility
that's north of Montreal,
but they do a lot of off-road tracks.
Like they have off-road driving,
but they also have rally road style driving.
And in the winter, the snows, they let the track snow up
and then they use it for winter, you know,
drift schools and survival and that kind of thing.
So we go there with Jaguar.
And I have a friend of mine who I'll call Paul
and that's not his name.
And he's my driving partner for the day.
And we're doing a whole bunch of,
they have different setups,
like different parts of the track
are for different things.
And then they had one course that was a little bit
higher speed and twisty and turning.
And I was riding along with Paul,
but normally I'm riding in the front seat.
And in this case, there was like an instructor, I guess,
or someone from Jaguar who wanted to ride along with us.
And I get in the back seat
and these were prototype cars.
These were new XFs that they weren't on the road yet.
So not everything in a prototype car works.
Sometimes it's like this,
you'll notice the plastics are sharp
and they'll cut your hands if you're not careful.
It's just stuff that's not ready for prime time,
but they drive.
That's the whole idea is to give you an impression
of what they'll be like on the road.
I get in this back seat and there's like those seat belts
or there's seat belts, but they don't come out.
Like I'm trying to pull the seat belt out
and it's like stuck in the thing on both sides.
And I say this to the Jaguar guide.
He's like, yeah, he's like, these are prototypes.
We don't have functional safety equipment
in the back of the car.
And I don't know what, what I was thinking,
but I said to my friend, that's okay.
I trust you, Paul.
Like I remember saying that like out loud.
As we enter onto this race track in the snow,
they're both belted in.
So we're driving and we get like one lap in.
And then I guess Paul starts to feel confident.
And we sit in this downhill section
and he's just hammering it and he's from Florida
and they don't have snow in Florida, right?
He's originally, well he lives in Florida now.
I think he's originally from Michigan,
but he'd been in Florida a long time.
We're on this downhill with like a right hand corner.
And we get to this, the end of the hill
and he's turning the wheel and nothing's happening
because he's going very much too fast
for the front wheels to do anything at this point.
And I'm like, oh snap, we're not going to make this corner.
We leave the road, go up this snow bank
and drive over a tree.
There were all these like little pine trees
that were like planted around.
This pine tree is maybe like three or four feet tall.
We drive right over it.
It's under the car.
It's a twig.
It's not a twig.
It's a tree to the point where it tore the cooling system
out of the vehicle.
So keep in mind, while all of this is happening,
I am bouncing around a rear bench seat
with like no seatbelt on.
No helmet?
Are you kidding?
They let me in without a seatbelt.
Do you think they had helmets?
So I get out of the car, turns out I'm okay.
And my driver is like really worried.
He's like, oh, I'm so sorry for all this that happened.
I'm like, don't worry about it.
I seem to be fine.
Everything's okay.
But get back into the, they have to tow the vehicle out.
It's done for the day.
They only had three prototypes available.
And that was one of them just finished.
Like, and we were like the first day of a full week event.
So I felt bad about that.
Although I wasn't driving.
No.
Like an hourglass vibe.
We're sitting in like the little cocoa hot chocolate hut
thing that they have set up to keep us warm.
And my buddy's like, man,
he's like, I think I really hurt my neck.
Like what?
He's like, yeah.
He's like, Jaguar didn't like to ask me if I was okay.
And I didn't want to rock the boat.
And he was, he felt, he was belted.
He's like, but man, my neck is like really sore now.
What did you fight?
I said, I'm in the socks.
I hope you're okay.
But like, it was just funny that of all the people in that
vehicle, he was the one who got injured.
And I'm the one who like was the human pinball, you know, like,
and I was totally fine.
But that's the story that I wanted to tell me.
So I love it.
Good times 13 years ago.
I don't know about good times, but survived times.
Yes.
Yes.
It's like one of those things you hear, you know, we
managed okay.
I'm like, but did we and couldn't have gone totally
off?
What's so strange is like earlier, we were talking about
how the first thing I do when I get into cars, put
into seatbelt and then I touched the bike.
And I'm trying to think if there's been any other time where
I have been in a car in two decades where I haven't had
a seatbelt on.
And I think this is the only time.
And how does that make any sense?
Like, what was I thinking?
Yeah, you were.
I mean, when we go on these events, you know, you're
so like everything is thought for you that you maybe
you, you let it go, right?
No, no, I don't know.
This is like, there's no excuse.
I don't know what was going on.
Super weird.
Anyways, that's it for this week's episode.
I really encourage our listeners to head on over to
our website unnamed automotive podcast dot com and you
can get in touch with us there through a contact form.
Just fill it out and it lands in our inbox.
Additionally, you can email us the old fashioned way.
It's Benjamin at Benjamin hunting dot com.
We I think that's the ideal way to get in touch
with us.
Both of those ways.
Kind of the only way I think.
Yeah, but I'm off the social media for a while.
I'll be on Instagram for the rest of December.
So I know some people reach out and talk to me there
and I've enjoyed our chats very much, but I'm just
not going to be using the app for the next 30 days or so.
So I won't be available there if you do want to reach out
just either of the two methods that Sammy mentioned.
Or you can reach out to me.
I'm on so I'm still on.
I'm still on Instagram at least.
Yeah, I didn't want to volunteer you though.
I mean, that's at Sammy underscore how like
your choice, Sammy, what are you going to be
talking about next week?
I've got a Hyundai Tucson hybrid.
I'm going to be talking about the Jeep Wagoneer S,
which is I think technically the first full EV from Jeep
that has made it to North America.
Yeah, there you go.
Somebody qualifiers there.
Yeah, great.
I can't wait to talk about that because I have just
like the other Stalantif EV here in North America,
the Daytona.
What's it called?
Daytona.
The Challenger Charger Daytona.
I think that's been canceled.
I have not seen the Wagoneer and I haven't seen the Daytona
like outside of the dealership.
I do see the Daytona, but like I've seen maybe three or four.
I've only seen them in the dealership.
Wow.
And I know you go out there and you press your face
against the glass and we're like,
Mr. Hajisad, you have to go home.
Or you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.
What a great episode.
I can't wait to talk to you next week about these cars.
Bye everybody.
Bye.
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